Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



Then Moses went up with Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and 70 of Israel’s elders,

The Lord answered Moses, "Bring Me 70 men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put [the Spirit] on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.

Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He brought 70 men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. Then the Lord descended in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed [the Spirit] on the 70 elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they never did it again. Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad; the Spirit rested on them-they were among those listed, but had not gone out to the tent-and they prophesied in the camp. read more.
A young man ran and reported to Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." Joshua son of Nun, assistant to Moses since his youth, responded, "Moses, my lord, stop them!" But Moses asked him, "Are you jealous on my account? If only all the Lord's people were prophets, and the Lord would place His Spirit on them." Then Moses returned to the camp along with the elders of Israel.


The Lord answered Moses, "Bring Me 70 men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put [the Spirit] on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.

Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He brought 70 men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. Then the Lord descended in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed [the Spirit] on the 70 elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they never did it again. Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad; the Spirit rested on them-they were among those listed, but had not gone out to the tent-and they prophesied in the camp. read more.
A young man ran and reported to Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." Joshua son of Nun, assistant to Moses since his youth, responded, "Moses, my lord, stop them!" But Moses asked him, "Are you jealous on my account? If only all the Lord's people were prophets, and the Lord would place His Spirit on them." Then Moses returned to the camp along with the elders of Israel.


The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening. When Moses' father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, "What is this thing you're doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?" Moses replied to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God. read more.
Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I make a decision between one man and another. I teach [them] God's statutes and laws." "What you're doing is not good," Moses' father-in-law said to him. "You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can't do it alone. Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to Him. Instruct them about the statutes and laws, and teach them the way to live and what they must do. But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating bribes. Place [them] over the people as officials of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every important case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load, and they will bear [it] with you. If you do this, and God [so] directs you, you will be able to endure, and also all these people will be able to go home satisfied." Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. So Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them leaders over the people [as] officials of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They judged the people at all times; the hard cases they would bring to Moses, but every minor case they would judge themselves.

The Lord answered Moses, "Bring Me 70 men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put [the Spirit] on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.

Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He brought 70 men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. Then the Lord descended in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed [the Spirit] on the 70 elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they never did it again.

"I said to you at that time: I can't bear [the responsibility for] you on my own. The Lord your God has so multiplied you that today you are as numerous as the stars of the sky. May the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times more, and bless you as He promised you. read more.
But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes by myself? Appoint for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will make them your leaders. "You replied to me, 'What you propose to do is good.' "So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and set them over you as leaders: officials for thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and officers for your tribes. I commanded your judges at that time: Hear [the cases] between your brothers, and judge rightly between a man and his brother or a foreign resident. Do not show partiality when rendering judgment; listen to small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.


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


The Lord answered Moses, "Bring Me 70 men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put [the Spirit] on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.

Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He brought 70 men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. Then the Lord descended in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed [the Spirit] on the 70 elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they never did it again.


Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents. The Lord was very angry; Moses was also provoked. So Moses asked the Lord, "Why have You brought such trouble on Your servant? Why are You angry with me, and why do You burden me with all these people? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth so You should tell me, 'Carry them at your breast, as a nursing woman carries a baby,' to the land that You swore to [give] their fathers? read more.
Where can I get meat to give all these people? For they are crying to me: 'Give us meat to eat!' "I can't carry all these people by myself. They are too much for me. If You are going to treat me like this, please kill me right now. If You are pleased with me, don't let me see my misery [any more]." The Lord answered Moses, "Bring Me 70 men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put [the Spirit] on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself. "Tell the people: Purify yourselves [in readiness] for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you cried before the Lord: 'Who will feed us meat? We really had it good in Egypt.' The Lord will give you meat and you will eat. You will eat, not for one day, or two days, or five days, or 10 days, or 20 days, but for a whole month-until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you-because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and cried to Him: 'Why did we ever leave Egypt?' "


Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them commands concerning both the Israelites and Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.

He said, “Indeed, my hand is lifted up toward the Lord’s throne. The Lord will be at war with Amalek from generation to generation.”


I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.

The Lord spoke with Moses face to face, just as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his assistant, the young man Joshua son of Nun, would not leave the inside of the tent.

In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month, Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him to say to them.

“This will take place,” He continued, “so they will believe that Yahweh, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.”


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

These are the commands and ordinances the Lord commanded the Israelites through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

The Lord said to him, "Who made the human mouth? Who makes him mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say."

You must say whatever I command you; then Aaron your brother must declare it to Pharaoh so that he will let the Israelites go from his land.

Moses went up [the mountain] to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain: "This is what you must say to the house of Jacob, and explain to the Israelites: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to Me. Now if you will listen to Me and carefully keep My covenant, you will be My own possession out of all the peoples, although all the earth is Mine, read more.
and you will be My kingdom of priests and My holy nation. These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites." After Moses came back, He summoned the elders of the people, and put before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. Then all the people responded together, "We will do all that the Lord has spoken." So Moses brought the people's words back to the Lord. The Lord said to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear when I speak with you and will always believe you." Then Moses reported the people's words to the Lord.

Not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My household. I speak with him directly, openly, and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord. So why were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?"

But you stand here with Me, and I will tell you every command—the statutes and ordinances—you are to teach them, so that they may follow them in the land I am giving them to possess.’

and for all the mighty acts of power and terrifying deeds that Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

The Lord brought Israel from Egypt by a prophet,
and Israel was tended by a prophet.

He also said to them, "You completely invalidate God's command in order to maintain your tradition! For Moses said: Honor your father and your mother; and, Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.

"This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your brothers. He is the one who was in the congregation in the desert together with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our forefathers. He received living oracles to give to us.


The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening. When Moses' father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, "What is this thing you're doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?" Moses replied to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God. read more.
Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I make a decision between one man and another. I teach [them] God's statutes and laws." "What you're doing is not good," Moses' father-in-law said to him. "You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can't do it alone. Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to Him. Instruct them about the statutes and laws, and teach them the way to live and what they must do. But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating bribes. Place [them] over the people as officials of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every important case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load, and they will bear [it] with you. If you do this, and God [so] directs you, you will be able to endure, and also all these people will be able to go home satisfied." Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. So Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them leaders over the people [as] officials of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They judged the people at all times; the hard cases they would bring to Moses, but every minor case they would judge themselves.

The Lord answered Moses, "Bring Me 70 men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put [the Spirit] on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself. "Tell the people: Purify yourselves [in readiness] for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you cried before the Lord: 'Who will feed us meat? We really had it good in Egypt.' The Lord will give you meat and you will eat. read more.
You will eat, not for one day, or two days, or five days, or 10 days, or 20 days, but for a whole month-until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you-because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and cried to Him: 'Why did we ever leave Egypt?' " But Moses replied, "I'm in the middle of a people with 600,000 foot soldiers, yet You say, 'I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.' If 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?" The Lord answered Moses, "Is the Lord's power limited? You will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you." Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He brought 70 men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. Then the Lord descended in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed [the Spirit] on the 70 elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they never did it again. Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad; the Spirit rested on them-they were among those listed, but had not gone out to the tent-and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and reported to Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." Joshua son of Nun, assistant to Moses since his youth, responded, "Moses, my lord, stop them!" But Moses asked him, "Are you jealous on my account? If only all the Lord's people were prophets, and the Lord would place His Spirit on them." Then Moses returned to the camp along with the elders of Israel.

"I said to you at that time: I can't bear [the responsibility for] you on my own. The Lord your God has so multiplied you that today you are as numerous as the stars of the sky. May the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times more, and bless you as He promised you. read more.
But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes by myself? Appoint for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will make them your leaders. "You replied to me, 'What you propose to do is good.' "So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and set them over you as leaders: officials for thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and officers for your tribes. I commanded your judges at that time: Hear [the cases] between your brothers, and judge rightly between a man and his brother or a foreign resident. Do not show partiality when rendering judgment; listen to small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it. At that time I commanded you about all the things you were to do.


After this, the Lord appointed 70 others, and He sent them ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place where He Himself was about to go.

The Lord answered Moses, "Bring Me 70 men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put [the Spirit] on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.


So Moses asked the Lord, "Why have You brought such trouble on Your servant? Why are You angry with me, and why do You burden me with all these people? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth so You should tell me, 'Carry them at your breast, as a nursing woman carries a baby,' to the land that You swore to [give] their fathers? Where can I get meat to give all these people? For they are crying to me: 'Give us meat to eat!' read more.
"I can't carry all these people by myself. They are too much for me. If You are going to treat me like this, please kill me right now. If You are pleased with me, don't let me see my misery [any more]." The Lord answered Moses, "Bring Me 70 men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put [the Spirit] on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself. "Tell the people: Purify yourselves [in readiness] for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you cried before the Lord: 'Who will feed us meat? We really had it good in Egypt.' The Lord will give you meat and you will eat. You will eat, not for one day, or two days, or five days, or 10 days, or 20 days, but for a whole month-until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you-because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and cried to Him: 'Why did we ever leave Egypt?' " But Moses replied, "I'm in the middle of a people with 600,000 foot soldiers, yet You say, 'I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.' If 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?" The Lord answered Moses, "Is the Lord's power limited? You will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you." Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He brought 70 men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. Then the Lord descended in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed [the Spirit] on the 70 elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they never did it again. Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad; the Spirit rested on them-they were among those listed, but had not gone out to the tent-and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and reported to Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." Joshua son of Nun, assistant to Moses since his youth, responded, "Moses, my lord, stop them!" But Moses asked him, "Are you jealous on my account? If only all the Lord's people were prophets, and the Lord would place His Spirit on them." Then Moses returned to the camp along with the elders of Israel. A wind sent by the Lord came up and blew quail in from the sea; it dropped [them] at the camp all around, three feet off the ground, about a day's journey in every direction. The people were up all that day and night and all the next day gathering the quail-the one who took the least gathered 33 bushels-and they spread them out all around the camp. While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the Lord's anger burned against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very severe plague. So they named that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved [the meat]. From Kibroth-hattaavah the people moved on to Hazeroth and remained there.


The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!"

Contemptible people among them had a strong craving [for other food]. The Israelites cried again and said, "Who will feed us meat? We remember the free fish we ate in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. But now our appetite is gone; there's nothing to look at but this manna!" read more.
The manna resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of bdellium. The people walked around and gathered [it]. They ground [it] on a pair of grinding stones or crushed [it] in a mortar, then boiled [it] in a cooking pot and shaped it into cakes. It tasted like a pastry cooked with the finest oil. When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it. Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents. The Lord was very angry; Moses was also provoked. So Moses asked the Lord, "Why have You brought such trouble on Your servant? Why are You angry with me, and why do You burden me with all these people? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth so You should tell me, 'Carry them at your breast, as a nursing woman carries a baby,' to the land that You swore to [give] their fathers? Where can I get meat to give all these people? For they are crying to me: 'Give us meat to eat!' "I can't carry all these people by myself. They are too much for me. If You are going to treat me like this, please kill me right now. If You are pleased with me, don't let me see my misery [any more]." The Lord answered Moses, "Bring Me 70 men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put [the Spirit] on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself. "Tell the people: Purify yourselves [in readiness] for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you cried before the Lord: 'Who will feed us meat? We really had it good in Egypt.' The Lord will give you meat and you will eat. You will eat, not for one day, or two days, or five days, or 10 days, or 20 days, but for a whole month-until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you-because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and cried to Him: 'Why did we ever leave Egypt?' " But Moses replied, "I'm in the middle of a people with 600,000 foot soldiers, yet You say, 'I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.' If 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?" The Lord answered Moses, "Is the Lord's power limited? You will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you." Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He brought 70 men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. Then the Lord descended in the cloud and spoke to him. He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed [the Spirit] on the 70 elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they never did it again. Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad; the Spirit rested on them-they were among those listed, but had not gone out to the tent-and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and reported to Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." Joshua son of Nun, assistant to Moses since his youth, responded, "Moses, my lord, stop them!" But Moses asked him, "Are you jealous on my account? If only all the Lord's people were prophets, and the Lord would place His Spirit on them." Then Moses returned to the camp along with the elders of Israel. A wind sent by the Lord came up and blew quail in from the sea; it dropped [them] at the camp all around, three feet off the ground, about a day's journey in every direction. The people were up all that day and night and all the next day gathering the quail-the one who took the least gathered 33 bushels-and they spread them out all around the camp. While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the Lord's anger burned against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very severe plague.