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
International Standard Version
Israel Complains
11 Eventually, the people began complaining about their distress, and the Lord heard them. When the Lord heard, his anger flared up and the Lord’s fire incinerated some of them within the outskirts of the camp. 2 When the people cried out to Moses, he[a] prayed to the Lord and the fire stopped. 3 He then named that place Taberah,[b] because the Lord’s fire had incinerated some of them.
4 Meanwhile, certain riff-raff among the people[c] had an insatiable appetite[d] for food. As a result, they wept and turned back, and the Israelis cried out, “If only somebody would feed us some meat! 5 How we remember the fish that we used to eat in Egypt for free! And the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic! 6 But now we can’t stand it anymore,[e] because there’s nothing in front of us except this manna.”
7 Now manna was reminiscent of coriander seed, with an appearance similar to amber.[f] 8 People would go out to gather it, then they would grind it in mills or pound it in mortars, and then they would boil it in pots or make cakes out of it that tasted like butter cakes. 9 When the dew fell in the camp, the manna came with it.
Moses Responds
10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their entire families. Everyone gathered at the entrance to their tents so that the Lord was very angry. Moses thought the situation was bad, 11 so he[g] asked the Lord, “Why did you bring all this trouble to your servant? Why haven’t I found favor in your eyes? After all, you’re putting the burden of this entire people on me! 12 Did I conceive this people or give birth to them, so that you would tell me to carry them near my heart like a wet nurse carries a suckling baby to the land that you promised to their forefathers? 13 Where am I going to get meat to give this people? After all, they’re crying in front of me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I cannot carry this whole nation! The burden is too heavy for me! 15 If this is how you treat me, please kill me right now, if I’ve found favor in your eyes, because I don’t want to keep staring at all of this[h] misery!”
The Appointment of 70 Elders
16 Then the Lord told Moses, “Gather together for me 70 men who are elders of Israel, men whom you know to be elders of the people and officers over them. Then bring them to the Tent of Meeting and let them stand there with you. 17 Then I’ll come down and speak with you. I’ll take some of the spirit that rests on you and apportion it among them, so that they may help you bear the burden of the people. That way, you won’t bear it by yourself.”
God Threatens to Provide Meat
18 “But give this command to the people: ‘You are to consecrate yourselves, because tomorrow you’re going to eat meat, since you’ve complained where the Lord can hear it, “Who can give us meat to eat? After all, life was better with us in Egypt.” Therefore, the Lord is going to give you meat and you’ll eat— 19 not only for a day, or for two days, or for five days, or for ten days, or for 20 days, 20 but for a whole month—until it comes out your nostrils and makes you vomit. This is because you’ve despised the Lord, who is among you, and you cried out in his presence by complaining, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”
Moses Doubts God’s Ability
21 Moses responded, “I’m with 600,000 people on foot and you’re saying I am to give them enough[i] meat to eat for a whole month? 22 What if we were to slaughter our entire inventory of[j] flocks and herds for them? Would that be enough? What if we could gather all the fish in the sea in nets for them? Would that be enough, either?”
God Rebukes Moses
23 But the Lord responded to Moses, “Is the Lord short on power?[k] You’re now going to witness whether what I say will come to pass or not.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people what the Lord had said. He gathered 70 men from the elders of the people and stationed them around the tent. 25 The Lord came down in a cloud, spoke to Moses,[l] and made an apportionment from the spirit who rested on him to the 70 elders. When the spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but that was it.[m]
26 Now two men had remained in camp. One was named Eldad and the other was named Medad. When the spirit rested on them, since they were among those who were listed but had not gone out to the tent, they stayed behind[n] and prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!”
28 In response, Nun’s son Joshua, Moses’ attendant and one of his choice men, exclaimed, “My master Moses! Stop them!”
29 “Are you jealous on account of me?” Moses asked in reply. “I wish all of the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!” 30 Then Moses—that is, he and the elders of Israel—returned to the camp.
Quails Come to the Camp
31 Just then, a wind burst forth from the Lord, who brought quails from the sea and spread them all around the camp, about a day’s journey in each direction, completely encircling the camp about two cubits[o] deep on top of the ground! 32 The people stayed up all that day, all that night, and all through the next day, gathering quails. The one who gathered least gathered enough to fill ten omers,[p] as they spread out all around the camp. 33 But even as they were chewing the meat and before they had swallowed it, the Lord became very angry with the people and struck them with a disastrous plague. 34 That’s why the place was named Kibroth-hattaavah,[q] because they buried the people there who had an insatiable appetite for meat.[r] 35 Later, the people left Kibroth-hattaavah for Hazeroth and camped there.
Footnotes
- Numbers 11:2 Lit. Moses
- Numbers 11:3 The Heb. name Taberah means “burning”
- Numbers 11:4 Lit. among them
- Numbers 11:4 Lit. craved for a craving
- Numbers 11:6 Lit. now our strength is dried up
- Numbers 11:7 Lit. bdellium; i.e. a clear gum resin
- Numbers 11:11 Lit. Moses
- Numbers 11:15 Lit. at my
- Numbers 11:21 The Heb. lacks enough
- Numbers 11:22 The Heb. lacks our entire inventory
- Numbers 11:23 Lit. hand
- Numbers 11:25 Lit. him
- Numbers 11:25 Lit. prophesied, and not again
- Numbers 11:26 The Heb. lacks stayed behind and
- Numbers 11:31 I.e. about three feet; a cubit was about eighteen inches
- Numbers 11:32 I.e. in dry capacity about two and a half gallons by volume
- Numbers 11:34 The Heb. name means Graves of Desire
- Numbers 11:34 Lit. who had great cravings
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