Read the Bible

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 But 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)If only we had died by the LORD'S hand in the land of Egypt, ^(C2)when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire 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, so 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 forward before the LORD, for He has heard your grumblings.'"¹⁰ And it came about, as Aaron spoke to the entire 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 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: 'Everyone gather ^(F2)as much as he will eat; you shall take ^(F3)(C1)an omer apiece according to the number of people 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 by the ^(F1)omer, ^(C1)the one who had gathered much did not have too much, and the one who had gathered little did not have too little; everyone gathered ^(F2)as much as he would eat.¹⁹ Moses said to them, "^(C1)No one is to 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 stank; and Moses was angry with them.²¹ They gathered it morning by morning, everyone ^(F1)as much as he would eat; but when the sun became hot, it would melt.

The Sabbath

^22 (C1)Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, ^(F1)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 put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and ^(C1)it did not stink nor was there a maggot in it.²⁵ Then 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 Yet 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; for that reason He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain, everyone, in his place; no one is to leave his place on the seventh day."³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ And the house of ^(C1)Israel named the bread ^(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: 'A ^(F2)full omer of it is to be kept safe throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'"³³ And Moses said to Aaron, "^(C1)Take a jar and put a ^(F1)full omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept safe throughout your generations."³⁴ As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before ^(C1)the Testimony, to be kept.³⁵ And ^(C1)the sons of Israel ate the manna for 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 ^(F1)omer is a tenth of an ephah.)