Numbers 11
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Complaining in the Desert
11 Now when the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, the Lord heard it and his anger was kindled. Then the fire of the Lord burned against them, and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. 2 But the people cried out to Moses; and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire abated. 3 So that place was called Taberah,[a] because the fire of the Lord burned against them.
4 The rabble among them had a strong craving; and the Israelites also wept again, and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we used to eat 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 color was like the color of gum resin. 8 The people went around and gathered it, ground it in mills or beat it in mortars, then 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 on the camp in the night, the manna would fall with it.
10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, all at the entrances of their tents. Then the Lord became very angry, and Moses was displeased. 11 So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you treated your servant so badly? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? 12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a sucking child, to the land that you promised on oath to their ancestors’? 13 Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they come weeping to me and say, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ 14 I am not able to carry all this people alone, for they are too heavy for me. 15 If this is the way you are going to treat me, put me to death at once—if I have found favor in your sight—and do not let me see my misery.”
The Seventy Elders
16 So the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their place there with you. 17 I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will not bear it all by yourself. 18 And say to the people: Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wailed in the hearing of the Lord, saying, ‘If only we had meat to eat! Surely it was better for us in Egypt.’ Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall eat not only 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 becomes loathsome to you—because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’” 21 But Moses said, “The people I am with number six hundred thousand on foot; and you say, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month’! 22 Are there enough flocks and herds to slaughter for them? Are there enough fish in the sea to catch for them?” 23 The Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s power limited?[b] 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 elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.
26 Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on 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 son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men,[c] said, “My lord Moses, stop them!” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
The Quails
31 Then a wind went out 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, all around the camp, about two cubits deep on the ground. 32 So the people worked all that day and night and all the next day, gathering the quails; the least anyone gathered was ten homers; and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague. 34 So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah,[d] because there they buried the people who had the craving. 35 From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to Hazeroth.
Footnotes
- Numbers 11:3 That is Burning
- Numbers 11:23 Heb Lord’s hand too short?
- Numbers 11:28 Or of Moses from his youth
- Numbers 11:34 That is Graves of craving
Numbers 11
Contemporary English Version
The Israelites Complain
11 One day the Israelites started complaining about their troubles. The Lord heard them and became so angry that he destroyed the outer edges of their camp with fire.
2 When the people begged Moses to help, he prayed, and the fire went out. 3 They named the place “Burning,”[a] because in his anger the Lord had set their camp on fire.
The People Grumble about Being Hungry
4 One day some foreigners among the Israelites became greedy for food, and even the Israelites themselves began moaning, “We don't have any meat! 5 In Egypt we could eat all the fish we wanted, and there were cucumbers, melons, all kinds of onions, and garlic. 6 But we're starving out here, and the only food we have is this manna.”
7 (A) The manna was like small whitish seeds 8-9 (B) and tasted like something baked with sweet olive oil. It appeared at night with the dew. In the morning the people would collect the manna, grind or crush it into flour, then boil it and make it into thin wafers.
10 The Israelites stood around their tents complaining. Moses heard them and was upset that they had made the Lord angry. 11 He prayed:
I am your servant, Lord, so why are you doing this to me? What have I done to deserve this? You've made me responsible for all these people, 12 but they're not my children. You told me to nurse them along and to carry them to the land you promised their ancestors. 13 They keep whining for meat, but where can I get meat for them? 14 This job is too much for me. How can I take care of all these people by myself? 15 If this is the way you're going to treat me, just kill me now and end my miserable life!
Seventy Leaders Are Chosen To Help Moses
16 The Lord said to Moses:
Choose 70 of Israel's respected leaders and go with them to the sacred tent. 17 While I am talking with you there, I will give them some of your authority, so they can share responsibility for my people. You will no longer have to care for them by yourself.
18 As for the Israelites, I have heard them complaining about not having meat and about being better off in Egypt. So tell them to make themselves acceptable to me, because tomorrow they will have meat. 19-20 In fact, they will have meat day after day for a whole month—not just a few days, or even 10 or 20. They turned against me and wanted to go back to Egypt. Now they will eat meat until they get sick of it.
21 Moses replied, “At least 600,000 grown men are here with me. How can you say there will be enough meat to feed them and their families for a whole month? 22 Even if we butchered all our sheep and cattle, or caught every fish in the sea, we wouldn't have enough to feed them.”
23 The Lord answered, “I can do anything! Watch and you'll see my words come true.”
24 Moses told the people what the Lord had said. Then he chose 70 respected leaders and went with them to the sacred tent. While the leaders stood in a circle around the tent, Moses went inside, 25 and the Lord spoke with him. Then the Lord took some authority[b] from Moses and gave it to the 70 leaders. And when the Lord's Spirit took control of them, they started shouting like prophets. But they did it only this one time.
26 Eldad and Medad were two leaders who had not gone to the tent. But when the Spirit took control of them, they began shouting like prophets right there in camp. 27 A boy ran to Moses and told him about Eldad and Medad.
28 Joshua[c] was there helping Moses, as he had done since he was young. And he said to Moses, “Sir, you must stop them!”
29 But Moses replied, “Are you concerned what this might do to me? I wish the Lord would give his Spirit to all his people so everyone could be a prophet.” 30 Then Moses and the 70 leaders went back to camp.
The Lord Sends Quails
31 Some time later the Lord sent a strong wind that blew quails in from the sea until Israel's camp was completely surrounded with birds, piled up about a meter high for many kilometers in every direction. 32 The people picked up quails for two days—each person filled at least ten large baskets. Then they spread them out to dry. 33 But before the meat could be eaten, the Lord became angry and sent a deadly disease through the camp.
34 After they had buried the people who had been so greedy for meat, they called the place “Graves for the Greedy.”[d]
35 Israel then broke camp and traveled to Hazeroth.
Numbers 11
English Standard Version
The People Complain
11 And (A)the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, (B)his anger was kindled, and (C)the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. 2 Then (D)the people cried out to Moses, (E)and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. 3 So the name of that place was called (F)Taberah,[a] because the fire of the Lord burned among them.
4 Now the (G)rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also (H)wept again and said, (I)“Oh that we had meat to eat! 5 (J)We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost 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 (K)the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bdellium. 8 (L)The people went about and gathered it and ground it in handmills or beat it in mortars and boiled it in pots and made cakes of it. (M)And the taste of it was like the taste of cakes baked with oil. 9 (N)When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.
10 Moses heard the people (O)weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased. 11 (P)Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? 12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, (Q)‘Carry them in your bosom, as a (R)nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land (S)that you swore to give their fathers? 13 (T)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 (U)I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”
Elders Appointed to Aid Moses
16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me (V)seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and (W)officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 (X)And I will come down and talk with you there. And (Y)I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and (Z)they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 And say to the people, (AA)‘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? (AB)For it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month, (AC)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, (AD)“Why did we come out of Egypt?”’” 21 But Moses said, (AE)“The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ 22 (AF)Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” 23 And the Lord said to Moses, (AG)“Is the Lord's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether (AH)my word will come true for you or not.”
24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. (AI)And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25 Then (AJ)the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it.
26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they (AK)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 (AL)Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, (AM)stop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? (AN)Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” 30 And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.
Quail and a Plague
31 Then a (AO)wind from the Lord sprang up, and it brought quail 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, around the camp, and about two cubits[b] above the ground. 32 And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten (AP)homers.[c] And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 (AQ)While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and (AR)the Lord struck down the people with a very great plague. 34 Therefore the name of that place was called (AS)Kibroth-hattaavah,[d] because there they buried the people who had the craving. 35 (AT)From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed to (AU)Hazeroth, and they remained at (AV)Hazeroth.
Footnotes
- Numbers 11:3 Taberah means burning
- Numbers 11:31 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
- Numbers 11:32 A homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters
- Numbers 11:34 Kibroth-hattaavah means graves of craving
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