Numbers 11

Revised Geneva Translation

11 When the people became murmurers, it displeased the LORD. And the LORD heard it; therefore, His wrath was kindled. And the fire of the LORD burnt among them and consumed the outermost part of the camp.

² Then the people cried to Moses. And when Moses prayed to 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 a number of people who were among them fell into lust and turned away. And the children of Israel also wept, and said, “Who shall give us meat to eat?

⁵ “We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic.

⁶ “But now our soul is dried away. We can see nothing but this Manna.”

⁷ Now, the Manna was like coriander seed and its color like the color of bdellium.

⁸ The people went about and gathered and ground it in mills or beat it in mortars and baked it in a cauldron and made cakes from it. And the taste of it was like the taste of fresh oil.

⁹ And when the dew fell down upon the camp at night, the Manna fell with it.

¹⁰ Then Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent. And the wrath of the LORD was greatly kindled. Moses was also grieved.

¹¹ And Moses said to the LORD, “Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, seeing You have put me in charge of all these people?

¹² “Have I conceived all these people? Or have I begotten them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse bears the sucking child, to the land which You swore to their fathers?’

¹³ “Where should I get meat to give to all these people? For they weep to me, saying, ‘Give us meat so that we may eat.’

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

¹⁵ “Therefore, if You deal this way with me, please kill me (if I have found favor in Your sight) so that I do not see my misery.”

¹⁶ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Gather to Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and governors over them. And bring them to the Tabernacle of the Congregation. And let them stand there with you.

¹⁷ “And I will come down and talk with you there and take from the Spirit Which is upon you and put it upon them. And they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so you shall not bear it alone.

¹⁸ “Furthermore, you shall say to the people, ‘Be sanctified for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat. For you have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, “Who shall give us meat to eat? For we were better in Egypt.” Therefore, the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat.

¹⁹ ‘You shall eat not for one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days,

²⁰ ‘but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and is loathsome to you, because you have despised the LORD, Who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever come up out of Egypt?”’”

²¹ And Moses said, “Among my people there are six-hundred thousand foot soldiers; and You say, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a month.’

²² “Shall the sheep and the cattle be slaughtered 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 to Moses, “Is the LORD’s hand shortened? You shall see now whether My Word shall happen to you or not.”

²⁴ So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD and gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and set them all around the Tabernacle.

²⁵ Then the LORD came down in a cloud and spoke to him and took from the Spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy ancient men. And when the Spirit rested upon them, then they prophesied and did not cease.

²⁶ But two of the men remained in the camp. The name of one was Eldad. And the name of the other, Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them, for they were of those who were listed but did not go out to the Tabernacle. And they prophesied in the camp.

²⁷ Then, a young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

²⁸ And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, “Are you jealous for my sake? Indeed, I wish that all the LORD’s people were Prophets, and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them.”

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

³¹ Then there went forth a wind from the LORD and brought quails from the sea and let them fall upon the camp, a day’s journey on this side, and a day’s journey on the other side, all over the camp, about two cubits above the earth.

³² Then, the people arose all that day and all that night and all the next day and gathered the quails. He who gathered the least, gathered ten homers full. And they spread them throughout for their use, all around the camp.

³³ While the meat was still between their teeth, `before it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people. And the LORD struck the people with an exceedingly great plague.

³⁴ So, the name of the place was called, Kibroth Hattaavah. For there they buried the people who lusted.

³⁵ From Kibroth Hattaavah, the people took their journey to Hazeroth and stayed at Hazeroth.