Fire from the Lord

11 Now the people complained ·to [^Lin the ears of] the Lord about their troubles, and when he heard them, he became angry. Then fire from the Lord burned ·among the people at the edge [^Lon the outskirts] of the camp. ² The people cried out to Moses, and when he prayed to the Lord, the fire stopped burning. ³ So that place was called Taberah [^C“Burning”; Deut. 9:22], because the Lord’s fire had burned among them.

Seventy Elders Help Moses

⁴ Some ·troublemakers [rabble; foreign elements] among them wanted better food, and soon all the ·Israelites [^Lsons/^Tchildren of Israel] began ·complaining [^Lweeping]. They said, “We want meat! ⁵ We remember the fish we ate for free in Egypt. We also had cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. ⁶ But now we have lost our ·appetite [or vitality; strength]; we never see anything but this manna [Ex. 16:1–36]!”

⁷ The manna was like ·small white seeds [^Lcoriander seed and its color was like bdellium/gum resin]. ⁸ The people would go to gather it, and then grind it in handmills, or crush it ·between stones [with mortars]. After they ·cooked [or boiled] it in a pot or made cakes with it, it tasted like ·bread [cakes] baked with olive oil. ⁹ When the dew fell on the camp each night, so did the manna.

¹⁰ Moses heard every ·family [clan] ·crying [weeping] as they stood in the entrances of their tents. Then the Lord became very angry, and ·Moses got upset [^Lit was bad in the eyes of Moses]. ¹¹ He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought me, your servant, this trouble? ·What have I done wrong [^LWhy have I not found favor in your eyes] that you ·made me responsible [^Lset the burden on me] for all these people? ¹² ·I am not the father of [^LDid I conceive/Am I the mother of] all these people, and ·I didn’t [^Ldid I…?] give birth to them. So why do you make me carry them to the land you promised to our ancestors? Must I carry them in my ·arms [^Lbosom] as a nurse carries a baby? ¹³ Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep crying to me, ‘We want meat!’ ¹⁴ I can’t take care of all these people alone. It is too ·much [difficult; ^Lheavy] for me. ¹⁵ If you are going to continue doing this to me, then kill me now. If ·you care about me [^LI have found favor in your eyes], put me to death, and ·then I won’t have [^Ldo not let me see] any more troubles.”

¹⁶ The Lord said to Moses, “·Bring [^LGather for] me seventy of Israel’s elders, men that you know are leaders among the people. Bring them to the Meeting Tent, and have them stand there with you. ¹⁷ I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit [^Cthat enables Moses to do his work] that is in you, and I will ·give it to [or put it on] them. They will ·help you care for the people [^Lbear the burden of the people with you] so that you will not have to ·care for them [^Lbear it] alone.

¹⁸ “Tell the people this: ‘·Make yourselves holy [Consecrate yourselves; ^Cin a ritual sense] for tomorrow, and you will eat meat. You cried ·to the [^Lin the ears of the] Lord, “·We want meat [^LIf only we had meat to eat]! We were better off in Egypt!” So now the Lord will give you meat to eat. ¹⁹ You will eat it not for just one, two, five, ten, or even twenty days, ²⁰ but you will eat that meat for a whole month. You will eat it until it comes out your nose, and you will grow to ·hate [loathe] it. This is because you have rejected the Lord, who is with you. You have cried to him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”

²¹ Moses said, “Lord, here are six hundred thousand people ·standing [^Lon foot] around me, and you say, ‘I will give them enough meat to eat for a month!’ ²² If we ·killed [slaughtered] all the flocks and herds, ·that would not be [^Lwould there be…?] enough. If we caught all the fish in the sea, ·that would not be [^Lwould there be…?] enough.”

²³ But the Lord said to Moses, “·Do you think I’m weak [^LIs the hand of the Lord too short]? Now you will see if ·I can do what I say [^Lthe words I spoke to you come true or not].”

²⁴ So Moses went out to the people and told them ·what the Lord had said [^Lthe words of the Lord]. He gathered seventy of the elders together and had them stand around the Tent. ²⁵ Then the Lord came down in the cloud [^Crepresenting God’s presence] and spoke to Moses. The Lord took some of the Spirit Moses had, and he ·gave it to [or put it on] the seventy leaders. ·With the Spirit in [^LWhen the Spirit rested on] them, they prophesied, but just that one time [^Cas evidence that they had the Spirit; 1 Sam. 10:6–13; 19:18–24].

²⁶ Two men named Eldad and Medad were also ·listed as leaders [^Lregistered; enrolled], but they did not go to the Tent. They stayed in the camp, but the Spirit was also ·given to [or rested on] them, and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷ A young man ran to Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

²⁸ Joshua son of Nun said, “Moses, my ·master [lord], stop them!” (·Ever since he was a young boy [or One of his chosen men], Joshua ·had been [or was] Moses’ assistant [Ex. 17:8; 24:13; 32:17; 33:7–11].)

²⁹ But Moses answered, “Are you jealous for me? I wish all the Lord’s people could prophesy. I wish the Lord would give his Spirit to all of them [Joel 2:28–29; Acts 2:16–21; 1 Cor. 12:27–31; 14:1–5]!” ³⁰ Then Moses and the leaders of Israel went back to the camp.

The Lord Sends Quail

³¹ ·The Lord sent a strong wind [^LThen a wind went out from the Lord] from the sea, and it blew quail into the area all around the camp. The quail were about ·three feet [^Ltwo cubits] deep on the ground, and there were quail a day’s walk in any direction [Ex. 16:13; Ps. 78:26–31]. ³² The people went out and gathered quail all that day, that night, and the next day. Everyone gathered at least ·sixty bushels [^Lten homers], and they spread them around the camp. ³³ But the Lord became very angry, and he ·gave the people a terrible sickness [^Lstruck the people with a terrible plague] that came while the meat was still ·in their mouths [^Lbetween their teeth]. ³⁴ So the people named that place Kibroth Hattaavah [^CGraves of Wanting/Craving], because there they buried those who ·wanted [craved] other food.

³⁵ From Kibroth Hattaavah the people went to stay at Hazeroth.