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The Spirit Rests upon the Elders

16 Yahweh 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 take them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 (C)Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of (D)the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone. 18 And say to the people, ‘(E)Set yourselves apart as holy for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept (F)in the ears of Yahweh, saying, “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For it was good for us in Egypt.” Therefore Yahweh 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 [a]but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because (G)you have rejected Yahweh who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever go out from Egypt?”’” 21 But Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.’ 22 Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?” 23 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Is (H)Yahweh’s [b]power limited? Now you shall see whether (I)My word will happen for you or not.”

24 So Moses went out and (J)told the people the words of Yahweh. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. 25 (K)Then Yahweh came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 11:20 Lit until
  2. Numbers 11:23 Lit hand short

16 The Lord said to Moses, “Gather before me seventy men from Israel’s elders, whom you know as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the meeting tent, and let them stand there with you. 17 Then I’ll descend and speak with you there. I’ll take some of the spirit that is on you and place it on them. Then they will carry the burden of the people with you so that you won’t bear it alone. 18 To the people you will say, ‘Make yourselves holy for tomorrow; then you will eat meat, for you’ve cried in the Lord’s hearing, “Who will give us meat to eat? It was better for us in Egypt.” The Lord will give you meat, and you will eat. 19 You won’t eat for just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but for a whole month until it comes out of your nostrils and nauseates you. You’ve rejected the Lord who’s been with you and you have cried before him, saying, “Why did we leave Egypt?” ’”

21 Moses said, “The people I’m with are six hundred thousand on foot and you’re saying, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’ 22 Can flocks and herds be found and slaughtered for them? Or can all the fish in the sea be found and caught for them?”

23 The Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s power too weak? Now you will see whether my word will come true for you or not.”

24 So Moses went out and told the people the Lord’s words. He assembled seventy men from the people’s elders and placed them around the tent. 25 The Lord descended in a cloud, spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and placed it on the seventy elders. When the spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but only this once.

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