Exodus 16

1 And they set forward from Elim, and all the multitude of the children of Israel came into the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai: the fifteenth day of the second month, after they came out of the land of Egypt.

The whole Israelite community left Elim and went to the Desert of Sin, between Elim and Sinai. This was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt.

2 And all the congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.

There in the desert they complained to Moses and Aaron.

3 And the children of Israel said to them: Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat over the flesh pots, and ate bread to the full. Why have you brought us into this desert, that you might destroy all the multitude with famine?

“The Lord should've killed us back in Egypt!” the Israelites told them. “At least there we could sit down beside stewpots of meat and eat bread until we were full. But you had to bring all of us out here in the desert to starve us all to death!”

4 And the Lord said to Moses: Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you: let the people go forth, and gather what is sufficient for every day: that I may prove them whether they will walk in my law, or not.

The Lord told Moses, “Just watch! I'm going to rain down bread from heaven for you! Each day the people are to go out and collect enough for that day. I'm going to test them by this to find out whether they'll follow my instructions or not.

5 But the sixth day let them provide for to bring in: and let it be double to that they were wont to gather every day.

On the sixth day they are to collect twice as much as usual and prepare it.”

6 And Moses and Aaron said to the children of Israel: In the evening you shall know that the Lord hath brought you forth out of the land of Egypt:

So Moses and Aaron explained to all the Israelites, “This evening you will have the proof that it was the Lord who led you out of Egypt,

7 And in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord: for he hath heard your murmuring against the Lord: but as for us, what are we, that you mutter against us?

and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord displayed as he responds to the complaints he's heard you making against him. For why should you be complaining to us? We're nobodies!”

8 And Moses said: In the evening the Lord will give you flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full: for he hath heard your murmurings, with which you have murmured against him, for what are we? your murmuring is not against us, but against the Lord.

Then Moses continued, “The Lord is going to give you meat to eat this evening and as much bread as you want in the morning, for he has heard your complaints against him. Why are you complaining to us nobodies? Your complaints aren't directed against us, but against the Lord.”

9 Moses also said to Aaron: Say to the whole congregation of the children of Israel: Come before the Lord: for he hath heard your murmuring.

Then Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole Israelite community, ‘Present yourselves before the Lord, because he has heard your complaints.’”

10 And when Aaron spoke to all the assembly of the children of Israel, they looked towards the wilderness: and behold the glory of the Lord appeared in a cloud.

While Aaron was still speaking to all the Israelites, they looked toward the desert and saw the glory of the Lord appear in a cloud.

11 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

The Lord told Moses,

12 I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel: say to them: In the evening you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread: and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.

“I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘In the evening you will eat meat, and in the morning you will have as much bread as you want. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”

13 So it came to pass in the evening, that quails coming up, covered the camp: and in the morning, a dew lay round about the camp.

That evening quail flew in and landed, filling the camp. In the morning dew covered the ground all around the camp.

14 And when it had covered the face of the earth, it appeared in the wilderness small, and as it were beaten with a pestle, like unto the hoar frost on the ground.

Once the dew had gone, there was something thin and flaky on the desert, looking like frost crystals on the ground.

15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another: Manhu! which signifieth: What is this! for they knew not what it was. And Moses said to them: This is the bread, which the Lord hath given you to eat.

When the Israelites saw it, they asked each another, “What is it?” because they had no idea what it was. So Moses explained to them, “It's the bread the Lord has provided for you to eat.

16 This is the word, that the Lord hath commanded: Let every one gather of it as much as is enough to eat: a gomor for every man, according to the number of your souls that dwell in a tent, so shall you take of it.

This is what the Lord has ordered you to do: ‘All of you shall collect as much as is needed. Take an omer for each person in your tent.’”

17 And the children of Israel did so: and they gathered, one more, another less.

So the Israelites did as they were told. Some collected more, while others collected less.

18 And they measured by the measure of a gomor: neither had he more that had gathered more: nor did he find less that had provided less: but every one had gathered, according to what they were able to eat.

But when they measured it out in omers, those who had collected a lot didn't have any left over, while those who had only collected a little still had enough. Each person collected gathered as much as they needed to eat.

19 And Moses said to them: Let no man leave thereof till the morning.

Then Moses said to them, “No one is to leave any of it until the morning.”

20 And they hearkened not to him, but some of them left until the morning, and it began to be full of worms, an it putrified, and Moses was angry with them.

But some didn't listen to Moses. They did leave some of it until the morning, and it was full of maggots and smelled bad. Moses became angry with them.

21 Now every one of them gathered in the morning, as much as might suffice to eat: and after the sun grew hot, it melted.

So each morning everyone collected as much as they needed, and when the sun became hot, it melted away to nothing.

22 But on the sixth day they gathered twice as much, that is, two gomors every man: and all the rulers of the multitude came, and told Moses.

However, on the sixth day, they collected twice as much of this food, two omers for each person. All the Israelite leaders came and told Moses what they had done.

23 And he said to them: This is what the Lord hath spoken: Tomorrow is the rest of the sabbath sanctified to the Lord. Whatsoever work is to be done, do it: and the meats that are to be dressed, dress them: and whatsoever shall remain, lay it up until the morning.

Moses replied, “These are the Lord's instructions: ‘Tomorrow is a special day of rest, a holy Sabbath to honor the Lord. So bake what you want, and boil what you want. Then put to one side what's left and keep it until morning.’”

24 And they did so as Moses had commanded, and it did not putrify, neither was there worm found in it.

So they kept it until morning as Moses had ordered, and it didn't smell bad or have any maggots.

25 And Moses said: Eat it today, because it is the sabbath of the Lord: today it shall not be found in the field.

Moses told them, “Eat it today, because today is a Sabbath to honor the Lord. Today you won't find anything out there.

26 Gather it six days: but on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord, therefore it shall not be found.

You can go out collecting for six days, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, it won't be there.”

27 And the seventh day came: and some of the people going forth to gather, found none.

However, on the seventh day some people still went out collecting, but they did not find anything.

28 And the Lord said to Moses: How long will you refuse to keep my commandments, and my law?

The Lord told Moses, “How long are you going to refuse to obey my commands and instructions?

29 See that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, and for this reason on the sixth day he giveth you a double provision: let each man stay at home, and let none go forth out of his place the seventh day.

You need to understand that the Lord has given you the Sabbath, so on the sixth day he will provide you with food for two days. On the seventh day, everyone has to stay where they are—no one needs to go out.”

30 And the people kept the sabbath on the seventh day.

So the people did no work on the seventh day.

31 And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed white, and the taste thereof like to flour with honey.

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

32 And Moses said: This is the word, which the Lord hath commanded: Fill a gomor of it, and let it be kept unto generations to come hereafter, that they may know the bread, wherewith I fed you in the wilderness, when you were brought forth out of the land of Egypt.

Moses said, “This is what the Lord has ordered: ‘Keep an omer of manna as a reminder for future generations, so that they can see the food I used to feed you in the desert when I led you out of Egypt.’”

33 And Moses said to Aaron: Take a vessel, and put manna into it, as much as a gomor can hold: and lay it up before the Lord to keep unto your generations,

So Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept as a reminder for future generations.”

34 As the Lord commanded Moses. And Aaron put it in the tabernacle to be kept.

Aaron did so and placed the jar in front of the Testimony, to be preserved just as the Lord had ordered Moses.

35 And the children of Israel ate manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land: with this meat were they fed, until they reached the borders of the land of Chanaan.

The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to the land where they would settle down—they ate manna until they arrived at the border of Canaan.

36 Now a gomor is the tenth part of an ephi.

(An omer is a tenth of an ephah.)