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Exodus 16:1-21
New American Standard Bible
Exodus 16:1-21
New American Standard Bible
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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 16:4 Or law
- Exodus 16:6 Lit and you
- Exodus 16:7 Lit and you
- Exodus 16:10 Lit turned
- Exodus 16:12 Lit Between the two evenings
- Exodus 16:14 Lit had gone up
- Exodus 16:14 Lit face of
- Exodus 16:15 Heb Man hu, cf. v 31
- Exodus 16:16 Lit the thing which
- Exodus 16:16 Lit according to his eating
- Exodus 16:16 Lit an omer for a head; about 3 qt. or 2.8 liters
- Exodus 16:18 About 3 qt. or 2.8 liters
- Exodus 16:18 Lit according to his eating
- Exodus 16:21 Lit according to his eating
Exodus 16:1-21
New International Version
Exodus 16:1-21
New International Version
Manna and Quail
16 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin,(A) which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt.(B) 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled(C) against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!(D) There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food(E) we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”(F)
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven(G) for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test(H) them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice(I) as much as they gather on the other days.”
6 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,(J) 7 and in the morning you will see the glory(K) of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling(L) against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?”(M) 8 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(N) against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”(O)
9 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(P) of the Lord appearing in the cloud.(Q)
11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling(R) 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.’”(S)
13 That evening quail(T) came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew(U) around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost(V) 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(W) what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread(X) 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](Y) 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.(Z) 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.”(AA)
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.(AB) So Moses was angry(AC) with them.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.
Footnotes
- Exodus 16:16 That is, possibly about 3 pounds or about 1.4 kilograms; also in verses 18, 32, 33 and 36
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