Manna and Quail from Heaven 1 WBS And they took their journey 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. BSB BSB: On the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt, the whole congregation of Israel set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai.
2 WBS And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. BSB BSB: And there in the desert the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
3 WBS And the children of Israel said to them, O that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread to the full: for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. BSB BSB: “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt!” they said. “There we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death!”
4 WBS Then said the LORD to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not. BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test whether or not they will follow My instructions.
5 WBS And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. BSB BSB: Then on the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”
6 WBS And Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, At evening, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt: BSB BSB: So 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,
7 WBS And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: And what are we, that ye murmur against us? BSB BSB: and in the morning you will see the LORD’s glory, because He has heard your grumbling against Him. For who are we, that you should grumble against us?”
8 WBS And Moses said, This shall be when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: And what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD. BSB BSB: And Moses added, “The LORD will give you meat to eat this evening and bread to fill you in the morning, for He has heard your grumbling against Him. Who are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against the LORD.”
9 WBS And Moses spoke to Aaron, Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings. BSB BSB: Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole congregation of Israel, ‘Come before the LORD, for He has heard your grumbling.’”
10 WBS And it came to pass, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked towards the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. BSB BSB: And as Aaron was speaking to the whole congregation of Israel, they looked toward the desert, and there in a cloud the glory of the LORD appeared.
11 WBS And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses,
12 WBS I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel; Speak to them, saying, At evening ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. BSB BSB: “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’”
13 WBS And it came to pass, that at evening the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay around the host. BSB BSB: That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.
14 WBS And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground: BSB BSB: When the layer of dew had evaporated, there were thin flakes on the desert floor, as fine as frost on the ground.
15 WBS And when the children of Israel saw it , they said one to another, It is manna: for they knew not what it was . And Moses said to them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. BSB BSB: When the Israelites saw it, they asked one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. So Moses told them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.
16 WBS This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating: an omer for every man according to the number of your persons, take ye every man for them who are in his tents. BSB BSB: This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs. You may take an omer for each person in your tent.’”
17 WBS And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less. BSB BSB: So the Israelites did this. Some gathered more, and some less.
18 WBS And when they measured it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack: they gathered every man according to his eating. BSB BSB: When they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no shortfall. Each one gathered as much as he needed to eat.
19 WBS And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. BSB BSB: Then Moses said to them, “No one may keep any of it until morning.”
20 WBS Notwithstanding, they hearkened not to Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and became offensive; and Moses was wroth with them. BSB BSB: But they did not listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it became infested with maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
21 WBS And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun became hot, it melted. BSB BSB: Every morning each one gathered as much as was needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.
The Sabbath Observed (Genesis 2:1–3; Hebrews 4:1–11)
22 WBS And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man : and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. BSB BSB: On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much food—two omers per person—and all the leaders of the congregation came and reported this to Moses.
23 WBS And he said to them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To-morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath to the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to-day , and boil that ye will boil; and that which remaineth over, lay up for you to be kept until the morning. BSB BSB: He told them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil. Then set aside whatever remains and keep it until morning.’”
24 WBS And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses ordered: and it did not putrefy, neither was there any worm therein. BSB BSB: So they set it aside until morning as Moses had commanded, and it did not smell or contain any maggots.
25 WBS And Moses said, Eat that to-day; for to-day is a sabbath to the LORD; to-day ye will not find it in the field. BSB BSB: “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you will not find anything in the field.
26 WBS Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there will be none. BSB BSB: For six days you may gather, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, it will not be there.”
27 WBS And it came to pass, that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, and they found none. BSB BSB: Yet on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find anything.
28 WBS And the LORD said to Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? BSB BSB: Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep My commandments and instructions?
29 WBS See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days: abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. BSB BSB: Understand that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day He will give you bread for two days. On the seventh day, everyone must stay where he is; no one may leave his place.”
30 WBS So the people rested on the seventh day. BSB BSB: So the people rested on the seventh day.
The Jar of Manna 31 WBS And the house of Israel called its name Manna: and it was like coriander-seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. BSB BSB: Now the house of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.
32 WBS And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commanded, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. BSB BSB: Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Keep an omer of manna for the generations to come, so that they may see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
33 WBS And Moses said to Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. BSB BSB: So Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with an omer of manna. Then place it before the LORD to be preserved for the generations to come.”
34 WBS As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. BSB BSB: And Aaron placed it in front of the Testimony, to be preserved just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
35 WBS And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited: they ate manna, until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. BSB BSB: The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land where they could settle; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.
36 WBS Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah. BSB BSB: (Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.)