Numbers 11
1 One day the people complained to Yahweh about their troubles. When Yahweh heard what they were saying, he became angry. So he sent a fire which burned among the people at the edge of their camp.
And the people murmured sinfully before the Lord; and the Lord heard [them] and was very angry; and fire was kindled among them from the Lord, and devoured a part of the camp.
2 Then the people cried out to Moses/me, and he/I prayed to Yahweh. Then the fire stopped burning.
And the people cried to Moses: and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire was quenched.
3 So they called that place Taberah, [which means ‘burning’], because the fire from Yahweh had burned among them.
And the name of that place was called Burning; for a fire was kindled among them from the Lord.
4 Then some troublemakers from other people-groups [who were traveling] with the Israelis began to want better food. And [when they started complaining] the Israeli people also started to complain.
And the mixed multitude among them lusted exceedingly; and they and the children of Israel sat down and wept and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
5 They said, “We wish we had some meat!
We remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt freely; and the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the garlic, and the onions.
6 We remember the fish that we ate while we were in Egypt, fish that was given to us without (cost/asking us to pay for it). And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic [that we wanted]. But now we do not have any desire to eat, because all we have to eat is this manna!”
But now our soul is dried up; our eyes [turn] to nothing but to the manna.
7 The manna resembled small white seeds.
And the manna is as coriander seed, and the appearance of it the appearance of hoarfrost.
8 [Each morning] the people would go out and gather some [from the surface of the ground]. Then they made flour by grinding it or pounding it with stones. Then they [added water and] boiled it in a pot, or they made flat cakes with it [and baked them]. The cakes tasted like bread that was baked with [olive] oil.
And the people went through the field, and gathered, and ground it in the mill, or pounded it in a mortar, and baked it in a pan, and made cakes of it; and the sweetness of it was as the taste [of] wafer made with oil.
9 Each night the manna came down on their ground where their tents were, like dew [from the sky].
And when the dew came upon the camp by night, the manna came down upon it.
10 Moses/I heard all the Israeli people complaining as they were standing in the entrances of their tents. Yahweh became very angry, and Moses/I was also very perturbed.
And Moses heard them weeping by their families, every one in his door: and the Lord was very angry; and the thing was evil in the sight of Moses.
11 He/I [went into the Sacred Tent and] asked Yahweh, “Why have you caused me, your servant, to experience this trouble [RHQ]? Act mercifully to me! What wrong have I done, with the result that you have appointed me to take care of all of these people [RHQ]?
And Moses said to the Lord, Why have you afflicted your servant, and why have I not found grace in your sight, that you should lay the weight of this people upon me?
12 (I am not their father./Am I their father?) [RHQ] Why have you told me to take care of them like a woman carries around her baby and (nurses it/gives it her milk) [MET, RHQ]? How can I take them to the land that you promised to give to our ancestors [RHQ]?
Have I conceived all this people, or have I born them? that you say to me, Take them into your bosom, as a nurse would take her suckling, into the land which you sware to their fathers?
13 Where can I get meat to feed all these people? They keep complaining to me, saying, ‘Give us some meat to eat!’
Whence have I flesh to give to all this people? for they weep to me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.
14 I cannot carry all these people’s burdens by myself! [They are like a heavy load [MET], and] I cannot carry this very heavy load any more.
I shall not be able to bear this people alone, for this thing is too heavy for me.
15 If you intend to act like this toward me, kill me now. If you are really concerned about me, be kind to me and [kill me to] end my misery [of trying to take care of them]!”
And if you do thus to me, kill me utterly, if I have found favor with you, that I may not see my affliction.
16 Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Summon 70 men whom you know are leaders among the Israeli people. Tell them to stand with you in front of the Sacred Tent.
And the Lord said to Moses, Gather me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you yourself know that they are the elders of the people, and their scribes; and you shall bring them to the tabernacle of witness, and they shall stand there with you.
17 I will come down and talk with you there. Then I will take some of [the power of] my Spirit that you have, and I will put [that power] on them also. They will help you to take care of some of the things that the people are concerned about, in order that you will not need to do it alone.
And I will go down, and speak there with you; and I will take of the spirit that is upon you, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear together with you the burden of the people, and you shall not bear them alone.
18 “Furthermore, say to the people, ‘Make yourselves acceptable to me, and tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You were complaining, and Yahweh heard you when you were saying, “We want some meat to eat. We had better food in Egypt!” Now Yahweh will give you some meat, and you will eat it.
And to the people you shall say, Purify yourselves for the morrow, and you shall eat flesh; for you wept before the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: and the Lord shall allow you to eat flesh, and you shall eat flesh.
19 You will eat meat not only for one or two days, nor only for five or ten or 20 days.
You shall not eat one day, nor two, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days;
20 [You will eat meat every day] for one month, and then you will loathe/despise it, and it will cause you to want to vomit. [This will happen] because you have rejected Yahweh who is here among you, and you have wailed in his presence, saying [“We would have had better food to eat] if we had not left Egypt [RHQ].”’”
you shall eat for a full month, until [the flesh] come out at your nostrils; and it shall be nausea to you, because you disobeyed the Lord, who is among you, and wept before him, saying, What had we to do to come out of Egypt?
21 But Moses/I replied to Yahweh, “There are 600,000 men [plus women and children] here with me, so ([why] do you say ‘I will give them plenty of meat every day for a month!’?/it does not seem right for you to say ‘I will give them plenty of meat every day for a month!’) [RHQ]
And Moses said, The people among whom I am are six hundred thousand footmen; and you said, I will give them flesh to eat, and they shall eat a whole month.
22 Even if we killed all the sheep and cattle, that would not [RHQ] be enough [to provide meat for all of them] Even if we caught all the fish in the sea [and gave it to them], that would not be enough [RHQ]!”
Shall sheep and oxen be slain for them, and shall it suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and shall it suffice them?
23 But Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Do you think that I [SYN] have no power? You will now see if I can do what I say I will do.”
And the Lord said to Moses, Shall not the hand of the Lord be fully sufficient? now shall you know whether my word shall come to pass to you or not.
24 So Moses/I went out [from the Sacred Tent] and told the people what Yahweh had said. Then he/I gathered together the 70 leaders and told them to stand around the Sacred Tent.
And Moses went out, and spoke the words of the Lord to the people; and he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and he set them round about the tabernacle.
25 Then Yahweh came down in the cloud [that was above the tent] and spoke to Moses/me. He took some of [the power of] the Spirit that he had given to Moses/me and gave it to the 70 leaders. By means of the power of the Spirit within them, they (prophesied/spoke messages that Yahweh gave them), but they did that only once.
And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy men that were elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied and ceased.
26 Two of the leaders whom Moses/I appointed, Eldad and Medad, were not there when the rest of them gathered together. They had not left [their tents] to go and stand around the Sacred Tent. But Yahweh’s Spirit came on them also, and they started to (prophesy/speak messages from Yahweh).
And there were two men left in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Modad; and the spirit rested upon them, and these were of the number of them that were enrolled, but they did not come to the tabernacle; and they prophesied in the camp.
27 So a young man ran and told Moses/me, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in all their tents!”
And a young man ran and told Moses, and spoke, saying, Eldad and Modad prophesy in the camp.
28 Joshua, who had helped Moses/me since he was a young man, said, “Sir, tell them to stop doing that!”
And Joshua the son of Naue, who attended on Moses, the chosen one, said, [My] lord Moses, forbid them.
29 But Moses/I replied, “(Are you worried that they might injure my reputation/Do you think that I want to be the only one who prophesies) [RHQ]? I wish that all Yahweh’s people could (prophesy/speak messages from Yahweh). I wish that Yahweh would give the power of his Spirit to all of them!”
And Moses said to him, Are you jealous on my account? and would that all the Lord's people were prophets; whenever the Lord shall put his spirit upon them.
30 Then Moses/I and all the leaders went back to their/our tents.
And Moses departed into the camp, himself and the elders of Israel.
31 Then Yahweh sent a strong wind from the sea. It blew quail into the area all around the camp for miles in every direction, [and caused the quail to fall onto the ground]. They were piled up on the ground about (3 feet/1 meter) high!
And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails over from the sea; and it brought them down upon the camp a day's journey on this side, and a day's journey on that side, round about the camp, as it were two cubits from the earth.
32 So the people went out and gathered up the quail all that day, and all that night, and all of the following day. [It seemed as though] everyone gathered at least 50 bushels! They spread the quail out on the ground all around the camp, [so that the quail would dry out].
And the people rose up all the day, and all the night, and all the next day, and gathered quails; he that gathered least, gathered ten measures; and they refreshed themselves round about the camp.
33 [Then they cooked them and started to eat them]. But while they were still eating the meat [MTY], Yahweh [showed that he] was very angry with them. He struck them with a severe plague/sickness, [and many people died].
The flesh was yet between their teeth, before it failed, when the Lord was angry with the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague.
34 The people who died and were buried were the ones who had said they wanted to eat meat [like they had formerly eaten in Egypt]. So they called that place Kibroth-Hattaavah, [which means ‘graves of those who craved’].
And the name of that place was called the Graves of Lust; for there they buried the people that lusted.
35 From there, the Israelis continued walking [east] until they arrived at Hazeroth [town], where they stopped and stayed [for a long time].
The people departed from the Graves of Lust to Aseroth; and the people halted at Aseroth.
