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Exodus 16
Legacy Standard Bible
Exodus 16
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Rains Bread from Heaven
16 Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of (A)Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on (B)the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. 2 And the whole congregation of the sons of Israel (C)grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 And the sons of Israel said to them, “(D)Would that we had died by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt, (E)when we sat by the pots of [a]meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to put this whole assembly to death with hunger.”
4 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, (F)I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may (G)test them, whether or not they will walk in My [b]law. 5 (H)Now it will be on the sixth day, they shall prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, “At evening [c](I)you will know that Yahweh has brought you out of the land of Egypt; 7 and in the morning [d]you will see (J)the glory of Yahweh, for (K)He hears your grumblings against Yahweh; and (L)what are we, that you grumble against us?”
Yahweh Gives Meat and Bread
8 And Moses said, “This will happen when Yahweh gives you [e]meat to eat in the evening and bread to the full in the morning; for Yahweh hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are (M)not against us but against Yahweh.”
9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, ‘(N)Come near before Yahweh, for He has heard your grumblings.’” 10 Now it happened as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, that they turned toward the wilderness, and behold, (O)the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud. 11 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “(P)I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, ‘[f]At twilight you shall eat [g]meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread, so that (Q)you shall know that I am Yahweh your God.’”
13 So it happened at evening that (R)the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning (S)there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 (T)Then the layer of dew [h]evaporated, and behold, on the [i]surface of the wilderness (U)there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. 15 And the sons of Israel saw it and said to one another, “[j]What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “(V)It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat. 16 This is [k]what Yahweh has commanded, ‘Gather of it every man [l]as much as he should eat; you shall take an [m](W)omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.’” 17 And the sons of Israel did so; some gathered much and some little. 18 And they measured it with an [n]omer, and (X)he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered [o]as much as he should eat. 19 And Moses said to them, “(Y)Let no man leave any of it until morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them. 21 So they gathered it morning by morning, every man [p]as much as he should eat; but the sun would grow hot, and it would melt.
Yahweh Gives Bread for Two Days
22 (Z)Now it happened that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. Then all the (AA)leaders of the congregation came and told Moses. 23 And he said to them, “This is what Yahweh has spoken: (AB)Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to Yahweh. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and (AC)all that is in excess [q]put aside to be kept until morning.” 24 So they [r]put it aside until morning, as Moses had commanded, and (AD)it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it. 25 And Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to Yahweh; today you will not find it in the field. 26 (AE)Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be [s]none.”
27 Now it happened on the seventh day, that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. 28 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “(AF)How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My [t]laws? 29 See, Yahweh has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 And the house of (AG)Israel named it [u]manna, and it was like (AH)coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey. 32 Then Moses said, “This is [v]what Yahweh has commanded, ‘Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’” 33 And Moses said to Aaron, “(AI)Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before Yahweh to be kept throughout your generations.” 34 As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before (AJ)the Testimony to be kept. 35 (AK)And the sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. 36 (Now (AL)an [w]omer is a tenth of an [x]ephah.)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 16:3 Or flesh
- Exodus 16:4 Or instruction
- Exodus 16:6 Lit and you
- Exodus 16:7 Lit and you
- Exodus 16:8 Or flesh
- Exodus 16:12 Lit Between the two evenings
- Exodus 16:12 Or flesh
- Exodus 16:14 Lit had gone up
- Exodus 16:14 Lit face of
- Exodus 16:15 Heb Man hu, sounds similar to manna; cf. 16:31
- Exodus 16:16 Lit the thing which
- Exodus 16:16 Lit according to his eating
- Exodus 16:16 Lit an omer for a head; an omer was approx. 2.1 qt. or 2.3 l
- Exodus 16:18 An omer was approx. 2.1 qt. or 2.3 l
- Exodus 16:18 Lit according to his eating
- Exodus 16:21 Lit according to his eating
- Exodus 16:23 Lit lay up for you
- Exodus 16:24 Lit laid it up
- Exodus 16:26 Lit none on it
- Exodus 16:28 Or instructions
- Exodus 16:31 Heb man, cf. 16:15
- Exodus 16:32 Lit the thing which
- Exodus 16:36 An omer was approx. 2.1 qt. or 2.3 l
- Exodus 16:36 An ephah was approx. 21 qt. or 23 l
Exodus 16
New International Version
Exodus 16
New International Version
Manna and Quail
16 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) 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled(C) against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s 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.”(F)
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I 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. 5 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.”
6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt,(J) 7 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?”(M) 8 Moses also said, “You 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.”(O)
9 Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’”
10 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)
11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling(R) of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At 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.’”(S)
13 That evening quail(T) came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew(U) around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost(V) on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know(W) what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread(X) the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer[a](Y) for each person you have in your tent.’”
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 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.
19 Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”(AA)
20 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.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice(AD) as much—two omers[b] for each person—and the leaders of the community(AE) came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow 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.’”
24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25 “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath,(AG) there will not be any.”
27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you[c] refuse to keep my commands(AH) and my instructions? 29 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.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The people of Israel called the bread manna.[d](AI) It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32 Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take 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.’”
33 So Moses said to Aaron, “Take 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.”
34 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law,(AK) so that it might be preserved. 35 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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