Exodus 16
Expanded Bible
The People Demand Food
16 The whole ·Israelite community [L congregation/assembly of the sons/T children of Israel] left Elim and came to the ·Desert [Wilderness] of Sin, which was between Elim and Sinai; they arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt. 2 Then the whole ·Israelite community [congregation; L assembly of the sons/T children of Israel] ·grumbled [complained] to Moses and Aaron in the ·desert [wilderness]. 3 ·They [L The sons/T children of Israel] said to them, “It would have been better if the [L hand of the] Lord had killed us in the land of Egypt. There we ·had meat to eat and [L sat by the fleshpots and ate] all the ·food [bread] we wanted. But you have brought us into this ·desert [wilderness] to starve ·us [L all this assembly/crowd] to death.”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will cause ·food [bread] to fall like rain from ·the sky [heaven] for all of you. Every day the people must go out and gather what they need for that day. I want to ·see if the people will do what I teach them [L test them to see if they will walk in my law/instruction or not]. 5 On the sixth day of each week, they are to gather twice as much as they gather on other days. Then they are to prepare it.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]: “This evening you will know that the Lord is the one who brought you out of Egypt. 7 Tomorrow morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard you ·grumble [complain] against him. ·We are nothing, so you are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord [L For what are we that you grumble/complain against us?].” 8 And Moses said, “Each evening the Lord will give you meat to eat, and every morning he will give you all the bread you want, because he has heard you ·grumble [complain] against him. You are not grumbling against ·Aaron and me, because we are nothing; you are grumbling [L us, but] against the Lord.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Speak to the whole ·community of the Israelites [L congregation/assembly of the sons/T children of Israel], and say to them, ‘·Meet together in the presence of [L Draw near] the Lord, because he has heard your ·grumblings [complaints].’”
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole ·community of the Israelites [L congregation/assembly of the sons/T children of Israel], they ·looked [L turned] toward the ·desert [wilderness]. There the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud.
11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the ·grumblings [complaints] of the ·people [sons/T children] of Israel. So tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and every morning you will eat all the bread you want. Then you will know I am the Lord your God.’”
13 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning [L a layer of] dew lay around the camp. 14 When the [L layer of] dew ·was gone [evaporated; L went up], thin flakes like frost were on the ·desert [wilderness] ground. 15 When the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] saw it, they asked each other, “What is it?” because they did not know what it was.
So Moses told them, “This is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16 The Lord has commanded, ‘Each one of you must gather what he needs, about ·two quarts [L an omer] for every person in your ·family [L own tent].’”
17 So the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel did this; some people gathered much, and some gathered little. 18 Then they measured it [L by omer]. The person who gathered more did not have too much, nor did the person who gathered less have too little. Each person gathered just as much as he needed.
19 Moses said to them, “Don’t ·keep any of it to eat [L leave any of it until] the next day.” 20 But some of the people did not listen to Moses and kept part of it to eat the next morning. It became full of worms and ·began to stink [spoiled], so Moses was angry with those people.
21 Every morning each person gathered as much food as he needed, but when the sun became hot, it melted away.
22 On the sixth day the people gathered twice as much food—·four quarts [L two omers] for every person. When all the leaders of the ·community [congregation; assembly] came and told this to Moses, 23 he said to them, “This is what the Lord ·commanded [L said], because tomorrow is the Sabbath, the Lord’s holy day of rest. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil today. Save the rest of the food until tomorrow morning.”
24 So the people saved it until the next morning, as Moses had commanded, and none of it ·began to stink [spoiled] or have worms in it. 25 Moses told the people, “Eat ·the food you gathered yesterday [L it today]. Today is a Sabbath, ·the Lord’s day of rest [L …of the Lord]; you will not find any out in the field today. 26 You should gather ·the food [L it] for six days, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day. On that day ·there will not be any food on the ground [L it will not be on it].”
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather food, but they couldn’t find any. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you people refuse to ·obey [keep] my commands and ·teachings [instructions; laws]? 29 Look, the Lord has ·made the Sabbath a day of rest for you [L given to you the Sabbath]. So on the sixth day he will give you enough food for two days, but on the seventh day each of you must stay where you are. Do not go anywhere.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The ·people [L house] of Israel called the food manna [C based on the Hebrew phrase, “What is it?”; 16:15]. It was like ·small white seeds [L coriander seeds, white] and tasted like wafers made with honey.
32 Then Moses said, “·The Lord said [L This is the word/thing the Lord has commanded], ‘·Save [Keep; L Fill] ·two quarts [L an omer] of this food ·for your descendants [L throughout your generations]. Then they can see the food I gave you to eat in the ·desert [wilderness] when I brought you out of Egypt.’”
33 Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with ·two quarts [L an omer] of manna. Then place it before the Lord, and ·save [keep] it ·for your descendants [L throughout your generations].” 34 So Aaron did what the Lord had commanded Moses. He put ·the jar of manna [L it] in front of the ·Agreement [L Testimony; C the Ark, named for the Ten Commandments placed in it] to keep it safe. 35 The ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] ate manna for forty years, until they came to the land where they settled—the edge of the land of Canaan [Josh. 5:12]. 36 The measure they used for the manna was ·two quarts [L an omer], or one-tenth of an ephah [C an ephah is about 20 quarts].
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.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
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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