The Bible

Exodus Chapter 16

¹They went from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt. ²The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; ³and the children of Israel said to them, "We wish that we had died by Yahweh's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

⁴Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Look, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people are to go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. ⁵On the sixth day they'll prepare what they bring in, and it'll be twice as much as they gather daily."

⁶Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "In the evening, you will know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt. ⁷In the morning, you will see Yahweh's glory; because he hears your murmurings against Yahweh. Who are we, that you murmur against us?" ⁸Moses said, "Now Yahweh will give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you, because Yahweh hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against Yahweh." ⁹Moses said to Aaron, "Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, 'Come close to Yahweh, for he has heard your murmurings.'" ¹⁰As Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, Yahweh's glory appeared in the cloud. ¹¹Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ¹²"I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Tell them, saying, 'In the evening, you'll eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God.'"

¹³In the evening, quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp. ¹⁴When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground. ¹⁵When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they didn't know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat. ¹⁶This is what Yahweh has commanded: 'Everyone gather it according to his appetite, an omer per person. Every man take it for those who are in his tent.'" ¹⁷The children of Israel did so, and some gathered more, some less. ¹⁸When they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack. They each gathered according to their eating. ¹⁹Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it until morning." ²⁰Nevertheless they didn't listen to Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning, so it bred worms and became foul. Moses was angry with them. ²¹They gathered it morning by morning, everyone according to their appetite. When the sun grew hot, it melted. ²²On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. ²³He said to them, "This is what Yahweh has said, 'Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to Yahweh. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil; and all that remains over store for yourselves to be kept until the morning.'" ²⁴They laid it up until the morning, as Moses ordered, and it didn't become foul, and there weren't any worms in it. ²⁵Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to Yahweh. Today you won't find it in the field. ²⁶Gather it for six days, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. Then there won't be any." ²⁷On the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. ²⁸Yahweh said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? ²⁹Look, because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone must stay in his place. Let no one leave his place on the seventh day." ³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹The house of Israel called its name "Manna", and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey. ³²Moses said, "This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded, 'Let an omer-full of it be kept throughout your generations, so they can see the bread I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you from the land of Egypt.'" ³³Moses said to Aaron, "Take a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it up in Yahweh's presence, to be kept throughout your generations." ³⁴As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. ³⁵The children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. ³⁶Now an omer is one tenth of an ephah.