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
Numbers 11
Common English Bible
Complaint at Taberah
11 When the people complained intensely in the Lord’s hearing, the Lord heard and became angry. Then the Lord’s fire burned them and consumed the edges of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire subsided. 3 The name of that place was called Taberah,[a] because the Lord’s fire burned against them.
Complaint over the lack of meat
4 The riffraff among them had a strong craving. Even the Israelites cried again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for free, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 Now our lives are wasting away. There is nothing but manna in front of us.”
7 The manna was like coriander seed and its color was like resin. 8 The people would roam around and collect it and grind it with millstones or pound it in a mortar. Then they would boil it in pots and make it into cakes. It tasted like cakes baked in olive oil. 9 When the dew fell on the camp during the night, the manna would fall with it.
Moses’ complaint about leadership
10 Moses heard the people crying throughout their clans, each at his tent’s entrance. The Lord was outraged, and Moses was upset. 11 Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you treated your servant so badly? And why haven’t I found favor in your eyes, for you have placed the burden of all these people on me? 12 Did I conceive all these people? Did I give birth to them, that you would say to me, ‘Carry them at the breast, as a nurse carries an unweaned child,’ to the fertile land that you promised their ancestors? 13 Where am I to get meat for all these people? They are crying before me and saying, ‘Give us meat, so we can eat.’ 14 I can’t bear this people on my own. They’re too heavy for me. 15 If you’re going to treat me like this, please kill me. If I’ve found favor in your eyes, then don’t let me endure this wretched situation.”
16 The Lord said to Moses, “Gather before me seventy men from Israel’s elders, whom you know as elders and officers of the people. Take them to the meeting tent, and let them stand there with you. 17 Then I’ll descend and speak with you there. I’ll take some of the spirit that is on you and place it on them. Then they will carry the burden of the people with you so that you won’t bear it alone. 18 To the people you will say, ‘Make yourselves holy for tomorrow; then you will eat meat, for you’ve cried in the Lord’s hearing, “Who will give us meat to eat? It was better for us in Egypt.” The Lord will give you meat, and you will eat. 19 You won’t eat for just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but for a whole month until it comes out of your nostrils and nauseates you. You’ve rejected the Lord who’s been with you and you have cried before him, saying, “Why did we leave Egypt?” ’”
21 Moses said, “The people I’m with are six hundred thousand on foot and you’re saying, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’ 22 Can flocks and herds be found and slaughtered for them? Or can all the fish in the sea be found and caught for them?”
23 The Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s power too weak? Now you will see whether my word will come true for you or not.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people the Lord’s words. He assembled seventy men from the people’s elders and placed them around the tent. 25 The Lord descended in a cloud, spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and placed it on the seventy elders. When the spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but only this once. 26 Two men had remained in the camp, one named Eldad and the second named Medad, and the spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they hadn’t gone out to the tent, so they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Joshua, Nun’s son and Moses’ assistant since his youth, responded, “My master Moses, stop them!”
29 Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? If only all the Lord’s people were prophets with the Lord placing his spirit on them!”
Quail from the sea
30 Moses and Israel’s elders were assembled in the camp. 31 A wind from the Lord blew up and brought quails from the sea. It let them fall by the camp, about a day’s journey all around the camp and about three feet deep on the ground. 32 Then the people arose and gathered the quail all that day, all night, and all the next day. The least collected was ten homers,[b] and they laid them out around the camp. 33 While the meat was still between their teeth and not yet consumed, the Lord’s anger blazed against the people. The Lord struck the people with a very great punishment. 34 The name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah,[c] because there they buried the people who had the craving.
Miriam and Aaron challenge Moses
35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people marched to Hazeroth.
Footnotes
- Numbers 11:3 Or the place of burning
- Numbers 11:32 Five hundred gallons; one homer is two hundred quarts.
- Numbers 11:34 Or graves of craving
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