The People Complain

11 Now ^(A)when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; ^(B)for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the ^(C)fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. ² Then the people ^(D)cried out to Moses, and when Moses ^(E)prayed to the Lord, the fire was ^[a]quenched. ³ So he called the name of the place ^[b]Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them.

⁴ Now the ^(F)mixed multitude who were among them ^[c]yielded to ^(G)intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: ^(H)“Who will give us meat to eat? ^5 (I)We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; ⁶ but now ^(J)our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”

¹⁰ Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and ^(A)the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased. ^11 (B)So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the ^[a]burden of all these people on me? ¹² Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, ^(C)‘Carry them in your bosom, as a ^(D)guardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You ^(E)swore^[b] to their fathers? ^13 (F)Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ ^14 (G)I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵ If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now—if I have found favor in Your sight—and ^(H)do not let me see my wretchedness!”

The Seventy Elders

¹⁶ So the Lord said to Moses: “Gather to Me ^(I)seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and ^(J)officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you.

²⁴ So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he ^(A)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, ^(B)when the Spirit rested upon them, that ^(C)they prophesied, ^[a]although they never did so again.