Exodus 15–17

The Song of Moses and Miriam

15Here is the song that Moses and the people of Israel sang to the Lord. They said,

“I will sing to the Lord.

He is greatly honored.

He has thrown Pharaoh’s horses and their riders

into the Red Sea.

²The Lord gives me strength. I sing about him.

He has saved me.

He is my God. I will praise him.

He is my father’s God. I will honor him.

³The Lord goes into battle.

The Lord is his name.

⁴He has thrown Pharaoh’s chariots and army

into the Red Sea.

Pharaoh’s best officers

drowned in the sea.

⁵The deep waters covered them.

They sank to the bottom like a stone.

⁶“Lord, your right hand

was majestic and powerful.

Lord, your right hand

destroyed your enemies.

⁷Because of your great majesty,

you threw down those who opposed you.

Your burning anger blazed out.

It burned them up like straw.

⁸The powerful blast from your nose

piled up the waters.

The rushing waters stood firm like a wall.

The deep waters stood up in the middle of the sea.

⁹“Your enemies bragged,

‘We will chase Israel. We will catch them.

We’ll divide up what we take from them.

We’ll eat them alive.

We’ll pull our swords out.

Our powerful hands will destroy them.’

¹⁰But you blew with your breath.

The Red Sea covered your enemies.

They sank like lead

in the mighty waters.

¹¹“Lord, who among the gods is like you?

Who is like you?

You are majestic and holy.

Your glory fills me with wonder.

You do wonderful miracles.

¹²You reached out your right hand.

The earth swallowed up the Egyptians.

¹³“Because your love is faithful,

you will lead the people you have set free.

Because you are so strong,

you will guide them to the holy place where you live.

¹⁴The nations will hear about it and tremble.

Pain and suffering will take hold of the Philistines.

¹⁵The chiefs of Edom will be terrified.

The leaders of Moab will tremble with fear.

The people of Canaan will melt away.

¹⁶Fear and terror will fall on them.

Your powerful arm

will make them as still as a stone.

Then your people will pass by, Lord.

Then the people you created will pass by.

¹⁷You will bring them in.

You will plant them on the mountain you gave them.

Lord, you have made that place your home.

Lord, your hands have made your holy place secure.

¹⁸“The Lord will rule

for ever and ever.”

¹⁹Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the Red Sea. The Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them. But the people of Israel walked through the sea on dry ground.

²⁰Aaron’s sister Miriam was a prophet. She took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her. They played tambourines and danced. ²¹Miriam sang to them,

“Sing to the Lord.

He is greatly honored.

He has thrown Pharaoh’s horses and their riders

into the Red Sea.”

At the Waters of Marah and Elim

²²Then Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea. They went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert. They didn’t find any water there. ²³When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink its water. It was bitter. That’s why the place is named Marah. ²⁴The people told Moses they weren’t happy with him. They said, “What are we supposed to drink?”

²⁵Then Moses cried out to the Lord. The Lord showed him a stick. Moses threw it into the water. The water became sweet.

There the Lord made a rule and a law for the people. And there he put them to the test. ²⁶He said, “I am the Lord your God. Listen carefully to my voice. Do what is right in my eyes. Pay attention to my commands. Obey all of my rules. If you do, I will not send on you any of the sicknesses I sent on the Egyptians. I am the Lord who heals you.”

²⁷The people came to Elim. It had 12 springs and 70 palm trees. They camped there near the water.

The Lord Gives Israel Food Every Day

16The whole community of Israel started out from Elim. They came to the Desert of Sin. It was between Elim and Sinai. They arrived there on the 15th day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt.

²In the desert the whole community told Moses and Aaron they weren’t happy with them. ³The Israelites said to them, “We wish the Lord had put us to death in Egypt. There we sat around pots of meat. We ate all of the food we wanted. But you have brought us out into this desert. You must want this entire community to die of hunger.”

⁴Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people must go out each day. Have them gather enough bread for that day. Here is how I will put them to the test. I will see if they will follow my directions.

⁵“On the sixth day they must prepare what they bring in. On that day they must gather twice as much as on the other days.”

⁶So Moses and Aaron spoke to all of the people of Israel. They said, “In the evening you will know that the Lord brought you out of Egypt. ⁷And in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord. He has heard you say you aren’t happy with him. Who are we? Why are you telling us you aren’t happy with us?”

⁸Moses also said, “You will know that the Lord has heard you speak against him. He will give you meat to eat in the evening. He’ll give you all of the bread you want in the morning. But who are we? You aren’t speaking against us. You are speaking against the Lord.”

⁹Then Moses told Aaron, “Talk to the whole community of Israel. Say to them, ‘Come to the Lord. He has heard you speak against him.’ ”

¹⁰While Aaron was talking to the whole community of Israel, they looked toward the desert. There was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud!

¹¹The Lord said to Moses, ¹²“I have heard the people of Israel talking about how unhappy they are. Tell them, ‘When the sun goes down, you will eat meat. In the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”

¹³That evening quail came and covered the camp. In the morning the ground around the camp was covered with dew. ¹⁴When the dew was gone, thin flakes appeared on the desert floor. They looked like frost on the ground. ¹⁵The people of Israel saw the flakes. They asked each other, “What’s that?” They didn’t know what it was.

Moses said to them, “It’s the bread the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶Here is what the Lord has commanded. He has said, ‘Each one of you should gather as much as you need. Take two quarts for each person who lives in your tent.’ ”

¹⁷The people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, and some gathered a little. ¹⁸When they measured it out, those who gathered a lot didn’t have too much. And those who gathered a little had enough. All of them gathered only what they needed.

¹⁹Then Moses said to them, “Don’t keep any of it until morning.”

²⁰Some of them didn’t pay any attention to Moses. They kept part of it until morning. But it was full of maggots and began to stink. So Moses became angry with them.

²¹Each morning all of them gathered as much as they needed. But by the hottest time of the day, the thin flakes had melted away.

²²On the sixth day, the people gathered twice as much. It amounted to four quarts for each person. The leaders of the community came and reported that to Moses. ²³He said to them, “Here is what the Lord commanded. He said, ‘Tomorrow will be a day of rest. It will be a holy Sabbath day. It will be set apart for the Lord. So bake what you want to bake. Boil what you want to boil. Save what is left. Keep it until morning.’ ”

²⁴So they saved it until morning, just as Moses commanded. It didn’t stink or get maggots in it.

²⁵“Eat it today,” Moses said. “Today is a Sabbath day in the Lord’s honor. You won’t find any flakes on the ground today. ²⁶Gather them for six days. But on the seventh day there won’t be any. It’s the Sabbath.”

²⁷In spite of what Moses said, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather the flakes. But they didn’t find any.

²⁸Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “How long will all of you refuse to obey my commands and my teachings? ²⁹Keep in mind that I have given you the Sabbath day. That is why on the sixth day I give you bread for two days. All of you must stay where you are on the seventh day. No one can go out.” ³⁰So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seeds. It tasted like wafers that were made with honey.

³²Moses said, “Here is what the Lord has commanded. He has said, ‘Get two quarts of manna. Keep it for all time to come. Then those who live after you will see the bread I gave you to eat in the desert. I gave it to you when I brought you out of Egypt.’ ”

³³So Moses said to Aaron, “Get a jar. Put two quarts of manna in it. Then place it in front of the Lord. Keep it there for all time to come.”

³⁴Aaron did exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses. He put the manna in front of the tablets of the covenant. He put it there so it would be kept for all time to come.

³⁵The people of Israel ate manna for 40 years. They ate it until they came to a land that was settled. They ate it until they reached the border of Canaan.

³⁶The jar had an omer of manna in it. An omer was two quarts.

The Lord Gives Israel Water Out of the Rock

17The whole community of Israel started out from the Desert of Sin. They traveled from place to place, just as the Lord commanded.

They camped at Rephidim. But there wasn’t any water for the people to drink. ²So they argued with Moses. They said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses replied, “Why are you arguing with me? Why are you putting the Lord to the test?”

³But the people were thirsty for water there. So they told Moses they weren’t happy with him. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt? Did you want us, our children and our livestock to die of thirst?”

⁴Then Moses cried out to the Lord. He said, “What am I going to do with these people? They are almost ready to kill me by throwing stones at me.”

⁵The Lord answered Moses. He said, “Walk on ahead of the people. Take some of the elders of Israel along with you. Take in your hand the wooden staff you used when you struck the Nile River. Go. ⁶I will stand there in front…