17. I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is in you, and I will give it to them. They will help you care for the people so that you will not have to care for them alone.
18. “Tell the people this: ‘Make yourselves holy for tomorrow, and you will eat meat. You cried to the Lord, “We want meat! We were better off in Egypt!” So now the Lord will give you meat to eat.
19. You will eat it not for just one, two, five, ten, or even twenty days,
20. but you will eat that meat for a whole month. You will eat it until it comes out your nose, and you will grow to hate it. This is because you have rejected the Lord, who is with you. You have cried to him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” ’ ”
21. Moses said, “Lord, here are six hundred thousand people standing around me, and you say, ‘I will give them enough meat to eat for a month!’
22. If we killed all the flocks and herds, that would not be enough. If we caught all the fish in the sea, that would not be enough.”
23. But the Lord said to Moses, “Do you think I’m weak? Now you will see if I can do what I say.”
24. So Moses went out to the people and told them what the Lord had said. He gathered seventy of the elders together and had them stand around the Tent.
25. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. The Lord took some of the Spirit Moses had, and he gave it to the seventy leaders. With the Spirit in them, they prophesied, but just that one time.
26. Two men named Eldad and Medad were also listed as leaders, but they did not go to the Tent. They stayed in the camp, but the Spirit was also given to them, and they prophesied in the camp.
27. A young man ran to Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28. Joshua son of Nun said, “Moses, my master, stop them!” (Ever since he was a young boy, Joshua had been Moses’ assistant.)