4. One day some worthless foreigners among the Israelites became greedy for food, and even the Israelites themselves began moaning, “We don't have any meat!
5. In Egypt we could eat all the fish we wanted, and there were cucumbers, melons, onions, and garlic.
6. But we're starving out here, and the only food we have is this manna.”
7. The manna was like small whitish seeds
8-9. and tasted like something baked with sweet olive oil. It appeared at night with the dew. In the morning the people would collect the manna, grind or crush it into flour, then boil it and make it into thin wafers.
10. The Israelites stood around their tents complaining. Moses heard them and was upset that they had made the Lord angry.
11. He prayed:I am your servant, Lord, so why are you doing this to me? What have I done to deserve this? You've made me responsible for all these people,
12. but they're not my children. You told me to nurse them along and to carry them to the land you promised their ancestors.
13. They keep whining for meat, but where can I get meat for them?
14. This job is too much for me. How can I take care of all these people by myself?
15. If this is the way you're going to treat me, just kill me now and end my miserable life!
16. The Lord said to Moses:Choose seventy of Israel's respected leaders and go with them to the sacred tent.
17. While I am talking with you there, I will give them some of your authority, so they can share responsibility for my people. You will no longer have to care for them by yourself.