Exodus 16:12–36

¹²“I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them that at twilight they will have meat to eat, and in the morning they will have all the bread they want. Then they will know that I, the Lord, am their God.”

¹³In the evening a large flock of quails flew in, enough to cover the camp, and in the morning there was dew all round the camp. ¹⁴When the dew evaporated, there was something thin and flaky on the surface of the desert. It was as delicate as frost. ^15*When the Israelites saw it, they didn’t know what it was and asked each other, “What is it?”

Moses said to them, “This is the food that the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶The Lord has commanded that each of you is to gather as much of it as he needs, two litres for each member of his household.”

¹⁷The Israelites did this, some gathering more, others less. ^18*When they measured it, those who gathered much did not have too much, and those who gathered less did not have too little. Each had gathered just what he needed. ¹⁹Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it for tomorrow.” ²⁰But some of them did not listen to Moses and saved part of it. The next morning it was full of worms and smelt rotten, and Moses was angry with them. ²¹Every morning each one gathered as much as he needed; and when the sun grew hot, what was left on the ground melted.

²²On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four litres for each person. All the leaders of the community came and told Moses about it, ^23*and he said to them, “The Lord has commanded that tomorrow is a holy day of rest, dedicated to him. Bake today what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Whatever is left should be put aside and kept for tomorrow.” ²⁴As Moses had commanded, they kept what was left until the next day; it did not spoil or get worms in it. ²⁵Moses said, “Eat this today, because today is the Sabbath, a day of rest dedicated to the Lord, and you will not find any food outside the camp. ²⁶You must gather food for six days, but on the seventh day, the day of rest, there will be none.”

²⁷On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather food, but they did not find any. ²⁸Then the Lord said to Moses, “How much longer will you people refuse to obey my commands? ²⁹Remember that I, the Lord, have given you a day of rest, and that is why on the sixth day I will always give you enough food for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day and not leave his home.” ³⁰So the people did no work on the seventh day. ^31*The people of Israel called the food manna.^p It was like a small white seed, and tasted like biscuits made with honey. ³²Moses said, “The Lord has commanded us to save some manna, to be kept for our descendants, so that they can see the food which he gave us to eat in the desert when he brought us out of Egypt.” ^33*Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, put two litres of manna in it, and place it in the Lord’s presence to be kept for our descendants.” ³⁴As the Lord had commanded Moses, Aaron put it in front of the Covenant Box, so that it could be kept. ^35*The Israelites ate manna for the next 40 years, until they reached the land of Canaan, where they settled. ³⁶(The standard dry measure then in use equalled 20 litres.)