²¹ and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge^(A) you! You have made us obnoxious^(B) to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword^(C) in their hand to kill us.”^(D)

²⁴ So the people grumbled^(A) against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”^(B)

² In the desert the whole community grumbled^(A) against Moses and Aaron.

³ The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!^(A) There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food^(B) we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”^(C)

² and rose up against Moses.^(A) With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.^(B)

³ They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron^(A) and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy,^(B) every one of them, and the Lord is with them.^(C) Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”^(D)

¹³ Isn’t it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey^(A) to kill us in the wilderness?^(B) And now you also want to lord it over us!^(C)

¹⁴ Moreover, you haven’t brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey^(A) or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards.^(B) Do you want to treat these men like slaves^[a]?^(C) No, we will not come!^(D)”

⁴¹ The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. “You have killed the Lord’s people,” they said.