Exodus 16
New Living Translation
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] 2 There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron.
3 “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.”
4 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. 5 On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.”
6 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. 7 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?” 8 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.”
9 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.
11 Then the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the Israelites’ complaints. Now tell them, ‘In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. And the next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew. 14 When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground. 15 The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. “What is it?” they asked each other. They had no idea what it was.
And Moses told them, “It is the food the Lord has given you to eat. 16 These are the Lord’s instructions: Each household should gather as much as it needs. Pick up two quarts[c] for each person in your tent.”
17 So the people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, some only a little. 18 But when they measured it out,[d] everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed.
19 Then Moses told them, “Do not keep any of it until morning.” 20 But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them.
21 After this the people gathered the food morning by morning, each family according to its need. And as the sun became hot, the flakes they had not picked up melted and disappeared. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual—four quarts[e] for each person instead of two. Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an explanation. 23 He told them, “This is what the Lord commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the Lord. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.”
24 So they put some aside until morning, just as Moses had commanded. And in the morning the leftover food was wholesome and good, without maggots or odor. 25 Moses said, “Eat this food today, for today is a Sabbath day dedicated to the Lord. There will be no food on the ground today. 26 You may gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. There will be no food on the ground that day.”
27 Some of the people went out anyway on the seventh day, but they found no food. 28 The Lord asked Moses, “How long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions? 29 They must realize that the Sabbath is the Lord’s gift to you. That is why he gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. Do not go out to pick up food on the seventh day.” 30 So the people did not gather any food on the seventh day.
31 The Israelites called the food manna.[f] It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey wafers.
32 Then Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: Fill a two-quart container with manna to preserve it for your descendants. Then later generations will be able to see the food I gave you in the wilderness when I set you free from Egypt.”
33 Moses said to Aaron, “Get a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Then put it in a sacred place before the Lord to preserve it for all future generations.” 34 Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded Moses. He eventually placed it in the Ark of the Covenant—in front of the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant.[g] 35 So the people of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
36 The container used to measure the manna was an omer, which was one-tenth of an ephah; it held about two quarts.[h]
Footnotes
- 16:1a The geographical name Sin is related to Sinai and should not be confused with the English word sin.
- 16:1b The Exodus had occurred on the fifteenth day of the first month (see Num 33:3).
- 16:16 Hebrew 1 omer [2.2 liters]; also in 16:32, 33.
- 16:18 Hebrew measured it with an omer.
- 16:22 Hebrew 2 omers [4.4 liters].
- 16:31 Manna means “What is it?” See 16:15.
- 16:34 Hebrew He placed it in front of the Testimony; see note on 25:16.
- 16:36 Hebrew An omer is one-tenth of an ephah.
Exodus 16
International Standard Version
Manna and Quail Provided
16 Later, they left Elim, and the whole congregation of the Israelis came to the desert[a] of Sin, which lay between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. 2 The whole congregation of the Israelis complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert. 3 The Israelis told them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt when we sat by the cooking pots,[b] when we ate bread until we were filled—because you brought us to this desert to kill this entire congregation with hunger.”
4 The Lord told Moses, “Listen very carefully! I’ll cause food to rain down for you from heaven, and the people are to go out and gather each day’s portion on that day. In this way I’ll test them to demonstrate whether or not they’ll live according to my instructions. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be double what they gather on other days.”[c]
6 So Moses and Aaron addressed the entire congregation of the Israelis: “This evening you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaints against him.[d] After all, who are we that you complain against us?” 8 Moses also said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread in the morning to satisfy you, the Lord will hear your complaints directed[e] against him. Who are we? Your complaints aren’t against us, but rather against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses instructed Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelis, ‘Come near into the Lord’s presence, because he has heard your complaints.’”
10 While Aaron was speaking to all the congregation of the Israelis, they turned toward the desert, and there the glory of the Lord was seen in the cloud. 11 The Lord told Moses, 12 “I’ve heard the complaints of the Israelis. Tell them, ‘At twilight you are to eat meat and in the morning you are to be filled with bread, so you may know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 Later that evening quail came up and covered the camp, and then in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew evaporated,[f] on the surface of the desert a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost, appeared on the ground. 15 When the Israelis saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?”,[g] because they did not know what it was.
Moses told them, “It’s the food that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘You are to gather from it what each person is to eat,[h] about one omer[i] per person according to the number of your people, and one person is to gather for everyone in his tent.’”
17 The Israelis did this, some gathering much, some little. 18 When they measured it with a vessel the capacity of which was one omer,[j] the one who gathered much did not have an excess, while the one who gathered little did not lack. They gathered exactly what each needed to eat.[k]
19 Then Moses told them, “No one is to leave any of it until morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses—some people left part of it until morning, and it produced maggots and smelled bad, so Moses got angry at them. 21 Every morning they gathered it, according to what each needed to eat; and when the sun became hot, it melted.
22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, about two omers[l] per person. Then all the leaders of the congregation came and reported to Moses, 23 and he told them, “This is what the Lord said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil, and put aside whatever remains to be kept for yourselves until morning.’” 24 So they put it away until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not smell bad, and there were no maggots in it. 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, since today is a Sabbath to the Lord, and today you won’t find it in the field. 26 For six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there won’t be any.”[m]
27 Nevertheless, that seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find any. 28 Then the Lord asked Moses, “How long will you people[n] refuse to keep my commandments and my instructions?[o] 29 You see that the Lord has given you the Sabbath, and so on the sixth day he gives you food for two days. Let each person stay where he is; let no one leave his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The Israelis named it[p] “manna”.[q] It was white like coriander seed, and tasted like a wafer made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Set aside one omer[r] of it for future generations, so that they may see the food with which I fed you in the desert when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
33 Then Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar, fill it with about one omer[s] of manna, and place it in the Lord’s presence, to be preserved throughout future generations.” 34 So Aaron placed it before the Testimony[t] to be kept, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 35 The Israelis ate manna for 40 years until they came to a land where they could settle.[u] They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 Now one omer[v] is a tenth of an ephah.[w]
Footnotes
- Exodus 16:1 Or wilderness
- Exodus 16:3 Lit. pots for cooking meat
- Exodus 16:5 Lit. gather daily
- Exodus 16:7 Lit. against the Lord
- Exodus 16:8 Lit. complained
- Exodus 16:14 Lit. went up
- Exodus 16:15 Heb. man hu; cf. vs. 31
- Exodus 16:16 Lit. each according to his eating
- Exodus 16:16 I.e. about two quarts
- Exodus 16:18 I.e. a vessel with a dry capacity of about two quarts
- Exodus 16:18 Lit. each according to his eating
- Exodus 16:22 I.e. about four quarts
- Exodus 16:26 Lit. any on it
- Exodus 16:28 Lit. you (pl.); the Heb. lacks people
- Exodus 16:28 Or laws
- Exodus 16:31 Lit. called its name
- Exodus 16:31 Manna sounds like the Heb. term What is it?; cf. vs. 15
- Exodus 16:32 I.e. about two quarts
- Exodus 16:33 I.e. about two quarts
- Exodus 16:34 I.e. the tablets on which the ten commandments were written and which were placed in the Ark of the Covenant; cf. Exod 25:16 and 31:18
- Exodus 16:35 Or an inhabited land
- Exodus 16:36 I.e. about two quarts
- Exodus 16:36 An ephah was about one half bushel
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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