Mar 15th

The people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to Yahweh, and the fire died out.

So the name of that place was called Taberah because the fire of Yahweh burned among them.

And the rabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat?

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 our appetite is dried up. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”

Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium.

The people would go about and gather it and grind it 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 cakes baked with oil.

And when the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.

Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of Yahweh was kindled greatly, and it was evil in the sight of Moses.

So Moses said to Yahweh, “Why have You allowed this evil toward Your slave? 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 gave birth to them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing baby, to the land which You swore to their fathers’?

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

I alone am not able to carry all this people because it is too heavy for me.

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.”

Yahweh therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers, and take them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you.

Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of 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.

And say to the people, ‘Set yourselves apart as holy for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of Yahweh, saying, “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For it was good for us in Egypt.” Therefore Yahweh 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,

but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because you have rejected Yahweh who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever go out from 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?”

And Yahweh said to Moses, “Is Yahweh’s power limited? Now you shall see whether My word will happen for you or not.”

So Moses went out and told the people the words of Yahweh. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent.

Then Yahweh 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 other Medad. And 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 Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “Moses, my lord, restrain them.”

But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of Yahweh were prophets, that Yahweh would put His Spirit upon them!”

Then Moses returned to the camp, both he and the elders of Israel.

Now there went forth a wind from Yahweh, 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 about two cubits over the surface of the ground.

And the people spent all day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten homers), and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp.

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

So the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah because there they buried the people who had been greedy.

From Kibroth-hattaavah the people set out for Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth.

Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had taken as a wife (for he had taken a Cushite woman);

and they said, “Has Yahweh indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And Yahweh heard it.

(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)

Suddenly Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out.

Then Yahweh came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam. And then both came forward,

and He said,

So the anger of Yahweh burned against them, and He went away.

But the cloud withdrew from over the tent, and behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.

Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I beg you, do not place this sin on us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned.

Oh, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother’s womb!”

And Moses cried out to Yahweh, saying, “O God, heal her, I pray!”

But Yahweh said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her dishonor for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again.”

So Miriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not set out until Miriam was received again.

Afterward, however, the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

And early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Sanhedrin, immediately held council; and binding Jesus, led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate.

And Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and *said, “You yourself say it.”

And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things.

Then Pilate was questioning Him again, saying, “You answer nothing? See how many accusations they bring against You!”

But Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate marveled.

Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested.

And the man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection.

And the crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them.

And Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”

For he was aware that the chief priests had delivered Him over because of envy.

But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead.

And answering again, Pilate was saying to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”

And they shouted again, “Crucify Him!”

But Pilate was saying to them, “Why? What evil did He do?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!”

And wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him over to be crucified.

So the soldiers took Him away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they *called together the whole Roman cohort.

And they *dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they *put it on Him;

and they began to greet Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

And they kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting on Him; and kneeling, they were bowing down before Him.

And after they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.

And they *pressed into service a passer-by coming from the countryside, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to carry His cross.