Study Desk

Now the people became like ^(a)those who complain of adversity ^(b)in the hearing of the Lord ; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.

^(c)The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord and the fire ^[a]died out.

So the name of that place was called ^[b](d)Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

The ^(e)rabble who were among them ^[c]had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, "^(f)Who will give us ^[d]meat to eat?

^(g)We 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,

but now ^(h)our ^[e]appetite is gone. There is nothing at all ^[f]to look at except this manna."

⁽ⁱ⁾Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of ^(j)bdellium.

The people would go about and gather it and grind it ^[g]between 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 ^[h]cakes baked with oil.

^(k)When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall ^[i]with it.

Now 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 ^[j]Moses was displeased.

^(l)So Moses said to the Lord , "Why have You ^[k]been 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?

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 ^[l](m)nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which ⁽ⁿ⁾You swore to their fathers'?

Where am I to get meat to give to ^(o)all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat that we may eat!'

^(p)I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too ^[m]burdensome for me.

^(q)So 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."

The Lord therefore said to Moses, "Gather for Me ^(r)seventy men from the elders of Israel, ^(s)whom 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.

^(t)Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of ^(u)the 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.

Say to the people, ‘^(v)Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept ^(w)in 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.

You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days,

^[n]but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because ^(x)you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"'"

But 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.'

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?"

The Lord said to Moses, "Is ^(y)the Lord's ^[o]power limited? Now you shall see whether ^(z)My word will ^[p]come true for you or not."

So Moses went out and ^(aa)told the people the words of the Lord . Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and stationed them around the tent.

^(ab)Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.

But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the ^[q]other Medad. And ^(ac)the Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp.

So a young man ran and told Moses and said, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."

Then ^(ad)Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, "^(ae)Moses, my lord, restrain them."

But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? ^(af)Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!"

Then Moses ^[r]returned to the camp, both he and the elders of Israel.

^(ag)Now there went forth a wind from the Lord and it brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day's journey on this side and a day's journey on the other side, all around the camp and ^[s]about two ^[t]cubits deep on the surface of the ground.

The people ^[u]spent all day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten ^[v](ah)homers) and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp.

^(ai)While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very severe plague.

So the name of that place was called ^[w](aj)Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had been greedy.

From Kibroth-hattaavah ^(ak)the people set out for Hazeroth, and they ^[x]remained at Hazeroth.

When Balaam saw that it ^[a]pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to ^[b]seek ^(a)omens but he set his face toward the ^(b)wilderness.

And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel ^[c]camping tribe by tribe; and ^(c)the Spirit of God came upon him.

He took up his ^[d]discourse and said, "^(d)The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened;

The oracle of him who ^(e)hears the ^[e]words of God, Who sees the ^(f)vision of ^[f]the Almighty, Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,

How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel!

"Like ^[g]valleys that stretch out, Like gardens beside the river, Like ^(g)aloes planted by the Lord , Like ^(h)cedars beside the waters.

"Water will flow from his buckets, And his seed will be by many waters, And his king shall be higher than ⁽ⁱ⁾Agag, ^(j)And his kingdom shall be exalted.

"^(k)God brings him out of Egypt, He is for him like the horns of the wild ox. ^(l)He will devour the nations who are his adversaries, And will crush their bones in pieces, And shatter them with his ^(m)arrows.

"⁽ⁿ⁾He ^[h]couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a ^[i]lion, who ^[j]dares rouse him? ^(o)Blessed is everyone who blesses you, And cursed is everyone who curses you."

Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his ^[k]hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times!

Therefore, ^[l]flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor."

Balaam said to Balak, "^(p)Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying,

‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the ^[m]command of the Lord , either good or bad, ^(q)of my own ^[n]accord. ^(r)What the Lord speaks, that I will speak'?

And now, behold, ^(s)I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the ^[o]days to come."

He took up his discourse and said, "^(t)The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,

The oracle of him who hears the ^[p]words of God, And knows the knowledge of the ^[q]Most High, Who sees the vision of ^[r]the Almighty, Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered.

"I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, ^(u)A scepter shall rise from Israel, ^(v)And shall crush through the ^[s]forehead of Moab, And ^[t]tear down all the sons of ^[u]Sheth.

"^(w)Edom shall be a possession, ^(x)Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession, While Israel performs valiantly.

"One from Jacob shall have dominion, And will destroy the remnant from the city."

And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said, "Amalek was the first of the nations, ^(y)But his end shall be ^[v]destruction."

And he looked at the ^(z)Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, "Your dwelling place is enduring, And your nest is set in the cliff.

"Nevertheless Kain will be consumed; How long will ^(aa)Asshur ^[w]keep you captive?"

Then he took up his discourse and said, "Alas, who can live except God has ordained it?

"But ships shall come from the coast of ^(ab)Kittim, And they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict ^(ac)Eber; ^(ad)So they also will come to destruction."

Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to ^(ae)his place, and Balak also went his way.