Numbers 11
International Children’s Bible
Fire from the Lord
11 The people complained to the Lord about their troubles. When he heard them, he became angry. Fire from the Lord burned among the people. It burned the edge of the camp. 2 So the people cried out to Moses. He prayed to the Lord, and the fire stopped burning. 3 So that place was called Taberah.[a] The people named it that because the Lord’s fire had burned among them.
The 70 Older Leaders
4 Some troublemakers among them wanted better food. Soon all the Israelites began complaining. They said, “We want meat! 5 We remember the fish we ate for free in Egypt. We also had cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite. We never see anything but this manna!”
7 The manna was like small white seeds. 8 The people would go to gather it. Then they ground it in handmills. Or they crushed it between stones. They cooked it in a pot or made cakes with it. It tasted like bread baked with olive oil. 9 When the dew fell on the camp each night, so did the manna.
10 Moses heard every family crying. They stood in the entrances of their tents. The Lord became very angry. And Moses got upset. 11 He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought me this trouble? I’m your servant. What have I done wrong? Why did you make me responsible for all these people? 12 I am not the father of all these people. I didn’t give birth to them. Why do you make me carry them to the land you promised to our ancestors? Must I carry them in my arms as a nurse carries a baby? 13 Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep crying to me, ‘We want meat!’ 14 I can’t take care of all these people alone. It is too much for me. 15 If you are going to continue doing this to me, then kill me now. If you like me, put me to death. Then I won’t have any more troubles.”
16 The Lord said to Moses, “Bring me 70 of Israel’s elders. Pick men you know are leaders among the people. Bring them to the Meeting Tent. Have them stand there with you. 17 I will come down and speak with you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is in you. And I will give it to them. They will help you care for the people. Then you will not have to care for them alone.
18 “Tell the people this: ‘Make yourselves holy. Tomorrow you will eat meat. The Lord heard you cry, “We want meat! We were better off in Egypt!” So now the Lord will give you meat to eat. 19 You will not eat it for just 1, 2, 5, 10 or even 20 days. 20 You will eat that meat for a whole month. You will eat it until it comes out your nose. You will hate it. This is because you have rejected the Lord. He is here with you. But you have cried to him. You said, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”
21 Moses said, “Lord, here are 600,000 men standing around me. And you say, ‘I will give them enough meat to eat for a month!’ 22 If we killed all the sheep and cattle, that would not be enough. If we caught all the fish in the sea, that would not be enough.”
23 But the Lord said to Moses, “Do you think I’m weak? You will see if I can do what I say.”
24 So Moses went out to the people. He told them what the Lord had said. Moses gathered 70 of the elders together. He had them stand around the Tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. The Lord took some of the Spirit Moses had. And he gave it to the 70 leaders. With the Spirit in them, they prophesied, but just that one time.
26 Two men named Eldad and Medad were also listed as leaders. But they did not go to the Tent. They stayed in the camp. The Spirit was given to them. So they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran to Moses. He said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 Joshua son of Nun said, “Moses, my master, stop them!” (Since he was a young boy, Joshua had been Moses’ assistant.)
29 But Moses answered, “Are you afraid for me? I wish all the Lord’s people could prophesy. I wish the Lord would give his Spirit to all of them!” 30 Then Moses and the leaders of Israel went back to the camp.
The Quail Come
31 The Lord sent a strong wind from the sea. It blew quail into the area all around the camp. The quail were about three feet above the ground. There were quail a day’s walk in any direction. 32 The people went out and gathered quail. They gathered all that day, that night and the next day. Everyone gathered at least 60 bushels. Then they spread them around the camp. 33 But the Lord became very angry. He gave the people a terrible sickness. This came while the meat was still in their mouths. 34 So the people named that place Kibroth Hattaavah.[b] They named it that because there they buried those who wanted other food.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people went to stay at Hazeroth.
Numbers 11
Revised Standard Version
Complaining in the Desert
11 And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes; and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried to Moses; and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire abated. 3 So the name of that place was called Tab′erah,[a] because the fire of the Lord burned among them.
4 Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving; and the people of Israel also wept again, and said, “O that we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; 6 but now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”
7 Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. 8 The people went about and gathered it, and ground it in mills or beat it in mortars, and boiled it in pots, and made cakes of it; and the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. 9 When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.
10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every man at the door of his tent; and the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. 11 Moses said to the Lord, “Why hast thou dealt ill with thy servant? And why have I not found favor in thy sight, that thou dost lay the burden of all this people upon me? 12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I bring them forth, that thou shouldst say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries the sucking child,’ to the land which thou didst swear to give their fathers? 13 Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ 14 I am not able to carry all this people alone, the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If thou wilt deal thus with me, kill me at once, if I find favor in thy sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”
The Seventy Elders
16 And the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 And I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit which is upon you and put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept 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 not eat one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come forth out of Egypt?”’” 21 But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot; and thou hast said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ 22 Shall flocks and herds 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? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and placed them round about the tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did so no more.
26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested upon them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, “My lord Moses, forbid them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
The Quails
31 And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and it brought quails from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and about two cubits above the face of the earth. 32 And the people rose all that day, and all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quails; he who gathered least gathered ten homers; and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague. 34 Therefore the name of that place was called Kib′roth-hatta′avah,[b] because there they buried the people who had the craving. 35 From Kib′roth-hatta′avah the people journeyed to Haze′roth; and they remained at Haze′roth.
Footnotes
- Numbers 11:3 That is Burning
- Numbers 11:34 That is Graves of craving
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.