ExodusChapter 16

Tap any verse to comment or suggest a better wording.

¹The whole community of Israel left Elim. They came to the Desert of Sin, between Elim and Sinai. It was the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt. ²There in the desert the whole community of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. ³They said, "We wish the LORD had killed us in the land of Egypt! There we sat by pots of meat. We ate all the bread we wanted. But you have brought us out into this desert to make this whole crowd starve to death!" ⁴Then the LORD said to Moses, "Look, I will rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people must go out and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them. I will see if they will follow my teaching or not. ⁵On the sixth day they will make ready what they bring in. It will be twice as much as they gather on the other days." ⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "This evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt. ⁷And in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard you complaining against him. Who are we? Why do you complain against us?" ⁸Moses also said, "The LORD will give you meat to eat this evening. He will give you all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard you complaining against him. Who are we? You are not complaining against us. You are complaining against the LORD." ⁹Then Moses said to Aaron, "Tell the whole community of Israel, 'Come near to the LORD, because he has heard you complaining.'" ¹⁰Aaron was speaking to the whole community of Israel. As he spoke, they looked toward the desert. There the glory of the LORD appeared in a cloud. ¹¹Then the LORD said to Moses, ¹²"I have heard the Israelites complaining. Tell them, 'At sundown you will eat meat. In the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'" ¹³That evening quail came and covered the camp. In the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. ¹⁴When the dew dried up, thin flakes were left on the desert ground. They were as fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵The Israelites saw it and asked each other, "What is it?" They did not know what it was. So Moses told them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. ¹⁶This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Each of you must gather as much as you need. Take an omer for each person in your tent.'"a ¹⁷So the Israelites did this. Some gathered more, and some gathered less. ¹⁸Then they measured it by the omer. The one who gathered a lot did not have too much. The one who gathered a little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed to eat. ¹⁹Then Moses said to them, "No one may keep any of it until morning." ²⁰But they did not listen to Moses. Some people kept part of it until morning. It became full of maggots and began to stink. So Moses was angry with them. ²¹Every morning each person gathered as much as was needed. When the sun got hot, it melted away. ²²On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, two omers for each person. All the leaders of the community came and told Moses about this.b ²³He said to them, "This is what the LORD has said: 'Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest. It is a holy Sabbath to honor the LORD. So bake what you want to bake. Boil what you want to boil. Then put aside whatever is left and keep it until morning.'" ²⁴So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had commanded. It did not stink, and there were no maggots in it. ²⁵Moses said, "Eat it today, because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you won't find any in the field. ²⁶You may gather it for six days. But on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there won't be any." ²⁷But on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather it anyway. They did not find any. ²⁸Then the LORD said to Moses, "How long will you people refuse to obey my commands and teachings? ²⁹See, the LORD has given you the Sabbath. That is why he gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. On the seventh day, everyone must stay where he is. No one may leave his place." ³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day. ³¹The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed. It tasted like thin crackers made with honey. ³²Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Keep an omer of manna for the generations to come. Then they can see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'" ³³So Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then put it in front of the LORD. Keep it safe for the generations to come." ³⁴So Aaron put it in front of the Testimony to be kept safe, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.c ³⁵The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to a land where they could settle. They ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan. ³⁶(An omer is one tenth of an ephah.)d