1 N ow the people complained about their troubles in the hearing of the Lord. When the Lord heard it, His anger burned. The fire of the Lord burned among them, and destroyed some around the outer parts of the tents.

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 T hen the people cried to Moses and he prayed to the Lord, and the fire went out.

And the people cried unto Moses; and when Moses prayed unto the Lord, the fire was quenched.

3 S o the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.

And he called the name of the place Taberah: because the fire of the Lord burnt among them.

4 T he mixed group of people among them had strong desires. The people of Israel cried again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat?

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 W e remember all the fish we could eat free in Egypt, and all the fruit and vegetables and spices.

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 B ut now our strength is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this bread from heaven.”

but now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.

7 N ow the bread from heaven was like coriander seed, and it looked like bdellium.

And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium.

8 T he people would go and gather it and beat it between stones. They boiled it in a pot or made bread with it. It tasted like bread made with oil.

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 W hen the grass became wet around the tents at night, the bread from heaven would fall.

And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it.

10 M oses heard all the people crying in every family, each man at the door of his tent. The Lord became very angry with them and Moses was not pleased.

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 S o Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You been so hard on Your servant? Why have I not found favor in Your eyes, that You have laid the troubles of all these people on me?

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 D id I give birth to all these people? Did I bring them out, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them close to your heart as a nurse carries a nursing baby, to the land You promised their fathers’?

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 W here am I to get meat to give to all these people? They cry in front of me, saying, ‘Give us meat so we may eat!’

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 carry all these people alone. The load is too heavy for me.

I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.

15 S o if You are going to act this way toward me, I beg You to kill me now, if I have found favor in Your eyes. Do not let me see how bad off I am.” The Seventy Leaders

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 T he Lord said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from the leaders of Israel, whom you know to be the leaders of the people, the men who rule over them. Bring them to the meeting tent and let them stand there with you.

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 T hen I will come down and speak with you there. I will take of the Spirit Who is upon you, and will put Him upon them. Then they will carry the troubles of the people with you so you will not carry them all alone.

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 S ay to the people, ‘Make yourselves holy for tomorrow, and you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you cried and said, “If only someone would give us meat to eat! For it was well with us in Egypt.” So the Lord will give you meat and you will eat.

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 Y ou will not eat it for only one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days.

Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days;

20 B ut you will eat it a whole month, until it comes out of your nose and you hate it, because you have turned away from the Lord Who is among you. You have cried before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”

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 B ut Moses said, “The people whom I am among are 600, 000 on foot. And You have said, ‘I will give them meat so they may eat for a whole month.’

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 W ill enough flocks and cattle be killed to feed them? Or will enough fish be gathered from the sea to feed them?”

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 T he Lord said to Moses, “Is there an end to the Lord’s power? Now you will see if My Word will come true for you or not.”

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 S o Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. And he gathered seventy men from the leaders of the people, and had them stand around the meeting tent.

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 T hen the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him. He took of the Spirit Who was upon him and put Him upon the seventy leaders. When the Spirit rested upon them, they spoke the word of the Lord. But they did not do it again.

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 B ut two men had stayed among the tents. Their names were Eldad and Medad, and the Spirit rested upon them. They were among those who had been chosen, but had not gone out to the meeting tent. So they spoke the word of the Lord among the tents.

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 A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are speaking the word of the Lord among the tents.”

And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.

28 T hen Joshua the son of Nun, the helper of Moses since he was young, said, “Moses, my lord, do not let them.”

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

29 B ut Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my good? If only all the Lord’s people would speak for God, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!”

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 T hen Moses and the leaders of Israel returned to the tents. The Lord Sends Quails

And Moses gat him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.

31 N ow a wind went out from the Lord. It brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the place where the tents were set up. They fell all around the tents, about as far on each side as it takes to travel in a day. They lay on the ground as deep as two cubits.

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 T he people worked all day and all night and all the next day gathering the quail. He who gathered the least gathered enough to fill 110 baskets. And they spread them out for themselves all around the tents.

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 W hile the meat was still between their teeth and not yet eaten, the Lord became angry with the people. The Lord sent a bad sickness upon the people.

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 S o the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah. Because there they buried the people who had wanted meat to eat.

And he called the name of that place Kibroth-hattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted.

35 T he people left Kibroth-hattaavah and went to Hazeroth. And they stayed at Hazeroth.

And the people journeyed from Kibroth-hattaavah unto Hazeroth; and abode at Hazeroth.