Numbers 11

1 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.

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.

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

Then the people cried out to Moses/me, and he/I prayed to Yahweh. Then the fire stopped burning.

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

So they called that place Taberah, [which means ‘burning’], because the fire from Yahweh had burned among them.

4 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?

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.

5 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;

They said, “We wish we had some meat!

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

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!”

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

The manna resembled small white seeds.

8 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.

[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.

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

Each night the manna came down on their ground where their tents were, like dew [from the sky].

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.

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.

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?

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]?

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?

(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]?

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!

Where can I get meat to feed all these people? They keep complaining to me, saying, ‘Give us some meat to eat!’

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

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.

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.

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]!”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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

You will eat meat not only for one or two days, nor only for five or ten or 20 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?

[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].”’”

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.

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]

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?

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]!”

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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].

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.

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.

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).

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

So a young man ran and told Moses/me, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in all their tents!”

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

Joshua, who had helped Moses/me since he was a young man, said, “Sir, tell them to stop doing that!”

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!

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!”

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

Then Moses/I and all the leaders went back to their/our tents.

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.

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!

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.

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].

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.

[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].

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

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’].

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

From there, the Israelis continued walking [east] until they arrived at Hazeroth [town], where they stopped and stayed [for a long time].