1They left Elim, and on the fifteenth day of the second month after leaving Egypt, the whole community of Israel arrived at the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai.
2The entire Israelite community complained to Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
3The people of Israel said to them, “We wish we had died by Yahweh’s hand in Egypt. There, we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. You have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole group with hunger.”
4Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Look, I will rain bread down from the sky for you. The people must go out each day and gather enough for that day. This is how I will test them, to see if they will follow my law or not.
5On the sixth day, they are to prepare what they bring in, and it will be twice as much as they gather daily.”
6Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “This evening, you will know that Yahweh brought you out of Egypt;
7and in the morning, you will see Yahweh’s glory, because he has heard your complaints against him. Who are we that you complain against us?”
8Moses said, “This evening Yahweh will give you meat to eat, and in the morning, bread to fill you up. This is because Yahweh has heard your complaints that you are making against him. Who are we? You are not complaining against us, but against Yahweh.”
9Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community of Israel, ‘Come close to Yahweh, for he has heard your complaints.’”
10As Aaron spoke to the entire community of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and suddenly, Yahweh’s glory appeared in the cloud.
11Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
12“I have heard the complaints of the people of Israel. Speak to them and say, ‘This evening you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God.’”
13In the evening, quail flew in and covered the camp. In the morning, dew lay all around the camp.
14When the dew evaporated, there was a small, round, flake-like substance on the surface of the wilderness, as small as frost on the ground.
15When the people of Israel saw it, they asked each other, “What is it?” because they didn’t know what it was. Moses told them, “It is the bread Yahweh has given you to eat.”
16Yahweh has commanded this: ‘Each of you is to gather as much as you can eat, about two quarts per person, depending on how many people are in your tent. Take enough for everyone.’
17The people of Israel did this; some gathered more, some less.
18When they measured it, those who gathered a lot did not have too much, and those who gathered little did not lack anything. Each person gathered only what they could eat.
19Moses told them, "No one should leave any of it until morning."
20However, they didn't listen to Moses. Some of them left part of it until morning, and it became full of worms and smelled bad. Moses was angry with them.
21They gathered it every morning, each person collecting as much as they needed to eat. When the sun got hot, it melted.
22On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much food, two omers for each person. All the leaders of the community came and told Moses.
23He told them, "This is what Yahweh meant when he said, 'Tomorrow is a special day of rest, a holy Sabbath for Yahweh. Bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil today; and save whatever is left over until morning.'"
24They saved it until the morning, just as Moses had asked, and it didn't spoil or have any worms in it.
25Moses said, "Eat it today, because today is a Sabbath to Yahweh. You will not find any in the field today.
26You are to gather it for six days, but the seventh day is the Sabbath. On that day, there will be none."
27On the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather it, but they didn't find any.
28Yahweh said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to obey my commands and my laws?
29See! Because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, he gives you two days' worth of food on the sixth day. Everyone should stay where they are. No one should leave their home on the seventh day."
30So the people rested on the seventh day.
31The people of Israel called the food Manna. It was white like coriander seeds and tasted like thin wafers made with honey.
32Moses said, "This is what Yahweh has commanded: 'Keep one omer-full of it for future generations, so they can see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.'"
33Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar, put one omer-full of manna in it, and place it before Yahweh to be kept for future generations."
34Aaron placed it before the Testimony, as Yahweh had commanded Moses, so that it would be kept.
35The Israelites ate the manna for forty years, until they reached an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they reached the borders of the land of Canaan.
36Now, an omer is one-tenth of an ephah.