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N U MBERS 1 1
the Tabernacle would already be set up at its
new location. 22 Ephraim’s troops went next,
marching behind their banner. Their leader was
Elishama son of Ammihud. 23 They were joined
by the troops of the tribe of Manasseh, led by
Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, 24 and the troops of
the tribe of Benjamin, led by Abidan son of
Gideoni.
25 Dan’s troops went last, marching behind
their banner and serving as the rear guard for
all the tribal camps. Their leader was Ahiezer
son of Ammishaddai. 26 They were joined by the
troops of the tribe of Asher, led by Pagiel son of
Ocran, 27 and the troops of the tribe of Naphtali,
led by Ahira son of Enan.
28 This was the order in which the Israelites
marched, division by division.
29 One day Moses said to his brother-in-law,
Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, “We are on
our way to the place the Lord promised us, for
he said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us and
we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised
wonderful blessings for Israel!”
30 But Hobab replied, “No, I will not go. I must
return to my own land and family.”
31 “Please don’t leave us,” Moses pleaded.
“You know the places in the wilderness where
we should camp. Come, be our guide. 32 If you
do, we’ll share with you all the blessings the
Lord gives us.”
33 They marched for three days after leaving
the mountain of the Lord, with the Ark of the
Lord’s Covenant moving ahead of them to show
them where to stop and rest. 34 As they moved on
each day, the cloud of the Lord hovered over
them. 35 And whenever the Ark set out, Moses
would shout, “Arise, O Lord, and let your enemies be scattered! Let them flee before you!”
36 And when the Ark was set down, he would
say, “Return, O Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel!”
The People Complain to Moses
Soon the people began to complain about
their hardship, and the Lord heard everything they said. Then the Lord’s anger blazed
against them, and he sent a fire to rage among
them, and he destroyed some of the people in
the outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people
screamed to Moses for help, and when he
prayed to the Lord, the fire stopped. 3 After that,
the area was known as Taberah (which means
“the place of burning”), because fire from the
Lord had burned among them there.
4 Then the foreign rabble who were traveling with the Israelites began to crave the good
things of Egypt. And the people of Israel also
began to complain. “Oh, for some meat!” they
exclaimed. 5 “We remember the fish we used
to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic we
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wanted. 6 But now our appetites are gone. All we
ever see is this manna!”
7 The manna looked like small coriander
seeds, and it was pale yellow like gum resin.
8 The people would go out and gather it from
the ground. They made flour by grinding it with
hand mills or pounding it in mortars. Then they
boiled it in a pot and made it into flat cakes.
These cakes tasted like pastries baked with olive
oil. 9 The manna came down on the camp with
the dew during the night.
10 Moses heard all the families standing in
the doorways of their tents whining, and the
Lord became extremely angry. Moses was also
very aggravated. 11 And Moses said to the Lord,
“Why are you treating me, your servant, so
harshly? Have mercy on me! What did I do to
deserve the burden of all these people? 12 Did
I give birth to them? Did I bring them into the
world? Why did you tell me to carry them in my
arms like a mother carries a nursing baby? How
can I carry them to the land you swore to give
their ancestors? 13 Where am I supposed to get
meat for all these people? They keep whining to
me, saying, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I can’t carry
all these people by myself! The load is far too
heavy! 15 If this is how you intend to treat me,
just go ahead and kill me. Do me a favor and
spare me this misery!”
Moses Chooses Seventy Leaders
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather before
me seventy men who are recognized as elders
and leaders of Israel. Bring them to the Tabernacle* to stand there with you. 17 I will come
down and talk to you there. I will take some of
the Spirit that is upon you, and I will put the
Spirit upon them also. They will bear the burden of the people along with you, so you will
not have to carry it alone.
18 “And say to the people, ‘Purify yourselves,
for tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You
were whining, and the Lord heard you when
you cried, “Oh, for some meat! We were better
off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat,
and you will have to eat it. 19 And it won’t be for
just a day or two, or for five or ten or even twenty.
20 You will eat it for a whole month until you gag
and are sick of it. For you have rejected the Lord,
who is here among you, and you have whined to
him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”
21 But Moses responded to the Lord, “There are
600,000 foot soldiers here with me, and yet you
say, ‘I will give them meat for a whole month!’
22 Even if we butchered all our flocks and herds,
would that satisfy them? Even if we caught all
the fish in the sea, would that be enough?”
23 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Has my arm
lost its power? Now you will see whether or not
my word comes true!”
11:16 Hebrew the Tent of Meeting.