11 1 The people murmureth, and is punished with fire. 4 The people lusteth after flesh. 6 They loathe Manna. 11 The weak faith of Moses. 16 The Lord divided the burden of Moses to seventy of the Ancients. 31 The Lord sendeth quails. 33 Their lust is punished.

When the people became [a]murmurers, [b]it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it, therefore his wrath was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and (A)consumed the utmost part of the host.

Then the people cried unto Moses: and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched.

And he called the name of the place [c]Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burnt among them.

¶ And a number of [d]people that was among them, fell a lusting, and [e]turned away, and the children of Israel also wept, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?

We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt for [f]nought, the cucumbers, and the pepons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic.

But now our soul is [g]dried away, we can see nothing but this Manna.

(The Manna also was as (B)coriander seed, and his color like the color of [h]bdellium.

The people went about and gathered, and ground it in mills, or beat it in mortars, and baked it in a cauldron, and made cakes of it, and the taste of it was like unto the taste of fresh oil.

And when the dew fell down upon the host in night, the Manna fell with it.)

10 ¶ Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent, and the wrath of the Lord was grievously kindled: also Moses was grieved.

11 And Moses said unto the Lord, Wherefore hast thou [i]vexed thy servant? and why have I not found [j]favor in thy sight, seeing thou hast put the charge of all this people upon me?

12 Have I [k]conceived all this people? or have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom (as a nurse beareth the sucking child) unto the [l]land, for the which thou swarest unto their fathers?

13 Where 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, for it is too heavy for me.

15 Therefore if thou deal thus with me, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thy [m]sight, kill me, that I behold not my misery.

16 ¶ Then the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the Elders of Israel, whom thou knowest, that they are the Elders of the people, and governors over them, and bring them unto the Tabernacle of the Congregation, and let them stand there with thee.

17 And I will come down, and talk with thee there, [n]and take of the Spirit, which is upon thee, and put upon them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee: so thou shalt not bear it alone.

18 Furthermore thou shalt say unto the people, [o]Be sanctified against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for you have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for we were better 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 a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and be loathsome unto you, because ye have [p]contemned the Lord, which is [q]among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we hither out of Egypt?

21 And Moses said, Six hundred thousand footmen are there of the people, [r]among whom I am: and thou sayest, I will give them flesh, that they may eat a month long.

22 Shall the sheep and the beeves be slain for them to find them? either shall all the fish of the Sea be gathered together for them to suffice them?

23 And the Lord said unto Moses, Is (C)the Lord’s hand shortened? thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee, or no.

24 ¶ So Moses went out, and told the people the words of the Lord, and gathered seventy men of the Elders of the people, and set them round about the Tabernacle.

25 Then the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and [s]took of the Spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy Ancient men: and when the Spirit rested upon them, then they prophesied, and did not [t]cease.

26 But there remained two of the men in the host: the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad, and the Spirit rested upon them, (for they were of them that were written, and went not out unto the Tabernacle) and they prophesied in the host.

27 Then there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the host.

28 And Joshua the son of Nun the servant of Moses one of his [u]young men answered and said, My lord Moses, [v]forbid them.

29 But Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? yea, would God that all the Lord’s people were Prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them.

30 And Moses returned into the host, he and the Elders of Israel.

31 Then there went forth a wind from the Lord, and (D)brought quails from the sea, and let them fall upon the camp, a day’s journey on this side, and a day’s journey on the other side, round about the host, and they were about two cubits above the earth.

32 Then the people arose, all that day, and all the night, and all the next day, and gathered the quails: he that gathered the least, gathered ten [w]Homers full, and they spread them abroad for their use round about the host.

33 While the flesh was yet between their teeth, before it was chewed, even the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord (E)smote the people with an exceeding great plague.

34 So the name of the place was called, [x]Kibroth Hattaavah: for there they buried the people that fell a lusting.

35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people took their journey to Hazeroth, and abode at Hazeroth.

12 1 Aaron and Miriam grudge against Moses.  10 Miriam is stricken with leprosy, and healed at the prayer of Moses.

Afterward Miriam and Aaron [y]spake against Moses, because of the woman of Ethiopia whom he had married (for he had married [z]a woman of Ethiopia.)

And they said, What? hath the Lord spoken but only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? and the Lord heard this.

(But Moses was a very [aa]meek man above all the men that were upon the earth.)

And by and by the Lord said unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, come out ye three unto the Tabernacle of the Congregation: and they three came forth.

Then the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the Tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forth.

And he said, Hear now my words, If there be a Prophet of the Lord among you, I will be known to him by a [ab]vision, and will speak unto him by dream.

My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful [ac]in all mine house,

Unto him will I speak (F)mouth to mouth, and by vision, and not in dark words, but he shall [ad]see the similitude of the Lord. Wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant, even against Moses?

Thus the Lord was very angry with them, and departed.

10 Also the cloud departed from the [ae]Tabernacle: and behold, Miriam was leprous like snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.

11 Then Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, which we have foolishly committed, and wherein we have sinned.

12 Let her not, I pray thee, be as one [af]dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed, when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.

13 Then Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, O God, I beseech thee, heal her now.

14 ¶ And the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had [ag]spit in her face, should she not have been ashamed seven days? let her be (G)shut out of the host seven days, and after she shall be received.

15 So Miriam was shut out of the host seven days, and the people removed not, till Miriam was brought in again.

13 4 Certain men are sent to search the land of Canaan. 24 They bring of the fruit of the land.  31 Caleb comforteth the people against the discouraging of the other spies.

Then afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of [ah]Paran.

¶ And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

[ai]Send thou men out to search the land of Canaan which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, such as are all rulers among them.

Then Moses sent them out of the wilderness of Paran at the commandment of the Lord: all those men were [aj]heads of the children of Israel.

Also their names are these: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur:

Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori:

Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh:

Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph:

Of the tribe of Ephraim, [ak]Hoshea the son of Nun:

10 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu:

11 Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi:

12 Of the tribe of Joseph, to wit, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi:

13 Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli:

14 Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael:

15 Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi:

16 Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

17 These are the names of the [al]men, which Moses sent to spy out the land: and Moses called the name of Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

18 So Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, Go up this way toward the South, and go up into the [am]mountains.

19 And consider the land what it is, and the people that dwell therein, whether they be strong, or weak, either few or many.

20 Also what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be [an]good or bad: and what cities they be, that they dwell in, whether they dwell in tents, or in walled towns.

21 And what the land is: whether it be fat or lean, whether there be trees therein, or not. And be of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land (for then was the time of the first ripe grapes.)

22 ¶ So they went up, and searched out the land, from the wilderness of [ao]Zin unto Rehob, to go to Hamath.

23 And they ascended toward the South, and came unto Hebron, where were Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the sons of [ap]Anak. And [aq]Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.

24 (H)Then they came to the river of Eshcol, and cut down thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it upon a bar between two, and brought of the pomegranates and of the figs.

25 That place was called the [ar]river Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes, which the children of Israel cut down thence.

26 Then after forty days they turned again from searching of the land.

27 And they went and came to Moses and to Aaron, and unto all the Congregation of the children of Israel, in the wilderness of [as]Paran, to Kadesh, and brought to them, and to all the Congregation tidings, and showed them the fruit of the land.

28 And they told [at]him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou hast sent us, and surely it floweth with (I)milk and honey: and here is of the fruit of it.

29 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled and exceeding great: and moreover, we saw the [au]sons of Anak there.

30 The Amalekites dwell in the South country, and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coasts of Jordan.

31 Then Caleb stilled the people [av]before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it: for undoubtedly we shall overcome it.

32 But the men that went up with him, said, We be not able to go up against the people: for they are stronger than we.

33 So they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched for the children of Israel, saying, The land which we have gone through to search it out, is a land that [aw]eateth up the inhabitants thereof: for all the people that we saw in it, are men of great stature.

34 For there we saw giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants, so that we seemed in our sight like grasshoppers: and so we were in their sight.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 11:1 Hebrew, as unjust complainers.
  2. Numbers 11:1 Hebrew, it was evil in the ears of the Lord.
  3. Numbers 11:3 Or, burning.
  4. Numbers 11:4 Which were of those strangers that came out of Egypt with them, Exod. 12:38.
  5. Numbers 11:4 From God.
  6. Numbers 11:5 For a small price, or good cheap.
  7. Numbers 11:6 For the greedy lust of flesh.
  8. Numbers 11:7 Which is a white pearl, or precious stone.
  9. Numbers 11:11 Or, evil intreated.
  10. Numbers 11:11 Or, wherein have I displeased thee?
  11. Numbers 11:12 Am I their father, that none may have the charge of them but I?
  12. Numbers 11:12 Of Canaan promised by an oath to our fathers.
  13. Numbers 11:15 I had rather die than to see my grief and misery thus daily increase by their rebellion.
  14. Numbers 11:17 I will distribute my spirit among them, as I have done to thee.
  15. Numbers 11:18 Prepare yourselves that ye be not unclean.
  16. Numbers 11:20 Or, cast him off, because ye refused Manna, which he appointed as most meet for you.
  17. Numbers 11:20 Who leadeth and governeth you.
  18. Numbers 11:21 Of whom I have the charge.
  19. Numbers 11:25 Or, separated, verse 17.
  20. Numbers 11:25 From that day the spirit of prophecy did not fail them.
  21. Numbers 11:28 Or, a young man whom he had chosen from his youth.
  22. Numbers 11:28 Such blind zeal was in the Apostles, Mark 9:38; Luke 9:44.
  23. Numbers 11:32 Of Homer, read Lev. 27:16, also it signifieth an heap, as Exod. 8:14; Judg. 15:16.
  24. Numbers 11:34 Or, graves of lust.
  25. Numbers 12:1 Or, murmured.
  26. Numbers 12:1 Zipporah Moses’ wife was a Midianite, and because Midian bordered on Ethiopia, it is sometimes in the Scriptures comprehended under this name.
  27. Numbers 12:3 And so bare with their grudging, although he knew them.
  28. Numbers 12:6 These were the two ordinary means.
  29. Numbers 12:7 In all Israel which was his Church.
  30. Numbers 12:8 So far as any man was able to comprehend, which he calleth his back parts, Exod. 33:23.
  31. Numbers 12:10 From the door of the Tabernacle.
  32. Numbers 12:12 As a child that cometh out of his mother’s belly dead, having as it were but the skin.
  33. Numbers 12:14 In his displeasure.
  34. Numbers 13:1 That is, in Rithmah, which was in Paran, Num. 33:18.
  35. Numbers 13:3 After the people had required it of Moses, as it is in Deut. 1:22, then the Lord spake to Moses so to do.
  36. Numbers 13:4 Or, rulers.
  37. Numbers 13:9 Or, Joshua.
  38. Numbers 13:17 Which in number were twelve, according to the twelve tribes.
  39. Numbers 13:18 Or, his country.
  40. Numbers 13:20 Plentiful or barren.
  41. Numbers 13:22 Which was in the wilderness of Paran.
  42. Numbers 13:23 Which were a kind of giants.
  43. Numbers 13:23 Declaring the antiquity thereof: also Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Jacob were buried there.
  44. Numbers 13:25 Or, the valley of Eshcol, that is, of grapes.
  45. Numbers 13:27 Called also Kadesh Barnea.
  46. Numbers 13:28 That is, Moses.
  47. Numbers 13:29 Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, whom Caleb slew afterward, Josh. 11:21, 22.
  48. Numbers 13:31 Or, murmuring against Moses.
  49. Numbers 13:33 The giants were so cruel, that they spoiled and killed one another and those that came to them.

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