- 1
- And the people were as murmurers, speaking evil in the ears of the LORD;
and when the LORD heard it, His anger was kindled;
and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and devoured in the uttermost part of the camp.
- 2
- And the people cried unto Moses;
and Moses prayed unto the LORD, and the fire abated.
- 3
- And the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD burnt among them.
- 4
- And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting;
and the children of Israel also wept on their part, and said: "Would that we were given flesh to eat!
- 5
- We remember the fish, which we were wont to eat in Egypt for nought;
the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic;
- 6
- but now our soul is dried away;
there is nothing at all;
we have nought save this manna to look to." -
- 7
- Now the manna was like coriander seed, and the appearance thereof as the appearance of bdellium.
- 8
- The people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in mortars, and seethed it in pots, and made cakes of it;
and the taste of it was as the taste of a cake baked with oil.
- 9
- And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it. -
- 10
- And Moses heard the people weeping, family by family, every man at the door of his tent;
and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly;
and Moses was displeased.
- 11
- And Moses said unto the LORD: "Wherefore hast Thou dealt ill with 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 brought them forth, that Thou shouldest say unto me: Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing-father carrieth the sucking child, unto the land which Thou didst swear unto their fathers?
- 13
- Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people?
for they trouble me with their weeping, saying: Give us flesh, that we may eat.
- 14
- I am not able to bear all this people myself 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 look upon 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 tent of meeting, that they may stand there with thee.
- 17
- And I will come down and speak 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: Would that we were given 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 a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you;
because that ye have rejected the LORD who is among you, and have troubled Him with weeping, saying: Why, now, came we forth out of Egypt?"
- 21
- And Moses said: "The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand men on foot;
and yet Thou hast said: I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month!
- 22
- If flocks and herds be slain for them, will they suffice them?
or if all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, will they suffice them?"
- 23
- And the LORD said unto Moses: "Is the LORD"S hand waxed short?
now shalt thou see 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 he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the Tent.
- 25
- And the LORD came down in the cloud, and spoke unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and put it upon the seventy elders;
and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, but they did so no more.
- 26
- But there remained two 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 recorded, but had not gone out unto the Tent;
and they prophesied in the camp.
- 27
- And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said: "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp."
- 28
- And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses from his youth up, answered and said: "My lord Moses, shut them in."
- 29
- And Moses said unto him: "Art thou jealous for my sake?
would that all the LORD"S people were prophets, that the LORD would put His spirit upon them!"
- 30
- And Moses withdrew into the camp, he and the elders of Israel.
- 31
- And there went forth a wind from the LORD, and brought across quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, about a day"s journey on this side, and a day"s journey on the other side, round about the camp, and about two cubits above the face of the earth.
- 32
- And the people rose up all that day, and all the night, and all the next day, and gathered the quails;
he that gathered least gathered ten heaps;
and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.
- 33
- While the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.
- 34
- And the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people that lusted.
- 35
- From Kibroth-hattaavah the people journeyed unto Hazeroth;
and they abode at Hazeroth.
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