Exodus 15:22–16:3

The Waters of Marah and Elim

22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desertz of Shur.a For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.b 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.f c) 24 So the people grumbledd against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”e

25 Then Moses cried outf to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threwg it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.

There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.h 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keepi all his decrees,j I will not bring on you any of the diseasesk I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who healsl you.”

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they campedm there near the water.

Manna and Quail

16 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin,n which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt.o 2 In the desert the whole community grumbledp against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!q There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the foodr we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”s