The People Complain

¹And tthe people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, uhis anger was kindled, and vthe fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. ²Then wthe people cried out to Moses, xand Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. ³So the name of that place was called yTaberah,1 because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

⁴Now the zrabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also awept again and said, b“Oh that we had meat to eat! ⁵cWe remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. ⁶But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

⁷Now dthe manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. ⁸eThe people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. fAnd the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. ⁹gWhen the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.

¹⁰Moses heard the people hweeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. ¹¹iMoses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? ¹²Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, j‘Carry them in your bosom, as a knurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land lthat you swore to give their fathers? ¹³mWhere am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ ¹⁴nI am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”

Elders Appointed to Aid Moses

¹⁶Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me oseventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and pofficers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. ¹⁷qAnd I will come down and talk with you there. And rI will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and sthey shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. ¹⁸And say to the people, t‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? uFor it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. ¹⁹You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, ²⁰but a whole month, vuntil it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, w“Why did we come out of Egypt?”’” ²¹But Moses said, x“The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ ²²yShall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” ²³And the Lord said to Moses, z“Is the Lord's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether amy word will come true for you or not.”

²⁴So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. bAnd he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. ²⁵Then cthe Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.

²⁶Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they dhad not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” ²⁸And eJoshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, fstop them.” ²⁹But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? gWould that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” ³⁰And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

Quail and a Plague

³¹Then a hwind from the Lord sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits2 above the ground. ³²And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten ihomers.3 And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. ³³jWhile the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and kthe Lord struck down the people with a very great plague. ³⁴Therefore the name of that place was called lKibroth-hattaavah,4 because there they buried the people who had the craving. ³⁵mFrom Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to nHazeroth, and they remained at nHazeroth.