Numbers 11

1 Soon the people began to complain about their hardship in the hearing of the LORD, and when He heard them, His anger was kindled, and fire from the LORD blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.

And it came to pass that as the people complained in a manner displeasing in the ears of the Lord, the Lord heard it, and his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed at the uttermost part of the camp.

2 And the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down.

And the people then cried unto Moses; and Moses prayed unto the Lord, and the fire disappeared.

3 So that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD had burned among them.

And he called the name of the place Tab'erah; because the fire of the Lord had burnt among them.

4 Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?

And the mixed multitude that was among them felt a lustful longing: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who will give us flesh to eat?

5 We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.

We remember the fish, which we could eat in Egypt for naught; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic;

6 But now our appetite is gone; there is nothing to see but this manna!”

But now our soul is faint: there is nothing at all, only to the manna are our eyes [directed].

7 Now the manna resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of gum resin.

But the manna was like coriander-seed, and its color as the color of the bdellium.

8 The people walked around and gathered it, ground it on a handmill or crushed it in a mortar, then boiled it in a cooking pot or shaped it into cakes. It tasted like pastry baked with fine oil.

The people went about and gathered it, and ground it in a mill, or pounded it in a mortar, and boiled it in a pot, or made cakes of it: and its taste was as the taste of cakes mixed with oil.

9 When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.

And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.

10 Then Moses heard the people of family after family weeping at the entrances to their tents, and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly, and Moses was also displeased.

And Moses heard the people weep according to their families, every man at the door of his tent: and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; and in the eyes of Moses also was it displeasing.

11 So Moses asked the LORD, “Why have You brought this trouble on Your servant? Why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid upon me the burden of all these people?

And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou done evil to thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favor in thy eyes, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?

12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth, so that You should tell me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries an infant,’ to the land that You swore to give their fathers?

Was it I who have conceived all this people? or was it I who have begotten them? that thou shouldst say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou hast sworn unto their fathers?

13 Where can I get meat for all these people? For they keep crying out to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’

Whence shall I obtain flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep around me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.

14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; it is too burdensome for me.

I am not able by myself alone to bear all this people, because it is too heavy for me.

15 If this is how You are going to treat me, please kill me right now—if I have found favor in Your eyes—and let me not see my own wretchedness.”

And if thou wilt thus deal with me, then slay me, I pray thee, at once, if I have found favor in thy eyes: that I may not see my wretchedness.

16 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Me seventy of the elders of Israel known to you as leaders and officers of the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting and have them stand there with you.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and its officers; and take them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall stand there with thee.

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

And I will come down and speak with thee there: and I will take some of the spirit which is upon thee, and I will put it upon them; and they shall bear with thee the burden of the people, and thou shalt not bear it by thyself alone.

18 And say to the people: Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, because you have cried out in the hearing of the LORD, saying: ‘Who will feed us meat? For we were better off in Egypt!’ Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat.

And unto the people shalt thou say, Hold yourselves ready against tomorrow, that ye may eat flesh; for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was better with us in Egypt: thus will the Lord give you flesh, and ye shall eat.

19 You will eat it not for one or two days, nor for five or ten or twenty days,

Not one day shall ye eat, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days;

20 but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and makes you nauseous—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have cried out before Him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”

But up to a full month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it become loathsome unto you; because that ye have despised the Lord who is in the midst of you, and ye have wept before him, saying, Why did we come forth out of Egypt?

21 But Moses replied, “Here I am among 600,000 men on foot, yet You say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’

And Moses said, Six hundred thousand men on foot is the people, in the midst of whom I am; and yet thou hast said, Flesh will I give them, that they may eat a whole month.

22 If all our 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?”

Shall flocks and herds be slain for them, that they may suffice for them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, that they may suffice for them?

23 The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not My word will come to pass.”

And the Lord said unto Moses, Should the Lord's hand be too short? now shalt thou see whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.

24 So Moses went out and relayed to the people the words of the LORD, and he gathered seventy of the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent.

And Moses went out, and spoke to the people the words of the Lord; and he assembled seventy men from the elders of the people, and placed them round about the tabernacle.

25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they never did so again.

And the Lord came down in a cloud and spoke unto him; and he took some of the spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy men, the elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, but they did not so any more.

26 Two men, however, had remained in the camp—one named Eldad and the other Medad—and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those listed, but they had not gone out to the tent, and they prophesied in the camp.

And there remained two men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad; and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of those that were written down, but they had not gone out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.

27 A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

And there ran a young man, and told to Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.

28 Joshua son of Nun, the attendant to Moses since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”

And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses from his youth, answered and said, My Lord Moses, forbid them.

29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous on my account? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would place His Spirit on them!”

And Moses said unto him, Art thou zealous for my sake? And oh that one might render all the people of the Lord prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!

30 Then Moses returned to the camp, along with the elders of Israel.

And Moses retired back into thy camp, he with the elders of Israel.

31 Now a wind sent by the LORD came up, drove in quail from the sea, and brought them near the camp, about two cubits above the surface of the ground, for a day’s journey in every direction around the camp.

And a wind went forth from the Lord, and drove up quails from the sea, and scattered them over the camp, about a day's journey on this side, and about a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and about two cubits high over the face of the earth.

32 All that day and night, and all the next day, the people stayed up gathering the quail. No one gathered less than ten homers, and they spread them out all around the camp.

And the people arose all that day, and all that night, and all the following day, and they gathered the quails; he that had taken the least, had gathered ten chomers: and they spread them out for themselves round about the camp.

33 But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and the LORD struck them with a severe plague.

The flesh was yet between their teeth, it was not yet chewed: when the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote among the people a very great plague.

34 So they called that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.

And he called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah; because there they buried the people that had lustfully craved.

35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people moved on to Hazeroth, where they remained for some time.

From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed unto Chazeroth; and they remained at Chazeroth.