The Complaints of the People

¹Soon the people began to complain about their hardship in the hearing of the LORD, and when He heard them, His anger was kindled, and fire from the LORD blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.

²And the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down.

³So that place was called Taberah,because the fire of the LORD had burned among them.

⁴Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?

⁵We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.

⁶But now our appetite is gone; there is nothing to see but this manna!”

⁷Now the manna resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of gum resin.

⁸The people walked around and gathered it, ground it on a handmill or crushed it in a mortar, then boiled it in a cooking pot or shaped it into cakes. It tasted like pastry baked with fine oil.

⁹When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.

The Complaint of Moses

¹⁰Then Moses heard the people of family after family weeping at the entrances to their tents, and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly, and Moses was also displeased.

¹¹So Moses asked the LORD, “Why have You brought this trouble on Your servant? Why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid upon me the burden of all these people?

¹²Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth, so that You should tell me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries an infant,’ to the land that You swore to give their fathers?

¹³Where can I get meat for all these people? For they keep crying out to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’

¹⁴I cannot carry all these people by myself; it is too burdensome for me.

¹⁵If this is how You are going to treat me, please kill me right now—if I have found favor in Your eyes—and let me not see my own wretchedness.”

Seventy Elders Anointed

¹⁶Then the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Me seventy of the elders of Israel known to you as leaders and officers of the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting and have them stand there with you.

¹⁷And I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put that Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.

¹⁸And say to the people: Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, because you have cried out in the hearing of the LORD, saying: ‘Who will feed us meat? For we were better off in Egypt!’ Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat.

¹⁹You will eat it not for one or two days, nor for five or ten or twenty days,

²⁰but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and makes you nauseous—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have cried out before Him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”

²¹But Moses replied, “Here I am among 600,000 men on foot, yet You say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’

²²If all our flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?”

²³The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not My word will come to pass.”

²⁴So Moses went out and relayed to the people the words of the LORD, and he gathered seventy of the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent.

²⁵Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they never did so again.

²⁶Two men, however, had remained in the camp—one named Eldad and the other Medad—and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those listed, but they had not gone out to the tent, and they prophesied in the camp.

²⁷A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

²⁸Joshua son of Nun, the attendant to Moses since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”

²⁹But Moses replied, “Are you jealous on my account? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would place His Spirit on them!”

³⁰Then Moses returned to the camp, along with the elders of Israel.

The Quail and the Plague

³¹Now a wind sent by the LORD came up, drove in quail from the sea, and brought them near the camp, about two cubits above the surface of the ground,for a day’s journey in every direction around the camp.

³²All that day and night, and all the next day, the people stayed up gathering the quail. No one gathered less than ten homers,and they spread them out all around the camp.

³³But 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 severe plague.

³⁴So they called that place Kibroth-hattaavah,because there they buried the people who had craved other food.

³⁵From Kibroth-hattaavah the people moved on to Hazeroth, where they remained for some time.

Property Laws

¹“If a man steals an oxor a sheep and slaughters or sells it, he must repay five oxen for an ox and four sheep for a sheep.

²If a thief is caught breaking in and is beaten to death, no one shall be guilty of bloodshed.

³But if it happens after sunrise, there is guilt for his bloodshed.A thief must make full restitution; if he has nothing, he himself shall be sold for his theft.

⁴If what was stolen is actually found alive in his possession—whether ox or donkey or sheep—he must pay back double.

⁵If a man grazes his livestock in a field or vineyard and allows them to stray so that they graze in someone else’s field, he must make restitution from the best of his own field or vineyard.

⁶If a fire breaks out and spreads to thornbushes so that it consumes stacked or standing grain, or the whole field, the one who started the fire must make full restitution.

⁷If a man gives his neighbor money or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbor’s house, the thief, if caught, must pay back double.

⁸If the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judgesto determine whether he has taken his neighbor’s property.

⁹In all cases of illegal possession of an ox, a donkey, a sheep, a garment, or any lost item that someone claims, ‘This is mine,’ both parties shall bring their cases before the judges. The one whom the judges find guiltymust pay back double to his neighbor.

¹⁰If a man gives a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any other animal to be cared for by his neighbor, but it dies or is injured or stolen while no one is watching,

¹¹an oath before the LORD shall be made between the parties to determine whether or not the man has taken his neighbor’s property. The owner must accept the oath and require no restitution.

¹²But if the animal was actually stolen from the neighbor, he must make restitution to the owner.

¹³If the animal was torn to pieces, he shall bring it as evidence; he need not make restitution for the torn carcass.

¹⁴If a man borrows an animal from his neighbor and it is injured or dies while its owner is not present, he must make full restitution.

¹⁵If the owner was present, no restitution is required. If the animal was rented, the fee covers the loss.

Laws of Social Responsibility

¹⁶If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged in marriage and sleeps with her, he must pay the full dowry for her to be his wife.

¹⁷If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, the man still must pay an amount comparable to the bridal price of a virgin.

¹⁸You must not allow a sorceress to live.

¹⁹Whoever lies with an animal must surely be put to death.

²⁰If anyone sacrifices to any god other than the LORD alone, he must be set apart for destruction.

²¹You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

²²You must not mistreat any widow or orphan.

²³If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry.

²⁴My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will become widows and your children will be fatherless.

²⁵If you lend money to one of My people among you who is poor, you must not act as a creditor to him; you are not to charge him interest.

²⁶If you take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him by sunset,

²⁷because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? And if he cries out to Me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

²⁸You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.

²⁹You must not hold back offerings from your granaries or vats. You are to give Me the firstborn of your sons.

³⁰You shall do likewise with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but on the eighth day you are to give them to Me.

³¹You are to be My holy people. You must not eat the meat of a mauled animal found in the field; you are to throw it to the dogs.

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple

¹In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

²“Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you during the reign of Josiah until today.

³Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the calamity I plan to bring upon them, each of them will turn from his wicked way. Then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

⁴So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah.

⁵Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I am restricted; I cannot enter the house of the LORD;

⁶so you are to go to the house of the LORD on a day of fasting, and in the hearing of the people you are to read the words of the LORD from the scroll you have written at my dictation. Read them in the hearing of all the people of Judah who are coming from their cities.

⁷Perhaps they will bring their petition before the LORD, and each one will turn from his wicked way; for great are the anger and fury that the LORD has pronounced against this people.”

⁸So Baruch son of Neriah did everything that Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him. In the house of the LORD he read the words of the LORD from the scroll.

⁹Now in the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a fast before the LORD was proclaimed to all the people of Jerusalem and all who had come there from the cities of Judah.

¹⁰From the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the house of the LORD, Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the hearing of all the people.

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Palace

¹¹When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll,

¹²he went down to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.

¹³And Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people.

¹⁴Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come here.”So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them.

¹⁵“Please sit down,” they said, “and read it in our hearing.”So Baruch read it in their hearing.

¹⁶When they had heard all these words, they turned to one another in fear and said to Baruch, “Surely we must report all these words to the king.”

¹⁷“Tell us now,” they asked Baruch, “how did you write all these words? Was it at Jeremiah’s dictation?”

¹⁸“It was at his dictation,” Baruch replied. “He recited all these words to me and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”

¹⁹Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide yourselves and tell no one where you are.”

Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll

²⁰So the officials went to the king in the courtyard. And having stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, they reported everything to the king.

²¹Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing beside him.

²²Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters with a fire burning before him.

²³And as soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut them off with a scribe’s knife and throw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll had been consumed by the fire.

²⁴Yet in hearing all these words, the king and his servants did not become frightened or tear their garments.

²⁵Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.

²⁶Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.

Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll

²⁷After the king had burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

²⁸“Take another scroll and rewrite on it the very words that were on the original scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah has burned.

²⁹You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah that this is what the LORD says: You have burned the scroll and said, ‘Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon would surely come and destroy this land and deprive it of man and beast?’

³⁰Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David’s throne, and his body will be thrown out and exposed to heat by day and frost by night.

³¹I will punish him and his descendants and servants for their iniquity. I will bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah, all the calamity about which I warned them but they did not listen.”

³²Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and at Jeremiah’s dictation he wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

Give Thanks to the LORD, for He Is Good

¹Hallelujah!Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;His loving devotion endures forever.

²Who can describe the mighty acts of the LORDor fully proclaim His praise?

³Blessed are those who uphold justice,who practice righteousness at all times.

⁴Remember me, O LORD, in Your favor to Your people;visit me with Your salvation,

⁵that I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,and rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,and give glory with Your inheritance.

⁶We have sinned like our fathers;we have done wrong and acted wickedly.

⁷Our fathers in Egypt did not grasp Your wondersor remember Your abundant kindness;but they rebelled by the sea,there at the Red Sea.

⁸Yet He saved them for the sake of His name,to make His power known.

⁹He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;He led them through the depths as through a desert.

¹⁰He saved them from the hand that hated them;He redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

¹¹The waters covered their foes;not one of them remained.

¹²Then they believed His promisesand sang His praise.

¹³Yet they soon forgot His worksand failed to wait for His counsel.

¹⁴They craved intensely in the wildernessand tested God in the desert.

¹⁵So He granted their request,but sent a wasting disease upon them.

¹⁶In the camp they envied Moses,as well as Aaron, the holy one of the LORD.

¹⁷The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;it covered the assembly of Abiram.

¹⁸Then fire blazed through their company;flames consumed the wicked.

¹⁹At Horebthey made a calfand worshiped a molten image.

²⁰They exchanged their Gloryfor the image of a grass-eating ox.

²¹They forgot God their Savior,who did great things in Egypt,

²²wondrous works in the land of Ham,and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

²³So He said He would destroy them—had not Moses His chosen onestood before Him in the breachto divert His wrath from destroying them.

²⁴They despised the pleasant land;they did not believe His promise.

²⁵They grumbled in their tentsand did not listen to the voice of the LORD.

²⁶So He raised His hand and sworeto cast them down in the wilderness,

²⁷to dispersetheir offspring among the nationsand scatter them throughout the lands.

²⁸They yoked themselves to Baal of Peorand ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.

²⁹So they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,and a plague broke out among them.

³⁰But Phinehas stood and intervened,and the plague was restrained.

³¹It was credited to him as righteousnessfor endless generations to come.

³²At the waters of Meribahthey angered the LORD,and trouble came to Moses because of them.

³³For they rebelled against His Spirit,and Moses spoke rashly with his lips.

³⁴They did not destroy the peoplesas the LORD had commanded them,

³⁵but they mingled with the nationsand adopted their customs.

³⁶They worshiped their idols,which became a snare to them.

³⁷They sacrificed their sonsand their daughters to demons.

³⁸They shed innocent blood—the blood of their sons and daughters,whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,and the land was polluted with blood.

³⁹They defiled themselves by their actionsand prostituted themselves by their deeds.

⁴⁰So the anger of the LORD burned against His people,and He abhorred His own inheritance.

⁴¹He delivered them into the hand of the nations,and those who hated them ruled over them.

⁴²Their enemies oppressed themand subdued them under their hand.

⁴³Many times He rescued them,but they were bent on rebellionand sank down in their iniquity.

⁴⁴Nevertheless He heard their cry;He took note of their distress.

⁴⁵And He remembered His covenant with them,and relented by the abundance of His loving devotion.

⁴⁶He made them objects of compassionto all who held them captive.

⁴⁷Save us, O LORD our God,and gather us from the nations,that we may give thanks to Your holy name,that we may glory in Your praise.

⁴⁸Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,from everlasting to everlasting.Let all the people say, “Amen!”Hallelujah!