Exodus 16 – NIRV & BPH

New International Reader’s Version

Exodus 16:1-36

The Lord Gives Israel Food Every Day

1The whole community of Israel started out from Elim. They came to the Desert of Sin. It was between Elim and Sinai. They arrived there on the 15th day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2In the desert the whole community told Moses and Aaron they weren’t happy with them. 3The Israelites said to them, “We wish the Lord had put us to death in Egypt. There we sat around pots of meat. We ate all the food we wanted. But you have brought us out into this desert. You must want this entire community to die of hunger.”

4Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people must go out each day. Have them gather enough bread for that day. Here is how I will test them. I will see if they will follow my directions. 5On the sixth day they must prepare what they bring in. On that day they must gather twice as much as on the other days.”

6So Moses and Aaron spoke to all the people of Israel. They said, “In the evening you will know that the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 7And in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord. He has heard you say you aren’t happy with him. Who are we? Why are you telling us you aren’t happy with us?” 8Moses also said, “You will know that the Lord has heard you speak against him. He will give you meat to eat in the evening. He’ll give you all the bread you want in the morning. But who are we? You aren’t speaking against us. You are speaking against the Lord.”

9Then Moses told Aaron, “Talk to the whole community of Israel. Say to them, ‘Come to the Lord. He has heard you speak against him.’ ”

10While Aaron was talking to the whole community of Israel, they looked toward the desert. There was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud!

11The Lord said to Moses, 12“I have heard the people of Israel talking about how unhappy they are. Tell them, ‘When the sun goes down, you will eat meat. In the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’ ”

13That evening quail came and covered the camp. In the morning the ground around the camp was covered with dew. 14When the dew was gone, thin flakes appeared on the desert floor. They looked like frost on the ground. 15The people of Israel saw the flakes. They asked each other, “What’s that?” They didn’t know what it was.

Moses said to them, “It’s the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16Here is what the Lord has commanded. He has said, ‘Everyone should gather as much as they need. Take three pounds for each person who lives in your tent.’ ”

17The people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, and some gathered a little. 18When they measured it out, the one who gathered a lot didn’t have too much. And the one who gathered a little had enough. Everyone gathered only what they needed.

19Then Moses said to them, “Don’t keep any of it until morning.”

20Some of them didn’t pay any attention to Moses. They kept part of it until morning. But it was full of maggots and began to stink. So Moses became angry with them.

21Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed. But by the hottest time of the day, the thin flakes had melted away. 22On the sixth day, the people gathered twice as much. It amounted to six pounds for each person. The leaders of the community came and reported that to Moses. 23He said to them, “Here is what the Lord commanded. He said, ‘Tomorrow will be a day of rest. It will be a holy Sabbath day. It will be set apart for the Lord. So bake what you want to bake. Boil what you want to boil. Save what is left. Keep it until morning.’ ”

24So they saved it until morning, just as Moses commanded. It didn’t stink or get maggots in it. 25“Eat it today,” Moses said. “Today is a Sabbath day to honor the Lord. You won’t find any flakes on the ground today. 26Gather them for six days. But on the seventh day there won’t be any. It’s the Sabbath day.”

27In spite of what Moses said, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather the flakes. But they didn’t find any. 28Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “How long will all of you refuse to obey my commands and my teachings? 29Keep in mind that I have given you the Sabbath day. That is why on the sixth day I give you bread for two days. Everyone must stay where they are on the seventh day. No one can go out.” 30So the people rested on the seventh day.

31The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seeds. It tasted like wafers made with honey. 32Moses said, “Here is what the Lord has commanded. He has said, ‘Get three pounds of manna. Keep it for all time to come. Then those who live after you will see the bread I gave you to eat in the desert. I gave it to you when I brought you out of Egypt.’ ”

33So Moses said to Aaron, “Get a jar. Put three pounds of manna in it. Then place it in front of the Lord. Keep it there for all time to come.”

34Aaron did exactly as the Lord had commanded Moses. He put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law. He put it there so it would be kept for all time to come. 35The Israelites ate manna for 40 years. They ate it until they came to a land where people were living. They ate it until they reached the border of Canaan.

36The jar had three pounds of manna in it.

Bibelen på hverdagsdansk

2. Mosebog 16:1-36

Manna og vagtler

1Fra Elim rejste israelitterne ind i Sins ørken, området mellem Elim og Sinai. De kom dertil en måned efter, at de havde forladt Egypten. 2Igen beklagede hele folket sig bittert til Moses og Aron.

3„Gid vi dog var blevet i Egypten!” jamrede de. „Der havde vi både kød og brød og kunne spise os mætte. Det var bedre, om Herren havde ladet os dø der. Men nu har I bragt os ud i den her ørken, hvor vi er ved at dø af sult.”

9Da16,9 Nogle vers er omstillet for at klargøre den logiske rækkefølge. sagde Moses til Aron: „Sig til folket, at de skal komme frem for Herren, for han har hørt deres beklagelser.”

10Mens Aron talte til israelitterne, skete der noget ude i ørkenen. Alle vendte sig og kiggede derhen, og nu så de Herrens herlighed vise sig i skysøjlen, som plejede at lede dem. 11Da talte Herren til Moses: 12„Jeg har hørt israelitternes klager. Sig til dem: ‚I aften skal I få kød at spise, og i morgen tidlig skal I spise jer mætte i brød. Da skal I indse, at jeg er Herren, jeres Gud.’ ”

4Endvidere sagde Herren: „Jeg vil lade mad falde ned fra himlen som regn. Folket kan så hver dag gå ud og samle så meget, de har behov for til den dag. Jeg vil sætte dem på prøve for at se, om de vil følge mine befalinger. 5Sig til dem, at de skal samle en dobbelt portion på ugens sjette dag.”

6Moses fortalte det til Aron, som derefter sagde til folket: „I aften skal I få at se, at det var Herren, som førte jer ud af Egypten. 7Og i morgen skal I få mere af hans herlighed at se, for han har hørt jeres klage. Det er jo ham, I beklager jer over for, ikke os!” 8Moses fortsatte: „I aften vil Herren give jer kød at spise, og i morgen vil han give jer brød. Og husk på, at når I beklager jer, er det ikke mod os, men mod Herren selv. Vi er jo kun hans talerør.”

13Samme aften kom en stor flok vagtler flyvende, og de faldt i et tykt lag over hele lejren. Og næste morgen lå duggen tæt rundt om lejren. 14Da duggen forsvandt, var ørkenen dækket af tynde flager, noget, der lignede rimfrost. 15Da israelitterne så det, sagde de til hinanden: „Hvad er det?”16,15 Det hebraiske ord for „hvad” er mah eller som her varianten man. Heraf kom navnet „manna” via græsk. De vidste jo ikke, hvad det var.

„Det er det brød, som Herren har givet jer at spise,” svarede Moses. 16„Herren har befalet, at enhver af jer skal samle så meget, der er brug for i jeres familie—omkring to liter16,16 På hebraisk omer, et rummål på ca. 2 liter. til hver person.”

17Israelitterne gjorde nu, som Moses havde sagt, og nogle samlede meget, andre mindre. 18Da de bagefter målte, hvad de havde samlet, viste det sig, at de, der havde samlet meget, ikke havde for meget, og de, der havde samlet mindre, havde ikke for lidt. Alle fik, hvad de havde brug for.

19„I må ikke gemme noget af det fra den ene dag til den anden,” sagde Moses til dem.

20Der var dog nogle, som ikke rettede sig efter Moses, og de gemte noget af det til næste morgen. Men om morgenen var det fuldt af orme og lugtede grimt. Da blev Moses vred på dem.

21De følgende morgener samlede hver familie så meget, de havde behov for. Når solen begyndte at brænde, smeltede det, som endnu lå på jorden. 22Den sjette dags morgen var der dobbelt så meget som de andre morgener—fire liter til hver i stedet for to. Da kom folkets ledere til Moses og spurgte ham, hvordan det kunne være.

23Moses svarede: „Fordi Herren har befalet, at i morgen skal være en hviledag, en hellig sabbatsdag, indviet til Gud. Bag og kog derfor så meget I vil i dag, og gem resten til i morgen.” 24Og næste morgen viste det sig, at maden ikke fejlede noget. Den lugtede ikke, og der var ikke gået orm i. 25Da sagde Moses: „Det er den mad, I skal spise i dag, for i dag er det sabbat for Herren. Der bliver ikke noget at samle ind i dag. 26I seks dage kan I samle mad, men den syvende dag er sabbat, og derfor er der intet at finde.”

27Nogle af dem gik alligevel ud for at samle, selv om det var sabbat. Men de fandt ikke noget.

28„Hvor længe vil mit folk nægte at adlyde mine befalinger og instruktioner?” spurgte Herren Moses. 29„Forstår de ikke, at jeg har givet dem den syvende dag som en hviledag? Det er jo derfor, jeg giver jer dobbelt så meget mad på den sjette dag, så der er nok til to dage. Om sabbatten skal I blive hjemme i lejren og ikke gå ud for at samle mad.” 30Så hvilede folket på den syvende dag.

31Israelitterne kaldte flagerne for „manna”.16,31 På hebraisk man. Den, der oversatte 2. Mosebog til græsk, valgte at sige „man”, men alle andre steder i Septuaginta og i NT kaldes det „manna”. De var hvide, på størrelse med korianderfrø og smagte som honningkager.

32Derpå sagde Moses: „Herren har påbudt, at vi skal tage to liter af denne manna og gemme det som et dyrebart minde om, hvordan han sørgede for os. På den måde vil kommende generationer kunne se, hvad det var for noget brød, Herren gav os at spise i ørkenen, efter at han havde ført os ud af Egypten.” 33Derpå sagde Moses til Aron: „Få fat i en krukke, hæld to liter manna i den og opbevar den for Herrens ansigt som et minde for kommende generationer.” 34Aron gjorde, hvad Herren havde pålagt Moses, og krukken blev senere anbragt i pagtens ark foran stentavlerne.

35-36I 40 år spiste Israels folk manna—lige indtil de bosatte sig i Kana’ans land, hvor der var afgrøder at spise.16,35-36 Teksten tilføjer her: „En omer er en tiendedel af en efa.”