1 WYC Yn the meene tyme the grutchyng of the puple, as of men sorewynge for trauel, roos ayens the Lord. And whanne Moises hadde herd this thing, he was wrooth; and the fier of the Lord was kyndelid on hem, and deuouride the laste part of the tentis. BSB BSB: Soon the people began to complain about their hardship in the hearing of the LORD, and when He heard them, His anger was kindled, and fire from the LORD blazed among them and consumed the outskirts of the camp.
2 WYC And whanne the puple hadde cried to Moises, Moises preiede the Lord, and the fier was quenchid. BSB BSB: And the people cried out to Moses, and he prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down.
3 WYC And he clepid the name of that place Brennyng, for the fier of the Lord was kyndlid ayens hem. BSB BSB: So that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the LORD had burned among them.
4 WYC And the comyn puple of `malis and femalis, that hadde stied with hem, brent with desire of fleischis, and sat, and wepte with the sones of Israel ioyned togidere to hem, and seide, Who schal yyue to vs fleischis to ete? BSB BSB: Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?
5 WYC We thenken on the fischis whiche we eten in Egipt freli; gourdis, and melouns, and lekis, and oyniouns, and garlekis comen in to mynde `to vs; BSB BSB: We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic.
6 WYC oure soule is drie; oure iyen byholden noon other thing `no but manna. BSB BSB: But now our appetite is gone; there is nothing to see but this manna!”
7 WYC Forsothe manna was as the seed of coriaundre, of the colour of bdellyum, which is whijt and briyt as cristal. BSB BSB: Now the manna resembled coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of gum resin.
8 WYC And the puple yede aboute, and gaderide it, and brak with a queerne stoon, ether pownede in a morter, and sethide in a pot; and made therof litle cakis of the sauour, as of breed maad with oile. BSB BSB: The people walked around and gathered it, ground it on a handmill or crushed it in a mortar, then boiled it in a cooking pot or shaped it into cakes. It tasted like pastry baked with fine oil.
9 WYC And whanne dew cam doun in the niyt on the tentis, also manna cam doun togidere. BSB BSB: When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it.
10 WYC Therfor Moises herde the puple wepynge bi meynees, and `alle bi hem silf bi the doris of her tentis; and the woodnesse of the Lord was wrooth greetli, but also the thing was seyn vnsuffrable to Moises. BSB BSB: Then Moses heard the people of family after family weeping at the entrances to their tents, and the anger of the LORD was kindled greatly, and Moses was also displeased.
11 WYC And he seide to the Lord, Whi hast thou turmentid thi seruaunt? whi fynde Y not grace bifor thee? and whi hast thou put on me the burthun of al this puple? BSB BSB: So Moses asked the LORD, “Why have You brought this trouble on Your servant? Why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid upon me the burden of all these people?
12 WYC whethir Y conseyuede al this multitude, ethir gendride it, that thou seie to me, Bere thou hem in thi bosum as a nurise is wont to bere a litil yong child, and bere thou in to the lond for which thou hast swore to the fadris `of hem. BSB BSB: Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth, so that You should tell me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries an infant,’ to the land that You swore to give their fathers?
13 WYC wherof ben fleischis to me, that Y `yyue to so greet multitude? Thei wepen bifore me, and seyn, `Yyue thou fleischis to vs that we ete; BSB BSB: Where can I get meat for all these people? For they keep crying out to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’
14 WYC I mai not aloone suffre al this puple, for it is greuouse to me. BSB BSB: I cannot carry all these people by myself; it is too burdensome for me.
15 WYC If in other maner it semeth to thee, Y biseche that thou sle me, and that Y fynde grace in thin iyen, that Y be not punyschid bi so grete yuelis. BSB BSB: If this is how You are going to treat me, please kill me right now—if I have found favor in Your eyes—and let me not see my own wretchedness.”
16 WYC And the Lord seide to Moises, Gadere thou to me seuenti men of the eldre men of Israel, whiche thou knowist, `that thei ben the elde men and maistris of the puple; and thou schalt lede hem to the dore of the tabernacle of boond of pees, and thou schalt make to stonde there with thee, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Me seventy of the elders of Israel known to you as leaders and officers of the people. Bring them to the Tent of Meeting and have them stand there with you.
17 WYC that Y come doun, and speke to thee; and Y schal take awey of thi spirit, and Y schal yyue to hem, that thei susteyne with thee the birthun of the puple, and not thou aloone be greuyd. BSB BSB: And I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put that Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.
18 WYC And thou schalt seie to the puple, Be ye halewid; to morew ye schulen ete fleischis; for Y herde you seie, Who schal yyue to vs the metis of fleischis? it was wel to vs in Egipt; that the Lord yyue `fleischis to you, BSB BSB: And say to the people: Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, because you have cried out in the hearing of the LORD, saying: ‘Who will feed us meat? For we were better off in Egypt!’ Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat.
19 WYC and that ye ete not o dai, ethir tweyne, ethir fyue, ethir ten, sotheli nether twenti, BSB BSB: You will eat it not for one or two days, nor for five or ten or twenty days,
20 WYC but `til to a monethe of daies, til it go out bi youre nosethirlis, and turne in to wlatyng; for ye han put awei the Lord, which is in the myddis of you, and ye wepten bifor hym, and seiden, Whi yeden we out of Egipt? BSB BSB: but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and makes you nauseous—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have cried out before Him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’”
21 WYC And Moises seide to the Lord, Sixe hundrid thousynde of foot men ben of this puple, and thou seist, Y schal yyue to hem `mete of fleischis an hool monethe. BSB BSB: But Moses replied, “Here I am among 600,000 men on foot, yet You say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’
22 WYC Whether the multitude of scheep and of oxun schal be slayn, that it may suffice to mete, ethir alle the fischis of the see schulen be gaderid to gidere, that tho fille hem? BSB BSB: If all our flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?”
23 WYC To whom the Lord answeride, Whether the `hond of the Lord is vnmyyti? riyt now thou schalt se, wher my word schal be fillid in werk. BSB BSB: The LORD answered Moses, “Is the LORD’s arm too short? Now you will see whether or not My word will come to pass.”
24 WYC Therfor Moises cam, and telde to the puple the wordis of the Lord; and he gaderide seuenti men of the eldere of Israel, whiche he made stonde aboute the tabernacle. BSB BSB: So Moses went out and relayed to the people the words of the LORD, and he gathered seventy of the elders of the people and had them stand around the tent.
25 WYC And the Lord cam doun bi a cloude, and spak to Moises, and took a weye of the spirit that was in Moises, and yaf to the seuenti men; and whanne the spirit hadde restid in hem, thei profesieden, and ceessiden not `aftirward. BSB BSB: Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they never did so again.
26 WYC Forsothe twei men dwelliden stille in the tentis, of whiche men oon was clepid Heldad, and the tothir Medad, on whiche the spirit restide; for also thei weren descryued, and thei yeden not out to the tabernacle. BSB BSB: Two men, however, had remained in the camp—one named Eldad and the other Medad—and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those listed, but they had not gone out to the tent, and they prophesied in the camp.
27 WYC And whanne thei profesieden in the tentis, a child ran, and teld to Moises, and seide, Heldad and Medad profecien in the tentis. BSB BSB: A young man ran and reported to Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
28 WYC Anoon Josue, the sone of Nun, the `mynystre of Moises, and chosun of manye, seide, My lord Moises, forbede thou hem. BSB BSB: Joshua son of Nun, the attendant to Moses since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!”
29 WYC And he seide, What hast thou enuye for me? who yyueth that al the puple profesie, and that God yyue his spirit to hem? BSB BSB: But Moses replied, “Are you jealous on my account? I wish that all the LORD’s people were prophets and that the LORD would place His Spirit on them!”
30 WYC And Moises turnede ayen, and the eldre men in birthe of Israel in to the tentis. BSB BSB: Then Moses returned to the camp, along with the elders of Israel.
31 WYC Forsothe a wynde yede forth fro the Lord, and took curlewis, and bar ouer the see, and lefte in to the tentis, in the iurney, as myche as mai be parformed in o day, bi ech part of the tentis bi cumpas; and tho flowen in the eir bi twei cubitis in `hiynesse ouer the erthe. BSB BSB: Now a wind sent by the LORD came up, drove in quail from the sea, and brought them near the camp, about two cubits above the surface of the ground, for a day’s journey in every direction around the camp.
32 WYC Therfor the puple roos in al that dai and nyyt and in to the tothir dai, and gaderide the multitude of curlewis; he that gaderide litil, gaderide ten `mesuris clepid chorus; `and o chorus conteyneth ten buschels; and thei drieden tho curlewis bi the cumpas of the tentis. BSB BSB: All that day and night, and all the next day, the people stayed up gathering the quail. No one gathered less than ten homers, and they spread them out all around the camp.
33 WYC Yit `fleischis weren in the teeth `of hem, and siche mete failide not; and lo! the woodnesse of the Lord was reisid ayens the puple, and smoot it with a ful greet veniaunce. BSB BSB: But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and the LORD struck them with a severe plague.
34 WYC And thilke place was clepid The sepulcris of coueitise, for there thei birieden the puple that desiride fleischis. Sotheli thei yeden `out of the sepulcris of coueitise, and camen in to Asseroth, and dwelliden there. BSB BSB: So they called that place Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had craved other food.