But on the morrow all the congregation of the people of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying: The Israelites still complained after the deadly message, so the conjunction But fits well here. New Revised Standard Version renders on the morrow as “On the next day” (similarly Good News Translation). For the Hebrew word rendered congregation (ʿedah), which is better translated “community,” see 1.2. For the verb murmured, see verse 14.2.

You have killed the people of the LORD: Good News Translation says “You have killed some of the LORD’s people” to describe the situation more accurately, since not all of his people were killed during the preceding events. However, this clause in Hebrew is an instance of hyperbole, so we do not recommend Good News Translation‘s model here. Its rendering diminishes the people’s exaggerated, even irrational emotional outburst. In fact, Moses and Aaron did not kill anybody; the rebels died due to the direct punitive action of the LORD. But Moses and Aaron are treated like scapegoats here—the people wanted to blame someone for the frustration that they were feeling. You renders an emphatic Hebrew pronoun, which may be expressed by saying “It is you who…” or “You two are the ones who….”

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .