Bamidbar 11
Orthodox Jewish Bible
11 And when the people complained, it displeased Hashem; Hashem heard it; His anger was kindled; and the Eish Hashem burned among them, and consumed them that were at the edge of the machaneh.
2 And the people cried unto Moshe; and when Moshe davened unto Hashem, the eish was quenched.
3 He called shem hamakom Taverah because the Eish Hashem burned among them.
4 And the rabble that was among them fell a-lusting; and the Bnei Yisroel also wept again, and said, If only we had basar to eat!
5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Mitzrayim at no cost; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic;
6 But now our nefesh is dried up; there is nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes.
7 And the manna was like coriander seed, and the color thereof like the color of white gum resin.
8 And the people went about and gathered it, and ground it in handmills, or crushed it in the mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and the taste of it was like the taste of cakes prepared of shemen.
9 And when the dew fell upon the machaneh in the lailah, the manna fell with it.
10 Then Moshe heard the people wailing throughout their mishpekhot, every man in the entrance of his ohel; and the anger of Hashem was kindled greatly; Moshe also was displeased.
11 And Moshe said unto Hashem, Why hast Thou afflicted Thy eved? And why have I not found chen (favor) in Thy sight, that Thou layest the massa (burden) of all this people upon me?
12 Have I conceived all this people? Have I fathered them, that Thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as the one nursing beareth the nursing infant, unto the land which Thou didst swear unto their avot?
13 Where should I get basar to give unto all this people? For they wail unto me, saying, Give us basar, that we may eat.
14 I am not able to carry all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.
15 And if Thou deal thus with me, kill me, please, at once, if I have found chen in Thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.
16 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Gather unto Me seventy men of the Zekenim of Yisroel, whom thou knowest to be the Ziknei HaAm, and officers over them; and bring them unto the Ohel Moed, that they may stand there with thee.
17 And I will come down and speak with thee there; and I will take of the Ruach [Hakodesh] that is upon thee, and will put [Him] upon them; and they shall bear the massa HaAm (burden of the People) with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
18 And say thou unto the people, Set yourselves apart as kodesh against tomorrow, and ye shall eat basar; for ye have wept in the ears of Hashem, saying, Who shall give us basar to eat? For it was well with us in Mitzrayim; therefore Hashem will give you basar, and ye shall eat.
19 Lo (not) ye shall eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;
20 But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you; because that meastem (ye have rejected) Hashem Who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, Why came we forth out of Mitzrayim?
21 And Moshe said, The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 men on foot; and Thou hast said, I will give them basar, that they may eat a whole month.
22 Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, to suffice them? Or shall all the dag (fish) of the yam be gathered together for them, to suffice them?
23 And Hashem said unto Moshe, Is the Yad Hashem cut short (i.e., limited in power)? Thou shalt see now whether My Devar shall come to pass unto thee or not.
24 And Moshe went out, and told HaAm the divrei Hashem, and gathered the seventy men of the Ziknei HaAm, and set them round about the Ohel [Moed].
25 And Hashem came down in an Anan, and spoke unto him, and took of the Ruach [Hakodesh] that was upon him, and gave [Him] unto the seventy Zekenim; and it came to pass, that, when the Ruach [Hakodesh] rested upon them, they prophesied, but did not continue. [See Shmuel Alef 10:6; 19:24; Ac 19:6]
26 But there remained two of the anashim in the machaneh, the shem of the one was Eldad, and the shem of the other Medad: and the Ruach [Hakodesh] rested upon them; and they were of them that were listed, but went not out unto the Ohel [Moed]; and they prophesied in the machaneh.
27 And there ran a young man, and told Moshe, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the machaneh.
28 And Yehoshua Ben Nun, the mesharet Moshe, one of his chosen young men, answered and said, Moshe adoni, forbid them.
29 And Moshe said unto him, Are you jealous for my sake? If only kol Am Hashem were neviim, and that Hashem would put His Ruach upon them [see Yoel 2:28 (3:1)]!
30 And Moshe went back to the machaneh, he and the Ziknei Yisroel.
31 And there went forth a wind from Hashem, it drove in quail from the yam, brought them down over the machaneh at a height of two cubits from the ground for the distance of a day’s journey all around the machaneh.
32 And the people stood up all that yom, and kol halailah, and all the next day, and they gathered in the quail; he that gathered least gathered ten homers; and they spread them all out for themselves round about the machaneh.
33 And while the basar was yet between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of Hashem was kindled against the people, and Hashem struck down the people with a makkah rabbah me’od (a very great plague).
34 And the shem of that place was called Kivrothataavah (graves of greed) because there they buried the people that lusted.
35 And the people set out from Kivrot-hataavah unto Chatzerot; and abode at Chatzerot.
Numbers 11
EasyEnglish Bible
The people complain
11 But the people started to complain about their problems.[a] The Lord heard them and he became very angry. He sent fire. The Lord sent his fire to burn among them. It destroyed some parts of the camp at the edge. 2 So the people asked Moses to help them. And Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire stopped. 3 So that place was called Taberah, because the Lord's fire burned among them there.
4 Some foreign people were travelling with the Israelites.[b] Those people wanted very much to eat better food. So the Israelites wept again. They said, ‘We want meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt. We had as much as we wanted. And we remember all the nice vegetables, cucumbers, leeks, onions and garlic. And we remember the melons. 6 But now our mouths are dry and we do not want to eat this food. There is not even anything to look at, except this manna.’ 7 The manna was like small seeds called coriander. Its colour was yellow and white. 8 The people walked about and they picked it up from the ground. They used stones to make it into flour. Or they beat it with a stick. They boiled it in pots, and they made cakes with it. The taste of the cakes was like olive oil. 9 At night, dew fell on the ground in the camp. The manna fell with the dew.
10 People in every family were crying at the doors of their tents. And Moses heard them. The Lord became very angry with the people. Moses too was not happy. 11 So Moses said to the Lord, ‘I am your servant. But you have given this problem to me! It seems that you are not pleased with me. You have given to me the hard job to be leader of all these people. 12 They are not my children! But you have said to me, “Take care of them like parents take care of their babies. Carry them to the land that I have promised to their ancestors.” 13 They are complaining to me. They are saying, “Give us meat that we can eat!” But I cannot get meat to feed all these people! 14 I cannot be the leader of all these people unless I receive help. This job is too difficult for me. 15 So if you do not want to help me, please kill me now. I do not want to continue to be so upset. So please be kind to me.’
16 So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Choose 70 leaders of the Israelites and bring them to the Tent of Meeting. You must know that they are leaders and officers that the people respect. Bring them to stand there with you. 17 Then I will come down and I will speak with you there. I will take some of the authority of my Spirit that I gave to you. I will share it with them. Then they will help you to lead the people. So you will not be the only man who is doing that job.
18 Then say to the people, “The Lord heard you when you were weeping. You said, ‘We want someone to give us meat to eat! Life was better when we were in Egypt.’ So the Lord will give you meat and you will eat it. So make yourselves clean for tomorrow, and then you will eat meat. 19 You will not eat it only for one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or 20 days. 20 You will eat it every day for a whole month! You will hate the smell of it and it will seem disgusting to you. This is because you have turned against the Lord. He is near to you and you have wept in front of him. You have said, ‘We should never have left Egypt.’ ” ’
21 Moses said to the Lord, ‘There are 600,000 men here. But you have said, “I will give to them meat to eat for a whole month.” 22 Even if we killed all our sheep and cows, we would not have enough meat for them. If we caught every fish in the sea, we still would not have enough!’
23 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Do you think that I, the Lord, do not have enough power to do this? I have promised you to do it. So now you will see me do it!’
24 So Moses went out from God's Tent and he told the people the Lord's message. He chose 70 leaders of the Israelites and he put them round the Tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud to speak to them. He took some of the authority of his Spirit that he had given to Moses. And he shared it with the 70 leaders. While God's Spirit stayed on them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again after that.
26 But two men had stayed in the camp. Their names were Eldad and Medad. They were among the men that Moses had chosen. But they had not gone to meet with God in the special Tent. God's Spirit also came on them. So they prophesied in the camp. 27 A young man ran to Moses and he said, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’
28 Nun's son Joshua was there. Since he was a boy, he had been Moses' servant. Joshua said to Moses, ‘Moses, my master, stop them.’
29 But Moses said to him, ‘Perhaps you think that I might be jealous of them. But I would be happy if the Lord would give his Spirit to all his people. I would like them all to be prophets!’ 30 Then Moses and the leaders returned to the camp.
The Lord sends birds to feed the Israelites
31 Then the Lord sent a wind. It blew in birds called quails from the sea. They fell to the ground everywhere round the camp. There were birds everywhere as far as a person could walk in one day in any direction. They were about 1 metre deep all over the ground. 32 The people were picking up the birds all day and all night and all the next day. Each person got at least 220 litres of birds. They put their dead bodies on the ground everywhere round the camp. 33 But the Lord became very angry with the people. They had not even started to eat the meat when the Lord sent a very bad disease among them.
34 They buried there the bodies of people who had wanted better food. So the people called that place Kibroth-Hattaavah.[c]
35 From Kibroth-Hattaavah the people travelled to Hazeroth, and they stayed at Hazeroth.
Footnotes
- 11:1 The Israelites had travelled for three days only. But already they had begun to complain.
- 11:4 When the Israelites left Egypt, some foreign people came with them. We do not know why these foreign people came with them. Perhaps some of them were slaves.
- 11:34 That means ‘graves of greedy people’.
Numbers 11
King James Version
11 And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.
2 And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched.
3 And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the Lord burnt among them.
4 And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:
6 But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.
7 And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium.
8 And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.
9 And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.
10 Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; Moses also was displeased.
11 And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favour in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?
12 Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?
13 Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.
14 I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.
15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.
16 And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.
17 And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
18 And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
19 Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;
20 But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the Lord which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
21 And Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast said, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month.
22 Shall the flocks and the herds be slain 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 unto Moses, Is the Lord'S hand waxed short? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.
24 And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the Lord, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle.
25 And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.
26 But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.
27 And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.
28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.
29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord'S people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!
30 And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.
31 And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth.
32 And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.
33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague.
34 And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted.
35 And the people journeyed from Kibrothhattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth.
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