Exodus 15:22–17:16

God Provides Water for the Israelites

²²Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea into the desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. ²³When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink the water because it tasted bitter. That’s why the place was called Marah ^[Bitter Place^[. ²⁴The people complained about Moses by asking, “What are we supposed to drink?” 

²⁵Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed^ahim a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. 

There the Lord set down laws and rules for them to live by, and there he tested them. ²⁶He said, “If you will listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what he considers right, if you pay attention to his commands and obey all his laws, I will never make you suffer any of the diseases I made the Egyptians suffer, because I am the Lord, who heals you.” 

²⁷Next, they went to Elim, where there were 12 springs and 70 palm trees. They camped there by the water. 

16TH CHAPTER

The Lord Provides Manna and Quails for the Israelites to Eat

¹The whole community of Israelites moved from Elim and came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. This was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt. ²In the desert the whole community complained about Moses and Aaron. ³The Israelites said to them, “If only the Lord had let us die in Egypt! There we sat by our pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted! You brought us out into this desert to let us all starve to death!” 

⁴The Lord said to Moses, “I’m going to send you food from heaven like rain. Each day the people should go out and gather only what they need for that day. In this way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. ⁵But on the sixth day when they prepare what they bring home, it should be twice as much as they gather on other days.” 

⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt. ⁷In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard you complaining about him. Why are you complaining about us?” ⁸Moses also said, “The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and all the food you want in the morning. The Lord has heard you complaining about him. Who are we? You’re not complaining about us but about the Lord.” 

⁹Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community of Israelites, ‘Come into the Lord’s presence. He has heard you complaining.’ ” 

¹⁰While Aaron was speaking to the whole community of Israelites, they looked toward the desert. Suddenly, they saw the glory of the Lord in the ⸤column of⸥ smoke. 

¹¹The Lord said to Moses, ¹²“I’ve heard the Israelites complaining. Tell them, ‘At dusk you will eat meat, and in the morning you will eat all the food you want. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ ” 

¹³That evening quails came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. ¹⁴When the dew was gone, the ground was covered with a thin layer of flakes like frost on the ground. ¹⁵When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, “What is this?” because they didn’t know what it was. 

Moses said to them, “It’s the food the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶This is what the Lord has commanded: Each of you should gather as much as you can eat. Take two quarts for each person in your tent.” 

¹⁷So that is what the Israelites did. Some gathered more, some less. ¹⁸They measured it into two-quart containers. Those who had gathered more didn’t have too much. Those who had gathered less didn’t have too little. They gathered as much as they could eat. 

¹⁹Then Moses said to them, “No one may keep any of it until morning.” 

²⁰But some of them didn’t listen to Moses. They kept part of it until morning, and it was full of worms and smelled bad. So Moses was angry with them. 

²¹Each morning they gathered as much food as they could eat. When the sun was hot, it melted away. ²²But on the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts per person. All the leaders of the community came to Moses and told him about it. 

²³He said to them, “This is what the Lord said: Tomorrow is a day of rest—a holy day dedicated to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil. Save all that’s left over, and keep it until tomorrow morning.” 

²⁴So they saved it until the next morning as Moses had commanded, but it didn’t smell or have worms in it. ²⁵“Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a day of rest—a holy day dedicated to the Lord. You won’t find anything on the ground today. ²⁶You can gather food on six days, but on the seventh day, the day of rest, you won’t find any.” 

²⁷On the seventh day some people went out to gather food, but they didn’t find any. ²⁸The Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to do what I have commanded and instructed you to do? ²⁹Remember: The Lord has given you this day of rest as a holy day. That’s why he gives you enough food on the sixth day for two days. On the seventh day stay in your place—no one is to go out. Everyone, stay where you are.” ³⁰So the people never worked on the seventh day of the week. 

³¹The Israelites called the food manna. It was like coriander seeds. It was white and tasted like wafers made with honey. 

³²Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: Take two quarts of manna to be kept for your descendants. This way they will see the food that I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.” 

³³Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, put two quarts of manna in it, and put it in the Lord’s presence to be kept for your descendants.” ³⁴Aaron put the jar of manna in front of the words of God’s promise to be kept there, as the Lord commanded Moses. 

³⁵The Israelites ate manna for 40 years until they came to a place to settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of Canaan. 

³⁶(Now, the standard dry measure at that time held 20 quarts.) 

17TH CHAPTER

The Lord Provides Water for the Israelites from a Rock

¹The whole community of Israelites left the desert of Sin and traveled from place to place as the Lord commanded them. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ²So they complained to Moses by saying, “Give us water to drink!” 

Moses said to them, “Why are you complaining to me? Why are you testing the Lord?” 

³But the people were thirsty for water there. They complained to Moses and asked, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Was it to make us, our children, and our livestock die of thirst?” 

⁴So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? They’re almost ready to stone me!” 

⁵The Lord answered Moses, “Bring some of the leaders of Israel with you, and go to where the people can see you. Take the staff you used to strike the Nile River. ⁶I’ll be standing in front of you there by a rock at Mount Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” 

Moses did this while the leaders of Israel watched him. 

⁷He named that place Massah ^[Testing^[ and Meribah ^[Complaining^[ because the Israelites complained and because they tested the Lord, asking, “Is the Lord with us or not?” 

God Defeats the Amalekites

⁸The Amalekites fought Israel at Rephidim. ⁹Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men. Then fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill. I will hold in my hand the staff God told me to take along.” 

¹⁰Joshua did as Moses told him and fought the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. ¹¹As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel would win, but as soon as he put his hands down, the Amalekites would start to win. ¹²Eventually, Moses’ hands felt heavy. So Aaron and Hur took a rock, put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron held up one hand, and Hur held up the other. His hands remained steady until sunset. ¹³So Joshua defeated the Amalekite army in battle. 

¹⁴The Lord said to Moses, “Write this reminder on a scroll, and make sure that Joshua hears it, too: I will completely erase any memory of the Amalekites from the earth.” 

¹⁵Moses built an altar and called it The Lord Is My Banner. ¹⁶He said, “Because a hand was lifted against the Lord’s throne,he will be at war against the Amalekites from one generation to the next.”