Bamidbar 11
Orthodox Jewish Bible
11 And when the people complained, it displeased Hashem; Hashem heard it; His anger was kindled; and the Eish Hashem burned among them, and consumed them that were at the edge of the machaneh.
2 And the people cried unto Moshe; and when Moshe davened unto Hashem, the eish was quenched.
3 He called shem hamakom Taverah because the Eish Hashem burned among them.
4 And the rabble that was among them fell a-lusting; and the Bnei Yisroel also wept again, and said, If only we had basar to eat!
5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Mitzrayim at no cost; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic;
6 But now our nefesh is dried up; there is nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes.
7 And the manna was like coriander seed, and the color thereof like the color of white gum resin.
8 And the people went about and gathered it, and ground it in handmills, or crushed it in the mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and the taste of it was like the taste of cakes prepared of shemen.
9 And when the dew fell upon the machaneh in the lailah, the manna fell with it.
10 Then Moshe heard the people wailing throughout their mishpekhot, every man in the entrance of his ohel; and the anger of Hashem was kindled greatly; Moshe also was displeased.
11 And Moshe said unto Hashem, Why hast Thou afflicted Thy eved? And why have I not found chen (favor) in Thy sight, that Thou layest the massa (burden) of all this people upon me?
12 Have I conceived all this people? Have I fathered them, that Thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as the one nursing beareth the nursing infant, unto the land which Thou didst swear unto their avot?
13 Where should I get basar to give unto all this people? For they wail unto me, saying, Give us basar, that we may eat.
14 I am not able to carry all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.
15 And if Thou deal thus with me, kill me, please, at once, if I have found chen in Thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.
16 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Gather unto Me seventy men of the Zekenim of Yisroel, whom thou knowest to be the Ziknei HaAm, and officers over them; and bring them unto the Ohel Moed, that they may stand there with thee.
17 And I will come down and speak with thee there; and I will take of the Ruach [Hakodesh] that is upon thee, and will put [Him] upon them; and they shall bear the massa HaAm (burden of the People) with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
18 And say thou unto the people, Set yourselves apart as kodesh against tomorrow, and ye shall eat basar; for ye have wept in the ears of Hashem, saying, Who shall give us basar to eat? For it was well with us in Mitzrayim; therefore Hashem will give you basar, and ye shall eat.
19 Lo (not) ye shall 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 meastem (ye have rejected) Hashem Who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, Why came we forth out of Mitzrayim?
21 And Moshe said, The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 men on foot; and Thou hast said, I will give them basar, 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 dag (fish) of the yam be gathered together for them, to suffice them?
23 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Is the Yad Hashem cut short (i.e., limited in power)? Thou shalt see now whether My Devar shall come to pass unto thee or not.
24 And Moshe went out, and told HaAm the divrei Hashem, and gathered the seventy men of the Ziknei HaAm, and set them round about the Ohel [Moed].
25 And Hashem came down in an Anan, and spoke unto him, and took of the Ruach [Hakodesh] that was upon him, and gave [Him] unto the seventy Zekenim; and it came to pass, that, when the Ruach [Hakodesh] rested upon them, they prophesied, but did not continue. [See Shmuel Alef 10:6; 19:24; Ac 19:6]
26 But there remained two of the anashim in the machaneh, the shem of the one was Eldad, and the shem of the other Medad: and the Ruach [Hakodesh] rested upon them; and they were of them that were listed, but went not out unto the Ohel [Moed]; and they prophesied in the machaneh.
27 And there ran a young man, and told Moshe, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the machaneh.
28 And Yehoshua Ben Nun, the mesharet Moshe, one of his chosen young men, answered and said, Moshe adoni, forbid them.
29 And Moshe said unto him, Are you jealous for my sake? If only kol Am Hashem were neviim, and that Hashem would put His Ruach upon them [see Yoel 2:28 (3:1)]!
30 And Moshe went back to the machaneh, he and the Ziknei Yisroel.
31 And there went forth a wind from Hashem, it drove in quail from the yam, brought them down over the machaneh at a height of two cubits from the ground for the distance of a day’s journey all around the machaneh.
32 And the people stood up all that yom, and kol halailah, and all the next day, and they gathered in the quail; he that gathered least gathered ten homers; and they spread them all out for themselves round about the machaneh.
33 And while the basar was yet between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of Hashem was kindled against the people, and Hashem struck down the people with a makkah rabbah me’od (a very great plague).
34 And the shem of that place was called Kivrothataavah (graves of greed) because there they buried the people that lusted.
35 And the people set out from Kivrot-hataavah unto Chatzerot; and abode at Chatzerot.
Numbers 11
New King James Version
The People Complain
11 Now (A)when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; (B)for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the (C)fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people (D)cried out to Moses, and when Moses (E)prayed to the Lord, the fire was [a]quenched. 3 So he called the name of the place [b]Taberah, because the fire of the Lord had burned among them.
4 Now the (F)mixed multitude who were among them [c]yielded to (G)intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: (H)“Who will give us meat to eat? 5 (I)We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; 6 but now (J)our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”
7 Now (K)the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. 8 The people went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and (L)its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil. 9 And (M)when the dew fell on the camp in the night, the manna fell on it.
10 Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and (N)the anger of the Lord was greatly aroused; Moses also was displeased. 11 (O)So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the [d]burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I beget them, that You should say to me, (P)‘Carry them in your bosom, as a (Q)guardian carries a nursing child,’ to the land which You (R)swore[e] to their fathers? 13 (S)Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep all over me, saying, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ 14 (T)I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now—if I have found favor in Your sight—and (U)do not let me see my wretchedness!”
The Seventy Elders
16 So the Lord said to Moses: “Gather to Me (V)seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and (W)officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. 17 Then I will come down and talk with you there. (X)I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 Then you shall say to the people, [f]‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept (Y)in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us 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 (Z)but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have (AA)despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, (AB)“Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?” ’ ”
21 And Moses said, (AC)“The people whom I am among are six hundred thousand men on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month.’ 22 (AD)Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to provide enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to provide enough for them?”
23 And the Lord said to Moses, (AE)“Has[g] the Lord’s arm been shortened? Now you shall see whether (AF)what I say will happen to you or not.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord, and he (AG)gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, (AH)when the Spirit rested upon them, that (AI)they prophesied, [h]although they never did so again.
26 But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who (AJ)had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, “Moses my lord, (AK)forbid them!”
29 Then Moses said to him, “Are you [i]zealous for my sake? (AL)Oh, that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” 30 And Moses returned to the camp, he and the elders of Israel.
The Lord Sends Quail
31 Now a (AM)wind went out from the Lord, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground. 32 And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten (AN)homers); and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 But while the (AO)meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. 34 So he called the name of that place [j]Kibroth Hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had yielded to craving.
35 (AP)From Kibroth Hattaavah the people moved to Hazeroth, and camped at Hazeroth.
Footnotes
- Numbers 11:2 extinguished
- Numbers 11:3 Lit. Burning
- Numbers 11:4 Lit. lusted intensely
- Numbers 11:11 responsibility
- Numbers 11:12 solemnly promised
- Numbers 11:18 Set yourselves apart
- Numbers 11:23 Is the Lord’s power limited?
- Numbers 11:25 Tg., Vg. and they did not cease
- Numbers 11:29 jealous
- Numbers 11:34 Lit. Graves of Craving
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
