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CHAPTER 11
1 In the meantime grutching of the people, as of men sorrowing for travail, rose against the Lord. And when Moses had heard this thing, he was wroth; and the fire of the Lord was kindled upon them, and devoured the last part of the tents.
2 And when the people had cried to Moses, Moses prayed [to] the Lord, and the fire was quenched.
3 And he called the name of that place Burning, for the fire of the Lord was kindled against them.
4 And the common people of men and women, that had gone up with them, burnt with desire of flesh, and they sat, and wept, with the sons of Israel joined together with them, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
5 We think upon the fish that we ate in Egypt freely; gourds, and melons, and leeks, and onions, and garlic come into our minds;
6 our soul is dry; our eyes behold none other thing than manna.
7 Soothly manna was as the seed of coriander, of the colour of bdellium, which is white, and bright as crystal.
8 And the people went about, and gathered it, and brake it with a quernstone, either pounded it in a mortar, and seethed it in a pot; and made thereof little cakes of the savour as of bread made with oil.
9 And when [the] dew came down in the night upon the tents, also manna came down together therewith.
10 Then Moses heard the people weeping by meines, and each of them by the doors of their tents; and the strong vengeance of the Lord was wroth greatly, but also the grutching was seen unsufferable to Moses.
11 And he said to the Lord, Why hast thou tormented thy servant? why find I not grace before thee? and why hast thou put the burden of all this people onto me?
12 whether I have conceived all this multitude, either have begotten it, that thou say to me, Bear thou them in thy bosom, as a nurse is wont to bear a little young child, and bear thou this people into the land for the which thou swore to their fathers?
13 whereof be meats to me, that I feed so great a multitude? They weep before me, and say, Give us flesh, that we eat;
14 I may not alone sustain all this people, for it is grievous to me.
15 If in other manner it seemeth to thee, I beseech thee, that thou slay me, and that I find grace in thine eyes, that I be not punished, or travailed, with so great evils.
16 And the Lord said to Moses, Gather thou to me seventy men of the elder men of Israel, whom thou knowest to be elder men, and masters of the people; and thou shalt lead them to the door of the tabernacle of [the] bond of peace, and thou shalt make them to stand there with thee,
17 that I come down, and speak to thee; and I shall take away of thy spirit, and I shall give to them, that they sustain with thee the burden of the people, and not thou alone be grieved.
18 And thou shalt say to the people, Be ye hallowed; tomorrow ye shall eat flesh; for I heard you say, Who shall give us the meats of flesh? it was well to us in Egypt; that the Lord give you flesh,
19 and ye eat not only one day, either twain [or two], either five, either ten, soothly neither twenty days,
20 but till to a month of days, till it go out by your nostrils, and turn into loathing; for by your grutching ye have put away the Lord, which is in the midst of you, and ye wept before him, and said, Why went we out of Egypt?
21 And Moses said to the Lord, Six hundred thousand of footmen be of this people, and thou sayest, I shall give them to eat flesh an whole month.
22 Whether the multitude of sheep and of oxen shall be able to be slain, that it may suffice this people to meat, either whether all the fishes of the sea shall be gathered together, that those [ful] fill them?
23 To whom the Lord answered, Whether the Lord’s hand is unmighty? right now thou shalt see, whether my word shall be fulfilled in work.
24 Therefore Moses came, and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy men of the elders of Israel, which he made stand about the tabernacle.
25 And the Lord came down by a cloud, and spake to Moses, and took away of the spirit that was in Moses, and gave to the seventy men; and when the spirit had rested in them, they prophesied, and moreover they ceased not.
26 Forsooth two men dwelled still in the tents, of which men one was called Eldad, and the tother Medad, on which the spirit rested; for also they were described, or ordained, or chosen, and they went not out to the tabernacle. And when they prophesied in the tents,
27 a young man ran, and told to Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad prophesy in the tents.
28 Anon Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, and chosen of many, said, My lord Moses, forbid thou them.
29 And Moses said, What, hast thou envy for me? who giveth, whether not God, that all the people prophesy, and that God give his spirit to them?
30 And Moses turned again, and the elder men in birth of Israel, into the tents.
31 Forsooth a wind went forth from the Lord, and it took curlews, and brought them over the sea, and he left them in the tents, in journey, as much as may be performed in one day, by each part of the tents by compass; and they flew in the air by two cubits in height above the earth.
32 Therefore the people rose in all that day, and that night, and into the tother day, and gathered a multitude of curlews; he that gathered little, gathered ten cors; and they dried those curlews by compass of the tents.
33 Yet flesh was in their teeth, and such meat failed them not; and lo! the wrath of the Lord was raised against his people, and he smote it with a full great vengeance.
34 And that place was called The Sepulchres of Covetousness, or Lust, for there they buried the people that desired flesh.
35 Soothly they went forth from The Sepulchres of Covetousness, or Lust, and came into Hazeroth, and dwelled there.

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© 2001,2010,2011,2012,2013,2015 Terry Noble