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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

The Seventy Elders

16 And the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me 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 take their stand there with you. 17 And I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit which is upon you and put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not 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 days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come forth out of Egypt?”’” 21 But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot; and thou hast said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ 22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered 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 to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”

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 placed them round about the tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did so no more.

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