Exodus 16

And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

1The people of Israel left a place called Elim. They all came to a dry, empty land called the Desert of Sin. It lies between Elim and Sinai. This was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they left Egypt.

2And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:

2There in the desert, all the people complained about Moses and Aaron.

3And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God 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.

3They said, "We wish God had let us die in Egypt. There we sat by pots full of meat. We ate all the bread we wanted. But you brought us out to this empty land. Now we will all die of hunger."

4Then said the LORD unto 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 no.

4Then God said to Moses, "Look, I will rain down bread from the sky for you. Each day the people must go out and gather enough for that one day. This will test them. I will see if they do what I say."

5And 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.

5"On the sixth day they will bring in food and get it ready. It will be twice as much as they gather on other days."

6And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:

6So Moses and Aaron said to all the people, "Tonight you will know that God brought you out of Egypt."

7And 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?

7"In the morning you will see God's glory, a bright light that shows he is here. He has heard you complain about him. We are only men. Why complain to us?"

8And 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.

8Moses said more: "Tonight God will give you meat to eat. In the morning he will give you all the bread you want. He has heard you complain about him. Who are we? Your complaining is not against us. It is against God."

9And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings.

9Then Moses told Aaron, "Say this to all the people: 'Come close to God. He has heard your complaining.'"

10And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

10While Aaron was speaking to the people, they looked out toward the desert. And there was God's glory, shining in a cloud.

11And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

11Then God spoke to Moses. He said,

12I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even 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.

12"I have heard the people of Israel complain. Tell them, 'This evening 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.'"

13And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.

13That evening, birds called quail came and covered the camp. In the morning, dew lay on the ground all around the camp.

14And 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.

14When the dew dried up, thin flakes were left on the desert ground. They were as fine as frost.

15And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.

15When the people saw it, they asked each other, "What is it?" They did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "This is the bread God has given you to eat."

NoteThe old English says "It is manna." In Hebrew that sounds like the question "What is it?" The people were asking, not naming it. The name manna stuck later.

16This 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 which are in his tents.

16"This is what God has told you to do. Each person must gather as much as he needs to eat. Take one omer for each person in your tent."

NoteAn omer is a way to measure food, about two big bowls full. An ephah is ten times bigger.

17And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.

17The people of Israel did this. Some gathered more, and some gathered less.

18And when they did mete 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.

18Then they measured it with an omer. The one who gathered a lot had none left over. The one who gathered a little still had enough. Each person had just what he needed.

19And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.

19Then Moses said, "No one may keep any of it until morning."

20Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.

20But some people did not listen to Moses. They kept part of it until morning. It filled with worms and smelled bad. Moses was angry with them.

21And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.

21Every morning each person gathered what he needed. When the sun grew hot, the food melted away.

22And 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.

22On the sixth day they gathered twice as much, two omers for each person. All the leaders of the people came and told Moses.

23And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

23He said to them, "This is what God said. 'Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy Sabbath for God. Bake what you want to bake today. Boil what you want to boil today. Keep whatever is left over until morning.'"

24And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.

24So they kept it until morning, just as Moses said. It did not smell bad, and there were no worms in it.

25And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.

25Moses said, "Eat it today. Today is a rest day for God. You will not find any out in the field today."

26Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.

26"For six days you may gather it. But on the seventh day, the rest day, there will be none."

27And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.

27Even so, some people went out on the seventh day to gather. They found nothing.

28And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?

28Then God said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to obey my commands and my teachings?"

29See, 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.

29"Look, God has given you the Sabbath, a day of rest. That is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. On the seventh day everyone must stay where he is. No one should leave his place."

30So the people rested on the seventh day.

30So the people rested on the seventh day.

31And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

31The people of Israel called this food manna. It was white, like a small seed called coriander. It tasted like thin cakes made with honey.

32And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.

32Moses said, "This is what God has told us to do. Keep one omer of manna. Save it for your children and their children. Then they can see the bread I fed you in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt."

33And Moses said unto 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.

33So Moses told Aaron, "Take a jar. Fill it with one omer of manna. Set it down in front of God, to be kept safe for all the years to come."

34As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.

34Aaron did just what God had told Moses. He set the jar in front of the Testimony, to be kept safe.

NoteThe Testimony means the stone slabs with God's rules written on them, kept in a special box.

35And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.

35The people of Israel ate manna for forty years. They ate it until they came to a land where they could live. They ate it until they reached the edge of the land of Canaan.

36Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

36An omer is one tenth of a larger measure called an ephah.