Exodus 16

1  THEY SET out from Elim, and all the congregation of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they left the land of Egypt.2  And the whole congregation of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness,3  And said to them, Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.4  Then the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from the heavens for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law or not.5  On the sixth day they shall prepare to bring in twice as much as they gather daily.6  So Moses and Aaron said to all Israel, At evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out from the land of Egypt,7  And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, for He hears your murmurings against the Lord. For what are we, that you murmur against us?8  And Moses said, [This will happen] when the Lord gives you in the evening flesh to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumblings which you murmur against Him; what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.9  And Moses said to Aaron, Say to all the congregation of Israel, Come near before the Lord, for He has heard your murmurings.10  And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud!11  The Lord said to Moses,12  I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites; speak to them, saying, At twilight you shall eat meat, and between the two evenings you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.13  In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay round about the camp.14  And when the dew had gone, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a fine, round and flakelike thing, as fine as hoarfrost on the ground.15  When the Israelites saw it, they said one to another, Manna [What is it?]. For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. 16  This is what the Lord has commanded: Let every man gather of it as much as he will need, an omer for each person, according to the number of your persons; take it, every man for those in his tent.17  The [people] did so, and gathered, some more, some less.18  When they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack; each gathered according to his need.19  Moses said, Let none of it be left until morning.20  But they did not listen to Moses; some of them left of it until morning, and it bred worms, became foul, and stank; and Moses was angry with them.21  They gathered it every morning, each as much as he needed, for when the sun became hot it melted.22  And on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each person; and all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses.23  He said to them, The Lord has said, Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord; bake and boil what you will bake and boil today; and all that remains over put aside for you to keep until morning.24  They laid it aside till morning, as Moses told them; and it did not become foul, neither was it wormy.25  Moses said, Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord. Today you shall find none in the field.26  Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there shall be none.27  On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.28  The Lord said to Moses, How long do you [people] refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?29  See, the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day the bread for two days; let every man remain in his place; let no man leave his place on the seventh day.30  So the people rested on the seventh day.31  The house of Israel called the bread manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and it tasted like wafers made with honey.32  Moses said, This is what the Lord commands, Take an omer of it to be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.33  And Moses said to Aaron, Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept throughout your generations.34  As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron laid it up before the Testimony to be kept [in the ark]. 35  And the Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a habitable land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.36  (Now an omer is the tenth of an ephah.)

Exodus 16

Chapter 16

Manna and Quail from Heaven

1 Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin,t between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt.t

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 quartst 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,t 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 quartst 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.t 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.t

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.t