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.

They/We left Elim, and all the Israeli people came to the desert [named] Sin. That is between Elim and Sinai [Mountain]. That was on the fifteenth day of the second month after they/we left 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, the Israeli [HYP] people complained to Aaron and Moses/me.

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.

They said to them/us, “We wish that Yahweh had killed us in Egypt! There we had meat to eat, and all the bread that we wanted. But you have brought us into this desert in order that we will all starve 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.

Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Listen to what I am going [to do]. I am going to send something from the sky that will [take the place of] bread for all of you. When I do that, the people must go out of their tents every day and gather just enough to eat on that day. [When I do that], I will find out whether they will obey 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 [after I start doing that], they will be able to gather twice as much as on the other days, [and not have to gather any on the seventh day]. Then they can prepare it [to eat it on the 6th and 7th days].”

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 Aaron and Moses/I said to all the Israeli people, “This evening you will know that it was Yahweh, [not we], who brought 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 tomorrow morning you will see how great Yahweh is, because he has heard what you have complained about. He is the one whom you have really complained to, because we are just his servants.” [RHQ]

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/I also said, “[From now on, each] evening Yahweh will give you meat to eat, and [each] morning he will give you [something that will take the place of] bread, because he has heard what you have complained about. Yahweh is the one to whom you have really complained, not us. We are just his servants.” [RHQ]

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/I said to Aaron, “Tell all the Israeli people, ‘Come and stand here in the presence of Yahweh, because he has heard what you have been complaining about.’”

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,

So Aaron told them that. And as Aaron was talking to all the Israeli people, they looked toward the desert, and were surprised to see the (dazzling light/incredible brightness) of Yahweh in the cloud [that had been leading them].

11 Then spake Yahweh unto Moses—saying,

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me,

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 what the Israeli people have been complaining about. So say to them, ‘From now on, each evening, you will have meat to eat. And each morning you will have something that will take the place of bread. You will have all you want of it to eat.’ Then you will know that I, Yahweh, [have the power to do what I say that I will do].”

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, (quails/small plump birds) appeared, and [there were so many that] they covered the campsite. The next morning there was [something like] dew all around the campsite.

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,

When the dew evaporated, on the surface of the desert there was a thick layer of something that looked like white flakes. It looked like frost.

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 Israeli people saw it, since they [had never seen it before and] did not know what it was, they said to each other, “What is it?” Moses/I replied to them, “It is something Yahweh has given you to eat, to take the place of bread.

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 Yahweh has commanded: ‘Each of you should gather as much as you need to eat. Gather two quarts/liters for each person who lives in your tents.’”

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

So that is what the Israeli people did. Some gathered more and some gathered 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 [what they had gathered], those that had gathered a lot did not have anything left over. And those that gathered less still had enough to eat. Each person gathered just what they needed.

19 And Moses said unto them, —Let, no man leave thereof, until morning.

Moses/I said to them, “Do not leave any of it to eat tomorrow 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 of them did not pay any attention to what Moses/I said. They kept some of it until the next morning. But it was full of maggots and smelled rotten. And that made Moses/me angry.

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.

Each morning they gathered as much as they needed. But [later], when the sun got hot, [what was left on the ground] melted.

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.

On the sixth day after they started gathering it, each person was able to gather four quarts/liters, which was twice [as much as they gathered on the other days]. When the leaders of the people came to Moses/me and told him/me [about that],

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/I said to them, “This is what Yahweh has commanded: ‘Tomorrow will be a day for you to rest completely. It will be a day dedicated to Yahweh. So today, bake or boil what you will [need for today and for tomorrow]. Whatever is left [this evening], you should put aside and keep it [to eat] tomorrow.’”

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 did what Moses/I commanded. What was left over, they kept until the next day. It did not spoil and did not get maggots in it!

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.

[On that day], Moses/I said, “Eat today [what you have saved from yesterday], because today is a day dedicated to Yahweh. Today you will not find any of that food outside.

26 Six days, shall ye gather it, —but on the seventh day, a sabbath, it shall not be therein.

[Every week], you must gather it for six days; but on the seventh day, which will be a day of rest, you will not find any.”

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

On the seventh day, some of the people went outside their tents to gather some of that food, but there was none.

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

Then Yahweh [told Moses/me to say this to] the people: “How long will you people refuse to do all the things that I tell you?

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,

Listen! Yahweh has given you a day of rest. So on the sixth day [of each week], he will be giving you enough of this food for two days. Each of you should stay in his tent [and do no work] on the seventh day!”

30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

So the people rested 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 Israeli people called this food manna, [which sounds like the words in their language that mean ‘what is it]?’ It looked like small seeds [called] coriander, but it was white, and it tasted like thin wafers/biscuits made 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/I said, “This is what Yahweh has commanded: ‘You must keep two quarts/liters of it for all future generations, so that they can see the [food that took the place of] bread that I gave to your [ancestors] when I brought them 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.

And he/I said to Aaron, “Take a jar, and put two quarts of manna in it. Then put it [in a place] where Yahweh can see it. It is to be kept like that for all future generations.”

34 As Yahweh gave command unto Moses, so did Aaron set it down before the testimony, as a thing to be preserved,

[Many years later], as Yahweh had commanded Moses/me, Aaron put the jar in front of the box [that contained the stone slabs on which] the Ten Commandments [were written].

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 Israeli people were able to eat manna [every day] for 40 years, until they came to the border of Canaan land.

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

(The standard measure [that they used at that time] held 20 quarts/liters.)