Numeri 11

1In the mean time there arose a murmuring of the people against the Lord, as it were repining at their fatigue. And when the Lord heard it he was angry. And the fire of the Lord being kindled against them, devoured them that were at the uttermost part of the camp.

2And when the people cried to Moses, Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire was swallowed up.

3And he called the name of that place, The burning: for that the fire of the Lord had been kindled against them.

4For a mixt multitude of people, that came up with them, burned with desire, sitting and weeping, the children of Israel also being joined with them, and said: Who shall give us flesh to eat?

5We remember the Ash that we ate in Egypt free cost: the cucumbers come into our mind, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic.

6Our soul is dry, our eyes behold nothing else but manna.

7A Now the manna was like coriander seed, of the colour of bdellium.

8And the people went about, and gathering it, ground it in a mill, or beat it in a mortar, and boiled it in a pot, and made cakes thereof of the taste of bread tempered with oil.

9And when the dew fell in the night upon the camp, the manna also fell with it.

10Now Moses heard the people weeping by their families, every one at the door of his tent. And the wrath of the Lord was exceedingly enkindled: to Moses also the thing seemed insupportable.

11And he said to the Lord: Why hast thou afflicted thy servant? wherefore do I not find favour before thee? and why hast thou laid the weight of all this people upon me?

12Have I conceived all this multitude, or begotten them, that thou shouldst say to me: Carry them in thy bosom as the nurse is wont to carry the little infant, and bear them into the land, for which thou hast sworn to their fathers?

13Whence should I have flesh to give to so great a multitude? they weep against me, saying: Give us flesh that we may eat.

14I am not able alone to bear all this people, because it is too heavy for me.

15But if it seem unto thee otherwise, I beseech thee to kill me, and let me find grace in thy eyes, that I be not afflicted with so great evils.

16And the Lord said to Moses: Gather unto me seventy men of the ancients of Israel, whom thou knowest to be ancients and masters of the people: and thou shalt bring them to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, and shalt make them stand there with thee,

17That I may come down and speak with thee: and I will take of thy spirit, and will give to them, that they may bear with thee the burden of the people, and thou mayest not be burthened alone.

18And thou shalt say to the people: Be ye sanctified: tomorrow you shall eat flesh: for I have heard you say: Who will give us flesh to eat? it was well with us in Egypt. That the Lord may give you flesh, and you may eat:

19Not for one day, nor two, nor five, nor ten, no nor for twenty.

20But even for a month of days, till it come out at your nostrils, and become loathsome to you, because you have cast off the Lord, who is in the midst of you, and have wept before him, saying: Why came we out of Egypt?

21And Moses said: There are six hundred thousand footmen of this people, and sayest thou: I will give them flesh to eat a whole month?

22Shall then a multitude of sheep and oxen be killed, that it may suffice for their food? or shall the fishes of the sea be gathered together to fill them?

23And the Lord answered him: Is the hand of the Lord unable? Thou shalt presently see whether my word shall come to pass or no.

24Moses therefore came, and told the people the words of the Lord, and assembled seventy men of the ancients of Israel, and made them to stand about the tabernacle.

25And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spoke to him, taking away of the spirit that was in Moses, and giving to the seventy men. And when the spirit had rested on them they prophesied, nor did they cease afterwards.

26Now there remained in the camp two of the men, of whom one was called Eldad, and the other Medad, upon whom the spirit rested; for they also had been enrolled, but were not gone forth to the tabernacle.

27And when they prophesied in the camp, there ran a young man, and told Moses, saying: Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp.

28Forthwith Josue the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, and chosen out of many, said: My lord Moses forbid them.

29But he said: Why hast thou emulation for me? O that all the people might prophesy, and that the Lord would give them his spirit!

30And Moses returned, with the ancients of Israel, into the camp.

31And a wind going out from the Lord, taking quails up beyond the sea brought them, and cast them into the camp for the space of one day’s journey, on every side of the camp round about, and they flew in the air two cubits high above the ground.

32The people therefore rising up all that day, and night, and the next day, gathered together of quails, he that did least, ten cores: and they dried them round about the camp.

33As yet the flesh was between their teeth, neither had that kind of meat failed: when behold the wrath of the Lord being provoked against the people, struck them with an exceeding great plague.

34And that place was called, The graves of lust: for there they buried the people that had lusted. And departing from the graves of lust, they came unto Haseroth, and abode there.

1Interea ortum est murmur populi, quasi dolentium pro labore, contra Dominum. Quod cum audisset Dominus, iratus est. Et accensus in eos ignis Domini, devoravit extremam castrorum partem.

2Cumque clamasset populus ad Moysen, oravit Moyses ad Dominum, et absorptus est ignis.

3Vocavitque nomen loci illius, Incensio: eo quod incensus fuisset contra eos ignis Domini.

4Vulgus quippe promiscuum, quod ascenderat cum eis, flagravit desiderio, sedens et flens, junctis sibi pariter filiis Israël, et ait: Quis dabit nobis ad vescendum carnes?

5recordamur piscium quos comedebamus in Ægypto gratis: in mentem nobis veniunt cucumeres, et pepones, porrique, et cæpe, et allia.

6Anima nostra arida est: nihil aliud respiciunt oculi nostri nisi man.

7Erat autem man quasi semen coriandri, coloris bdellii.

8Circuibatque populus, et colligens illud, frangebat mola, sive terebat in mortario, coquens in olla, et faciens ex eo tortulas saporis quasi panis oleati.

9Cumque descenderet nocte super castra ros, descendebat pariter et man.

10Audivit ergo Moyses flentem populum per familias, singulos per ostia tentorii sui. Iratusque est furor Domini valde: sed et Moysi intoleranda res visa est,

11et ait ad Dominum: Cur afflixisti servum tuum? quare non invenio gratiam coram te? et cur imposuisti pondus universi populi hujus super me?

12Numquid ego concepi omnem hanc multitudinem, vel genui eam, ut dicas mihi: Porta eos in sinu tuo sicut portare solet nutrix infantulum, et defer in terram, pro qua jurasti patribus eorum?

13Unde mihi carnes ut dem tantæ multitudini? flent contra me, dicentes: Da nobis carnes ut comedamus.

14Non possum solus sustinere omnem hunc populum, quia gravis est mihi.

15Sin aliter tibi videtur, obsecro ut interficias me, et inveniam gratiam in oculis tuis, ne tantis afficiar malis.

16Et dixit Dominus ad Moysen: Congrega mihi septuaginta viros de senibus Israël, quos tu nosti quod senes populi sint ac magistri: et duces eos ad ostium tabernaculi fœderis, faciesque ibi stare tecum,

17ut descendam et loquar tibi: et auferam de spiritu tuo, tradamque eis, ut sustentent tecum onus populi, et non tu solus graveris.

18Populo quoque dices: Sanctificamini (cras comedetis carnes: ego enim audivi vos dicere: Quis dabit nobis escas carnium? bene nobis erat in Ægypto), ut det vobis Dominus carnes, et comedatis:

19non uno die, nec duobus, vel quinque aut decem, nec viginti quidem,

20sed usque ad mensem dierum, donec exeat per nares vestras, et vertatur in nauseam, eo quod repuleritis Dominum, qui in medio vestri est, et fleveritis coram eo, dicentes: Quare egressi sumus ex Ægypto?

21Et ait Moyses: Sexcenta millia peditum hujus populi sunt: et tu dicis: Dabo eis esum carnium mense integro?

22numquid ovium et boum multitudo cædetur, ut possit sufficere ad cibum? vel omnes pisces maris in unum congregabuntur, ut eos satient?

23Cui respondit Dominus: Numquid manus Domini invalida est? jam nunc videbis utrum meus sermo opere compleatur.

24Venit igitur Moyses, et narravit populo verba Domini, congregans septuaginta viros de senibus Israël, quos stare fecit circa tabernaculum.

25Descenditque Dominus per nubem, et locutus est ad eum, auferens de spiritu qui erat in Moyse, et dans septuaginta viris. Cumque requievisset in eis spiritus, prophetaverunt, nec ultra cessaverunt.

26Remanserat autem in castris duo viri, quorum unus vocabatur Eldad, et alter Medad, super quos requievit spiritus. Nam et ipsi descripti fuerant, et non exierant ad tabernaculum.

27Cumque prophetarent in castris, cucurrit puer, et nuntiavit Moysi, dicens: Eldad et Medad prophetant in castris.

28Statim Josue filius Nun, minister Moysi, et electus e pluribus, ait: Domine mi Moyses, prohibe eos.

29At ille: Quid, inquit æmularis pro me? quis tribuat ut omnis populus prophetet, et det eis Dominus spiritum suum?

30Reversusque est Moyses, et majores natu Israël in castra.

31Ventus autem egrediens a Domino, arreptans trans mare coturnices detulit, et demisit in castra itinere quantum uno die confici potest, ex omni parte castrorum per circuitum, volabantque in aëre duobus cubitis altitudine super terram.

32Surgens ergo populus toto die illo, et nocte, ac die altero, congregavit coturnicum: qui parum, decem coros: et siccaverunt eas per gyrum castrorum.

33Adhuc carnes erant in dentibus eorum, nec defecerat hujuscemodi cibus: et ecce furor Domini concitatus in populum, percussit eum plaga magna nimis.

34Vocatusque est ille locus, Sepulchra concupiscentiæ: ibi enim sepelierunt populum qui desideraverat. Egressi autem de Sepulchris concupiscentiæ, venerunt in Haseroth, et manserunt ibi.

1Meanwhile, there arose a murmur among the people against the Lord, as if they were grief-stricken because of their labors. And when the Lord had heard it, he was angry. And when the fire of the Lord was enflamed against them, it devoured those who were at the extreme end of the camp.

2And when the people had cried out to Moses, Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire was consumed.

3And he called the name of that place, ‘The Burning,’ because the fire of the Lord had burned against them.

4So then, the mix of common people, who had ascended with them, were enflamed with desire, and sitting and weeping, with the sons of Israel joining them, they said, “Who will give us flesh to eat?

5We remember the fish that we ate freely in Egypt; we call to mind the cucumbers, and melons, and leeks, and onions, and garlic.

6Our life is dry; our eyes look out to see nothing but manna.”

7Now the manna was like coriander seed, but with the color of bdellium.

8And the people wandered about, gathering it, and they crushed it with a millstone, or ground it with a mortar; then they boiled it in a pot, and made biscuits out of it, with a taste like bread made with oil.

9And when the dew descended in the night over the camp, the manna descended together with it.

10And so, Moses heard the people weeping by their families, each one at the door of his tent. And the fury of the Lord was greatly enflamed. And to Moses also the matter seemed intolerable.

11And so he said to the Lord: “Why have you afflicted your servant? Why do I not find favor before you? And why have you imposed the weight of this entire people upon me?

12Could I have conceived this entire multitude, or have given birth to them, so that you might say to me: Carry them in your bosom, as a nursemaid usually carries a little infant, and bring them into the land, about which you have sworn to their fathers?

13From where would I obtain the flesh to give to so great a multitude? They weep against me, saying, ‘Give us flesh, so that we may eat.’

14I alone am unable to sustain this entire people, because it is too heavy for me.

15But if it seems to you otherwise, I beg you to put me to death, and so may I find grace in your eyes, lest I be afflicted with such evils.”

16And the Lord said to Moses: “Gather to me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be elders, as well as teachers, of the people. And you shall lead them to the door of the tabernacle of the covenant, and you shall cause them to stand there with you,

17so that I may descend and speak to you. And I will take from your spirit, and I will deliver it to them, so that, with you, they may sustain the burden of the people, and so that you will not be weighed down alone.

18You shall also say to the people: Be sanctified. Tomorrow you will eat flesh. For I have heard you say: ‘Who will give us flesh to eat? It was well with us in Egypt.’ So then, may the Lord give you flesh. And you will eat,

19not for one day, nor for two, nor for five, nor for ten, nor even for twenty,

20but for up to a month of days, until it exits from your nostrils, and until it turns into nausea for you, because you have slipped away from the Lord, who is in your midst, and because you have wept before him, saying: ‘Why did we go forth out of Egypt?’ ”

21And Moses said: “There are six hundred thousand footmen of this people, and yet you say, ‘I will give them flesh to eat for a whole month.’

22Could a multitude of sheep and oxen be slain, so that there would be enough food? Or will the fishes of the sea be gathered together, in order to satisfy them?”

23And the Lord answered him: “Can the hand of the Lord be ineffective? Soon now, you shall see whether my word will be fulfilled in this work.”

24And so, Moses went and explained the words of the Lord to the people. Gathering together seventy men from the elders of Israel, he caused them to stand around the tabernacle.

25And the Lord descended in a cloud, and he spoke to him, taking from the Spirit which was in Moses, and giving to the seventy men. And when the Spirit had rested in them, they prophesied; nor did they cease afterwards.

26Now there had remained in the camp two of the men, of whom one was called Eldad, and the other Medad, upon whom the Spirit rested; for they also had been enrolled, but they did not go forth to the tabernacle.

27And when they were prophesying in the camp, a boy ran and reported to Moses, saying: “Eldad and Medad prophesy in the camp.”

28Promptly, Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses and chosen from many, said: “My lord Moses, prohibit them.”

29But he said, “Why are you jealous on my behalf? Who decides that any of the people may prophesy and that God may give to them his Spirit?”

30And Moses returned, with those greater by birth of Israel, into the camp.

31Then a wind, going out from the Lord and moving forcefully across the sea, brought quails and cast them into the camp, across a distance of one day’s journey, in every part of the camp all around, and they flew in the air two cubits high above the ground.

32Therefore, the people, rising up, gathered quails all that day and night, and the next day; he who did least well gathered ten homers. And they dried them throughout the camp.

33The flesh was still between their teeth, neither had this kind of food ceased, and behold, the fury of the Lord was provoked against the people, and he struck them with an exceedingly great scourge.

34And that place was called, ‘The Graves of Lust.’ For there, they buried the people who had desired. Then, departing from the Graves of Lust, they arrived in Hazeroth, and they stayed there.