Exodus 16
World English Bible
16Â They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. 2Â The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; 3Â and the children of Israel said to them, âWe wish that we had died by Yahwehâs hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.â
4Â Then Yahweh said to Moses, âBehold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a dayâs portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 5Â It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.â
6Â Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, âAt evening, you shall know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt. 7Â In the morning, you shall see Yahwehâs glory; because he hears your murmurings against Yahweh. Who are we, that you murmur against us?â 8Â Moses said, âNow Yahweh will give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you, because Yahweh hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against Yahweh.â 9Â Moses said to Aaron, âTell all the congregation of the children of Israel, âCome close to Yahweh, for he has heard your murmurings.ââ 10Â As Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, Yahwehâs glory appeared in the cloud. 11Â Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 12Â âI have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, âAt evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God.ââ
13Â In the evening, quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp. 14Â When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground. 15Â When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, âWhat is it?â For they didnât know what it was. Moses said to them, âIt is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat. 16Â This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded: âGather of it everyone according to his eating; an omer[a] a head, according to the number of your persons, you shall take it, every man for those who are in his tent.ââ 17Â The children of Israel did so, and some gathered more, some less. 18Â When they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack. They each gathered according to his eating. 19Â Moses said to them, âLet no one leave of it until the morning.â 20Â Notwithstanding they didnât listen to Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning, so it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them. 21Â They gathered it morning by morning, everyone according to his eating. When the sun grew hot, it melted. 22Â On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23Â He said to them, âThis is that which Yahweh has spoken, âTomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to Yahweh. Bake that which you want to bake, and boil that which you want to boil; and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.ââ 24Â They laid it up until the morning, as Moses ordered, and it didnât become foul, and there were no worms in it. 25Â Moses said, âEat that today, for today is a Sabbath to Yahweh. Today you shall not find it in the field. 26Â Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it there shall be none.â 27Â On the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. 28Â Yahweh said to Moses, âHow long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29Â Behold, because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.â 30Â So the people rested on the seventh day.
31Â The house of Israel called its name âMannaâ,[b] and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey. 32Â Moses said, âThis is the thing which Yahweh has commanded, âLet an omer-full of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.ââ 33Â Moses said to Aaron, âTake a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it up before Yahweh, to be kept throughout your generations.â 34Â As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 35Â The children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. 36Â Now an omer is one tenth of an ephah.[c]
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Exodus 16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Bread from Heaven
16Â The whole congregation of the Israelites set out from Elim and came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt.(A) 2Â The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.(B) 3Â The Israelites said to them, âIf only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.â(C)
4Â Then the Lord said to Moses, âI am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.(D) 5Â On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.â(E) 6Â So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, âIn the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7Â and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?â(F) 8Â And Moses said, âWhen the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against himâwhat are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.â
9Â Then Moses said to Aaron, âSay to the whole congregation of the Israelites: âDraw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.â â(G) 10Â And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud.(H) 11Â The Lord spoke to Moses, 12Â âI have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, âAt twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.â â
13Â In the evening quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.(I) 14Â When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground.(J) 15Â When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, âWhat is it?â[a] For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, âIt is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.(K) 16Â This is what the Lord has commanded: Gather as much of it as each of you needs, an omer per person according to the number of persons, all providing for those in their own tents.â 17Â The Israelites did so, some gathering more, some less. 18Â But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.(L) 19Â And Moses said to them, âLet no one leave any of it over until morning.â(M) 20Â But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it became wormy and rotten. And Moses was angry with them. 21Â Morning by morning they gathered it, as much as each needed, but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
22Â On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers apiece. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,(N) 23Â he said to them, âThis is what the Lord has commanded: Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.â(O) 24Â So they put it aside until morning, just as Moses commanded them, and it did not rot, and there were no maggots in it.(P) 25Â Moses said, âEat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26Â Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.â
27Â On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. 28Â The Lord said to Moses, âHow long will you refuse to keep my commandments and instructions?(Q) 29Â See! The Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you food for two days; each of you stay where you are; do not leave your place on the seventh day.â 30Â So the people rested on the seventh day.
31Â The Israelites called it manna; it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.(R) 32Â Moses said, âThis is what the Lord has commanded: Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations in order that they may see the food with which I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.â 33Â And Moses said to Aaron, âTake a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the Lord, to be kept throughout your generations.â(S) 34Â Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the covenant, for safekeeping.(T) 35Â The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a habitable land; they ate manna, until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.(U) 36Â (An omer is a tenth of an ephah.)
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- 16.15 Or âIt is mannaâ
Exodus 16
New International Version
Manna and Quail
16Â 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) 2Â In the desert the whole community grumbled(C) against Moses and Aaron. 3Â The Israelites said to them, âIf only we had died by the Lordâs 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.â(F)
4Â Then the Lord said to Moses, âI 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. 5Â 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.â
6Â So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, âIn the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt,(J) 7Â 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?â(M) 8Â Moses also said, âYou 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.â(O)
9Â Then Moses told Aaron, âSay to the entire Israelite community, âCome before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.ââ
10Â 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)
11Â The Lord said to Moses, 12Â âI have heard the grumbling(R) of the Israelites. Tell them, âAt 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.ââ(S)
13Â That evening quail(T) came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew(U) around the camp. 14Â When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost(V) on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15Â When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, âWhat is it?â For they did not know(W) what it was.
Moses said to them, âIt is the bread(X) the Lord has given you to eat. 16Â This is what the Lord has commanded: âEveryone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer[a](Y) for each person you have in your tent.ââ
17Â The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18Â 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.
19Â Then Moses said to them, âNo one is to keep any of it until morning.â(AA)
20Â 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.
21Â Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22Â On the sixth day, they gathered twice(AD) as muchâtwo omers[b] for each personâand the leaders of the community(AE) came and reported this to Moses. 23Â He said to them, âThis is what the Lord commanded: âTomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath(AF) 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.ââ
24Â So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25Â âEat it today,â Moses said, âbecause today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26Â Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath,(AG) there will not be any.â
27Â Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28Â Then the Lord said to Moses, âHow long will you[c] refuse to keep my commands(AH) and my instructions? 29Â 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.â 30Â So the people rested on the seventh day.
31Â The people of Israel called the bread manna.[d](AI) It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32Â Moses said, âThis is what the Lord has commanded: âTake 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.ââ
33Â So Moses said to Aaron, âTake a jar and put an omer of manna(AJ) in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.â
34Â As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law,(AK) so that it might be preserved. 35Â The Israelites ate manna(AL) forty years,(AM) until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.(AN)
Footnotes
- Exodus 16:16 That is, possibly about 3 pounds or about 1.4 kilograms; also in verses 18, 32, 33 and 36
- Exodus 16:22 That is, possibly about 6 pounds or about 2.8 kilograms
- Exodus 16:28 The Hebrew is plural.
- Exodus 16:31 Manna sounds like the Hebrew for What is it? (see verse 15).
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