Exodus 16 – NIV & BPH

New International Version

Exodus 16:1-36

Manna and Quail

1The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had come out of Egypt. 2In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”

4Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”

6So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, 7and in the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?” 8Moses also said, “You will know that it was the Lord when he gives you meat to eat in the evening and all the bread you want in the morning, because he has heard your grumbling against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”

9Then Moses told Aaron, “Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’ ”

10While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the Lord appearing in the cloud.

11The Lord said to Moses, 12“I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and 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, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. 16This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer16:16 That is, possibly about 3 pounds or about 1.4 kilograms; also in verses 18, 32, 33 and 36 for each person you have in your tent.’ ”

17The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

19Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”

20However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

21Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers16:22 That is, possibly about 6 pounds or about 2.8 kilograms for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. 23He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’ ”

24So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. 25“Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”

27Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you16:28 The Hebrew is plural. refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where they are on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30So the people rested on the seventh day.

31The people of Israel called the bread manna.16:31 Manna sounds like the Hebrew for What is it? (see verse 15). It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. 32Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Take an omer of manna and keep it for the generations to come, so they can see the bread I gave you to eat in the wilderness when I brought you out of Egypt.’ ”

33So Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it. Then place it before the Lord to be kept for the generations to come.”

34As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. 35The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.

36(An omer is one-tenth of an ephah.)

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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.”