Numbers 11

1 And it came to pass that when the people were giving themselves up to murmuring, it was grievous in the ears of Yahweh, —so Yahweh hearkened, and kindled was his anger, and the fire of Yahweh burned among them, and consumed the uttermost part 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 Then did the people make outcry unto Moses, —and Moses prayed unto Yahweh, and the fire sank down.

And the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down.

3 So he called the name of that place, Taberah ["A Burning"] because there burned among them the fire of Yahweh.

So that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD had burned among them.

4 Moreover the mixed multitude that was in their midst concealed not their lusting, —and so even the sons of Israel, fell away and wept, and said: Who will grant us to eat 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 remember the fish that we did eat in Egypt, without money, —the cucumbers, and the water-melons, and the leeks and the onions, and the garlick.

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

6 But, now, our soul is dried up, there is nothing at all, —unless, unto the manna, [we turn] our eyes.

But now our appetite is gone; there is nothing to see but this manna!”

7 Now, the manna, was like coriander seed, and the appearance thereof like the appearance of bdellium,

Now the manna resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of gum resin.

8 The people used to go about and pick it up, and grind it with a pair of mill-stones, or pound it in a mortar, and boil it in a pot, and make it into round cakes, —then was the taste thereof like the taste of a sweet cake made with 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 When the dew came down upon the camp by night, the manna came down thereupon.

When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.

10 So then Moses heard the people weeping by their families, every one at the entrance of his tent, —then kindled the anger of Yahweh fiercely, and in the eyes of Moses, it was grievous.

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 said unto Yahweh—Wherefore hast thou let thy servant come to grief, and wherefore have I not found favour in thine eyes, —that thou shouldest lay the burden of all this people upon 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 Did, I, conceive all this people, or, I, beget them, —that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father carrieth a suckling, unto the soil which thou didst swear unto their 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 Whence should, I, have flesh to give to all this people, —for they keep weeping by me saying, Oh give us flesh that we may eat!

Where can I get meat for all these people? For they keep crying out to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’

14 Unable, am, I, by myself, to carry all this people, —for they are too heavy for me.

I cannot carry all these people by myself; it is too burdensome for me.

15 But if, in this way, thou art going to deal with me, slay me, I beseech thee, slay, if I have found favour in thine eyes, —and let me not see my grief,

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 Then said Yahweh unto Moses—Gather thou unto me seventy men, from among the elders of Israel, of whom thou knowest that they are elders of the people and their overseers, —then shalt thou take them unto the tent of meeting, and they shall station themselves there with thee.

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 Then will I come down, and speak with thee there, and will take of the spirit that is upon thee and put upon them, —and they shall carry, with thee, the burden of the people, and, thou, shalt not carry it by thyself.

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, unto the people, shalt thou say: Hallow yourselves by to-morrow, and ye shall eat flesh, for ye have wept in the ears of Yahweh saying—Who will grant us to eat flesh? for it was well with us in Egypt, —so then Yahweh will give you flesh and ye shall eat.

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 Not one day, shall ye eat 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 for a month of days until it cometh forth out of your nostrils, so shall it become to you a loathsome thing, —because ye have refused Yahweh who is in your midst, and have wept before him, saying, Wherefore now came we forth 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 said, Six hundred thousand footmen, are the people in whose midst am, I, yet thou hast said—Flesh, will I give unto them, and they shall eat 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 Shall the flocks and herds, be slaughtered for them, that it may suffice for them? Shall all the fishes of the sea, be gathered together unto them that it may suffice 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 Then said Yahweh unto Moses, Shall the hand of Yahweh, fail? Now, shalt thou see whether my word come to pass unto thee 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 went forth and spake unto the people the words of Yahweh, —and gathered together seventy men from among the elders of the people, and caused them to stand round about 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 Then Yahweh came down, in the cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave unto the seventy men—the elders. And it came to pass that when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and then did so no more.

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 Now there were two men left behind in the camp—the name of the one, was Eldad and the name of the other, Medad, so then the spirit, rested on them—they, being among them who were written, though they had not gone forth unto the tent, —but they prophesied 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 there ran a young man, and told Moses and said, —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 Then responded Joshua son of Nun the attendant of Moses from his youth, and said, —My lord Moses forbid them!

Joshua son of Nun, the attendant to Moses since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”

29 But Moses said unto him, Art, thou, jealous for, me? Oh would that, all the people of Yahweh, were prophets! Yea let Yahweh put his spirit upon 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 Then was Moses received back into the camp, —he and the elders of Israel.

Then Moses returned to the camp, along with the elders of Israel.

31 Now, a wind, had sprung up, from Yahweh, and cut off quails from the sea, and let them lie over the camp—as it were a days journey here and a days journey there, round about the camp, —and as it were two cubits on 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 rose up all that day and all the night and all the next day, and gathered the quails, he that did least, gathered ten homers, —and they spread them out for themselves spreading away, round about 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, was yet between their teeth, not yet chewed, —when the anger of Yahweh, had kindled upon the people, and Yahweh smote the people, with an exceeding great plague.

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 the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah—because there, they buried the people who had lusted,

So they called that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.

35 From Kibroth-hattaavah, the people set forward to Hazeroth, —and they remained in Hazeroth.

From Kibroth-hattaavah the people moved on to Hazeroth, where they remained for some time.