The People Complain
Now the people became like athose who complain of calamity bin the ears of Yahweh. And Yahweh heard it and His anger was kindled, and the fire of Yahweh burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp. 2 aThe people therefore cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to Yahweh, and the fire died out. 3 So the name of that place was called aTaberah because the fire of Yahweh burned among them.
4 And the arabble who were among them had greedy desires; and also the sons of Israel wept again and said, “bWho will give us meat to eat? 5 aWe remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, 6 but now aour appetite is dried up. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna.”
7 aNow the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of bbdellium. 8 The people would go about and gather it and grind it between two millstones or beat it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make cakes with it; and its taste was as the taste of cakes baked with oil. 9 aAnd when the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.
Moses Complains
10 Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each man at the doorway of his tent; and the anger of Yahweh was kindled greatly, and it was evil in the sight of Moses. 11 aSo Moses said to Yahweh, “Why have You allowed this evil toward Your slave? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me? 12 Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who gave birth to them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a anurse carries a nursing baby, to the land which bYou swore to their fathers’? 13 Where am I to get meat to give to aall this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat that we may eat!’ 14 aI alone am not able to carry all this people because it is too heavy for me. 15 aSo if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”
The Spirit Rests upon the Elders
16 Yahweh therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me aseventy men from the elders of Israel, bwhom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers, and take them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 aThen I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of bthe Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone. 18 And say to the people, ‘aSet yourselves apart as holy for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept bin the ears of Yahweh, saying, “Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For it was good for us in Egypt.” Therefore Yahweh will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20 but a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you; because ayou have rejected Yahweh who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever go out from Egypt?”’” 21 But Moses said, “The people, among whom I am, are 600,000 on foot; yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.’ 22 Should flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, to be sufficient for them? Or should all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, to be sufficient for them?” 23 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Is aYahweh’s power limited? Now you shall see whether bMy word will happen for you or not.”
24 So Moses went out and atold the people the words of Yahweh. Also, he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent. 25 aThen Yahweh came down in the cloud and spoke to him; and He took of the Spirit who was upon him and placed Him upon the seventy elders. And when the Spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do it again.
26 But two men had remained in the camp; the name of one was Eldad and the name of the other Medad. And athe Spirit rested upon them (now they were among those who had been registered, but had not gone out to the tent), and they prophesied in the camp. 27 So a young man ran and told Moses and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 Then aJoshua the son of Nun, the attendant of Moses from his youth, said, “bMoses, my lord, restrain them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? aWould that all the people of Yahweh were prophets, that Yahweh would put His Spirit upon them!” 30 Then Moses returned to the camp, both he and the elders of Israel.
The Quail and the Plague
31 aNow there went forth a wind from Yahweh, and it brought quail from the sea, and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp and about two cubits over the surface of the ground. 32 And the people spent all day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten ahomers), and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 aWhile the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of Yahweh was kindled against the people, and Yahweh struck the people with a very severe plague. 34 So the name of that place was called aKibroth-hattaavah because there they buried the people who had been greedy. 35 From Kibroth-hattaavah athe people set out for Hazeroth, and they remained at Hazeroth.
Miriam and Aaron Speak Against Moses
Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had taken as a wife (for he had taken a aCushite woman); 2 aand they said, “Has Yahweh indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?” And Yahweh heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was avery humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.) 4 Suddenly Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out. 5 aThen Yahweh came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent, and He called Aaron and Miriam. And then both came forward, 6 and He said,
“Hear now My words:
If there is a prophet among you,
I, Yahweh, shall make Myself known to him in a avision.
I shall speak with him in a bdream.
7 Not so, with aMy servant Moses,
bHe is faithful in all My household;
8 aWith him I speak mouth to mouth,
Indeed clearly, and not in riddles,
And he beholds bthe form of Yahweh.
Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant, against Moses?”
9 So the anger of Yahweh burned against them, and aHe went away. 10 But the cloud withdrew from over the tent, and behold, aMiriam was leprous, as bwhite as snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. 11 Then Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, I beg you, ado not place this sin on us, in which we have acted foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12 Oh, do not let her be like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother’s womb!” 13 And Moses cried out to Yahweh, saying, “O God, aheal her, I pray!” 14 But Yahweh said to Moses, “If her father had but aspit in her face, would she not bear her dishonor for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days boutside the camp, and afterward she may be received again.” 15 So aMiriam was shut up outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not set out until Miriam was received again.
16 Afterward, however, the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.
The Spies Sent into Canaan
Then aYahweh spoke to Moses saying, 2 “aSend out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command of Yahweh, all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel. 4 These then were their names:
from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur;
5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori;
6 from the tribe of Judah, aCaleb the son of Jephunneh;
7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph;
8 from the tribe of Ephraim, aHoshea the son of Nun;
9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu;
10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi;
11 from the tribe of Joseph, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi;
12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli;
13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael;
14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi;
15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called aHoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.
17 So Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up there into athe Negev; then go up into the hill country. 18 And see what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many. 19 And how is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are they like open camps or with fortifications? 20 aAnd how is the land, is it fat or lean? Are there trees in it or not? Make an beffort then to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.
21 So they went up and spied out the land from athe wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, bat Lebo-hamath. 22 And they had gone up into athe Negev and came to Hebron where bAhiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of cAnak were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before dZoan in Egypt.)
23 Then they came to the valley of aEshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men with some of the pomegranates and the figs. 24 That place was called the valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there.
The Spies Recount What They Saw
25 Then they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, 26 and went and came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at aKadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Thus they recounted to him and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and ait certainly does flow with milk and honey, and bthis is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless, athe people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw bthe descendants of Anak there. 29 Amalek is living in the land of athe Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and bthe Amorites are living in the hill country, and cthe Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we are surely able to overcome it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “aWe are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” 32 So they gave out to the sons of Israel aa bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land, which we have passed through to spy out on, is ba land that devours its inhabitants; and call the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. 33 There also we saw the aNephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and bwe became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
The People Rebel
Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the sons of Israel agrumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “bWould that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 And why is Yahweh bringing us into this land, ato fall by the sword? bOur wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “aLet us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.”
5 aThen Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “aThe land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 aIf Yahweh is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—ba land which flows with milk and honey. 9 But as for you, only ado not rebel against Yahweh; and do not bfear the people of the land, for they are our bread. Their protection has been removed from them, and Yahweh is with us; do not fear them.” 10 aBut all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then bthe glory of Yahweh appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.
Moses Prays for the People
11 aYahweh said to Moses, “How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will bthey not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have done in their midst? 12 I will strike them with apestilence and dispossess them, and I bwill make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”
13 aBut Moses said to Yahweh, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your power You brought up this people from their midst, 14 and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O Yahweh, are in the midst of this people, for aYou, O Yahweh, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if You put this people to death as one man, athen the nations who have heard of Your fame will say, 16 ‘Because Yahweh awas not able to bring this people into the land which He swore to them, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ 17 So now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, 18 ‘aYahweh is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but bHe will by no means clear the guilty, cvisiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’ 19 aPardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”
Evil Complainers
20 So Yahweh said, “aI have pardoned them according to your word; 21 but indeed, aas I live, ball the earth will be filled with the glory of Yahweh. 22 Surely aall the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I have done in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet bhave put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, 23 ashall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. 24 But My servant Caleb, abecause he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, bI will bring into the land which he entered, and his seed shall take possession of it. 25 aNow the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”
26 Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are agrumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. 28 Say to them, ‘aAs I live,’ declares Yahweh, ‘just as byou have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you; 29 ayour corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all byour numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. 30 Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to make you dwell, aexcept Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 aYour little ones, however, who you said would become plunder—I will bring them in, so that they will know the land which you have rejected. 32 aBut as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness. 33 And your sons shall be shepherds for aforty years in the wilderness, and they will suffer for your unfaithfulness, until your corpses come to an end in the wilderness. 34 According to the anumber of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you will know My opposition. 35 aI, Yahweh, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall come to an end, and there they will die.’”
36 aAs for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, 37 even athose men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a bplague before Yahweh. 38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land.
Israel Struck Down
39 Then Moses spoke athese words to all the sons of Israel, and bthe people mourned greatly. 40 In the morning, however, they rose up early and went up to the ridge of the hill country, saying, “aHere we are; we will go up to the place which Yahweh has promised because we have indeed sinned.” 41 But Moses said, “aWhy then do you trespass against the command of Yahweh, when it will not succeed? 42 aDo not go up, for Yahweh is not among you, so that you are not defeated before your enemies. 43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites will be there in front of you, and you will fall by the sword, inasmuch as you have turned back from following Yahweh. And Yahweh will not be with you.” 44 But they went up heedlessly to the ridge of the hill country; neither athe ark of the covenant of Yahweh nor Moses moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down as far as aHormah.