Numbers 11
New American Standard Bible
The People Complain
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.
The Complaint of Moses
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.”
Seventy Elders to Assist Moses
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.
The Quail and the Plague
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.
Footnotes
- Numbers 11:2 Lit sank down
- Numbers 11:3 I.e., the place for burning
- Numbers 11:4 Lit desired a desire
- Numbers 11:4 Lit flesh, and so throughout the ch
- Numbers 11:6 Lit soul has dried up
- Numbers 11:6 Lit for our eyes
- Numbers 11:7 I.e., a tree gum
- Numbers 11:8 Lit with
- Numbers 11:8 Lit juice of oil
- Numbers 11:9 Lit on
- Numbers 11:10 Lit it was evil in Moses’ eyes
- Numbers 11:11 Lit treated badly
- Numbers 11:12 Lit against your chest
- Numbers 11:12 Or foster father
- Numbers 11:14 Lit heavy
- Numbers 11:18 Or Who will give...?
- Numbers 11:20 Lit until a
- Numbers 11:20 Lit becomes nausea to you
- Numbers 11:22 Lit gathered
- Numbers 11:23 Lit hand too short
- Numbers 11:23 Lit happen to you
- Numbers 11:26 Lit second
- Numbers 11:30 Lit withdrew to
- Numbers 11:31 About 3 ft. or 90 cm
- Numbers 11:32 Lit arose
- Numbers 11:32 About 77 cubic feet or 2.2 cubic meters
- Numbers 11:34 I.e., the graves of greediness
- Numbers 11:35 Lit were
Numbers 11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 11
Discontent of the People. 1 Now the people complained bitterly in the hearing of the Lord;(A) and when he heard it his wrath flared up, so that the Lord’s fire burned among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. 2 But when the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died out. 3 Hence that place was called Taberah,[a] because there the fire of the Lord burned among them.
4 The riffraff among them were so greedy for meat that even the Israelites lamented again,(B) “If only we had meat for food! 5 We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt, and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now we are famished; we have nothing to look forward to but this manna.”(C)
7 (D)Manna was like coriander seed[b] and had the appearance of bdellium. 8 When they had gone about and gathered it up, the people would grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar, then cook it in a pot and make it into loaves, with a rich creamy taste. 9 At night, when the dew fell upon the camp, the manna also fell.(E)
10 When Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents, so that the Lord became very angry, he was grieved. 11 “Why do you treat your servant so badly?” Moses asked the Lord. “Why are you so displeased with me that you burden me with all this people? 12 Was it I who conceived all this people? or was it I who gave them birth, that you tell me to carry them at my breast, like a nurse carrying an infant, to the land you have promised under oath to their fathers? 13 Where can I get meat to give to all this people? For they are crying to me, ‘Give us meat for our food.’ 14 I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me. 15 If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face my distress.”
The Seventy Elders. 16 Then the Lord said to Moses: Assemble for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be elders and authorities among the people, and bring them to the tent of meeting. When they are in place beside you, 17 I will come down and speak with you there. I will also take some of the spirit that is on you and will confer it on them, that they may share the burden of the people with you. You will then not have to bear it by yourself.
18 To the people, however, you shall say: “Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, when you shall have meat to eat. For in the hearing of the Lord you have cried, ‘If only we had meat for food! Oh, how well off we were in Egypt!’ Therefore the Lord will give you meat to eat, 19 and you will eat it, not for one day, or two days, or five, or ten, or twenty days, 20 but for a whole month—until it comes out of your very nostrils and becomes loathsome to you. For you have rejected the Lord who is in your midst, and in his presence you have cried, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”
21 But Moses said, “The people around me include six hundred thousand soldiers; yet you say, ‘I will give them meat to eat for a whole month.’ 22 Can enough sheep and cattle be slaughtered for them? If all the fish of the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?” 23 The Lord answered Moses: Is this beyond the Lord’s reach? You shall see now whether or not what I have said to you takes place.
The Spirit on the Elders. 24 So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. Gathering seventy elders of the people, he had them stand around the tent. 25 The Lord then came down in the cloud and spoke to him. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, he bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied[c] but did not continue.
26 Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, had remained in the camp, yet the spirit came to rest on them also. They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent; and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 So, when a young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp,” 28 Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses’ aide, said, “My lord, Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses answered him, “Are you jealous for my sake? If only all the people of the Lord were prophets! If only the Lord would bestow his spirit on them!” 30 Then Moses retired to the camp, along with the elders of Israel.
The Quail. 31 There arose a wind(F) from the Lord that drove in quail from the sea and left them all around the camp site, to a distance of a day’s journey and at a depth of two cubits upon the ground.[d] 32 (G)So all that day, all night, and all the next day the people set about to gather in the quail. Even the one who got the least gathered ten homers[e] of them. Then they spread them out all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it could be chewed, the Lord’s wrath flared up against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very great plague. 34 So that place was named Kibroth-hattaavah,[f] because it was there that the greedy people were buried.
35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people set out for Hazeroth, where they stayed.
Footnotes
- 11:3 Taberah: means “the burning.”
- 11:7 Coriander seed: see note on Ex 16:31. Bdellium: a transparent, amber-colored gum resin, which is also mentioned in Gn 2:12.
- 11:25 They prophesied: in the sense, not of foretelling the future, but of speaking in enraptured enthusiasm. Such manifestations are mentioned in the early days of Hebrew prophecy (1 Sm 10:10–12; 19:20–21; Jl 3:1) and in the first years of the Church (Acts 2:6–11, 17; 19:6; 1 Cor 12–14).
- 11:31 The heaps of quail lying upon the ground all around the Israelites’ camp suggest the ambiguity of God’s response to the people’s lament for meat in v. 4 and foreshadow the plague which God will now bring upon Israel (v. 33). Their request had been nothing less than a rejection of what God has done for them (v. 20).
- 11:32 Homers: see note on Is 5:10. They spread them out: to cure by drying.
- 11:34 Kibroth-hattaavah: means “graves of greed.”
Numbers 11
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Complaints about Hardship
11 Now the people began complaining openly before[a] the Lord about hardship. When the Lord heard, His anger burned,(A) and fire(B) from the Lord blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. 3 So that place was named Taberah,[b](C) because the Lord’s fire had blazed among them.
Complaints about Food
4 Contemptible people[c] among them(D) had a strong craving(E) for other food. The Israelites cried again and said, “Who will feed us meat? 5 We remember the free fish we ate in Egypt,(F) along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. 6 But now our appetite is gone;[d] there’s nothing to look at but this manna!”
7 The manna(G) resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of bdellium.[e] 8 The people walked around and gathered it. They ground it on a pair of grinding stones or crushed it in a mortar, then boiled it in a cooking pot and shaped it into cakes. It tasted like a pastry cooked with the finest oil. 9 When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.(H)
10 Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents. The Lord was very angry;(I) Moses was also provoked.[f] 11 So Moses asked the Lord, “Why have You brought such trouble on Your servant? Why are You angry with me, and why do You burden me with all these people?(J) 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth so You should tell me, ‘Carry them at your breast, as a nursing woman carries a baby,’(K) to the land that You[g] swore to give their fathers?(L) 13 Where can I get meat to give all these people? For they are crying to me: ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I can’t carry all these people by myself. They are too much for me. 15 If You are going to treat me like this, please kill me right now.(M) If You are pleased with me,(N) don’t let me see my misery[h] anymore.”
Seventy Elders Anointed
16 The Lord answered Moses, “Bring Me 70 men from Israel known to you as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the tent of meeting and have them stand there with you. 17 Then I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit who is on you and put the Spirit on them.(O) They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.(P)
18 “Tell the people: Purify yourselves in readiness for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you cried before the Lord: ‘Who will feed us meat? We really had it good in Egypt.’ The Lord will give you meat and you will eat. 19 You will eat, not for one day, or two days, or five days, or 10 days, or 20 days, 20 but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you—because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and cried to Him: ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”(Q)
21 But Moses replied, “I’m in the middle of a people with 600,000 foot soldiers,(R) yet You say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’ 22 If flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?”(S)
23 The Lord answered Moses, “Is the Lord’s power limited?[i](T) You will see whether or not what I have promised will happen to you.”
24 Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. He brought 70 men from the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. 25 Then the Lord descended in the cloud and spoke to him.(U) He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed the Spirit on the 70 elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied,(V) but they never did it again. 26 Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the other Medad; the Spirit rested on them—they were among those listed, but had not gone out to the tent—and they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Joshua son of Nun, assistant to Moses since his youth,[j] responded, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
29 But Moses asked him, “Are you jealous on my account?(W) If only all the Lord’s people were prophets and the Lord would place His Spirit on them!” 30 Then Moses returned to the camp along with the elders of Israel.
Quail in the Camp
31 A wind sent by the Lord(X) came up and blew quail in from the sea; it dropped them at the camp all around, three feet[k] off[l] the ground, about a day’s journey in every direction.(Y) 32 The people were up all that day and night and all the next day gathering the quail—the one who took the least gathered 50 bushels[m]—and they spread them out all around the camp.[n](Z)
33 While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the Lord’s anger burned(AA) against the people, and the Lord struck them with a very severe plague.(AB) 34 So they named that place Kibroth-hattaavah,[o] because there they buried the people who had craved the meat.
35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people moved on to Hazeroth[p](AC) and remained there.
Footnotes
- Numbers 11:1 Lit in the ears of
- Numbers 11:3 = blaze
- Numbers 11:4 Or The mixed multitude; Hb obscure
- Numbers 11:6 Or our lives are wasting away, or our throat is dry
- Numbers 11:7 A yellowish, transparent gum resin
- Numbers 11:10 Lit and it was evil in the eyes of Moses
- Numbers 11:12 One Hb ms, Sam, LXX, Syr, Tg read I
- Numbers 11:15 Ancient Jewish tradition reads Your misery
- Numbers 11:23 Lit Lord’s arm too short
- Numbers 11:28 LXX, some Sam mss read Moses, from his chosen ones
- Numbers 11:31 Lit two cubits
- Numbers 11:31 Or on, or above
- Numbers 11:32 Lit 10 homers
- Numbers 11:32 To dry or cure the meat; 2Sm 17:19; Ezk 26:5,14
- Numbers 11:34 = Graves of Craving
- Numbers 11:35 = settlements; Nm 12:16; 33:16-17
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