Numbers 11:17–29

¹⁷Then 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. ^rThey will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself. ^s

¹⁸“Tell the people: Purify yourselves in readiness for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you cried before the Lord: ‘Who will feed us meat? We really had it good in Egypt.’ The Lord will give you meat and you will eat. ¹⁹You will eat, not for one day, or two days, or five days, or 10 days, or 20 days, ²⁰but 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 cried to Him: ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’ ” ^t

²¹But Moses replied, “I’m in the middle of a people with 600,000 foot soldiers, ^uyet You say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’ ²²If 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?” ^v

²³The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s power limited? ^wxYou will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you.”

²⁴Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He brought 70 men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. ²⁵Then the Lord descended in the cloud and spoke to him. ^yHe took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed the Spirit on the 70 elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, ^zbut they never did it again. ²⁶Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad; the Spirit rested on them—they were among those listed, but had not gone out to the tent—and they prophesied in the camp. ²⁷A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

²⁸Joshua son of Nun, assistant to Moses since his youth, ^aresponded, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”

²⁹But Moses asked him, “Are you jealous on my account? ^bIf only all the Lord’s people were prophets and the Lord would place His Spirit on them!”