Numbers 11

1 Now the people were saying evil against the Lord; and the Lord, hearing it, was angry and sent fire on them, burning the outer parts of the tent-circle.

In the mean time there arose a murmuring of the people against the Lord, as it were repining at their fatigue. And when the Lord heard it he was angry. And the fire of the Lord being kindled against them, devoured them that were at the uttermost part of the camp.

2 And the people made an outcry to Moses, and Moses made prayer to the Lord, and the fire was stopped.

And when the people cried to Moses, Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire was swallowed up.

3 So that place was named Taberah, because of the fire of the Lord which had been burning among them.

And he called the name of that place, The burning: for that the fire of the Lord had been kindled against them.

4 And the mixed band of people who went with them were overcome by desire: and the children of Israel, weeping again, said, Who will give us flesh for our food?

For a mixt multitude of people, that came up with them, burned with desire, sitting and weeping, the children of Israel also being joined with them, and said: Who shall give us flesh to eat?

5 Sweet is the memory of the fish we had in Egypt for nothing, and the fruit and green plants of every sort, sharp and pleasing to the taste:

We remember the Ash that we ate in Egypt free cost: the cucumbers come into our mind, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic.

6 But now our soul is wasted away; there is nothing at all: we have nothing but this manna before our eyes.

Our soul is dry, our eyes behold nothing else but manna.

7 Now the manna was like a seed of grain, like small clear drops.

A Now the manna was like coriander seed, of the colour of bdellium.

8 The people went about taking it up from the earth, crushing it between stones or hammering it to powder, and boiling it in pots, and they made cakes of it: its taste was like the taste of cakes cooked with oil.

And the people went about, and gathering it, ground it in a mill, or beat it in a mortar, and boiled it in a pot, and made cakes thereof of the taste of bread tempered with oil.

9 When the dew came down on the tents at night, the manna came down with it.

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

10 And at the sound of the people weeping, every man at his tent-door, the wrath of the Lord was great, and Moses was very angry.

Now Moses heard the people weeping by their families, every one at the door of his tent. And the wrath of the Lord was exceedingly enkindled: to Moses also the thing seemed insupportable.

11 And Moses said to the Lord, Why have you done me this evil? and why have I not grace in your eyes, that you have put on me the care of all this people?

And he said to the Lord: Why hast thou afflicted thy servant? wherefore do I not find favour before thee? and why hast thou laid the weight of all this people upon me?

12 Am I the father of all this people? have I given them birth, that you say to me, Take them in your arms, like a child at the breast, to the land which you gave by an oath to their fathers?

Have I conceived all this multitude, or begotten them, that thou shouldst say to me: Carry them in thy bosom as the nurse is wont to carry the little infant, and bear them into the land, for which thou hast sworn to their fathers?

13 Where am I to get flesh to give to all this people? For they are weeping to me and saying, Give us flesh for our food.

Whence should I have flesh to give to so great a multitude? they weep against me, saying: Give us flesh that we may eat.

14 I am not able by myself to take the weight of all this people, for it is more than my strength.

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

15 If this is to be my fate, put me to death now in answer to my prayer, if I have grace in your eyes; and let me not see my shame.

But if it seem unto thee otherwise, I beseech thee to kill me, and let me find grace in thy eyes, that I be not afflicted with so great evils.

16 And the Lord said to Moses, Send for seventy of the responsible men of Israel, who are in your opinion men of weight and authority over the people; make them come to the Tent of meeting and be there with you.

And the Lord said to Moses: Gather unto me seventy men of the ancients of Israel, whom thou knowest to be ancients and masters of the people: and thou shalt bring them to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, and shalt make them stand there with thee,

17 And I will come down and have talk with you there: and I will take some of the spirit which is on you and put it on them, and they will take part of the weight of the people off you, so that you do not have to take it by yourself.

That I may come down and speak with thee: and I will take of thy spirit, and will give to them, that they may bear with thee the burden of the people, and thou mayest not be burthened alone.

18 And say to the people, Make yourselves clean before tomorrow and you will have flesh for your food: for in the ears of the Lord you have been weeping and saying, Who will give us flesh for food? for we were well off in Egypt: and so the Lord will give you flesh, and it will be your food;

And thou shalt say to the people: Be ye sanctified: tomorrow you shall eat flesh: for I have heard you say: Who will give us flesh to eat? it was well with us in Egypt. That the Lord may give you flesh, and you may eat:

19 Not for one day only, or even for five or ten or twenty days;

Not for one day, nor two, nor five, nor ten, no nor for twenty.

20 But every day for a month, till you are tired of it, turning from it in disgust: because you have gone against the Lord who is with you, and have been weeping before him saying, Why did we come out of Egypt?

But even for a month of days, till it come out at your nostrils, and become loathsome to you, because you have cast off the Lord, who is in the midst of you, and have wept before him, saying: Why came we out of Egypt?

21 Then Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand men on foot; and you have said, I will give them flesh to be their food for a month.

And Moses said: There are six hundred thousand footmen of this people, and sayest thou: I will give them flesh to eat a whole month?

22 Are flocks and herds to be put to death for them? or are all the fish in the sea to be got together so that they may be full?

Shall then a multitude of sheep and oxen be killed, that it may suffice for their food? or shall the fishes of the sea be gathered together to fill them?

23 And the Lord said to Moses, Has the Lord's hand become short? Now you will see if my word comes true for you or not.

And the Lord answered him: Is the hand of the Lord unable? Thou shalt presently see whether my word shall come to pass or no.

24 And Moses went out and gave the people the words of the Lord: and he took seventy of the responsible men of the people, placing them round the Tent.

Moses therefore came, and told the people the words of the Lord, and assembled seventy men of the ancients of Israel, and made them to stand about the tabernacle.

25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and had talk with him, and put on the seventy men some of the spirit which was on him: now when the spirit came to rest on them, they were like prophets, but only at that time.

And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, taking away of the spirit that was in Moses, and giving to the seventy men. And when the spirit had rested on them they prophesied, nor did they cease afterwards.

26 But two men were still in the tent-circle one of them named Eldad and the other Medad: and the spirit came to rest on them; they were among those who had been sent for, but they had not gone out to the Tent: and the prophet's power came on them in the tent-circle.

Now there remained in the camp two of the men, of whom one was called Eldad, and the other Medad, upon whom the spirit rested; for they also had been enrolled, but were not gone forth to the tabernacle.

27 And a young man went running to Moses and said, Eldad and Medad are acting as prophets in the tent-circle.

And when they prophesied in the camp, there ran a young man, and told Moses, saying: Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp.

28 Then Joshua, the son of Nun, who had been Moses' servant from the time when he was a child, said, My lord Moses, let them be stopped.

Forthwith Josue the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, and chosen out of many, said: My lord Moses forbid them.

29 And Moses said to him, Are you moved by envy on my account? If only all the Lord's people were prophets, and the Lord might put his spirit on them!

But he said: Why hast thou emulation for me? O that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them his spirit!

30 Then Moses, with the responsible men of Israel, went back to the tent-circle.

And Moses returned, with the ancients of Israel, into the camp.

31 Then the Lord sent a wind, driving little birds from the sea, so that they came down on the tents, and all round the tent-circle, about a day's journey on this side and on that, in masses about two cubits high over the face of the earth.

And a wind going out from the Lord, taking quails up beyond the sea brought them, and cast them into the camp for the space of one day’s journey, on every side of the camp round about, and they flew in the air two cubits high above the ground.

32 And all that day and all night and the day after, the people were taking up the birds; the smallest amount which anyone got was ten homers: and they put them out all round the tents.

The people therefore rising up all that day, and night, and the next day, gathered together of quails, he that did least, ten cores: and they dried them round about the camp.

33 But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was tasted, the wrath of the Lord was moved against the people and he sent a great outburst of disease on them.

As yet the flesh was between their teeth, neither had that kind of meat failed: when behold the wrath of the Lord being provoked against the people, struck them with an exceeding great plague.

34 So that place was named Kibroth-hattaavah; because there they put in the earth the bodies of the people who had given way to their desires.

And that place was called, The graves of lust: for there they buried the people that had lusted.

35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people went on to Hazeroth; and there they put up their tents.

And departing from the graves of lust, they came unto Haseroth, and abode there.