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Exodus 16:11-18
English Standard Version

11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I (A)have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At (B)twilight you shall eat meat, and (C)in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

13 In the evening (D)quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning (E)dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, (F)“What is it?”[a] For they (G)did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, (H)“It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an (I)omer,[b] according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, (J)whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and (K)it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.

22 On (L)the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, 23 he said to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is a day of (M)solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay aside to be kept till the morning.’” 24 So they laid it aside till the morning, as Moses commanded them, and (N)it did not stink, and there were no worms in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for (O)today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.”

27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 And the Lord said to Moses, (P)“How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29 See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people (Q)rested on the seventh day.

31 Now the house of Israel called its name (R)manna. It was (S)like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 33 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take a (T)jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before (U)the testimony to be kept. 35 The people of Israel (V)ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till (W)they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (An omer is (X)the tenth part of an ephah.)[c]

Water from the Rock

17 (Y)All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 (Z)Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you (AA)test the Lord?” 3 But the people thirsted there for water, and (AB)the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” 4 So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready (AC)to stone me.” 5 And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with (AD)which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 (AE)Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place (AF)Massah[d] and (AG)Meribah,[e] because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Israel Defeats Amalek

8 (AH)Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to (AI)Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with (AJ)the staff of God in my hand.” 10 So (AK)Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and (AL)Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 Whenever Moses (AM)held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and (AN)Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 And (AO)Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of (AP)Joshua, that (AQ)I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses (AR)built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, 16 saying, “A hand upon the throne[f] of the Lord! (AS)The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Jethro's Advice

18 (AT)Jethro, (AU)the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Now Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home, 3 along with her (AV)two sons. The name of the one was Gershom ((AW)for he said, (AX)“I have been a sojourner[g] in a foreign land”), 4 and the name of the other, Eliezer[h] (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). 5 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the (AY)mountain of God. 6 And when he sent word to Moses, “I,[i] your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” 7 Moses (AZ)went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and (BA)kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8 Then Moses told his father-in-law (BB)all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. 9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.

10 Jethro said, (BC)“Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that (BD)the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they (BE)dealt arrogantly with the people.”[j]

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 16:15 Or “It is manna”; Hebrew man hu
  2. Exodus 16:16 An omer was about 2 quarts or 2 liters
  3. Exodus 16:36 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters
  4. Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing
  5. Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling
  6. Exodus 17:16 A slight change would yield upon the banner
  7. Exodus 18:3 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for sojourner
  8. Exodus 18:4 Eliezer means My God is help
  9. Exodus 18:6 Hebrew; Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac behold
  10. Exodus 18:11 Hebrew with them
Listen to Exodus 16:11-18
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Exodus 16:11-18
New International Version

11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling(A) of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”(B)

13 That evening quail(C) came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew(D) around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost(E) on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know(F) what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread(G) the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer[a](H) for each person you have in your tent.’”

17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.(I) Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”(J)

20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell.(K) So Moses was angry(L) with them.

21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice(M) as much—two omers[b] for each person—and the leaders of the community(N) came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath(O) to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’”

24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath,(P) there will not be any.”

27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you[c] refuse to keep my commands(Q) and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 The people of Israel called the bread manna.[d](R) It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’”

33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna(S) in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.”

34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law,(T) so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate manna(U) forty years,(V) until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.(W)

36 (An omer(X) is one-tenth of an ephah.)(Y)

Water From the Rock

17 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin,(Z) traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim,(AA) but there was no water(AB) for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water(AC) to drink.”(AD)

Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?”(AE)

3 But the people were thirsty(AF) for water there, and they grumbled(AG) against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die(AH) of thirst?”

4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone(AI) me.”

5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff(AJ) with which you struck the Nile,(AK) and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb.(AL) Strike(AM) the rock, and water(AN) will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah[e](AO) and Meribah[f](AP) because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The Amalekites Defeated

8 The Amalekites(AQ) came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim.(AR) 9 Moses said to Joshua,(AS) “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff(AT) of God in my hands.”

10 So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur(AU) went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning,(AV) but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. 12 When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset.(AW) 13 So Joshua overcame the Amalekite(AX) army with the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write(AY) this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out(AZ) the name of Amalek(BA) from under heaven.”

15 Moses built an altar(BB) and called(BC) it The Lord is my Banner. 16 He said, “Because hands were lifted up against[g] the throne of the Lord,[h] the Lord will be at war against the Amalekites(BD) from generation to generation.”(BE)

Jethro Visits Moses

18 Now Jethro,(BF) the priest of Midian(BG) and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.(BH)

2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah,(BI) his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and her two sons.(BJ) One son was named Gershom,[i] for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”;(BK) 4 and the other was named Eliezer,[j](BL) for he said, “My father’s God was my helper;(BM) he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain(BN) of God. 6 Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down(BO) and kissed(BP) him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships(BQ) they had met along the way and how the Lord had saved(BR) them.

9 Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things(BS) the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, “Praise be to the Lord,(BT) who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods,(BU) for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.”(BV)

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 16:16 That is, possibly about 3 pounds or about 1.4 kilograms; also in verses 18, 32, 33 and 36
  2. Exodus 16:22 That is, possibly about 6 pounds or about 2.8 kilograms
  3. Exodus 16:28 The Hebrew is plural.
  4. Exodus 16:31 Manna sounds like the Hebrew for What is it? (see verse 15).
  5. Exodus 17:7 Massah means testing.
  6. Exodus 17:7 Meribah means quarreling.
  7. Exodus 17:16 Or to
  8. Exodus 17:16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
  9. Exodus 18:3 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for a foreigner there.
  10. Exodus 18:4 Eliezer means my God is helper.
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