Numbers 11

₁The Israelites complained and said bad things because of their problems and the Lord heard them complain. He was angry and sent a fire that burnt them and one end of the camp. ₂The people asked Moses to help them. Moses prayed to the Lord and the fire went out. ₃They named that place ‘The place of Fire,’ because the Lord had sent a fire there to burn them.

₄One day a few bad people among the Israelites wanted to eat meat as they longed for it. The other Israelites also cried and said: ‘Who will give us meat to eat? ₅We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt, which we did not pay for. We think about the vegetables and all the fruit that we ate. ₆But now we must eat dry food. We get only manna to eat, and no other food.’

₇The manna was like coriander seed and it looked like the gum from a tree. ₈The people went out to get some of the manna and they made it fine like flour, then they cooked it and made cakes or wafers from it. It tasted like olive oil cakes. ₉When the dew fell at night in the camp, the manna fell with it.

₁₀Moses heard the people crying. Each family was crying at the door of their tent. The Lord became very angry and Moses was afraid and upset. ₁₁Moses asked the Lord: ‘Why do you make me suffer so much? I am your servant. What have I done wrong? Why are You unhappy with me? Why do You make me carry all the troubles of these people? It is too difficult for me. I can not carry it. ₁₂I am not their mother, but You tell me to look after them and take them into my arms like babies and carry them to the land that You promised to give to their forefathers. ₁₃Where will I get meat to give to all these people? They come to me and cry and say that I must give them meat to eat. ₁₄I can not carry all these people alone. It is too difficult for me. ₁₅If You are going to let me suffer so much, then it will be better if You kill me. That will be better for me. Please do not let me suffer so much.’

₁₆Then the Lord said to Moses: ‘You must call 70 of Israel's leaders together. You know who are good leaders and elders. Bring them to Me at the tent where I appear to the Israelites and let them stand there with you. ₁₇I will come down and talk to you and I will give them the same power that I have given you. Then they can work with you and help you with all the people's problems so that you don't have to do it alone.

₁₈You must tell the people to consecrate themselves before tomorrow, because tomorrow they will eat meat. Tell them the Lord has heard them crying and complaining. They have asked: “Who will give us meat to eat. It was better in Egypt.”

Tomorrow the Lord will give you meat and you will eat it. ₁₉You will not eat meat for one day, or for 2 days, or for 5 days, or for 10 days, or for 20 days. ₂₀No, you will eat meat for a full month until it comes out of your noses and you become sick of it. This will happen because you have turned away from the Lord who is among you. He heard you when you cried and asked: “Why did we go out of Egypt?” ’

₂₁Then Moses said to the Lord: ‘There are 600 000 men with me who can go to war and You say You will give them meat to eat for a month? ₂₂Are there enough sheep and cattle and goats to kill for all of them? Will all the fish in the sea be enough if we get it all and bring it to them?’

₂₃The Lord said to Moses: ‘Do you think that I can not do it? You will now see if the words that I have said will happen or not.’

₂₄Moses went out and he told the people what the Lord had said. Then he called the 70 leaders_of_Israel together and he told them to stand around the tent of the Lord. ₂₅Then the Lord came down in a cloud and He talked to Moses. The Lord gave the same Spirit to the 70 leaders that He had given Moses before. When the Spirit of the Lord came into the 70 men, they started to prophesy. They did it only on that day. ₂₆There were 2 men, Eldad and Medad, who did not go out to the tent but stayed in the camp. Their names were also among the names of the 70 leaders. When the Spirit of the Lord came into them, they started to prophesy in the camp. ₂₇A young man ran to Moses and told him that Eldad and Medad were in the camp and that they were talking like prophets. ₂₈Joshua, son of Nun, who had been working for Moses from the time that he was very young, said to Moses: ‘Sir, you must stop them.’ ₂₉But Moses said: ‘Do not be worried about me. I hope the Lord gives his Spirit to all the people, so that they can be prophets.’

₃₀Then Moses and the leaders_of_Israel went back to the camp.

₃₁The Lord sent a wind to blow from the sea and it brought quails which fell into the camp. The quails were lying on the ground, about 2 cubits high and as far as a person could walk in one day, all around the camp. ₃₂The people started to pick up quails that day and night and also the next day. The people who did not pick up a lot had 10 baskets of quails. They put the quails in the sun around the camp to dry them out. ₃₃The people started to eat, but very soon, before they could swallow the meat, the Lord became angry with them and He caused many of them to die. ₃₄They buried the people who had longed for meat there and they named the place Kibroth-Hattaavah.

₃₅The people went further away from the graves and they came to the town of Hazeroth.