Numbers 11:13-22

13They are complaining to me. They are saying, “Give us meat that we can eat!” But I cannot get meat to feed all these people!

14I cannot be the leader of all these people unless I receive help. This job is too difficult for me.

15So if you do not want to help me, please kill me now. I do not want to continue to be so upset. So please be kind to me.’

16So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Choose 70 leaders of the Israelites and bring them to the Tent of Meeting. You must know that they are leaders and officers that the people respect. Bring them to stand there with you.

17Then I will come down and I will speak with you there. I will take some of the authority of my Spirit that I gave to you. I will share it with them. Then they will help you to lead the people. So you will not be the only man who is doing that job.

18Then say to the people, “The Lord heard you when you were weeping. You said, ‘We want someone to give us meat to eat! Life was better when we were in Egypt.’ So the Lord will give you meat and you will eat it. So make yourselves clean for tomorrow, and then you will eat meat.

19You will not eat it only for one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or 20 days.

20You will eat it every day for a whole month! You will hate the smell of it and it will seem disgusting to you. This is because you have turned against the Lord. He is near to you and you have wept in front of him. You have said, ‘We should never have left Egypt.’ ” ’

21Moses said to the Lord, ‘There are 600,000 men here. But you have said, “I will give to them meat to eat for a whole month.”

22Even if we killed all our sheep and cows, we would not have enough meat for them. If we caught every fish in the sea, we still would not have enough!’