Numbers 11:4–23

⁴The ^arabble who were among them ¹had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “^bWho will give us ²meat to eat?

⁵“^aWe remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic,

⁶but now ^aour ¹appetite is gone. There is nothing at all ²to look at except this manna.”

^7aNow the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of ^bbdellium.

⁸The people would go about and gather it and grind it ¹between two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of ²cakes baked with oil.

^9aWhen the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall ¹with it.

The Complaint of Moses

¹⁰Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, and ¹Moses was displeased.

^11aSo Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You ¹been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me?

¹²“Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a ^1anurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which ^bYou swore to their fathers’?

¹³“Where am I to get meat to give to ^aall this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat that we may eat!’

¹⁴“^aI alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too ¹burdensome for me.

¹⁵“^aSo if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”

Seventy Elders to Assist

¹⁶The Lord therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me ^aseventy men from the elders of Israel, ^bwhom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you.

¹⁷“^aThen I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of ^bthe 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“Say to the people, ‘^aConsecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept ^bin the ears of the Lord, saying, “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord 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,

²⁰¹but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because ^ayou have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” ’ ”

²¹But 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?”

²³The Lord said to Moses, “Is ^athe Lord’s ¹power limited? Now you shall see whether ^bMy word will ²come true for you or not.”