²⁶ He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep^(A) all his decrees,^(B) I will not bring on you any of the diseases^(C) I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals^(D) you.”

⁴⁴ I am the Lord your God;^(A) consecrate yourselves^(B) and be holy,^(C) because I am holy.^(D) Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves along the ground.^(E)

⁴⁵ I am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt^(A) to be your God;^(B) therefore be holy, because I am holy.^(C)

Quail From the Lord

⁴ The rabble with them began to crave other food,^(A) and again the Israelites started wailing^(B) and said, “If only we had meat to eat! ⁵ We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.^{(C) 6} But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!^(D)”

⁷ The manna was like coriander seed^(E) and looked like resin.^{(F) 8} The people went around gathering it,^(G) and then ground it in a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into loaves. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. ⁹ When the dew^(H) settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.

¹⁰ Moses heard the people of every family wailing^(I) at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. ¹¹ He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble^(J) on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?^{(K) 12} Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant,^(L) to the land you promised on oath^(M) to their ancestors?^{(N) 13} Where can I get meat for all these people?^(O) They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ ¹⁴ I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.^{(P) 15} If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me^(Q)—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders^(R) who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people.^(S) Have them come to the tent of meeting,^(T) that they may stand there with you. ¹⁷ I will come down and speak with you^(U) there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them.^(V) They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.^(W)

¹⁸ “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves^(X) in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed,^(Y) “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!”^(Z) Now the Lord will give you meat,^(AA) and you will eat it. ¹⁹ You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, ²⁰ but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it^(AB)—because you have rejected the Lord,^(AC) who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”^(AD)

²¹ But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men^(AE) on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ ²² Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”^(AF)

²³ The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?^(AG) Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.^(AH)”

²⁴ So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. ²⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud^(AI) and spoke with him,^(AJ) and he took some of the power of the Spirit^(AK) that was on him and put it on the seventy elders.^(AL) When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied^(AM)—but did not do so again.

²⁶ However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them,^(AN) and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

²⁸ Joshua son of Nun,^(AO) who had been Moses’ aide^(AP) since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”^(AQ)

²⁹ But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets^(AR) and that the Lord would put his Spirit^(AS) on them!”^{(AT) 30} Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

³¹ Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail^(AU) in from the sea. It scattered them up to two cubits^[a] deep all around the camp, as far as a day’s walk in any direction. ³² All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers.^[b] Then they spread them out all around the camp. ³³ But while the meat was still between their teeth^(AV) and before it could be consumed, the anger^(AW) of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.^{(AX) 34} Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah,^[c](AY) because there they buried the people who had craved other food.

Daniel’s Training in Babylon

1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim^(A) king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar^(B) king of Babylon^(C) came to Jerusalem and besieged it.^{(D) 2} And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried^(E) off to the temple of his god in Babylonia^[a] and put in the treasure house of his god.^(F)

³ Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility^(G)— ⁴ young men without any physical defect, handsome,^(H) showing aptitude for every kind of learning,^(I) well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language^(J) and literature of the Babylonians.^{[b] 5} The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine^(K) from the king’s table.^(L) They were to be trained for three years,^(M) and after that they were to enter the king’s service.^(N)

⁶ Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel,^(O) Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.^{(P) 7} The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar;^(Q) to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.^(R)

⁸ But Daniel resolved not to defile^(S) himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. ⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor^(T) and compassion^(U) to Daniel, ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your^[c] food and drink.^(V) Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”

¹¹ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ¹² “Please test^(W) your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.”^{(X) 14} So he agreed to this and tested^(Y) them for ten days.

¹⁵ At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.^{(Z) 16} So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.^(AA)

¹⁷ To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding^(AB) of all kinds of literature and learning.^(AC) And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.^(AD)

¹⁸ At the end of the time^(AE) set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service.^{(AF) 20} In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians^(AG) and enchanters in his whole kingdom.^(AH)

²¹ And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.^(AI)