Exodus 16

The Provision of Manna

1 s Whent they journeyed from Elim, the entire companyt of Israelites came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their exodust from the land of Egypt.2 The entire companyt of Israelites murmured against Moses and Aaron in the desert.

3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had diedt by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat byt the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full,s for you have brought us out into this desert to killt this whole assembly with hunger!”
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to raint bread from heaven for you, and the people will go outt and gather the amount for each day, so that I may test them.t Will they will walk in my laws or not?

5 On the sixth dayt they will prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather every other day.”s
6 Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the eveningts you will know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt,

7 and in the morning you will seet the glory of the Lord, because he has heardt your murmurings against the Lord. As for us, what are we,t that you should murmur against us?”

8 Moses said, “You will know thist when the Lord gives yout meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning to satisfy you, because the Lord has heard your murmurings that you are murmuring against him. As for us, what are we?t Your murmurings are not against us,t but against the Lord.”

9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole communityt of the Israelites, ‘Comet before the Lord, because he has heard your murmurings.’”
10 As Aaron spoket to the whole community of the Israelites and they looked toward the desert, there the glory of the Lords appearedt in the cloud,11 and the Lord spoke to Moses:

12 “I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘During the eveningt you will eat meat,s and in the morning you will be satisfiedt with bread, so that you may knowt that I am the Lord your God.’”s
13 In the evening the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning a layer of dew was all around the camp.14 Whent the layer of dew had evaporated,t there on the surface of the desert was a thin flaky substance,s thin like frost on the earth.

15 Whent the Israelites saw it, they said to one another,t “What is it?” because they did not know what it was.t Moses said to them, “It is the breads that the Lord has given you for food.s
16 “This is whatt the Lord has commanded:t ‘Each person is to gathert from it what he can eat, an omers per persont according to the numbert of your people;t each one will pick it upt for whoever livest in his tent.’”17 The Israelites did so, and they gathered – some more, some less.

18 Whent they measured with an omer, the one who gathered much had nothing left over, and the one who gathered little lacked nothing; each one had gathered what he could eat.
19 Moses said to them, “No onet is to keep any of itt until morning.”20 But they did not listen to Moses; somet kept part of it until morning, and it was fullt of worms and began to stink, and Moses was angry with them.21 So they gathered it each morning,t each person according to what he could eat, and when the sun got hot, it would melt.t22 Andt on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omerst per person;t and all the leaderst of the communityt came and tolds Moses.

23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Tomorrow is a time of cessation from work,t a holy Sabbatht to the Lord. Whatever you want tot bake, bake today;t whatever you want to boil, boil today; whatever is left put aside for yourselves to be kept until morning.’”
24 So they put it aside until the morning, just as Moses had commanded, and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the area.t

26 Six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”
27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it, but they found nothing.28 So the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you refuset to obey my commandments and my instructions?29 See, because the Lord has given you the Sabbath, that is whys he is giving you food for two days on the sixth day. Each of you stay where you are;t let no onet go out of his place on the seventh day.”

30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 The house of Israels called its name “manna.”t It was like coriander seed and was white, and it tastedt like wafers with honey.
32 Moses said, “This is whatt the Lord has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it to be keptt for generations to come,t so that they may seet the food I fed you in the desert when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.’”33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put in it an omer full of manna, and place it before the Lord to be kept for generations to come.”

34 Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the Testimonys for safekeeping.t
35 Now the Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was inhabited; they ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

36 (Now an omer is one tenth of an ephah.)ts

Exodus 17

Water at Massa and Meribah

1 s The whole communityt of the Israelites traveled on their journeyt from the Desert of Sin according to the Lord’s instruction, and they pitched camp in Rephidim.s Nowt there was no water for the people to drink.t2 So the people contendedt with Moses, and they said, “Give us water to drink!”ts Moses said to them, “Why do you contendt with me? Why do you testt the Lord?”

3 But the people were very thirstyt there for water, and they murmured against Moses and said, “Why in the worldt did you bring us up out of Egypt – to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?”s
4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What will I do witht this people? – a little moret and they will stone me!”t5 The Lord said to Moses, “Go over before the people;t take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile and go.

6 I will be standingts before you there ont the rock in Horeb, and you will striket the rock, and water will come out of it so that the people may drink.”ts And Moses did so in plain viewt of the elders of Israel.

7 He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contending of the Israelites and because of their testing the Lord,ss saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Victory over the Amalekites

8 s Amalek camet and attackedt Israel in Rephidim.

9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of ourt men and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.”
10 So Joshua fought against Amalek just as Moses had instructed him;tand Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill.11 Whenever Moses would raise his hands,t then Israel prevailed, but whenever he would restt his hands, then Amalek prevailed.12 Whent the hands of Moses became heavy,t they took a stone and put it under him, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other,t and so his hands were steadyt until the sun went down.

13 So Joshua destroyedt Amalek and his armyt with the sword.t
14 The Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in thet book, and rehearset it in Joshua’s hearing;t for I will surely wipe outt the remembrances of Amalek from under heaven.15 Moses built an altar, and he called it “The Lord is my Banner,”s

16 for he said, “For a hand was lifted up to the throne of the Lordt – that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”s

Exodus 18

The Advice of Jethro

1 s Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard about all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, thatt the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.s
2 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife Zipporah after he had sent her back,3 and her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom (for Mosest had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land”),

4 and the other Eliezer (for Moses had said,t “The God of my father has been my helpt and delivereds me from the sword of Pharaoh”).
5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’t sons and his wife, came to Moses in the desert where he was camping byt the mountain of God.s6 He saids to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you, along with your wife and her two sons with her.”7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him;s they each asked about the other’s welfare, and then they went into the tent.

8 Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to Egypt for Israel’s sake, and all the hardshipt that had come on themt along the way, and howt the Lord had delivered them.
9 Jethro rejoicedt because of all the good that the Lord had done for Israel, whom he had delivered from the hand of Egypt.10 Jethro said, “Blessedt be the Lord who has delivered you from the hand of Egypt, and from the hand of Pharaoh, who has delivered the people from the Egyptians’ control!t11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods, for in the thing in which they dealt proudly against them he has destroyed them.”t

12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, broughtt a burnt offering and sacrifices for God,s and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat foodt with the father-in-law of Moses before God.
13 On the next dayt Moses sat to judges the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning until evening.

14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is thist that you are doing for the people?s Why are you sitting by yourself, and all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”
15 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquiret of God.

16 When they have a dispute,t it comes to me and I decidet between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the decrees of God and his laws.”t
17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “Whatt you are doing is not good!18 You will surely wear out,t both you and these people who are with you, for this is toot heavy a burdent for you; you are not able to do it by yourself.19 Now listen to me,t I will give you advice, and may God be with you: You be a representative for the people to God,t and you bringt their disputest to God;20 warnt them of the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they must walkt and the work they must do.t21 But you chooset from the people capable men,t God-fearing,t men of truth,t those who hate bribes,t and put them over the peoplet as rulerss of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.22 They will judget the people under normal circumstances,t and every difficult caset they will bring to you, but every small caset they themselves will judge, so thatt you may make it easier for yourself,t and they will bear the burdent with you.

23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you,t then you will be ablet to endure,t and all these peoplet will be able to got homet satisfied.”ts
24 Moses listened tot his father-in-law and did everything he had said.25 Moses chose capable men from all Israel, and he made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

26 They judged the people under normal circumstances; the difficult cases they would bringt to Moses, but every small case they would judge themselves.

27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way,t and so Jethrot wentt to his own land.s