Quail From the Lord

⁴ The rabble with them began to crave other food,^(A) and again the Israelites started wailing^(B) and said, “If only we had meat to eat! ⁵ We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.^{(C) 6} But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!^(D)”

⁷ The manna was like coriander seed^(E) and looked like resin.^{(F) 8} The people went around gathering it,^(G) and then ground it in a hand mill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into loaves. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. ⁹ When the dew^(H) settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.

¹⁰ Moses heard the people of every family wailing^(I) at the entrance to their tents. The Lord became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. ¹¹ He asked the Lord, “Why have you brought this trouble^(J) on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me?^(K)

¹⁸ “Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves^(A) in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed,^(B) “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!”^(C) Now the Lord will give you meat,^(D) and you will eat it. ¹⁹ You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, ²⁰ but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it^(E)—because you have rejected the Lord,^(F) who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’”^(G)