Psalms 78:29-31

78:29 They ate until they were stuffed; ¹ 

he gave them what they desired.

78:30 They were not yet filled up, ² 

their food was still in their mouths,

78:31 when the anger of God flared up against them.

He killed some of the strongest of them;

he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.

Numbers 11:31-34

Provision of Quail

11:31 Now a wind ³  went out ⁴  from the Lord and brought quail ⁵  from the sea, and let them fall ⁶  near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about three feet ⁷  high on the surface of the ground. 11:32 And the people stayed up ⁸  all that day, all that night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail. The one who gathered the least gathered ten homers, ⁹  and they spread them out ¹⁰  for themselves all around the camp. 11:33 But while the meat was still between their teeth, before they chewed it, ¹¹  the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and the Lord struck the people with a very great plague.

11:34 So the name of that place was called Kibroth Hattaavah, ¹²  because there they buried the people that craved different food. ¹³ 

Isaiah 10:16

10:16 For this reason ¹⁴  the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, will make his healthy ones emaciated. ¹⁵  His majestic glory will go up in smoke. ¹⁶ 

Isaiah 24:16

24:16 From the ends of the earth we ¹⁷  hear songs –

the Just One is majestic. ¹⁸ 

But I ¹⁹  say, “I’m wasting away! I’m wasting away! I’m doomed!

Deceivers deceive, deceivers thoroughly deceive!” ²⁰ 

[78:29]  ¹ tn Heb “and they ate and were very satisfied.”

[78:30]  ² tn Heb “they were not separated from their desire.”

[11:31]  ³ sn The irony in this chapter is expressed in part by the use of the word רוּחַ (ruakh). In the last episode it clearly meant the Spirit of the Lord that empowered the men for their spiritual service. But here the word is “wind.” Both the spiritual service and the judgment come from God.

[11:31]  ⁴ tn The verb means “burst forth” or “sprang up.” See the ways it is used in Gen 33:12, Judg 16:3, 14; Isa 33:20.

[11:31]  ⁵ sn The “quail” ordinarily cross the Sinai at various times of the year, but what is described here is not the natural phenomenon. Biblical scholars looking for natural explanations usually note that these birds fly at a low height and can be swatted down easily. But the description here is more of a supernatural supply and provision. See J. Gray, “The Desert Sojourn of the Hebrews and the Sinai Horeb Tradition,” VT 4 (1954): 148-54.

[11:31]  ⁶ tn Or “left them fluttering.”

[11:31]  ⁷ tn Heb “two cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) in length.

[11:32]  ⁸ tn Heb “rose up, stood up.”

[11:32]  ⁹ sn This is about two thousand liters.

[11:32]  ¹⁰ tn The verb (a preterite) is followed by the infinitive absolute of the same root, to emphasize the action of spreading out the quail. Although it is hard to translate the expression, it indicates that they spread these quail out all over the area. The vision of them spread all over was evidence of God’s abundant provision for their needs.

[11:33]  ¹¹ tn The verb is a prefixed conjugation, normally an imperfect tense. But coming after the adverb טֶּרֶם (terem) it is treated as a preterite.

[11:34]  ¹² sn The name “the graves of the ones who craved” is again explained by a wordplay, a popular etymology. In Hebrew קִבְרוֹת הַתַּאֲוָה (qivrot hatta’avah) is the technical name. It is the place that the people craved the meat, longing for the meat of Egypt, and basically rebelled against God. The naming marks another station in the wilderness where the people failed to accept God’s good gifts with grace and to pray for their other needs to be met.

[11:34]  ¹³ tn The words “different food” are implied, and are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:16]  ¹⁴ sn The irrational arrogance of the Assyrians (v. 15) will prompt the judgment about to be described.

[10:16]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “will send leanness against his healthy ones”; NASB, NIV “will send a wasting disease.”

[10:16]  ¹⁶ tc Heb “and in the place of his glory burning will burn, like the burning of fire.” The highly repetitive text (יֵקַד יְקֹד כִּיקוֹד אֵשׁ, yeqad yiqod kiqod ’esh) may be dittographic; if the second consonantal sequence יקד is omitted, the text would read “and in the place of his glory, it will burn like the burning of fire.”

[24:16]  ¹⁷ sn The identity of the subject is unclear. Apparently in vv. 15-16a an unidentified group responds to the praise they hear in the west by exhorting others to participate.

[24:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Beauty belongs to the just one.” These words may summarize the main theme of the songs mentioned in the preceding line.

[24:16]  ¹⁹ sn The prophet seems to contradict what he hears the group saying. Their words are premature because more destruction is coming.

[24:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and [with] deception deceivers deceive.”