< Numbers 11 >

1 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.
Soon the people began to complain about their hardship in the hearing of the LORD, and when He heard them, His anger was kindled, and fire from the LORD blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.
2 And the people cry to Moses, and Moses prays to YHWH, and the fire is quenched;
And the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down.
3 and he calls the name of that place Taberah, for the fire of YHWH has “burned” among them.
So that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD had burned among them.
4 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?
Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?
5 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;
We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.
6 and now our soul [is] dry, there is not anything, except the manna, before our eyes.”
But now our appetite is gone; there is nothing to see but this manna!”
7 And the manna is as coriander seed, and its aspect as the aspect of bdellium;
Now the manna resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of gum resin.
8 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.
The people walked around and gathered it, ground it on a handmill or crushed it in a mortar, then boiled it in a cooking pot or shaped it into cakes. It tasted like pastry baked with fine oil.
9 And in the descending of the dew on the camp by night, the manna descends on it.
When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.
10 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.
Then Moses heard the people of family after family weeping at the entrances to their tents, and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly, and Moses was also displeased.
11 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?
So Moses asked the LORD, “Why have You brought this trouble on Your servant? Why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid upon me the burden of all these people?
12 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?
Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth, so that You should tell me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries an infant,’ to the land that You swore to give their fathers?
13 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.
Where can I get meat for all these people? For they keep crying out to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’
14 I am not able—I alone—to bear all this people, for [it is] too heavy for me;
I cannot carry all these people by myself; it is too burdensome for me.
15 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.”
If this is how You are going to treat me, please kill me right now—if I have found favor in Your eyes—and let me not see my own wretchedness.”
16 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,
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Me seventy of the elders of Israel known to you as leaders and officers of the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting and have them stand there with you.
17 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.
And I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put that Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.
18 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.
And say to the people: Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, because you have cried out in the hearing of the LORD, saying: ‘Who will feed us meat? For we were better off in Egypt!’ Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat.
19 You do not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days,
You will eat it not for one or two days, nor for five or ten or twenty days,
20 [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!”
but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and makes you nauseous—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have cried out before Him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”
21 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!
But Moses replied, “Here I am among 600,000 men on foot, yet You say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’
22 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?”
If all our flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?”
23 And YHWH says to Moses, “Has the hand of YHWH become short? Now you see whether My word meets you or not.”
The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not My word will come to pass.”
24 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,
So Moses went out and relayed to the people the words of the LORD, and he gathered seventy of the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent.
25 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.
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they never did so again.
26 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;
Two men, however, had remained in the camp—one named Eldad and the other Medad—and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those listed, but they had not gone out to the tent, and they prophesied in the camp.
27 and the young man runs, and declares [it] to Moses, and says, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 And Joshua son of Nun, minister of Moses, [one] of his young men, answers and says, “My lord Moses, restrain them.”
Joshua son of Nun, the attendant to Moses since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
29 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!”
But Moses replied, “Are you jealous on my account? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would place His Spirit on them!”
30 And Moses is gathered to the camp, he and [the] elderly of Israel.
Then Moses returned to the camp, along with the elders of Israel.
31 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.
Now a wind sent by the LORD came up, drove in quail from the sea, and brought them near the camp, about two cubits above the surface of the ground, for a day’s journey in every direction around the camp.
32 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.
All that day and night, and all the next day, the people stayed up gathering the quail. No one gathered less than ten homers, and they spread them out all around the camp.
33 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;
But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and the LORD struck them with a severe plague.
34 and [one] calls the name of that place Kibroth-Hattaavah, for there they have buried the people who lust.
So they called that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.
35 From Kibroth-Hattaavah the people have journeyed to Hazeroth, and they are in Hazeroth.
From Kibroth-hattaavah the people moved on to Hazeroth, where they remained for some time.

< Numbers 11 >