Exodus 16
16
The People Demand Food
1Then the whole Israelite community left Elim. They came to the Desert of Sin. This place was between Elim and Sinai. They came to this place on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt. 2Then the whole Israelite community grumbled to Moses and Aaron in the desert. 3The Israelites said to them, “It would have been better if the Lord had killed us in the land of Egypt. There we had meat to eat. We had all the food we wanted. But you have brought us into this desert. You will starve us to death here.”
4Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will cause food to fall like rain from the sky. This food will be for all of you. Every day the people must go out and gather what they need for that day. I will do this to see if the people will do what I teach them. 5On 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.”
6So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites: “This evening you will know that the Lord is the one who brought you out of Egypt. 7Tomorrow morning you will see the greatness of the Lord. He has heard you grumble against him. We are nothing. You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.” 8And Moses said, “Each evening the Lord will give you meat to eat. And every morning he will give you all the bread you want. He will do this because he has heard you grumble against him. You are not grumbling against Aaron and me. You are grumbling against the Lord.”
9Then Moses said to Aaron, “Speak to the whole community of the Israelites. Say to them, ‘Meet together in front of the Lord because he has heard your grumblings.’”
10So Aaron spoke to the whole community of the Israelites. While he was speaking, they looked toward the desert. There the greatness of the Lord appeared in a cloud.
11The Lord said to Moses, 12“I have heard the grumblings of the people 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.’”
13That evening, quail came and covered the camp. And in the morning dew lay around the camp. 14When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost were on the desert ground. 15When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, “What is that?” They asked this question because they did not know what it was.
So Moses told them, “This is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16The Lord has commanded, ‘Each one of you must gather what he needs. Gather about two quarts for every person in your family.’”
17So the people of Israel did this. Some people gathered much, and some gathered little. 18Then they measured it. The person who gathered more did not have too much. The person who gathered less did not have too little. Each person gathered just as much as he needed.
19Moses said to them, “Don’t keep any of it to eat the next day.” 20But some of the people did not listen to Moses. They kept part of it to eat the next morning. But it became full of worms and began to stink. So Moses was angry with these people.
21Every morning each person gathered as much food as he needed. But when the sun became hot, it melted away.
22On the sixth day the people gathered twice as much food. They gathered four quarts for every person. So all the leaders of the community came and told this to Moses. 23Moses said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded. 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. But save the rest of the food until tomorrow morning.”
24So the people saved it until the next morning, as Moses had commanded. And none of it began to stink or have worms in it. 25Moses told the people, “Eat the food you gathered yesterday. Today is a Sabbath, the Lord’s day of rest. So you will not find any out in the field today. 26You should gather the food for six days. But the seventh day is a Sabbath day. On that day there will not be any food on the ground.”
27On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather food, but they couldn’t find any. 28Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will all you people refuse to obey my commands and teachings? 29Look, the Lord has made the Sabbath a day of rest for all of you. So on the sixth day he will give you enough food for two days. But on the Sabbath each of you must stay where you are. Do not leave your house.” 30So the people rested on the Sabbath.
31The people of Israel called the food manna. The manna was like small white seeds. It tasted like wafers made with honey.
32Then Moses said, “The Lord said, ‘Save two quarts of this food for your descendants. Then they can see the food that I gave you to eat. I did this in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.’”
33Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. And save this manna for your descendants.” 34So Aaron did what the Lord had commanded Moses. Aaron put the jar of manna in front of the Ark of the Covenant. He did this so it could be kept. 35The Israelites ate manna for 40 years. They ate it until they came to the land where they settled. They ate manna until they came to the edge of the land of Canaan. 36The measure they used for the manna was two quarts. It was one-tenth of an ephah.# An ephah was a measure that equaled 20 quarts.
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Exodus 16
16
Yahweh Provides Food in the Desert
1And they set out from Elim, and all the community of the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai,#Literally “and between Sinai” in the fifteenth day of the second month of their going out from the land of Egypt. 2And all the community of the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” grumbled against Moses and against Aaron in the desert. 3And the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” said to them, “If only we had died#Literally “who will give our dying” by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots#Hebrew “pot” of meat, when we ate bread until we were full,#Literally “to contentment” or “to satisfaction” because you have brought us out to this desert to kill all of this assembly with hunger.” 4And 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? 5And then on the sixth day, they will prepare what they bring, and it will be twice over what they will gather every other day.”
6And Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites,#Literally “sons/children of Israel” “In the evening, you will know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt, 7and in the morning, you will see the glory of Yahweh, for he hears#Literally “at/in his hearing” your grumblings against Yahweh, and what are we that you grumble against us?” 8And Moses said, “When in the evening Yahweh gives you meat to eat and bread in the morning to fill up on,#Literally “to be satisfied” for he hears#Literally “at/in his hearing” your grumblings that you grumble against him—and what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against Yahweh.” 9And Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the community of the Israelites,#Literally “sons/children of Israel” ‘Come near before Yahweh because he has heard your grumblings.’ ”
10And at the moment of Aaron’s speaking to all the community of the Israelites,#Literally “sons/children of Israel” they turned to the desert, and just then#Literally “look” or “behold” the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud. 11And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 12“I have heard the grumblings of the Israelites.#Literally “sons/children of Israel” Speak to them, saying, ‘At twilight#Literally “between the evenings” you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be full with bread, and you will know that I am Yahweh your God.’ ”
13And 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. 14And the layer of dew came up, and there#Literally “look” or “behold” on the face of the desert was a fine granular substance, fine like frost on the ground. 15And the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” saw, and they said to each other,#Literally “a man to his brother” “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. 16This is the word that Yahweh commanded, ‘Gather from it, each according to what he can eat,#Literally “a man for the mouth of his eating” an omer per person#Literally “skull” or “head” according to the number of you.#Or “the number of your selves” You each shall take enough for whoever is in his tent.’ ”
17And the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” did so, and they gathered, some more and some less. 18And 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.#Literally “a man for the mouth of his eating” 19And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it until morning.” 20But they did not listen to Moses. Some people#Literally “men” left some of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21And they gathered it morning by morning, each according to what he could eat,#Literally “a man according to the mouth of his eating” and it melted when the sun was hot.#Literally “and the sun was hot, and he/it melted”
22And 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. 23And 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.” 24And 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. 25And Moses said, “Eat it today, because today is a Sabbath for Yahweh. Today you will not find it in the field. 26Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, it will not be present on it.”
27And on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, and they did not find any. 28And Yahweh said to Moses, “How long do you#Plural refuse to keep my commands and my laws? 29See, 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;#Literally “a man under him/it” let no one go from his place on the seventh day.” 30And the people rested on the seventh day.
31And the house of Israel called its name “manna.” And it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like a wafer with honey. 32And 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.’ ” 33And Moses said to Aaron, “Take one jar and put there a full omer of manna. Leave it before Yahweh for safekeeping for your generations.” 34As Yahweh had commanded Moses, so Aaron left it before the testimony for safekeeping. 35And the Israelites#Literally “sons/children of Israel” 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.)
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