EXODUS - Chapter 16

Then they set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt.

The whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The sons of Israel said to them, "Would that we had died by YAHWEH's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

YAHWEH said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily."

So Moses and Aaron said to all the sons of Israel, "At evening you will know that YAHWEH has brought you out of the land of Egypt; and in the morning you will see the glory of YAHWEH, for He hears your grumblings against YAHWEH; and what are we, that you grumble against us?"

Moses said, "This will happen when YAHWEH gives you meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning; for YAHWEH hears your grumblings which you grumble against Him. And what are we? Your grumblings are not against us but against YAHWEH."

Then Moses said to Aaron, "Say to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, "Come near before YAHWEH, for He has heard your grumblings."

It came about as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of YAHWEH appeared in the cloud.

And YAHWEH spoke to Moses, saying, I have heard the grumblings of the sons of Israel: speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; and you shall know that I am YAHWEH your Elohim.'"

So it came about at evening that the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground. When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread which YAHWEH has given you to eat. This is what YAHWEH has commanded, 'Gather of it every man as much as he should eat; you shall take an omer apiece according to the number of persons each of you has in his tent.'"

 The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little. When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat.

Moses said to them, "Let no man leave any of it until morning."

But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them.

They gathered it morning by morning, every man as much as he should eat; but when the sun grew hot, it would melt.

Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, then he said to them, "This is what YAHWEH meant, Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to YAHWEH. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning."

So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it. Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to YAHWEH; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, sabbath, there will be none."

It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none.

Then YAHWEH said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? See, YAHWEH has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."

So the people rested on the seventh day.

The house of Israel named it manna, and it was like coriander seed, white, and its taste was like wafers with honey.

Then Moses said, "This is what YAHWEH has commanded, 'Let an omerful of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread that I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'"

Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before YAHWEH to be kept throughout your generations."

As YAHWEH commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the Testimony, to be kept.

The sons of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. (Now an omer is a tenth of an ephah.)

Chapter 17

Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of YAHWEH, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, "Give us water that we may drink" And Moses said to them, "Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test YAHWEH?"

But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, "Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?" So Moses cried out to YAHWEH, saying, "What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me."

Then YAHWEH said to Moses, "Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink."

And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested YAHWEH, saying, "Is YAHWEH among us, or not?"

Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of Elohim in my hand."

Joshua did as Moses told him and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.

So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. Then YAHWEH said to Moses, "Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven."

Moses built an altar and named it YAHWEH is My Banner; and he said, "YAHWEH has sworn; YAHWEH will have war against Amalek from generation to generation."

Chapter 18

Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that Elohim had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how YAHWEH had brought Israel out of Egypt. Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Moses' wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away, and her two sons, of whom one was named Gershom, for Moses said, "I have been a sojourner in a foreign land." The other was named Eliezer, for he said, "The Elohim of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh."

Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mount of Elohim. He sent word to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her."

Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. Moses told his father-in-law all that YAHWEH had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had befallen them on the journey, and how YAHWEH had delivered them.

Jethro rejoiced over all the goodness which YAHWEH had done to Israel, in delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians. So Jethro said, "Blessed be YAHWEH who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that YAHWEH is greater than all the deities; indeed, it was proven when they dealt proudly against the people."

Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for Elohim, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses' father-in-law before Elohim.

It came about the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening. Now when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, "What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?"

Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of Elohim. When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and make known the statutes of Elohim and His laws."

Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing you are doing is not good. You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and Elohim be with you. You be the people's representative before Elohim, and you bring the disputes to Elohim, then teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they are to walk and the work they are to do.

"Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear Elohim, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. Let them judge the people at all times; and let it be that every major dispute they will bring to you, but every minor dispute they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.

"If you do this thing and Elohim so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people also will go to their place in peace."

So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did all that he had said.

Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. They judged the people at all times; the difficult dispute they would bring to Moses, but every minor dispute they themselves would judge.

Then Moses bade his father-in-law farewell, and he went his way into his own land.

HalleluYah!