Exodus 16

1 Then moved they on from Elim, and all the assembly of the sons of Israel entered into the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month, by their coming forth 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 Then did all the assembly of the sons of Israel murmur against Moses and against Aaron in the desert;

There in the desert they complained to Moses and Aaron.

3 and the sons of Israel said unto them—Oh that we had died by the hand of Yahweh, in the land of Egypt, when we remained by the pot of flesh, when we did eat bread to the full, —for ye have brought us forth into this desert, to cause all this multitude to die by 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 Then said Yahweh unto Moses, Behold me! raining down for you bread out of heaven, —and the people shall go out and gather the portion for a day, on its 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 And it shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall settle what they shall bring in, —and it shall be twice as much as they gather day by day.

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

6 So Moses and Aaron said unto all the sons of Israel, —At eventide, then shall ye know that it was, Yahweh, who 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, then shall ye see the glory of Yahweh, in that he hath heard your murmurings against Yahweh, —what then are, we, that ye should murmur 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 that Yahweh giveth you in the evening flesh to eat, and bread in the morning, to the full, in that Yahweh heareth your murmurings wherewith ye are murmuring against him, what then are, we? Not against us, do ye murmur but against Yahweh.

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 And Moses said unto Aaron, Say unto all the assembly of the sons of Israel, Draw near, before Yahweh, —for he hath heard your murmurings.

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

10 And it came to pass, when Aaron spake unto all the assembly of the sons of Israel, then turned they towards the desert, —and lo! the glory of Yahweh, had appeared in the 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 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses—saying,

The Lord told Moses,

12 I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel, —speak unto them, saying—Between the two evenings, shall ye eat flesh, and in the morning, shall ye be filled with bread, —so shall ye know that I Yahweh am 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 And it came to pass, in the evening, that there came up quail, and covered the camp, —and in the morning was the outpouring of dew, 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 the outpouring of dew went up, then lo! on the face of the desert, a thin flake, thin as hoar-frost on the earth,

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 sons of Israel saw it they said one to another—What is that? For they knew not what "that" was. Then said Moses unto them, "That" is the bread which Yahweh 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 thing which Yahweh hath commanded, Gather ye thereof, each man what he needeth for eating, —an omer a head, by the number of your souls, each man—for them who are in his tent, shall ye take.

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 sons of Israel did so, —and gathered, [some] more, and [some] less;

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

18 and when they measured it with the omer, he who had gathered more had nothing over, and he who had gathered less had no lack: each man what he needed for eating, did they gather.

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 unto them, —Let, no man leave thereof, until morning.

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

20 But they hearkened not unto Moses, but certain men left thereof until morning, and it swarmed with worms and become loathsome, —and Moses was wroth 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 Thus then they gathered it morning by morning, each man what he needed for eating, and as soon as the sun waxed hot, so soon it melted.

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

22 And it came to pass on the sixth day, that they gathered food twice as much, two omers for each one, —so all the princes of the assembly came in, 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 unto them—That is what Yahweh spake. The observance of a holy sabbath to Yahweh, is to-morrow, —what ye would bake, bake and what ye would boil, boil, and all that is left over, put by you to keep 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 So they put it by until the morning, as Moses had commanded, —and it gave no unpleasant odour, neither was there a worm, therein.

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

25 Then said Moses—Eat ye it to-day, for a sabbath, is to-day, unto Yahweh, —to-day, ye shall not find it 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 Six days, shall ye gather it, —but on the seventh day, a sabbath, it shall not be therein.

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

27 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that there went forth some of the people to gather, —but they found not.

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

28 Then said Yahweh unto Moses, —How long have ye refused to keep my commandments and my laws?

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

29 See because Yahweh hath given you the sabbath, for this cause, is, he, giving you on the sixth day, food for two days, —abide ye every man in his place, let no man go forth from his dwelling, on 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 So the people rested 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 the same, was like coriander seed white, and the taste thereof, like flat-cake 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 thing which Yahweh hath commanded, Fill an omer therefrom as a thing to be preserved to your generations, —that they may see the bread wherewith I fed you in the desert, when I brought you 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 So Moses said unto Aaron—Take a single basket, and put therein an omer-full of manna, —and set it down before Yahweh, as a thing to be preserved to 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 Yahweh gave command unto Moses, so did Aaron set it down before the testimony, as a thing to be preserved,

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 sons of Israel did eat the manna forty years, until they entered into the land wherein they were to dwell, —the manna, they did eat until they entered into the bounds of the land of Canaan.

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, an omer, is, the tenth of the ephah.

(An omer is a tenth of an ephah.)