Numbers 11

1 Meanwhile, there arose a murmur among the people against the Lord, as if they were grief-stricken because of their labors. And when the Lord had heard it, he was angry. And when the fire of the Lord was enflamed against them, it devoured those who were at the extreme end of the camp.

And the people are evil, as those sighing habitually in the ears of YHWH, and YHWH hears, and His anger burns, and the fire of YHWH burns among them, and consumes in the extremity of the camp.

2 And when the people had cried out to Moses, Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire was consumed.

And the people cry to Moses, and Moses prays to YHWH, and the fire is quenched;

3 And he called the name of that place, ‘The Burning,’ because the fire of the Lord had burned against them.

and he calls the name of that place Taberah, for the fire of YHWH has “burned” among them.

4 So then, the mix of common people, who had ascended with them, were enflamed with desire, and sitting and weeping, with the sons of Israel joining them, they said, “Who will give us flesh to eat?

And the rabble who [are] in its midst have lusted greatly, and the sons of Israel also turn back and weep, and say, “Who gives us flesh?

5 We remember the fish that we ate freely in Egypt; we call to mind the cucumbers, and melons, and leeks, and onions, and garlic.

We have remembered the fish which we eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic;

6 Our life is dry; our eyes look out to see nothing but manna.”

and now our soul [is] dry, there is not anything, except the manna, before our eyes.”

7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, but with the color of bdellium.

And the manna is as coriander seed, and its aspect as the aspect of bdellium;

8 And the people wandered about, gathering it, and they crushed it with a millstone, or ground it with a mortar; then they boiled it in a pot, and made biscuits out of it, with a taste like bread made with oil.

the people have turned aside and gathered [it], and ground [it] with millstones, or beat [it] in a mortar, and boiled [it] in a pan, and made it cakes, and its taste has been as the taste of the moisture of oil.

9 And when the dew descended in the night over the camp, the manna descended together with it.

And in the descending of the dew on the camp by night, the manna descends on it.

10 And so, Moses heard the people weeping by their families, each one at the door of his tent. And the fury of the Lord was greatly enflamed. And to Moses also the matter seemed intolerable.

And Moses hears the people weeping by its families, each at the opening of his tent, and the anger of YHWH burns exceedingly, and in the eyes of Moses [it is] evil.

11 And so he said to the Lord: “Why have you afflicted your servant? Why do I not find favor before you? And why have you imposed the weight of this entire people upon me?

And Moses says to YHWH, “Why have You done evil to Your servant? And why have I not found grace in Your eyes—to put the burden of all this people on me?

12 Could I have conceived this entire multitude, or have given birth to them, so that you might say to me: Carry them in your bosom, as a nursemaid usually carries a little infant, and bring them into the land, about which you have sworn to their fathers?

I—have I conceived all this people? I—have I begotten it, that You say to me, Carry it in your bosom, as the one supporting carries the nursing suckling, to the ground which You have sworn to its fathers?

13 From where would I obtain the flesh to give to so great a multitude? They weep against me, saying, ‘Give us flesh, so that we may eat.’

From where do I have flesh to give to all this people? For they weep to me, saying, Give flesh to us, and we eat.

14 I alone am unable to sustain this entire people, because it is too heavy for me.

I am not able—I alone—to bear all this people, for [it is] too heavy for me;

15 But if it seems to you otherwise, I beg you to put me to death, and so may I find grace in your eyes, lest I be afflicted with such evils.”

and if thus You are doing to me—please slay me; slay, if I have found grace in your eyes, and do not let me look on my affliction.”

16 And the Lord said to Moses: “Gather to me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be elders, as well as teachers, of the people. And you shall lead them to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, and you shall cause them to stand there with you,

And YHWH says to Moses, “Gather to Me seventy men from [the] elderly of Israel, whom you have known that they are [the] elderly of the people, and its authorities; and you have taken them to the Tent of Meeting, and they have stationed themselves there with you,

17 so that I may descend and speak to you. And I will take from your spirit, and I will deliver it to them, so that, with you, they may sustain the burden of the people, and so that you will not be weighed down alone.

and I have come down and spoken with you there, and have kept back of the Spirit which [is] on you, and have put [that One] on them, and they have borne some of the burden of the people with you, and you do not bear [it] alone.

18 You shall also say to the people: Be sanctified. Tomorrow you will eat flesh. For I have heard you say: ‘Who will give us flesh to eat? It was well with us in Egypt.’ So then, may the Lord give you flesh. And you will eat,

And you say to the people: Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, and you have eaten flesh, for you have wept in the ears of YHWH, saying, Who gives us flesh? For we [had] good in Egypt; and YHWH has given flesh to you, and you have eaten.

19 not for one day, nor for two, nor for five, nor for ten, nor even for twenty,

You do not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days,

20 but for up to a month of days, until it exits from your nostrils, and until it turns into nausea for you, because you have slipped away from the Lord, who is in your midst, and because you have wept before him, saying: ‘Why did we go forth out of Egypt?’”

[but] even to a month of days, until it comes out from your nostrils, and it has become an abomination to you, because that you have loathed YHWH, who [is] in your midst, and weep before Him, saying, Why is this [that] we have come out of Egypt!”

21 And Moses said: “There are six hundred thousand footmen of this people, and yet you say, ‘I will give them flesh to eat for a whole month.’

And Moses says, “Six hundred thousand footmen [are] the people in whose midst I [dwell]; and You, You have said, I give flesh to them, and they have eaten [for] a month of days!

22 Could a multitude of sheep and oxen be slain, so that there would be enough food? Or will the fishes of the sea be gathered together, in order to satisfy them?”

Is flock and herd slaughtered for them, that one has found [enough] for them? Are all the fishes of the sea gathered for them, that one has found [enough] for them?”

23 And the Lord answered him: “Can the hand of the Lord be ineffective? Soon now, you shall see whether my word will be fulfilled in this work.”

And YHWH says to Moses, “Has the hand of YHWH become short? Now you see whether My word meets you or not.”

24 And so, Moses went and explained the words of the Lord to the people. Gathering together seventy men from the elders of Israel, he caused them to stand around the tabernacle.

And Moses goes out, and speaks the words of YHWH to the people, and gathers seventy men from [the] elderly of the people, and causes them to stand around the tent,

25 And the Lord descended in a cloud, and he spoke to him, taking from the Spirit which was in Moses, and giving to the seventy men. And when the Spirit had rested in them, they prophesied; nor did they cease afterwards.

and YHWH comes down in the cloud, and speaks to him, and keeps back of the Spirit which [is] on him, and puts [that One] on the seventy elderly men; and it comes to pass at the resting of the Spirit on them, that they prophesy, and they have never done [so] again.

26 Now there had 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 they did not go forth to the tabernacle.

And two of the men are left in the camp, the name of the first [is] Eldad and the name of the second Medad, and the spirit rests on them (and they are among those written, but they have not gone out to the tent), and they prophesy in the camp;

27 And when they were prophesying in the camp, a boy ran and reported to Moses, saying: “Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp.”

and the young man runs, and declares [it] to Moses, and says, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

28 Promptly, Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses and chosen from many, said: “My lord Moses, prohibit them.”

And Joshua son of Nun, minister of Moses, [one] of his young men, answers and says, “My lord Moses, restrain them.”

29 But he said, “Why are you jealous on my behalf? Who decides that any of the people may prophesy and that God may give to them his Spirit?”

And Moses says to him, “Are you zealous for me? O that all YHWH’s people were prophets! That YHWH would put His Spirit on them!”

30 And Moses returned, with those greater by birth of Israel, into the camp.

And Moses is gathered to the camp, he and [the] elderly of Israel.

31 Then a wind, going out from the Lord and moving forcefully across the sea, brought quails and cast them into the camp, across a distance of one day’s journey, in every part of the camp all around, and they flew in the air two cubits high above the ground.

And a spirit has journeyed from YHWH, and cuts off quails from the sea, and leaves [them] by the camp, as a day’s journey here and as a day’s journey there, around the camp, and about two cubits above the face of the land.

32 Therefore, the people, rising up, gathered quails all that day and night, and the next day; he who did least well gathered ten homers. And they dried them throughout the camp.

And the people rise all that day, and all the night, and all the day after, and gather the quails—he who has least has gathered ten homers—and they spread them out for themselves around the camp.

33 The flesh was still between their teeth, neither had this kind of food ceased, and behold, the fury of the Lord was provoked against the people, and he struck them with an exceedingly great scourge.

The flesh is yet between their teeth—it is not yet cut off—and the anger of YHWH has burned among the people, and YHWH strikes [with] a very great striking among the people;

34 And that place was called, ‘The Graves of Lust.’ For there, they buried the people who had desired.

and [one] calls the name of that place Kibroth-Hattaavah, for there they have buried the people who lust.

35 Then, departing from the Graves of Lust, they arrived in Hazeroth, and they stayed there.

From Kibroth-Hattaavah the people have journeyed to Hazeroth, and they are in Hazeroth.