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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

Seventy Elders Anointed

16 The Lord answered Moses, “Bring me seventy men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. 17 Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put the Spirit on them.(A) They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.(B)

18 “Tell the people: Consecrate yourselves in readiness for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you wept in the Lord’s hearing, ‘Who will feed us meat? We were better off in Egypt.’ The Lord will give you meat and you will eat. 19 You will eat, not for 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 becomes nauseating to you—because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and wept before him, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’” (C)

21 But Moses replied, “I’m in the middle of a people with six hundred thousand foot soldiers,(D) yet you say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’ 22 If flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?” (E)

23 The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm weak?[a](F) Now you will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you.”

24 Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He brought seventy men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. 25 Then the Lord descended in the cloud and spoke to him.(G) He took some of the Spirit who was on Moses and placed the Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied,(H) but they never did it again.

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Footnotes

  1. 11:23 Lit the Lord’s arm too short