Yahweh Provides Food in the Desert

16 And they set out from Elim, and all the community of the Israelites^[a] came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai,^[b] in the fifteenth day of the second month of their going out from the land of Egypt. ² And all the community of the Israelites^[c] grumbled against Moses and against Aaron in the desert. ³ And the Israelites^[d] said to them, “If only we had died^[e] by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots^[f] of meat, when we ate bread until we were full,^[g] because you have brought us out to this desert to kill all of this assembly with hunger.” ⁴ And Yahweh said to Moses, “Look, I am going to rain down for you bread from the heavens, and the people will go out and gather enough for the day on its day; in that way I will test them: Will they go according to my law or not? ⁵ And then on the sixth day, they will prepare what they bring, and it will be twice over what they will gather every other day.”

⁶ And Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites,^[h] “In the evening, you will know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt, ⁷ and in the morning, you will see the glory of Yahweh, for he hears^[i] your grumblings against Yahweh, and what are we that you grumble against us?” ⁸ And Moses said, “When in the evening Yahweh gives you meat to eat and bread in the morning to fill up on,^[j] for he hears^[k] your grumblings that you grumble against him—and what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against Yahweh.” ⁹ And Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the community of the Israelites,^[l] ‘Come near before Yahweh because he has heard your grumblings.’”

¹⁰ And at the moment of Aaron’s speaking to all the community of the Israelites,^[m] they turned to the desert, and just then^[n] the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud. ¹¹ And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ¹² “I have heard the grumblings of the Israelites.^[o] Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight^[p] you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be full with bread, and you will know that I am Yahweh your God.’”

¹³ And so it was, in the evening, the quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning, a layer of dew was all around the camp. ¹⁴ And the layer of dew came up, and there^[q] on the face of the desert was a fine granular substance, fine like frost on the ground. ¹⁵ And the Israelites^[r] saw, and they said to each other,^[s] “What is this?” because they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “That is the bread that Yahweh has given to you as food. ¹⁶ This is the word that Yahweh commanded, ‘Gather from it, each according to what he can eat,^[t] an omer per person^[u] according to the number of you.^[v] You each shall take enough for whoever is in his tent.’”

¹⁷ And the Israelites^[w] did so, and they gathered, some more and some less. ¹⁸ And when they measured with the omer, the one gathering more had no surplus, and the one gathering less had no lack; they gathered each according to what he could eat.^{[x] 19} And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it until morning.” ²⁰ But they did not listen to Moses. Some people^[y] left some of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. ²¹ And they gathered it morning by morning, each according to what he could eat,^[z] and it melted when the sun was hot.^[aa]

²² And when it was the sixth day, they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one person, and all the leaders of the community came and told Moses. ²³ And he said to them, “This is what Yahweh has said. Tomorrow is a rest period, a holy Sabbath for Yahweh. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil. Put aside all the surplus for yourselves for safekeeping until the morning.” ²⁴ And they put it aside until the morning, as Moses had commanded, and it did not make a stench, and not a maggot was in it. ²⁵ And Moses said, “Eat it today, because today is a Sabbath for Yahweh. Today you will not find it in the field. ²⁶ Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, it will not be present on it.”

²⁷ And on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, and they did not find any. ²⁸ And Yahweh said to Moses, “How long do you^[ab] refuse to keep my commands and my laws? ²⁹ See, because Yahweh has given to you the Sabbath, therefore he is giving to you on the sixth day bread for two days. Stay, each in his location;^[ac] let no one go from his place on the seventh day.” ³⁰ And the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ And the house of Israel called its name “manna.” And it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like a wafer with honey. ³² And Moses said, “This is the word that Yahweh has commanded. ‘A full omer of it is for safekeeping for your generations so that they will see the bread that I fed you in the desert when I brought you from the land of Egypt.’” ³³ And Moses said to Aaron, “Take one jar and put there a full omer of manna. Leave it before Yahweh for safekeeping for your generations.” ³⁴ As Yahweh had commanded Moses, so Aaron left it before the testimony for safekeeping. ³⁵ And the Israelites^[ad] ate the manna forty years, until their coming to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until their coming to the border of the land of Canaan. ³⁶ (And an omer is a tenth of an ephah.)