Numbers 11:4–23

⁴And the ^emixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, ^fWho shall give us flesh to eat? ^5gWe remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: ⁶but now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes. ⁷And ^hthe manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of ⁱbdellium. ⁸And the people ^kwent about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of ^lfresh oil. ⁹And ^mwhen the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it. ¹⁰Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; Moses also ⁿwas displeased. ^11oAnd Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me? ¹²Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, ^pCarry them in thy bosom, as a ^qnursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou ^rswarest unto their fathers? ^13sWhence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat. ^14tI am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. ¹⁵And if thou deal thus with me, ^ukill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not ^xsee my wretchedness.

¹⁶And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me ^yseventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and ^zofficers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. ¹⁷And I will ^acome down and talk with thee there: and ^bI will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear ^cthe burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. ¹⁸And say thou unto the people, ^dSanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for you have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? ^efor it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. ¹⁹Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days; ²⁰but even a whole month, ^funtil it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, ^gWhy came we forth out of Egypt? ²¹And Moses said, ^hThe people, amongst whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. ²²Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to ⁱsuffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to ⁱsuffice them? ²³And the Lord said unto Moses, ^kIs the Lord’s hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether ^lmy word shall come to pass unto thee or not.