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Numbers 11:16-35
New King James Version
Numbers 11:16-35
New King James Version
The Seventy Elders
16 So the Lord said to Moses: “Gather to Me (A)seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and (B)officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17 Then I will come down and talk with you there. (C)I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 Then you shall say to the people, [a]‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept (D)in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20 (E)but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have (F)despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, (G)“Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?” ’ ”
21 And Moses said, (H)“The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.’ 22 (I)Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?”
23 And the Lord said to Moses, (J)“Has[b] the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether (K)what I say will happen to you or not.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he (L)gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, (M)when the Spirit rested upon them, that (N)they prophesied, [c]although they never did so again.
26 But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who (O)had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, (P)forbid them!”
29 Then Moses said to him, “Are you [d]zealous for my sake? (Q)Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” 30 And Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.
The Lord Sends Quail
31 Now a (R)wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground. 32 And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten (S)homers); and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 But while the (T)meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. 34 So he called the name of that place [e]Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving.
35 (U)From Kibroth Hattaavah the people moved to Hazeroth, and camped at Hazeroth.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Numbers 11:18 Set yourselves apart
- Numbers 11:23 Is the Lord’s power limited?
- Numbers 11:25 Tg., Vg. and they did not cease
- Numbers 11:29 jealous
- Numbers 11:34 Lit. Graves of Craving
Numbers 11:16-35
New International Version
Numbers 11:16-35
New International Version
16 The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders(A) who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people.(B) Have them come to the tent of meeting,(C) that they may stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you(D) there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them.(E) They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.(F)
18 “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves(G) in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed,(H) “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!”(I) Now the Lord will give you meat,(J) 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(K)—because you have rejected the Lord,(L) who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”(M)
21 But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men(N) 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?”(O)
23 The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?(P) Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.(Q)”
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(R) and spoke with him,(S) and he took some of the power of the Spirit(T) that was on him and put it on the seventy elders.(U) When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied(V)—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,(W) 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,(X) who had been Moses’ aide(Y) since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”(Z)
29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets(AA) and that the Lord would put his Spirit(AB) on them!”(AC) 30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
31 Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail(AD) 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(AE) and before it could be consumed, the anger(AF) of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.(AG) 34 Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah,[c](AH) because there they buried the people who had craved other food.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth(AI) and stayed there.
Footnotes
- Numbers 11:31 That is, about 3 feet or about 90 centimeters
- Numbers 11:32 That is, possibly about 1 3/4 tons or about 1.6 metric tons
- Numbers 11:34 Kibroth Hattaavah means graves of craving.
Numbers 11:16-35
King James Version
Numbers 11:16-35
King James Version
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.
17 And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
19 Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;
20 But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
21 And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month.
22 Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?
23 And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord'S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.
24 And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the Lord, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.
25 And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
26 But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.
27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.
28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.
29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord'S people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!
30 And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.
31 And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.
32 And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.
33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague.
34 And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted.
35 And the people journeyed from Kibrothhattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth.
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
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