Numbers 11
1 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.
It wasn't long before the people started to complain about how much they were suffering. When the Lord heard what they were saying, he became angry. Fire from the Lord burned them, destroying some on the edge of the camp.
2 And the people then cried unto Moses; and Moses prayed unto the Lord, and the fire disappeared.
The people cried to Moses for help. He prayed to the Lord and the fire subsided.
3 And he called the name of the place Tab'erah; because the fire of the Lord had burnt among them.
So that place was named Taberah, because the fire from the Lord burned them.
4 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?
A group of troublemakers among them had such intense food cravings they affected the Israelites who started crying again, asking “Who's going to get us some meat to eat?
5 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;
We think back to all the fish we ate in Egypt that didn't cost us anything, as well as the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.
6 But now our soul is faint: there is nothing at all, only to the manna are our eyes [directed].
We're fading away here! The only thing we ever see is this manna!”
7 But the manna was like coriander-seed, and its color as the color of the bdellium.
Manna looked like coriander seeds, light in color like gum resin.
8 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.
The people would go out and collect it, grind it up in a mill or crush it in a mortar. Then they would boil it in a pot and make it into flatbread. It tasted like pastries made with the best olive oil.
9 And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.
When the dew came down on the camp at night the manna would come down with it.
10 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.
Moses heard all the families crying at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became very angry, and Moses was also upset.
11 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?
He asked the Lord, “Why have you made things so tough for me, your servant? Why are you so unhappy with me that you have placed on me the heavy responsibility for all these people?
12 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?
Are they my children? Did I give birth to them, so you could tell me, ‘Hold them close to your chest like a nurse carrying a baby’ and take them to the land you promised to give to their forefathers?
13 Whence shall I obtain flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep around me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.
Where am I supposed to get meat for all of them? They keep on complaining to me, ‘Get us some meat to eat!’
14 I am not able by myself alone to bear all this people, because it is too heavy for me.
I can't go on carrying all these people by myself—it's just too much.
15 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.
If this is the way you're going to treat me, then please just kill me now so I don't have to face how depressed I've become. Please grant me this one request.”
16 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.
The Lord told Moses, “Bring before me seventy Israelite elders who you know are repected as leaders by the people Take them to the Tent of Meeting. They will stand there with you.
17 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.
I will come down and talk with you there. I will take some of the Spirit you have and give it to them. They will take some of the responsibility for the people so you won't have to bear it alone.
18 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.
Tell the people: Purify yourselves, for tomorrow you'll have meat to eat, because you were complaining and the Lord heard you saying, ‘Who's going to get us some meat to eat? We were better off in Egypt!’ So the Lord is going to provide you with meat to eat.
19 Not one day shall ye eat, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days;
You're going to eat it, not for just a day or two, and not for five or ten or twenty days.
20 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?
You're going to eat it for a whole month until it makes you vomit and it comes out through your nostrils, because you have rejected the Lord who is right here with you, complaining to him by saying, ‘Why on earth did we ever leave Egypt?’”
21 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.
But Moses replied, “Here I am with 600,000 people and you're telling me, ‘I'm going to give them meat and they'll eat it for a month’?
22 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?
Even if all our flocks and herds were slaughtered, would that be enough for them? Even if all the fish in the sea were caught, would that be enough for them?”
23 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.
“Doesn't the Lord have the power to do that?” the Lord responded. “Now you're going to find out whether what I've said will happen or not!”
24 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.
Moses went and shared with the people what the Lord said. He summoned seventy elders of the people and had them stand around the tent.
25 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.
Then the Lord came down and talked to him. The Lord took some of the Spirit Moses had and gave it to them. They prophesied, but this didn't ever happen again.
26 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.
However, two men named Eldad and Medad had stayed behind in the camp. The Spirit came on them too. (They had been put on the list of the seventy elders, but they hadn't gone to the tent. But they prophesied where they were in the camp anyway.)
27 And there ran a young man, and told to Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.
A young lad ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses from his youth, answered and said, My Lord Moses, forbid them.
Joshua, son of Nun, who had been Moses' assistant since he was young, reacted, saying, “Moses, my lord, you have to stop them!”
29 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!
“Are you jealous for my reputation?” Moses replied. “I wish that every one of the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would give his Spirit to all of them!”
30 And Moses retired back into thy camp, he with the elders of Israel.
Then Moses went back to the camp with the elders of Israel.
31 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.
The Lord sent a wind that blew quail in from the sea and deposited them near the camp. They covered the ground to a depth of about two cubits and extended for a day's journey in every direction from the camp.
32 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.
All through that day and night, and all through the next day, the people went on collecting the quail. Everyone collected at least ten homers, and they spread them out to dry all around the camp.
33 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.
But while the people were still biting into the meat, before they even chewed it down, the Lord showed his burning anger against them, killing some of them with a severe disease.
34 And he called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah; because there they buried the people that had lustfully craved.
They named that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because that was where they buried the people who had these intense food cravings.
35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed unto Chazeroth; and they remained at Chazeroth.
Then they moved on from Kibroth-hattaavah to Hazeroth, where they stayed for some time.
