Exodus 16

¹ Setting out from Elim, the whole community of Israelites entered the desert of Sin, lying between Elimand Sinai -- on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt.

² And the whole community of Israelites began complaining about Moses and Aaron in the desert

³ and said to them, 'Why did we not die at Yahweh's hand in Egypt, where we used to sit round the fleshpots and could eat to our heart's content! As it is, you have led us into this desert to starve this entire assemblyto death!'

⁴ Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Look, I shal rain down bread for you from the heavens. Each day thepeople must go out and collect their ration for the day; I propose to test them in this way to see whether they wilfol ow my law or not.

⁵ On the sixth day, however, when they prepare what they have brought in, this must be twice as muchas they col ect on ordinary days.'

⁶ Moses and Aaron then said to the whole community of Israelites, 'This evening you wil know that itwas Yahweh who brought you out of Egypt,

⁷ and tomorrow morning you wil see the glory of Yahweh, for Yahweh has heard your complaints abouthim. What are we, that your complaint should be against us?'

⁸ Moses then said, 'This evening Yahweh wil give you meat to eat, and tomorrow morning bread to yourheart's content, for Yahweh has heard your complaints about him. What do we count for? Your complaints arenot against us, but against Yahweh.'

⁹ Moses then said to Aaron, 'Say to the whole community of Israelites, "Approach Yahweh's presence,for he has heard your complaints." '

¹⁰ As Aaron was speaking to the whole community of Israelites, they turned towards the desert, andthere the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud.

¹¹ Yahweh then spoke to Moses and said,

¹² 'I have heard the Israelites' complaints. Speak to them as follows, "At twilight you wil eat meat, and inthe morning you will have bread to your heart's content, and then you wil know that I am Yahweh your God." '

¹³ That evening, quails flew in and covered the camp, and next morning there was a layer of dew alround the camp.

¹⁴ When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the desert was something fine and granular, asfine as hoarfrost on the ground.

¹⁵ As soon as the Israelites saw this, they said to one another, 'What is that ?' not knowing what it was.'That', Moses told them, 'is the food which Yahweh has given you to eat.

¹⁶ These are Yahweh's orders: Each of you must collect as much as he needs to eat -- a homer perhead for each person in his tent.'

¹⁷ The Israelites did this. They col ected it, some more, some less.

¹⁸ When they measured out what they had col ected by the homer, no one who had collected more hadtoo much, no one who had col ected less had too little. Each had col ected as much as he needed to eat.

¹⁹ Moses then said, 'No one may keep any of it for tomorrow.'

²⁰ But some of them took no notice of Moses and kept part of it for the fol owing day, and it bredmaggots and smelt foul; and Moses was angry with them.

²¹ Morning by morning they collected it, each man as much as he needed to eat, and once the sun grewhot, it melted away.

²² Now, on the sixth day they col ected twice the amount of food: two homer per person, and al theleaders of the community came and told Moses this.

²³ Moses replied, 'This is what Yahweh said, "Tomorrow is a day of complete rest, a Sabbath sacred toYahweh. Bake what you want to bake, boil what you want to boil; put aside what is left over, to be kept fortomorrow."

²⁴ So, as Moses ordered, they put it aside for the fol owing day, and its smel was not foul nor werethere maggots in it.

²⁵ 'Eat it today,' Moses said, 'for today is a Sabbath for Yahweh; you will find none in the fields today.

²⁶ For six days you wil col ect it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there wil be none.'

²⁷ On the seventh day some of the people went out to col ect it, but they found none.

²⁸ Yahweh then said to Moses, 'How much longer wil you refuse to obey my commandments and laws?

²⁹ Look, Yahweh has given you the Sabbath; this is why he gives you two days' food on the sixth day;each of you must stay in his place; on the seventh day no one may leave his home.'

³⁰ So on the seventh day the people rested.

³¹ The House of Israel named it 'manna'. It was like coriander seed; it was white and its taste was likethat of wafers made with honey.

³² Moses then said, 'These are Yahweh's orders: Fil a homer with it and preserve it for yourdescendants, so that they can see the bread on which I fed you in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.'

³³ Moses then said to Aaron, 'Take a jar and in it put a full homer of manna and store it in Yahweh'spresence, to be kept for your descendants.'

³⁴ Accordingly, Aaron stored it in front of the Testimony, to be preserved, as Yahweh had orderedMoses.

³⁵ The Israelites ate manna for forty years, up to the time they reached inhabited country: they atemanna up to the time they reached the frontiers of Canaan.

³⁶ A homer is one-tenth of an ephah.