| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1On 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. | 1Then the whole community of Israel set out from Elim and journeyed into the wilderness of Sin, between Elim and Mount Sinai. They arrived there on the fifteenth day of the second month, one month after leaving the land of Egypt. |
| 2And there in the desert they all grumbled against Moses and Aaron. | 2There, too, the whole community of Israel complained about Moses and Aaron. |
| 3“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!” | 3“If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.” |
| 4Then 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. | 4Then the LORD said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. |
| 5Then on the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on the other days.” | 5On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there will be twice as much as usual.” |
| 6So 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, | 6So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “By evening you will realize it was the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt. |
| 7and 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?” | 7In the morning you will see the glory of the LORD, because he has heard your complaints, which are against him, not against us. What have we done that you should complain about us?” |
| 8And 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.” | 8Then Moses added, “The LORD will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him. What have we done? Yes, your complaints are against the LORD, not against us.” |
| 9Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole congregation of Israel, ‘Come before the LORD, for He has heard your grumbling.’ ” | 9Then Moses said to Aaron, “Announce this to the entire community of Israel: ‘Present yourselves before the LORD, for he has heard your complaining.’” |
| 10And 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. | 10And as Aaron spoke to the whole community of Israel, they looked out toward the wilderness. There they could see the awesome glory of the LORD in the cloud. |
| 11Then the LORD said to Moses, | 11Then the LORD said 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.’ ” | 12“I have heard the Israelites’ complaints. Now tell them, ‘In the evening you will have meat to eat, and in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’” |
| 13That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. | 13That evening vast numbers of quail flew in and covered the camp. And the next morning the area around the camp was wet with dew. |
| 14When the layer of dew had evaporated, there were thin flakes on the desert floor, as fine as frost on the ground. | 14When the dew evaporated, a flaky substance as fine as frost blanketed the ground. |
| 15When 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. | 15The Israelites were puzzled when they saw it. “What is it?” they asked each other. They had no idea what it was. And Moses told them, “It is the food the LORD has given you to eat. |
| 16This 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.’ ” | 16These are the LORD’s instructions: Each household should gather as much as it needs. Pick up two quarts for each person in your tent.” |
| 17So the Israelites did this. Some gathered more, and some less. | 17So the people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, some only a little. |
| 18When 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. | 18But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed. |
| 19Then Moses said to them, “No one may keep any of it until morning.” | 19Then Moses told them, “Do not keep any of it until morning.” |
| 20But 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. | 20But some of them didn’t listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them. |
| 21Every morning each one gathered as much as was needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. | 21After this the people gathered the food morning by morning, each family according to its need. And as the sun became hot, the flakes they had not picked up melted and disappeared. |
| 22On 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. | 22On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much as usual—four quarts for each person instead of two. Then all the leaders of the community came and asked Moses for an explanation. |
| 23He 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.’ ” | 23He told them, “This is what the LORD commanded: Tomorrow will be a day of complete rest, a holy Sabbath day set apart for the LORD. So bake or boil as much as you want today, and set aside what is left for tomorrow.” |
| 24So they set it aside until morning as Moses had commanded, and it did not smell or contain any maggots. | 24So they put some aside until morning, just as Moses had commanded. And in the morning the leftover food was wholesome and good, without maggots or odor. |
| 25“Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. Today you will not find anything in the field. | 25Moses said, “Eat this food today, for today is a Sabbath day dedicated to the LORD. There will be no food on the ground today. |
| 26For six days you may gather, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, it will not be there.” | 26You may gather the food for six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. There will be no food on the ground that day.” |
| 27Yet on the seventh day some of the people went out to gather, but they did not find anything. | 27Some of the people went out anyway on the seventh day, but they found no food. |
| 28Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to keep My commandments and instructions? | 28The LORD asked Moses, “How long will these people refuse to obey my commands and instructions? |
| 29Understand 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.” | 29They must realize that the Sabbath is the LORD’s gift to you. That is why he gives you a two-day supply on the sixth day, so there will be enough for two days. On the Sabbath day you must each stay in your place. Do not go out to pick up food on the seventh day.” |
| 30So the people rested on the seventh day. | 30So the people did not gather any food on the seventh day. |
| 31Now the house of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. | 31The Israelites called the food manna. It was white like coriander seed, and it tasted like honey wafers. |
| 32Moses 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.’ ” | 32Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: Fill a two-quart container with manna to preserve it for your descendants. Then later generations will be able to see the food I gave you in the wilderness when I set you free from Egypt.” |
| 33So 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.” | 33Moses said to Aaron, “Get a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Then put it in a sacred place before the LORD to preserve it for all future generations.” |
| 34And Aaron placed it in front of the Testimony, to be preserved just as the LORD had commanded Moses. | 34Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded Moses. He eventually placed it in the Ark of the Covenant—in front of the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. |
| 35The 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. | 35So the people of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. |
| 36(Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.) | 36The container used to measure the manna was an omer, which was one-tenth of an ephah; it held about two quarts. |
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