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The LORD Provides Manna

¹ Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of ^(C1)Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on ^(C2)the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.² The whole congregation of the sons of Israel ^(C1)grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.³ The sons of Israel said to them, "^(C1)Would that we had died by the LORD'S hand in the land of Egypt, ^(C2)when we sat by the pots of ^(F1)meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, ^(C1)I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may ^(C2)test them, whether or not they will walk in My ^(F1)instruction.⁵ "^(C1)On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily."⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, "At evening ^(F1)(C1)you will know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt;⁷ and in the morning ^(F1)you will see ^(C1)the glory of the LORD, for ^(C2)He hears your grumblings against the LORD; and ^(C3)what are we, that you grumble against us?"

The LORD Provides Meat

⁹ Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, '^(C1)Come near before the LORD, for He has heard your grumblings.'"¹⁰ It came about as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, that they ^(F1)looked toward the wilderness, and behold, ^(C1)the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.¹¹ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,¹² "^(C1)I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel; speak to them, saying, '^(F1)At twilight you shall eat ^(F2)meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and ^(C2)you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'"

¹³ So it came about at evening that ^(C1)the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning ^(C2)there was a layer of dew around the camp.^14 (C1)When the layer of dew ^(F1)evaporated, behold, on the ^(F2)surface of the wilderness ^(C2)there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground.¹⁵ When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "^(F1)What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "^(C1)It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.¹⁶ "This is ^(F1)what the LORD has commanded, 'Gather of it every man ^(F2)as much as he should eat; you shall take ^(F3)(C1)an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.'"¹⁷ The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little.¹⁸ When they measured it with an omer, ^(C1)he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered ^(F1)as much as he should eat.¹⁹ Moses said to them, "^(C1)Let no man leave any of it until morning."²⁰ But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them.²¹ They gathered it morning by morning, every man ^(F1)as much as he should eat; but when the sun grew hot, it would melt.

The Sabbath Observed

^22 (C1)Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the ^(C2)leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,²³ then he said to them, "This is what the LORD ^(F1)meant: ^(C1)Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and ^(C2)all that is left over ^(F2)put aside to be kept until morning."²⁴ So they ^(F1)put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and ^(C1)it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it.²⁵ Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field.²⁶ "^(C1)Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be ^(F1)none."

²⁷ It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.²⁸ Then the LORD said to Moses, "^(C1)How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My ^(F1)instructions?²⁹ "See, ^(F1)the LORD has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The house of ^(C1)Israel named it ^(F1)manna, and it was like ^(C2)coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey.³² Then Moses said, "This is ^(F1)what the LORD has commanded, 'Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'"³³ Moses said to Aaron, "^(C1)Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations."³⁴ As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before ^(C1)the Testimony, to be kept.^35 (C1)The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.³⁶ (Now ^(C1)an omer is a tenth of an ^(F1)ephah.)