Numbers 11:16-30

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

¹⁶ And the Lord said to Moses, Gather for Me ^[a]seventy men of the elders of Israel whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; and bring them to the Tent of Meeting and let them stand there with you.

¹⁷ And I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take of the Spirit which is upon you and will put It upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not have to bear it yourself alone.

¹⁸ And say to the people, Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept 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 not eat one day, or two, or five, or ten, or twenty days,

²⁰ But a whole month—until [you are satiated and vomit it up violently and] it comes out at your nostrils and is disgusting to you—because you have rejected and despised the Lord Who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, Why did we come out of Egypt?^(A)

²¹ But Moses said, The people among whom I am are 600,000 footmen [besides all the women and children], and You have said, I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!

²² Shall flocks and herds be killed to suffice them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be collected to satisfy them?

²³ The Lord said to Moses, Has the Lord’s hand (His ability and power) become short (thwarted and inadequate)? You shall see now whether My word shall come to pass for you or not.^(B)

²⁴ So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and set them round about the Tent.

²⁵ And the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him and put It upon the seventy elders; and when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied [sounding forth the praises of God and declaring His will]. Then they did so no more.^(C)

²⁶ But there remained two men in the camp named Eldad and Medad. The Spirit rested upon them, and they were of those who were selected and listed, yet they did not go out to the Tent [as told to do], but they prophesied in the camp.

²⁷ And a young man ran to Moses and said, Eldad and Medad are prophesying [sounding forth the praises of God and declaring His will] in the camp.

²⁸ Joshua son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, My lord Moses, forbid them!

²⁹ But Moses said to him, Are you ^[b]envious or jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!^(D)

³⁰ And Moses went back into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.