Numbers 11:4–23

Quail From the Lord

The rabble with them began to crave other food,^a and again the Israelites started wailing^b and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.^c But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!^d”

The manna was like coriander seed^e and looked like resin.^f The people went around gathering it,^g and then ground it in a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into loaves. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. When the dew^h settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.

Moses heard the people of every family wailingⁱ at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble^j on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?^k Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant,^l to the land you promised on oath^m to their ancestors?ⁿ Where can I get meat for all these people?^o They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.^p If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me^q—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”

The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders^r who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people.^s Have them come to the tent of meeting,^t that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you^u there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them.^v They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.^w

“Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves^x in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed,^y “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!”^z Now the Lord will give you meat,^a and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it^b—because you have rejected the Lord,^c who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” ’ ”^d

But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men^e on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”^f

The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?^g Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.^h”