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11 And it came to pass that when the people murmured, it was evil in the ears of Jehovah; and Jehovah heard it, and his anger was kindled, and the fire of Jehovah burned among them, and consumed [some] in the extremity of the camp.

And the people cried to Moses; and Moses prayed to Jehovah—and the fire abated.

And they called the name of that place Taberah; because a fire of Jehovah burned among them.

And the mixed multitude that was among them lusted; and the children of Israel also wept again and said, Who will give us flesh to eat?

We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt for nothing; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic;

and now our soul is dried up: there is nothing at all but the manna before our eyes.

And the manna was as coriander seed, and its appearance as the appearance of bdellium.

The people went about, and gathered it, and ground it with hand-mills, or beat it in mortars, and boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it; and the taste of it was as the taste of oil-cakes.

And when the dew fell upon the camp by night, the manna fell upon it.

10 And Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every one at the entrance of his tent; and the anger of Jehovah was kindled greatly; it was also evil in the eyes of Moses.

11 And Moses said to Jehovah, Why hast thou done evil to thy servant, and why have I not found favour in thine eyes, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?

12 Have I conceived all this people, have I brought them forth, that thou sayest to me, Carry them in thy bosom, as the nursing-father beareth the suckling, unto the land which thou didst swear unto their fathers?

13 Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh that we may eat!

14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, for it is too heavy for me.

15 And if thou deal thus with me, slay me, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, that I may not behold my wretchedness.

16 And Jehovah said to Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and their officers; and take them to the tent of meeting, and they shall stand there with thee.

17 And I will come down and talk with thee there; and I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, and thou shalt not bear it alone.

18 And unto the people shalt thou say, Hallow yourselves for to-morrow, and ye shall eat flesh; for ye have wept in the ears of Jehovah, saying, Who will give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt; and Jehovah will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.

19 Not one day shall ye eat, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;

20 [but] for a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it become loathsome unto you; because that ye have despised Jehovah who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?

21 And Moses said, The people in whose midst I am are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou sayest, I will give them flesh that they may eat a whole month.

22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered for them, to suffice them?

23 And Jehovah said to Moses, Hath Jehovah's hand become short? Now shalt thou see whether my word will come to pass unto thee or not.

24 And Moses went out and told the people the words of Jehovah; and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tent.

25 And Jehovah 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, the elders; and it came to pass, that when the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not repeat [it].

26 And two men remained in the camp, the name of the one, Eldad, and the name of the other, Medad; and the Spirit rested upon them (and they were among them that were written, but they had not gone out to the tent); and they prophesied in the camp.

27 And there ran a youth, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.

28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them!

29 But Moses said to him, Enviest thou for my sake? would that all Jehovah's people were prophets, [and] that Jehovah would put his Spirit upon them!

30 And Moses withdrew into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

31 And there went forth a wind from Jehovah, and drove quails from the sea, and cast them about 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 above the earth.

32 And the people rose up all that day, and the whole night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered little gathered ten homers; and they spread them abroad for themselves round about the camp.

33 The flesh was yet between their teeth, before it was chewed, when the wrath of Jehovah was kindled against the people, and Jehovah smote the people with a very great plague.

34 And they called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah; because there they buried the people who lusted.

35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth; and they were at Hazeroth.

Fire From the Lord

11 Now the people complained(A) about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord,(B) and when he heard them his anger was aroused.(C) Then fire from the Lord burned among them(D) and consumed(E) some of the outskirts of the camp. When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed(F) to the Lord(G) and the fire died down. So that place was called Taberah,[a](H) because fire from the Lord had burned among them.(I)

Quail From the Lord

The rabble with them began to crave other food,(J) and again the Israelites started wailing(K) and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.(L) But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!(M)

The manna was like coriander seed(N) and looked like resin.(O) The people went around gathering it,(P) and then ground it in a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into loaves. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. When the dew(Q) settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.

10 Moses heard the people of every family wailing(R) at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. 11 He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble(S) on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?(T) 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant,(U) to the land you promised on oath(V) to their ancestors?(W) 13 Where can I get meat for all these people?(X) They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.(Y) 15 If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me(Z)—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin.”

16 The Lord said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders(AA) who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people.(AB) Have them come to the tent of meeting,(AC) that they may stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you(AD) there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them.(AE) They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone.(AF)

18 “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves(AG) in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed,(AH) “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!”(AI) Now the Lord will give you meat,(AJ) and you will eat it. 19 You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, 20 but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it(AK)—because you have rejected the Lord,(AL) who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”(AM)

21 But Moses said, “Here I am among six hundred thousand men(AN) on foot, and you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month!’ 22 Would they have enough if flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? Would they have enough if all the fish in the sea were caught for them?”(AO)

23 The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s arm too short?(AP) Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you.(AQ)

24 So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He brought together seventy of their elders and had them stand around the tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud(AR) and spoke with him,(AS) and he took some of the power of the Spirit(AT) that was on him and put it on the seventy elders.(AU) When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied(AV)—but did not do so again.

26 However, two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them,(AW) and they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

28 Joshua son of Nun,(AX) who had been Moses’ aide(AY) since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”(AZ)

29 But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets(BA) and that the Lord would put his Spirit(BB) on them!”(BC) 30 Then Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

31 Now a wind went out from the Lord and drove quail(BD) in from the sea. It scattered them up to two cubits[b] deep all around the camp, as far as a day’s walk in any direction. 32 All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers.[c] Then they spread them out all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still between their teeth(BE) and before it could be consumed, the anger(BF) of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague.(BG) 34 Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah,[d](BH) because there they buried the people who had craved other food.

35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth(BI) and stayed there.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 11:3 Taberah means burning.
  2. Numbers 11:31 That is, about 3 feet or about 90 centimeters
  3. Numbers 11:32 That is, possibly about 1 3/4 tons or about 1.6 metric tons
  4. Numbers 11:34 Kibroth Hattaavah means graves of craving.