The Lord Provides Manna

16 Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of ^(A)Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on ^(B)the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. ² But the whole congregation of the sons of Israel ^(C)grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. ³ The sons of Israel said to them, “^(D)If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, ^(E)when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger!”

⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, ^(F)I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, so that I may ^(G)test them, whether or not they will walk in My ^[a]instruction. ^5 (H)On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” ⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, “At evening ^[b](I)you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt; ⁷ and in the morning ^[c]you will see ^(J)the glory of the Lord, for ^(K)He hears your grumblings against the Lord; and ^(L)what are we, that you grumble against us?”

The Lord Provides Meat

⁸ And Moses said, “This will happen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning; for the Lord hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are ^(M)not against us but against the Lord.”

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ‘^(N)Come forward before the Lord, for He has heard your grumblings.’” ¹⁰ And it came about, as Aaron spoke to the entire congregation of the sons of Israel, that they ^[d]looked toward the wilderness, and behold, ^(O)the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. ¹¹ And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “^(P)I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘^[e]At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and ^(Q)you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

¹³ So it came about at evening that ^(R)the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning ^(S)there was a layer of dew around the camp. ^14 (T)When the layer of dew ^[f]evaporated, behold, on the ^[g]surface of the wilderness ^(U)there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. ¹⁵ When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “^[h]What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “^(V)It is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶ This is ^[i]what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone gather ^[j]as much as he will eat; you shall take ^[k](W)an omer apiece according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.’” ¹⁷ The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little. ¹⁸ When they measured it by the ^[l]omer, ^(X)the one who had gathered much did not have too much, and the one who had gathered little did not have too little; everyone gathered ^[m]as much as he would eat. ¹⁹ Moses said to them, “^(Y)No one is to leave any of it until morning.” ²⁰ But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank; and Moses was angry with them. ²¹ They gathered it morning by morning, everyone ^[n]as much as he would eat; but when the sun became hot, it would melt.

The Sabbath

^22 (Z)Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, ^[o]two omers for each one. When all the ^(AA)leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, ²³ then he said to them, “This is what the Lord ^[p]meant: ^(AB)Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and ^(AC)all that is left over ^[q]put aside to be kept until morning.” ²⁴ So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and ^(AD)it did not stink nor was there a maggot in it. ²⁵ Then Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. ^26 (AE)Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be ^[r]none.”

²⁷ Yet it came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. ²⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “^(AF)How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My ^[s]instructions? ²⁹ See, ^[t]the Lord has given you the Sabbath; for that reason He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain, everyone, in his place; no one is to leave his place on the seventh day.” ³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ And the house of ^(AG)Israel named the bread ^[u]manna, and it was like ^(AH)coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey. ³² Then Moses said, “This is ^[v]what the Lord has commanded: ‘A ^[w]full omer of it is to be kept safe throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” ³³ And Moses said to Aaron, “^(AI)Take a jar and put a ^[x]full omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept safe throughout your generations.” ³⁴ As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before ^(AJ)the Testimony, to be kept. ³⁵ And ^(AK)the sons of Israel ate the manna for forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. ³⁶ (Now ^(AL)an ^[y]omer is a tenth of an ephah.)

Water in the Rock

17 Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by ^[a]stages from the wilderness of ^(A)Sin, according to the ^[b]command of the Lord, and camped at ^(B)Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. ² So the people ^(C)quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water so that we may drink!” And Moses said to them, “^(D)Why do you quarrel with me? ^(E)Why do you test the Lord?” ³ But the people were thirsty for water there; and ^[c]they ^(F)grumbled against Moses and said, “Why is it that you have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill ^[d]us and ^[e]our children and ^[f](G)our livestock with thirst?” ⁴ So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What am I to do with this people? A ^(H)little more and they will stone me!” ⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pass before the people and take with you some of ^(I)the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which ^(J)you struck the Nile, and go. ⁶ Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at ^(K)Horeb; and ^(L)you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. ⁷ Then he named the place ^[g](M)Massah and ^[h](N)Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they ^(O)tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us, or not?”

Miraculous Battle against Amalek

⁸ Then ^(P)Amalek came and fought against Israel at ^(Q)Rephidim. ⁹ So Moses said to ^(R)Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with ^(S)the staff of God in my hand.” ¹⁰ Joshua did just as Moses ^[i]told him, ^[j]and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and ^(T)Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ So it came about, when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed; but when he let his hand ^[k]down, Amalek prevailed. ¹² And Moses’ hands were heavy. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur ^(U)supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. So his hands were steady until the sun set. ¹³ And Joshua ^[l]defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “^(V)Write this in ^[m]a book as a memorial and ^[n]recite it to Joshua, ^[o]that ^(W)I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵ And Moses built an ^(X)altar and named it ^(Y)The Lord is My Banner; ¹⁶ and he said, “^[p](Z)Because the Lord has sworn, the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

Jethro, Moses’ Father-in-law

18 Now ^(A)Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard about everything that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. ² And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took in Moses’ wife ^(B)Zipporah, after he had sent her away, ³ and her ^(C)two sons, ^[a]one of whom was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have been ^(D)a stranger in a foreign land.” ⁴ And ^[b]the other was named ^[c](E)Eliezer, for he said, “^(F)The God of my father was my help, and saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

⁵ Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses ^[d]in the wilderness where he was camped, at ^(G)the mountain of God. ⁶ And he ^[e]sent word to Moses: “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” ⁷ Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and ^(H)he bowed down and ^(I)kissed him; and they ^(J)asked each other about their welfare, and went into the tent. ⁸ Moses told his father-in-law everything that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians ^(K)for Israel’s sake, all the ^(L)hardship that had confronted them on the journey, and how ^(M)the Lord had rescued them. ⁹ And Jethro rejoiced over all ^(N)the goodness which the Lord had done for Israel, ^[f]in rescuing ^[g]them from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰ So Jethro said, “^(O)Blessed be the Lord who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹ Now I know that ^(P)the Lord is greater than all the gods; indeed, ^[h](Q)it was proven when they acted insolently against ^[i]the people.” ^12 (R)Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat ^[j]a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

Jethro Counsels Moses

¹³ And it came about the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening. ¹⁴ Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?” ¹⁵ Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me ^(S)to inquire of God. ¹⁶ When they have a ^[k](T)dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between someone and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.” ¹⁷ Moses’ father-in-law then said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. ^18 (U)You will surely wear out, both yourself and ^[l]these people who are with you, because the ^[m]task is too heavy for you; ^(V)you cannot do it alone. ¹⁹ Now listen to ^[n]me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. ^[o]You be the people’s representative before God, and you ^(W)bring the ^[p]disputes to God, ^20 (X)then admonish them about the statutes and the laws, and make known to them ^(Y)the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do. ²¹ Furthermore, you shall ^[q]select out of all the people ^(Z)able men ^(AA)who fear God, men of truth, those who ^(AB)hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, ^[r]of hundreds, ^[s]of fifties, and ^[t]of tens. ²² Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be ^(AC)that they will bring to you every major matter, but they will judge every minor matter themselves. So it will be easier for you, and ^(AD)they will carry the burden with you. ²³ If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to ^[u]endure, and all ^[v]these people also will go to ^[w]their places in peace.”

²⁴ So Moses listened ^[x]to his father-in-law and did everything that he had said. ²⁵ Moses chose ^(AE)able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, ^[y]of hundreds, ^[z]of fifties, and ^[aa]of tens. ²⁶ Then they judged the people at all times; ^(AF)they would bring the difficult matter to Moses, but they would judge every minor matter themselves. ²⁷ Then Moses ^[ab](AG)said goodbye to his father-in-law, and ^[ac]Jethro went his way to his own land.

Unity of the Spirit

4 Therefore I, ^(A)the prisoner of the Lord, ^(B)urge you to ^(C)walk in a manner worthy of the ^(D)calling with which you have been ^(E)called, ² with all ^(F)humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another ^(G)in love, ³ being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the ^(H)bond of peace. ⁴ There is ^(I)one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one ^(J)hope of your calling; ^5 (K)one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all ^(L)who is over all and through all and in all.

⁷ But ^(M)to each one of us ^(N)grace was given ^(O)according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸ Therefore ^[a]it says,

⁹ (Now this expression, “He ^(R)ascended,” what ^[b]does it mean except that He also ^[c]had descended into ^(S)the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is Himself also He who ascended ^(T)far above all the heavens, so that He might ^(U)fill all things.) ¹¹ And He ^(V)gave ^(W)some as apostles, some as prophets, some as ^(X)evangelists, some as ^[d]pastors and ^(Y)teachers, ^12 (Z)for the equipping of the ^[e]saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of ^(AA)the body of Christ; ¹³ until we all attain to ^(AB)the unity of the faith, and of the ^[f](AC)knowledge of the Son of God, to a ^(AD)mature man, to the measure of the stature ^[g]which belongs to the ^(AE)fullness of Christ. ^14 [h]As a result, we are ^(AF)no longer to be children, ^(AG)tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by ^(AH)craftiness ^[i]in ^(AI)deceitful scheming; ¹⁵ but ^[j]speaking the truth ^(AJ)in love, ^[k]we are to ^(AK)grow up in all aspects into Him who is the ^(AL)head, that is, Christ, ¹⁶ from whom ^(AM)the whole body, being fitted and held together ^[l]by what every joint supplies, according to the ^[m]proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself ^(AN)in love.

The Christian’s Walk

^17 (AO)So I say this, and affirm in the Lord, ^(AP)that you are to no longer walk just as the ^[n]Gentiles also walk, in the ^(AQ)futility of their minds, ¹⁸ being ^(AR)darkened in their understanding, ^[o](AS)excluded from the life of God because of the ^(AT)ignorance that is in them, because of the ^(AU)hardness of their heart; ¹⁹ and they, having ^(AV)become callous, ^(AW)have given themselves up to ^(AX)indecent behavior ^[p]for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. ²⁰ But you did not ^(AY)learn Christ in this way, ²¹ if indeed you ^(AZ)have heard Him and have ^(BA)been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, ²² that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to ^(BB)rid yourselves of the ^(BC)old ^[q]self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the ^(BD)lusts of deceit, ²³ and that you are to be ^(BE)renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to ^(BF)put on the ^(BG)new ^[r]self, which ^[s](BH)in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

²⁵ Therefore, ^(BI)ridding yourselves of falsehood, ^(BJ)speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, because we are ^(BK)parts of one another. ^26 (BL)Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷ and do not ^(BM)give the devil ^[t]an opportunity. ²⁸ The one who steals must no longer steal; but rather ^(BN)he must labor, ^(BO)producing with his own hands what is good, ^(BP)so that he will have something to share with the one who has need. ²⁹ Let no ^[u](BQ)unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for ^(BR)edification ^[v]according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear. ^30 (BS)Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, ^[w]by whom you were ^(BT)sealed for the day of redemption. ^31 (BU)All bitterness, wrath, anger, ^[x]clamor, and slander must be ^(BV)removed from you, along with all ^(BW)malice. ^32 (BX)Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, ^(BY)just as God in Christ also has forgiven ^[y]you.