Seventy Elders to Assist Moses

16 The Lord therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me (A)seventy men from the elders of Israel, (B)whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their stand there with you.

Read full chapter

16 And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.

Read full chapter

Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the [a]Red Sea, to (A)go around the land of Edom; and the [b]people became impatient because of the journey. So the people spoke against God and Moses: “(B)Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no [c]food and no water, and [d](C)we are disgusted with [e]this miserable food.”

The Bronze Serpent

(D)Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and (E)they bit the people, so that (F)many people of Israel died. (G)So the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and against you; (H)intercede with the Lord, that He will remove the serpents from us.” And Moses interceded for the people. Then the Lord said to Moses, “[f]Make a (I)fiery serpent, and put it on a flag pole; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, and looks at it, will live.” So Moses made a (J)bronze serpent and put it on the flag pole; and it came about, that if a serpent bit someone, and he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 21:4 Lit Sea of Reeds
  2. Numbers 21:4 Lit soul of the people was short
  3. Numbers 21:5 Lit bread
  4. Numbers 21:5 Lit our soul is disgusted
  5. Numbers 21:5 I.e., the manna
  6. Numbers 21:8 Lit Make for yourself

And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.

Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Read full chapter