Numbers 11

1 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.

Now the people complained about their troubles as Yahweh listened. Yahweh heard the people and became angry. Fire from Yahweh burned among them and consumed some of the camp on its edges.

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

Then people called out to Moses, so Moses prayed to Yahweh, and the fire stopped.

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

That place was named Taberah, because Yahweh's fire burned among them.

4 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?

Some foreign people began to camp with Israel's descendants. They wanted better food to eat. Then the people of Israel began to weep and say, “Who will give us meat to eat?

5 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.

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

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

Now our appetite is gone, because all we can see is this manna.”

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

Manna was like coriander seed. It looked like resin.

8 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.

The people walked around and gathered it. They ground it in mills, beat it in mortars, boiled it in pots, and made it into cakes. It tasted like fresh olive oil.

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

When the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna also fell.

10 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.

Moses heard the people weeping in their families, and every man was at the entrance to his tent. Yahweh was very angry, and in Moses' eyes their complaining was wrong.

11 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?

Moses said to Yahweh, “Why have you treated your servant so badly? Why are you not pleased with me? You make me carry the load of all these people.

12 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?

Did I conceive all these people? Have I given them birth so that you should say to me, 'Carry them closely to your chest as a father carries a baby?' Should I carry them to the land that you swore to their ancestors to give them?

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

Where can I find meat to give to all this people? They are weeping in front of me and are saying, 'Give us meat to eat.'

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

I cannot bear all these people alone. They are too much for me.

15 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.

Since you are treating me this way, kill me now—if I find favor in your eyes—do not let me see my misery.”

16 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,

Yahweh said to Moses, “Bring to me seventy of Israel's elders. Be sure that they are elders and officers of the people. Bring them to the tent of meeting to stand there with you.

17 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.

I will come down and talk with you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will bear the burden of the people with you. You will not have to bear it alone.

18 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:

Say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow and you will indeed eat meat, for you have wept and Yahweh has heard. You said, “Who will give us meat to eat? It was good for us in Egypt.” Therefore Yahweh will give you meat, and you will eat it.

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

You will not eat meat for only one day, two days, five days, ten days, or twenty days,

20 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?

but you will eat meat for a whole month until it comes out of your nostrils. It will disgust you because you have rejected Yahweh, who is among you. You have wept before him. You said, “Why did we leave Egypt?”'”

21 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?

Then Moses said, “I am with 600,000 people, and you have said, 'I will give them meat to eat for a whole month.'

22 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?

Should we kill flocks and herds to satisfy them? Should we catch all the fish in the sea to satisfy them?”

23 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.

Yahweh said to Moses, “Is my hand short? Now you will see whether or not my word is true.”

24 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.

Moses went out and told the people Yahweh's words. He gathered seventy of the people's elders and positioned them around the tent.

25 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.

Yahweh came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Yahweh took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on the seventy elders. When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but only on that occasion and not again.

26 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.

Two men remained in the camp, named Eldad and Medad. The Spirit also rested on them. Their names were written on the list, but they had not gone out to the tent. Nevertheless, they prophesied in the camp.

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

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

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

Joshua son of Nun, Moses' assistant, one of his chosen men, said to Moses, “My master Moses, stop them.”

29 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!

Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all of Yahweh's people were prophets and that he would put his Spirit on them all!”

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

Then Moses and the elders of Israel went back to the camp.

31 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.

Then a wind came from Yahweh and brought quail from the sea. They fell near the camp, about a day's journey on one side and a day's journey on the other side. The quail surrounded the camp about two cubits above the ground.

32 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.

The people were busy gathering quail all that day, all the night, and all the next day. No one gathered less than ten homers of quail. They shared the quail all through the camp.

33 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.

While the meat was still between their teeth, while they were chewing it, Yahweh became angry at them. He attacked the people with a very great disease.

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

That place was named Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved meat.

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

From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth, where they stayed.