^4 (A)The Lord said to Moses, “Now I am going to cause food to rain down from the sky for all of you. The people must go out every day and gather enough for that day. In this way I can test them to find out if they will follow my instructions. ⁵ On the sixth day they are to bring in twice as much as usual and prepare it.”

⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt. ⁷ In the morning you will see the dazzling light of the Lord's presence. He has heard your complaints against him—yes, against him, because we are only carrying out his instructions.” ⁸ Then Moses said, “It is the Lord who will give you meat to eat in the evening and as much bread as you want in the morning, because he has heard how much you have complained against him. When you complain against us, you are really complaining against the Lord.”

⁹ Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community to come and stand before the Lord, because he has heard their complaints.” ¹⁰ As Aaron spoke to the whole community, they turned toward the desert, and suddenly the dazzling light of the Lord appeared in a cloud. ¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them that at twilight they will have meat to eat, and in the morning they will have all the bread they want. Then they will know that I, the Lord, am their God.”

¹³ In the evening a large flock of quails flew in, enough to cover the camp, and in the morning there was dew all around the camp. ¹⁴ When the dew evaporated, there was something thin and flaky on the surface of the desert. It was as delicate as frost. ^15 (B)When the Israelites saw it, they didn't know what it was and asked each other, “What is it?”

Moses said to them, “This is the food that the Lord has given you to eat.

Water from the Rock^(A)

17 ^(B)The whole Israelite community left the desert of Sin, moving from one place to another at the command of the Lord. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there to drink. ² They complained to Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses answered, “Why are you complaining? Why are you putting the Lord to the test?”

³ But the people were very thirsty and continued to complain to Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? To kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

⁴ Moses prayed earnestly to the Lord and said, “What can I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Take some of the leaders of Israel with you, and go on ahead of the people. Take along the stick with which you struck the Nile. ⁶ I will stand before you on a rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” Moses did so in the presence of the leaders of Israel.

⁷ The place was named Massah and Meribah,^[a] because the Israelites complained and put the Lord to the test when they asked, “Is the Lord with us or not?”

^20-21 I told you, ‘You have now come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God, the God of our ancestors, is giving us. Look, there it is. Go and occupy it as he commanded. Do not hesitate or be afraid.’