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.

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.

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

And the people made an outcry to Moses, and Moses made prayer to the Lord, and the fire was stopped.

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

So that place was named Taberah, because of the fire of the Lord which had been burning 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?

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?

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;

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:

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

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

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

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

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 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.

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

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

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.

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?

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?

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?

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?

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 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.

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

I am not able by myself to take the weight of all this people, for it is more than my strength.

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 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.

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,

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.

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 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.

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, 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;

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

Not for one day only, or even 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 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?

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!

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.

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?”

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?

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

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.

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,

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.

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 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.

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;

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.

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

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

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

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.

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!”

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!

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 tasted, the wrath of the Lord was moved against the people and he sent a great outburst of disease on them.

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

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.

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

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