⁴Some foreigners among the Israelites had a strong craving for ⸤other kinds of⸥ food. Even the Israelites started crying again and said, “If only we had meat to eat! ⁵Remember all the free fish we ate in Egypt and the cucumbers, watermelons, leeks, onions, and garlic we had? ⁶But now we’ve lost our appetite! Everywhere we look there’s nothing but manna!”

⁷(Manna was ⸤small⸥ like coriander seeds and looked like resin. ⁸The people would go around and gather it, then grind it in a handmill or crush it in a mortar. They would cook it in a pot or make round loaves of bread out of it. It tasted like rich pastry made with olive oil. ⁹When dew fell on the camp at night, manna fell with it.)

¹⁰Moses heard people from every family crying at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became very angry, and Moses didn’t like it either. ¹¹So he asked, “Lord, why have you brought me this trouble? How have I displeased you that you put the burden of all these people on me? ¹²Am I their mother? Did I give birth to them? Are you really asking me to carry them in my arms—as a nurse carries a baby—all the way to the land you promised their ancestors with an oath? ¹³Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep crying for me to give them meat to eat. ¹⁴I can’t take care of all these people by myself. This is too much work for me! ¹⁵If this is how you’re going to treat me, why don’t you just kill me? I can’t face this trouble anymore.”

¹⁶The Lord answered Moses, “Bring me 70 Israelite men who you know are leaders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting, and have them stand with you. ¹⁷I’ll come down and speak with you there. I’ll take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will help you take care of the people. You won’t have to take care of the people alone. ¹⁸Tell the people to get ready for tomorrow. They must be set apart as holy. Then they will eat meat. I, the Lord, heard them crying and saying, ‘If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!’ So I will give them meat. ¹⁹They won’t eat it just for one or two days, or five, or ten, or twenty days, ²⁰but for a whole month, until it comes out of their ears and they’re sick of it. This is because they rejected the Lord who is here among them and cried in front of him, asking, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’ ”

²¹But Moses said, “Here I am with 600,000 foot soldiers around me. Yet, you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ ²²Would they have enough if all the flocks and herds were butchered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”

²³The Lord asked Moses, “Is there a limit to the Lord’s power? Now you will see whether or not my words come true.”

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