1Folket begyndte ret hurtigt at beklage sig højlydt over de dårlige forhold, de måtte leve under; og da Herren hørte det, blev han så vred, at han sendte ild ned over dem, og det begyndte at brænde i lejrens udkant.2Folket skreg til Moses om hjælp, og da han gik i forbøn for dem, døde ilden ud.3Stedet kaldte man Tabera,[1] for på det sted begyndte Herrens ild at brænde.4Kort efter begyndte nogle af de fremmede, som fulgte med, at længes efter Egyptens kødgryder, og de fik hele Israels folk til at græde af selvmedlidenhed. „Bare vi dog kunne få lidt kød,” klagede de alle sammen.5„Åh, hvor vi længes efter de fisk, der var nok af i Egypten—og agurker, vandmeloner, porrer, løg og hvidløg.6Man mister appetitten, når det eneste, man får at spise, er manna.”7Den manna, folket spiste, var hvidgule flager, der lignede korianderfrø,8-9og som lå på jorden hver morgen, når duggen var forsvundet. De samlede det op og malede det til mel med en håndkværn eller i en morter. Derefter kogte de det i en gryde og lavede en slags pandekager, der smagte som var de bagt med olivenolie.10Da Moses hørte folket beklage sig fra deres teltåbninger, blev han meget nedslået, og Herren blev vred.11Moses sagde da til Herren: „Hvad har jeg gjort, siden jeg skal belemres med det her genstridige folk?12De opfører sig som børn. Men det er ikke mig, der har sat dem i verden. Skal jeg virkelig bære dem i favnen, som en far bærer sit spædbarn, hele vejen til det land, du lovede deres forfædre?13Hvor skal jeg få kød fra til alle de mennesker? De græder og plager mig om at få kød at spise.14Jeg kan ikke klare at bære ansvaret for dette folk—det er for tung en byrde for mig.15Hvis det skal være på den måde, foretrækker jeg, at du tager mit liv, så jeg kan slippe for denne elendighed.”
Gud lader sin Ånd komme over 70 ledere
16Da sagde Herren til Moses: „Tilkald 70 af folkets ledere og før dem hen til åbenbaringsteltets indgang.17Så vil jeg komme ned og tale med dig, og jeg vil tage noget af den Ånd, der er over dig, og lade den komme over disse ledere, så de kan tage medansvar og løfte byrden sammen med dig.18Samtidig skal du befale folket at hellige sig og være parate til i morgen, så skal de få kød at spise. Sig til dem: Herren har hørt jer klage over, at I ikke har kød at spise. Han har også hørt jer sige, at I havde det bedre i Egypten. Derfor vil han nu give jer kød at spise—19ikke bare i morgen og i overmorgen, eller i de næste 5 eller 10 eller 20 dage—20nej, I skal få kød i en hel måned, så det hænger jer langt ud af halsen, og I får kvalme bare ved tanken. For I har forkastet Herren, som er midt iblandt jer, og I har anklaget ham, fordi han førte jer ud af Egypten.”21Men Moses indvendte: „Der er mere end 600.000 voksne mænd foruden kvinder og børn. Hvordan kan du love dem kød i en hel måned?22Selv om vi slagter samtlige husdyr i lejren, er det ikke nok. Hvis det, du siger, skulle kunne gå i opfyldelse, måtte vi fange hver eneste fisk i havet.”23Herren svarede: „Er noget umuligt for mig? Vent bare—så skal du få at se, om jeg står ved mit ord eller ej.”24Så gik Moses ud og fortalte folket, hvad Herren havde sagt. Derpå udvalgte han 70 af folkets ledere og lod dem tage opstilling rundt om teltet.25Da kom Herren ned i skyen for at tale med Moses, og han tog noget af den Ånd, der var over Moses, og lod den komme over de 70 ledere, som straks begyndte at profetere—noget som de dog kun gjorde denne ene gang.26To mænd ved navn Eldad og Medad var ikke gået hen til teltet, selv om de hørte med blandt de udvalgte ledere. Alligevel kom Guds Ånd over dem, og de begyndte at profetere dér, hvor de befandt sig i lejren.27En ung mand kom nu løbende hen til Moses og fortalte ham, hvad der var på færde.28Josva, Nuns søn, der havde været Moses’ medhjælper fra sin ungdom, udbrød: „Mester, stands dem dog.”29Men Moses svarede: „Hvorfor er du så nidkær på mine vegne? Jeg ville ønske, at hele folket var profeter, og at Herren ville lade sin Ånd komme over dem alle.”30Så vendte Moses og Israels ledere tilbage til deres telte.
Gud udfører endnu et bespisningsunder
31Herren sendte nu en storm fra havet, og den drev en umådelig flok vagtler ind over lejren. Vagtlerne baskede rundt[2] i to alens højde udenom lejren i en radius af en dagsrejse.32Hele den dag og natten med og den næste dag havde folk travlt med at samle vagtler, som de lagde ud til tørring på jorden over hele lejren efter at have slagtet dem. Det mindste, der blev fanget af en enkelt person, var ca. 2200 liter.33Men endnu mens de spiste kødet, slog Herrens vrede ud mod folket, så mange af dem omkom.34Derfor kaldte man stedet „De Grådiges Grav”, fordi man her begravede dem, der havde været så grådige efter kød.35Derfra rejste folket videre til Hatzerot, hvor de slog lejr.
1And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. (3.Mos 10,2; 4.Mos 16,35; 5.Mos 9,22; 2.Kong 1,12; Salm 78,21; Salm 106,18; Åb 13,13)2Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. (4.Mos 16,45; 4.Mos 21,7; Jak 5,16)3So the name of that place was called Taberah,[1] because the fire of the Lord burned among them. (5.Mos 9,22)4Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! (2.Mos 12,38; 4.Mos 14,1; Salm 78,18; Salm 106,14; 1.Kor 10,6)5We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. (2.Mos 16,3; 4.Mos 21,5; Ap G 7,39)6But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”7Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. (2.Mos 16,14; 2.Mos 16,31)8The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. (2.Mos 16,16; 2.Mos 16,31)9When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it. (2.Mos 16,13)10Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. (Zak 12,12)11Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? (1.Kong 19,4; Jonas 4,1; Jonas 4,9)12Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers? (1.Mos 50,24; 2.Mos 13,5; 5.Mos 1,31; Es 40,11; Es 49,23; 1.Thess 2,7)13Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ (2.Kong 7,2; Matt 15,33; Mark 8,4; Joh 6,7; Joh 6,9)14I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. (2.Mos 18,18; 5.Mos 1,9; 5.Mos 1,12)15If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”
Elders Appointed to Aid Moses
16Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. (2.Mos 24,1; 2.Mos 24,9; 5.Mos 1,15; 5.Mos 16,18)17And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. (1.Mos 11,5; 1.Mos 18,21; 2.Mos 18,22; 2.Mos 19,20; 4.Mos 11,25; 4.Mos 12,5; 2.Kong 2,9; 2.Kong 2,15; Neh 9,20)18And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. (2.Mos 19,10; 4.Mos 11,5)19You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days,20but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”’” (4.Mos 21,5; Salm 78,29; Salm 106,15)21But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ (2.Mos 12,37; 2.Mos 38,26; 4.Mos 1,46)22Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” (4.Mos 11,13)23And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.” (4.Mos 23,19; Es 50,2; Es 59,1; Ez 12,25; Ez 24,14)24So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. (4.Mos 11,16)25Then 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. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it. (4.Mos 11,17)26Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. (1.Sam 20,26; Jer 36,5)27And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”28And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” (2.Mos 24,13; 4.Mos 13,8; 4.Mos 13,16; 4.Mos 26,65; Mark 9,38; Luk 9,49)29But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (1.Kor 14,5)30And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
Quail and a Plague
31Then a wind from the Lord sprang up, 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, around the camp, and about two cubits[2] above the ground. (2.Mos 16,13; Salm 78,26; Salm 105,40)32And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers.[3] And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. (2.Mos 16,36; Ez 45,11)33While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck down the people with a very great plague. (4.Mos 16,49; Salm 78,30)34Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah,[4] because there they buried the people who had the craving. (5.Mos 9,22)35From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth. (4.Mos 12,16; 4.Mos 33,17)