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the people began complaining about their hardship in the hearing of the Lord. When the Lord heard them, His anger burned, and the fire of the Lord blazed among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and when he prayed to the Lord the fire died down. 3 So that place was named Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had blazed among them.
4 The rabble with them developed a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? 5 We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt at no cost, along with the cucumbers, melons, onions, leeks, and garlic. 6 But now our appetite is gone, and there is nothing at all to look at but this manna!
7 The manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of bdellium. 8 The people went around and gathered it, and then ground it in mills or crushed it in a mortar. They boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it; and its taste was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. 9 When the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna would fall with it.
10 Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance of his tent. The Lord was very angry, and Moses was also displeased. 11 So Moses asked the Lord, “Why have You brought such trouble on Your servant? Why have I not found favour in your eyes, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth, so that You should say to me, ‘Carry them at your breast, as a nurse carries an infant’, to the land that You promised on oath to their forefathers? 13 Where can I get meat to give all these people? For they come wailing to me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I am not able to carry all these people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If You are going to treat me like this, put me to death right now—if I have found favour in your eyes—do not let me see my misery anymore.”
16 The Lord said to Moses, “Bring Me seventy men from the elders of Israel who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting and stand there with you. 17 Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry some of the burden of the people so you don‘t have to carry it all by yourself.
18 “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you crying out, “Who will give us meat to eat? We were better off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat. 19 You will eat it, not for one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you—because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” ’ ”
21 But Moses said, “I am among six hundred thousand men on foot, yet You say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month! 22 Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough it all the fish in the sea were caught for them?
23 The Lord answered Moses, “Is the arm of the Lord too short? Now you will see whether or not what I promised you will happen.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He brought together seventy men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the Tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him, and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not do so again.
26 However, two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those who were listed, but they had not gone out to the Tent, yet they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Then Joshua son of Nun, the assistant to Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “Moses my lord, stop them!”
29 But Moses asked him, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” 30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
31 Now a wind went out from the Lord, and it blew quails in from the sea and dropped them by the camp, about two cubits deep on the ground, for about a day’s journey in every direction. 32 The people went out all that day and night and all the next day gathering quails. Those who gathered the least amount still gathered ten homers. Then they spread the quails out all around the camp.
33 But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very severe plague. 34 So they named that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved the meat.
35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people moved on to Hazeroth and stayed there.