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.

And it came to pass that when the people were giving themselves up to murmuring, it was grievous in the ears of Yahweh, —so Yahweh hearkened, and kindled was his anger, and the fire of Yahweh burned among them, and consumed 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.

Then did the people make outcry unto Moses, —and Moses prayed unto Yahweh, and the fire sank down.

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

So he called the name of that place, Taberah ["A Burning"] because there burned among them the fire of Yahweh.

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?

Moreover the mixed multitude that was in their midst concealed not their lusting, —and so even the sons of Israel, fell away and wept, and said: Who will grant us to eat flesh?

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 fish that we did eat in Egypt, without money, —the cucumbers, and the water-melons, and the leeks and the onions, and the garlick.

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

But, now, our soul is dried up, there is nothing at all, —unless, unto the manna, [we turn] our eyes.

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

Now, the manna, was like coriander seed, and the appearance thereof like the appearance 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.

The people used to go about and pick it up, and grind it with a pair of mill-stones, or pound it in a mortar, and boil it in a pot, and make it into round cakes, —then was the taste thereof like the taste of a sweet cake made with oil.

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

When the dew came down upon the camp by night, the manna came down thereupon.

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.

So then Moses heard the people weeping by their families, every one at the entrance of his tent, —then kindled the anger of Yahweh fiercely, and in the eyes of Moses, it was grievous.

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 Moses said unto Yahweh—Wherefore hast thou let thy servant come to grief, and wherefore have I not found favour in thine eyes, —that thou shouldest lay the burden 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?

Did, I, conceive all this people, or, I, beget them, —that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father carrieth a suckling, unto the soil which thou didst swear unto 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 all this people, —for they keep weeping by me saying, Oh 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.

Unable, am, I, by myself, to carry all this people, —for they are 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, in this way, thou art going to deal with me, slay me, I beseech thee, slay, if I have found favour in thine eyes, —and let me not see my grief,

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.

Then said Yahweh unto Moses—Gather thou unto me seventy men, from among the elders of Israel, of whom thou knowest that they are elders of the people and their overseers, —then shalt thou take them unto the tent of meeting, and they shall station themselves 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.

Then will I come down, and speak with thee there, and will take of the spirit that is upon thee and put upon them, —and they shall carry, with thee, the burden of the people, and, thou, shalt not carry it by thyself.

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, unto the people, shalt thou say: Hallow yourselves by to-morrow, and ye shall eat flesh, for ye have wept in the ears of Yahweh saying—Who will grant us to eat flesh? for it was well with us in Egypt, —so then Yahweh will give you flesh and ye shall eat.

19 Not for one day only, or even 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 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?

for a month of days until it cometh forth out of your nostrils, so shall it become to you a loathsome thing, —because ye have refused Yahweh who is in your midst, and have wept before him, saying, Wherefore now came we forth 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, Six hundred thousand footmen, are the people in whose midst am, I, yet thou hast said—Flesh, will I give unto them, and they shall eat for a month of days.

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 the flocks and herds, be slaughtered for them, that it may suffice for them? Shall all the fishes of the sea, be gathered together unto them that it may suffice for 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.

Then said Yahweh unto Moses, Shall the hand of Yahweh, fail? Now, shalt thou see whether my word come to pass unto thee or not.

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.

And Moses went forth and spake unto the people the words of Yahweh, —and gathered together seventy men from among the elders of the people, and caused them to stand round about the tent.

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.

Then Yahweh came down, in the cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave unto the seventy men—the elders. And it came to pass that when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and then did so no more.

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 were two men left behind in the camp—the name of the one, was Eldad and the name of the other, Medad, so then the spirit, rested on them—they, being among them who were written, though they had not gone forth unto the tent, —but they prophesied in the camp.

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

And there ran a young man, and told Moses and said, —Eldad and Medad, are prophesying 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.

Then responded Joshua son of Nun the attendant of Moses from his youth, and 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 Moses said unto him, Art, thou, jealous for, me? Oh would that, all the people of Yahweh, were prophets! Yea let Yahweh put his spirit upon them!

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

Then was Moses received back into the camp, —he and the elders of Israel.

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.

Now, a wind, had sprung up, from Yahweh, and cut off quails from the sea, and let them lie over the camp—as it were a days journey here and a days journey there, round about the camp, —and as it were two cubits on the face of the land.

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.

And the people rose up all that day and all the night and all the next day, and gathered the quails, he that did least, gathered ten homers, —and they spread them out for themselves spreading away, 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.

The flesh, was yet between their teeth, not yet chewed, —when the anger of Yahweh, had kindled upon the people, and Yahweh smote the people, 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 the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah—because there, they buried the people who had lusted,

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

From Kibroth-hattaavah, the people set forward to Hazeroth, —and they remained in Hazeroth.