Exodus 16
1 They set out from Elim, and the whole community of the Israelites came to the Desert of Sin, which lies between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt.
2 In the desert, the whole community of the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread until we were full! You have brought us into this desert to make this whole assembly die of hunger.”
4 The LORD said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people will go out and gather each day’s portion, so that I may test them to see whether or not they follow my instruction.
5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather each day.”
6 Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “By evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
7 And in the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling against the LORD. What are we, that you should grumble against us?”
8 Moses also said, “When the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening and bread in the morning until you are full, it is because the LORD has heard your grumbling against him. What are we? Your grumbling is not against us, but against the LORD.”
9 Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community of the Israelites, ‘Come near before the LORD, because he has heard your grumbling.’”
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole community of the Israelites, they turned toward the desert, and there the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
11 The LORD spoke to Moses:
12 “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 That evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.
14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the desert was something fine and flaky, fine as frost on the ground.
15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is this?” because they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “This is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.
16 This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather as much of it as each person needs to eat: an omer for each person, according to the number of people. Each of you shall take it for those in your tent.’”
17 The Israelites did so and gathered it, some gathering more and some less.
18 When they measured it by the omer, the one who had gathered more had nothing left over, and the one who had gathered less had no shortage. Each had gathered as much as they needed to eat.
19 Moses said to them, “No one is to leave any of it until morning.”
20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. Moses was angry with them.
21 They gathered it every morning, each as much as they needed to eat; when the sun grew hot, it melted.
22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each person. All the leaders of the community came and told Moses.
23 He said to them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you want to bake, and cook what you want to cook. Set aside everything left over and keep it until morning.’”
24 They kept it until morning, as Moses had commanded, and it did not stink or breed worms.
25 Moses said, “Eat this today, because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you will find none of it in the field.
26 For six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”
27 On the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather, but they found nothing.
28 The LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep my commandments and my instructions?
29 See, the LORD has given you the Sabbath. That is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Each of you stay where you are; no one is to leave their place on the seventh day.”
30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 The house of Israel named it manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and tasted like wafers made with honey.
32 Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it and keep it for all your generations, so they may see the bread with which I fed you in the desert when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, put a full omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept for all your generations.”
34 As the LORD had commanded Moses, Aaron placed it before the Testimony, to be kept there.
35 The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate manna until they reached the border of the land of Canaan.
36 An omer is one tenth of an ephah.
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