Numbers 11:18

Numbers 11:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
• New International Version (NIV)“Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, "Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt." Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then you shall say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat.

Context of Numbers 11:18

16Accordingly, the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for Me seventy men from among the elders of Israel whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers; bring them to the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) and let them stand there with you. 17Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take away some of the 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 have to bear it all alone. Say to the people, ‘Consecrate (separate as holy) yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept [in self-pity] in the ears of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For we were well-off in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20but a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and is disgusting to you—because you have rejected and despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept [in self-pity] before Him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?” ’ ”

Numbers 11:18 word by word

וְאֶל־הָעָ֨ם תֹּאמַ֜ר הִתְקַדְּשׁ֣וּ לְמָחָר֮ וַאֲכַלְתֶּ֣ם בָּשָׂר֒ כִּ֡י בְּכִיתֶם֩ בְּאָזְנֵ֨י יְהוָ֜ה לֵאמֹ֗ר מִ֤י יַאֲכִלֵ֙נוּ֙ בָּשָׂ֔ר כִּי־ט֥וֹב לָ֖נוּ בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם וְנָתַ֨ן יְהוָ֥ה לָכֶ֛ם בָּשָׂ֖ר וַאֲכַלְתֶּֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• thou unto the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• Sanctifyקָדַשׁqâdash · to consecrate: consecateH6942
• yourselves against to morrowמָחָרmâchâr · tomorrowH4279
• and ye shall eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
• for ye have weptבָּכָהbâkâh · to weepH1058
• in the earsאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · ear: hearingH241
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• wellטוֹבţôb · be pleasingH2895
• with us in Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• will giveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414

Cross-references for Numbers 11:18

• Genesis 35:2Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the [idols and images of] foreign gods that are among you, and ceremonially purify yourselves and change [into fresh] clothes;
• Exodus 19:10The Lord also said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow [that is, prepare them for My sacred purpose], and have them wash their clothes
• Joshua 7:13Rise up! Consecrate the people and say, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: “There are things under the ban among you, O Israel. You cannot stand [victorious] before your enemies until you remove the things under the ban from among you.”
• Numbers 11:1Now the people became like those who complain and whine about their hardships, and the Lord heard it; and when the Lord heard it, His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and devoured those in the outlying parts of the camp.
• Exodus 16:3and the Israelites said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger.”
• Judges 21:2So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, and lifted up their voices and wept bitterly.
• Numbers 11:4The rabble among them [who followed Israel from Egypt] had greedy desires [for familiar and delicious food], and the Israelites wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat?
• Numbers 14:2All the Israelites murmured [in discontent] against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Oh that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or that we had died in this wilderness!
• Acts 7:39Our fathers were unwilling to be subject to him [and refused to listen to him]. They rejected him, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.

Commentaries on Numbers 11:18

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4-35Verses 4-35 Occurrences at Kibroth-hattavah. Numbers 11:4 The mixt multitude - The word in the original resembles our “riff-raff,” and denotes a mob of people scraped together. It refers here to the multitude of strangers (see Exodus 12:38) who had followed the Israelites from Egypt. Numbers 11:5 The natural dainties of Egypt are set forth in this passage with the fullness and relish which bespeak personal experience. Numbers 11:6-7 There is nothing at…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-23Verses 16-23 Moses is to choose such as he knew to be elders, that is, wise and experienced men. God promises to qualify them. If they were not found fit for the employ, they should be made fit. Even the discontented people shall be gratified too, that every mouth may be stopped. See here, I. The vanity of all the delights of sense; they will cloy, but they will not satisfy. Spiritual pleasures alone will satisfy and last. As the world passes away, so do…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-30Jethro suggested that Moses should have different levels of judges (Exodus 18:13–26). He focused on practical issues like the tribal leaders who helped Moses with the registration (Numbers 1:5–15). In contrast, the group of 70 elders would give Israel spiritual guidance. They needed a share of God's Spirit. Moses already had this, and it made him the Lord's special spokesman. Their ability to lead depended on God's Spirit being with them (compare 1 Samuel…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 18-2018-20. say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow, and ye shall eat flesh--that is, "prepare yourselves," by repentance and submission, to receive to-morrow the flesh you clamor for. But it is evident that the tenor of the language implied a severe rebuke and that the blessing promised would prove a curse.Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 11:18

• Government
• Inspiration
• Moses
• Prayer
• Sanitation
• Trouble

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Complain
• Cry
• Exodus
• Fall
• Prophet
• Sinai
• Talk
• Weep

Commentaries on Numbers 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings