Fire from the Lord
11 The people complained to the Lord about their troubles. When he heard them, he became angry. Fire from the Lord burned among the people. It burned the edge of the camp. 2 So the people cried out to Moses. He prayed to the Lord, and the fire stopped burning. 3 So that place was called Taberah.[a] The people named it that because the Lord’s fire had burned among them.
The 70 Older Leaders
4 Some troublemakers among them wanted better food. Soon all the Israelites began complaining. They said, “We want meat! 5 We remember the fish we ate for free in Egypt. We also had cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite. We never see anything but this manna!”
7 The manna was like small white seeds. 8 The people would go to gather it. Then they ground it in handmills. Or they crushed it between stones. They cooked it in a pot or made cakes with it. It tasted like bread baked with olive oil. 9 When the dew fell on the camp each night, so did the manna.
10 Moses heard every family crying. They stood in the entrances of their tents. The Lord became very angry. And Moses got upset. 11 He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought me this trouble? I’m your servant. What have I done wrong? Why did you make me responsible for all these people? 12 I am not the father of all these people. I didn’t give birth to them. Why do you make me carry them to the land you promised to our ancestors? Must I carry them in my arms as a nurse carries a baby? 13 Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep crying to me, ‘We want meat!’ 14 I can’t take care of all these people alone. It is too much for me. 15 If you are going to continue doing this to me, then kill me now. If you like me, put me to death. Then I won’t have any more troubles.”
16 The Lord said to Moses, “Bring me 70 of Israel’s elders. Pick men you know are leaders among the people. Bring them to the Meeting Tent. Have them stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is in you. And I will give it to them. They will help you care for the people. Then you will not have to care for them alone.
18 “Tell the people this: ‘Make yourselves holy. Tomorrow you will eat meat. The Lord heard you cry, “We want meat! We were better off in Egypt!” So now the Lord will give you meat to eat. 19 You will not eat it for just 1, 2, 5, 10 or even 20 days. 20 You will eat that meat for a whole month. You will eat it until it comes out your nose. You will hate it. This is because you have rejected the Lord. He is here with you. But you have cried to him. You said, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”
21 Moses said, “Lord, here are 600,000 men standing around me. And you say, ‘I will give them enough meat to eat for a month!’ 22 If we killed all the sheep and cattle, that would not be enough. If we caught all the fish in the sea, that would not be enough.”
23 But the Lord said to Moses, “Do you think I’m weak? You will see if I can do what I say.”
24 So Moses went out to the people. He told them what the Lord had said. Moses gathered 70 of the elders together. He had them stand around the Tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. The Lord took some of the Spirit Moses had. And he gave it to the 70 leaders. With the Spirit in them, they prophesied, but just that one time.
26 Two men named Eldad and Medad were also listed as leaders. But they did not go to the Tent. They stayed in the camp. The Spirit was given to them. So they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran to Moses. He said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Joshua son of Nun said, “Moses, my master, stop them!” (Since he was a young boy, Joshua had been Moses’ assistant.)
29 But Moses answered, “Are you afraid for me? I wish all the Lord’s people could prophesy. I wish the Lord would give his Spirit to all of them!” 30 Then Moses and the leaders of Israel went back to the camp.
The Quail Come
31 The Lord sent a strong wind from the sea. It blew quail into the area all around the camp. The quail were about three feet above the ground. There were quail a day’s walk in any direction. 32 The people went out and gathered quail. They gathered all that day, that night and the next day. Everyone gathered at least 60 bushels. Then they spread them around the camp. 33 But the Lord became very angry. He gave the people a terrible sickness. This came while the meat was still in their mouths. 34 So the people named that place Kibroth Hattaavah.[b] They named it that because there they buried those who wanted other food.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people went to stay at Hazeroth.