11 But the people started to complain about their problems. [ a ] The Lord heard them and he became very angry. He sent fire. The Lord sent his fire to burn among them. It destroyed some parts of the camp at the edge. 2 So the people asked Moses to help them. And Moses prayed to the Lord , and the fire stopped. 3 So that place was called Taberah, because the Lord 's fire burned among them there.
4 Some foreign people were travelling with the Israelites. [ b ] Those people wanted very much to eat better food. So the Israelites wept again. They said, ‘We want meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt. We had as much as we wanted. And we remember all the nice vegetables, cucumbers, leeks, onions and garlic. And we remember the melons. 6 But now our mouths are dry and we do not want to eat this food. There is not even anything to look at, except this manna.’ 7 The manna was like small seeds called coriander. Its colour was yellow and white. 8 The people walked about and they picked it up from the ground. They used stones to make it into flour. Or they beat it with a stick. They boiled it in pots, and they made cakes with it. The taste of the cakes was like olive oil. 9 At night, dew fell on the ground in the camp. The manna fell with the dew.
10 People in every family were crying at the doors of their tents. And Moses heard them. The Lord became very angry with the people. Moses too was not happy. 11 So Moses said to the Lord , ‘I am your servant. But you have given this problem to me! It seems that you are not pleased with me. You have given to me the hard job to be leader of all these people. 12 They are not my children! But you have said to me, “Take care of them like parents take care of their babies. Carry them to the land that I have promised to their ancestors.” 13 They are complaining to me. They are saying, “Give us meat that we can eat!” But I cannot get meat to feed all these people! 14 I cannot be the leader of all these people unless I receive help. This job is too difficult for me. 15 So if you do not want to help me, please kill me now. I do not want to continue to be so upset. So please be kind to me.’
16 So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Choose 70 leaders of the Israelites and bring them to the Tent of Meeting. You must know that they are leaders and officers that the people respect. Bring them to stand there with you. 17 Then I will come down and I will speak with you there. I will take some of the authority of my Spirit that I gave to you. I will share it with them. Then they will help you to lead the people. So you will not be the only man who is doing that job.
18 Then say to the people, “The Lord heard you when you were weeping. You said, ‘We want someone to give us meat to eat! Life was better when we were in Egypt.’ So the Lord will give you meat and you will eat it. So make yourselves clean for tomorrow, and then you will eat meat. 19 You will not eat it only for one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or 20 days. 20 You will eat it every day for a whole month! You will hate the smell of it and it will seem disgusting to you. This is because you have turned against the Lord . He is near to you and you have wept in front of him. You have said, ‘We should never have left Egypt.’ ” ’
21 Moses said to the Lord , ‘There are 600,000 men here. But you have said, “I will give to them meat to eat for a whole month.” 22 Even if we killed all our sheep and cows, we would not have enough meat for them. If we caught every fish in the sea, we still would not have enough!’
23 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Do you think that I, the Lord , do not have enough power to do this? I have promised you to do it. So now you will see me do it!’
24 So Moses went out from God's Tent and he told the people the Lord 's message. He chose 70 leaders of the Israelites and he put them round the Tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud to speak to them. He took some of the authority of his Spirit that he had given to Moses. And he shared it with the 70 leaders. While God's Spirit stayed on them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again after that.
26 But two men had stayed in the camp. Their names were Eldad and Medad. They were among the men that Moses had chosen. But they had not gone to meet with God in the special Tent. God's Spirit also came on them. So they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran to Moses and he said, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’
28 Nun's son Joshua was there. Since he was a boy, he had been Moses' servant. Joshua said to Moses, ‘Moses, my master, stop them.’
29 But Moses said to him, ‘Perhaps you think that I might be jealous of them. But I would be happy if the Lord would give his Spirit to all his people. I would like them all to be prophets!’ 30 Then Moses and the leaders returned to the camp.
31 Then the Lord sent a wind. It blew in birds called quails from the sea. They fell to the ground everywhere round the camp. There were birds everywhere as far as a person could walk in one day in any direction. They were about 1 metre deep all over the ground. 32 The people were picking up the birds all day and all night and all the next day. Each person got at least 220 litres of birds. They put their dead bodies on the ground everywhere round the camp. 33 But the Lord became very angry with the people. They had not even started to eat the meat when the Lord sent a very bad disease among them.
34 They buried there the bodies of people who had wanted better food. So the people called that place Kibroth-Hattaavah. [ c ]
35 From Kibroth-Hattaavah the people travelled to Hazeroth, and they stayed at Hazeroth.
11 The people started complaining about their troubles. The Lord heard their complaints. He heard these things and became angry. Fire from the Lord burned among the people. The fire burned some of the areas at the edge of the camp. 2 So the people cried to Moses for help. He prayed to the Lord and the fire stopped burning. 3 So that place was called Taberah. [ a ] The people gave the place that name because the Lord caused a fire to burn in their camp.
4 The foreigners who had joined the Israelites began wanting other things to eat. Soon all the Israelites began complaining again. The people said, “We want to eat meat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt. That fish cost us nothing. We also had good vegetables like cucumbers, melons, chives, onions, and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our strength. We never eat anything—only this manna!” 7 (The manna was like small coriander seeds, and it looked like sap from a tree. 8 The people gathered the manna. Then they used rocks to crush it and cooked it in a pot. Or they ground it into flour and made thin cakes with it. The cakes tasted like sweet cakes cooked with olive oil. 9 The manna fell on the ground each night when the ground became wet with dew.)
10 Moses heard the people complaining. People from every family were sitting by their tents and complaining. The Lord became very angry, and this made Moses very upset. 11 He asked the Lord , “Why did you bring this trouble on me? I am your servant. What did I do wrong? What did I do to upset you? Why did you give me responsibility over all these people? 12 You know that I am not the father of all these people. You know that I did not give birth to them. But I must take care of them, like a nurse carrying a baby in her arms. Why do you force me to do this? Why do you force me to carry them to the land that you promised to our fathers? 13 I don’t have enough meat for all these people! And they continue complaining to me. They say, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I cannot take care of all these people alone. The burden is too heavy for me. 15 If you plan to continue giving me their troubles, kill me now. If you accept me as your servant, let me die now. Then I will be finished with all my troubles!”
16 The Lord said to Moses, “Bring to me 70 of the elders of Israel. These men are the leaders among the people. Bring them to the Meeting Tent. Let them stand there with you. 17 Then I will come down and speak with you there. The Spirit [ b ] is on you now. But I will also give some of that Spirit to them. Then they will help you take care of the people. In this way you will not have to be responsible for these people alone.
18 “Tell the people this: Make yourselves ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you cried out and said, ‘We need meat to eat! It was better for us in Egypt!’ So now the Lord will give you meat. And you will eat it. 19 You will eat it for more than one, or two, or five, or ten, or even twenty days! 20 You will eat that meat for a whole month until you are sick of it. This will happen to you because you complained against the Lord . He lives among you and knows what you need, but you cried and complained to him! You said, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”
21 Moses said, “There are 600,000 soldiers here, and you say, ‘I will give them enough meat to eat for a whole month!’ 22 If we were to kill all the sheep and cattle, that would still not be enough to feed this many people for a month. And if we caught all the fish in the sea, it would not be enough for them!”
23 But the Lord said to Moses, “Don’t limit my power! You will see that I can do what I say I can do.”
24 So Moses went out to speak with the people. He told them what the Lord said. Then he gathered 70 of the elders together and told them to stand around the Tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. He put on the 70 elders some of the same Spirit that was on Moses. After the Spirit came down on them, they began to prophesy. [ c ] But that was the only time they ever did this.
26 Two of the elders, Eldad and Medad, did not go out to the Tent. Their names were on the list of elders, but they stayed in camp. But the Spirit also came on them, and they began prophesying in camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses. The man said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in camp.”
28 Joshua son of Nun said to Moses, “Moses, sir, you must stop them!” (Joshua had been Moses’ helper since Joshua was a boy.)
29 But Moses answered, “Are you afraid the people will think that I am not the leader now? I wish that all the Lord ’s people were able to prophesy. I wish that the Lord would put his Spirit on all of them!” 30 Then Moses and the leaders of Israel went back to the camp.
31 Then the Lord made a powerful wind to blow in from the sea, and it blew quail into the area all around the camp. There were so many birds that the ground was covered. They were about three feet deep on the ground. There were quail in every direction as far as a man can walk in one day. 32 They went out and gathered quail all that day and all that night. And they gathered quail all the next day too! The smallest amount anyone gathered was 60 bushels. Then the people spread the quail meat all around the camp to dry in the sun.
33 People began to eat the meat, but the Lord became very angry. While the meat was still in their mouths, before the people could finish eating it, the Lord caused the people to become very sick and die. 34 So the people named that place Kibroth Hattaavah, [ d ] because there they buried those who had the strong desire for meat.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and stayed there.
11 And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord : and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.
2 And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the Lord , the fire was quenched.
3 And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the Lord burnt among them.
4 And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:
6 But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.
7 And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium.
8 And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
9 And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.
10 Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased.
11 And Moses said unto the Lord , Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?
12 Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest 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, because it is too heavy for me.
15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.
16 And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may 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, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord , saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
19 Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;
20 But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
21 And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month.
22 Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to suffice them?
23 And the Lord said unto Moses, Is the Lord 'S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.
24 And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the Lord , and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.
25 And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
26 But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.
27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.
28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.
29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord 'S people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!
30 And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.
31 And there went forth a wind from the Lord , and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.
32 And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.
33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague.
34 And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted.
35 And the people journeyed from Kibrothhattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth.
11 Now the people became like ( A ) those who complain of adversity ( B ) in the ears of the Lord ; and the Lord heard them and His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some at the outskirts of the camp. 2 ( C ) The people then cried out to Moses; and Moses prayed to the Lord , and the fire [ a ] died out. 3 So that place was named [ b ] ( D ) Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.
4 Now the ( E ) rabble who were among them [ c ] had greedy cravings; and the sons of Israel also wept again and said, “ ( F ) Who will give us [ d ] meat to eat? 5 ( G ) We remember the fish which we used to eat for free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; 6 but now ( H ) our [ e ] appetite is gone. There is nothing at all [ f ] to look at except this manna!”
7 ( I ) Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of [ g ] ( J ) bdellium. 8 The people would roam about and gather it and grind it [ h ] between two millstones, or pound it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make loaves with it; and its taste was like the taste of [ i ] cake baked with oil. 9 ( K ) When the dew came down on the camp at night, the manna would come down [ j ] with it.
10 Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each one at the entrance of his tent; and the anger of the Lord became very hot, and [ k ] Moses was displeased. 11 ( L ) So Moses said to the Lord , “Why have You [ l ] been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have put the burden of all this people on me? 12 Was it I who conceived all this people? Or did I give birth to them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them [ m ] in your arms, as a [ n ] ( M ) nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which ( N ) You swore to their fathers’? 13 Where am I to get meat to give to ( O ) all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat so that we may eat!’ 14 ( P ) I am not able to carry all this people by myself, because it is too [ o ] burdensome for me. 15 ( Q ) So if You are going to deal with me this way, please kill me now, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my misery.”
16 The Lord therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me ( R ) seventy men from the elders of Israel, ( S ) whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their stand there with you. 17 ( T ) Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take away some of ( U ) the Spirit who is upon you, and put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it by yourself. 18 And you shall say to the people, ‘ ( V ) Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept ( W ) in the ears of the Lord , saying, “ [ p ] Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat. 19 You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20 [ q ] but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nose and [ r ] makes you nauseated; because ( X ) you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’” 21 But Moses said, “The people, among whom I am included , are six hundred thousand on foot! Yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.’ 22 Are flocks and herds to be slaughtered for them, so that it will be sufficient for them? Or are all the fish of the sea to be [ s ] caught for them, so that it will be sufficient for them?” 23 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Is ( Y ) the Lord ’ s [ t ] power too little? Now you shall see whether ( Z ) My word will [ u ] come true for you or not.”
24 So Moses went out and ( AA ) told the people the words of the Lord . He also gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and positioned them around the tent. 25 ( AB ) Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took away some of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. Yet they did not do it again.
26 But two men had remained in the camp; the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the [ v ] other, Medad. And ( AC ) the Spirit rested upon them (and they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp. 27 So a young man ran and informed Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 Then ( AD ) Joshua the son of Nun, the personal servant of Moses from his youth, responded and said, “ ( AE ) My lord Moses, restrain them!” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? ( AF ) If only all the Lord ’ s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” 30 Then Moses [ w ] returned to the camp, both he and the elders of Israel.
31 ( AG ) Now a wind burst forth from the Lord and it brought quail from the sea, and dropped them beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side all around the camp, and about [ x ] two cubits deep on the surface of the ground. 32 And the people [ y ] spent all that day, all night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quail (the one who gathered least gathered [ z ] ten ( AH ) homers) and spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 ( AI ) While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very severe plague. 34 So that place was named [ aa ] ( AJ ) Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had been greedy. 35 From Kibroth-hattaavah ( AK ) the people set out for Hazeroth, and they [ ab ] remained at Hazeroth.
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. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed ( F ) to the Lord ( G ) and the fire died down. 3 So that place was called Taberah, [ a ] ( H ) because fire from the Lord had burned among them. ( I )
4 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! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. ( L ) 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna! ( M ) ”
7 The manna was like coriander seed ( N ) and looked like resin. ( O ) 8 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. 9 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.
