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Bitter Water at Marah

22 Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea, and they moved out into the desert of Shur. They traveled in this desert for three days without finding any water. 23 When they came to the oasis of Marah, the water was too bitter to drink. So they called the place Marah (which means “bitter”).

24 Then the people complained and turned against Moses. “What are we going to drink?” they demanded. 25 So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. Moses threw it into the water, and this made the water good to drink.

It was there at Marah that the Lord set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to him. 26 He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”

27 After leaving Marah, the Israelites traveled on to the oasis of Elim, where they found twelve springs and seventy palm trees. They camped there beside the water.

Manna and Quail from Heaven

16 Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin,[a] between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt.[b] There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron.

“If only the Lord had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.”

So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “By evening you will realize it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaints, which are against him, not against us. What have we done that you should complain about us?” Then Moses added, “The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him. What have we done? Yes, your complaints are against the Lord, not against us.”

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Announce this to the entire community of Israel: ‘Present yourselves before the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’” 10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There they could see the awesome glory of the Lord in the cloud.

Footnotes

  1. 16:1a The geographical name Sin is related to Sinai and should not be confused with the English word sin.
  2. 16:1b The Exodus had occurred on the fifteenth day of the first month (see Num 33:3).

The Waters of Marah and Elim

22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert(A) of Shur.(B) For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.(C) 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.[a](D)) 24 So the people grumbled(E) against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”(F)

25 Then Moses cried out(G) to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw(H) it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.

There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.(I) 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep(J) all his decrees,(K) I will not bring on you any of the diseases(L) I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals(M) you.”

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped(N) there near the water.

Manna and Quail

16 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin,(O) which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt.(P) In the desert the whole community grumbled(Q) against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!(R) There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food(S) we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”(T)

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven(U) for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test(V) them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice(W) as much as they gather on the other days.”

So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt,(X) and in the morning you will see the glory(Y) of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling(Z) against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?”(AA) Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling(AB) against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”(AC)

Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’”

10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory(AD) of the Lord appearing in the cloud.(AE)

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 15:23 Marah means bitter.