Exodus 15:22-17:16

Good News Translation

Bitter Water

²² Then Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea into the desert of Shur. For three days they walked through the desert, but found no water. ²³ Then they came to a place called Marah, but the water there was so bitter that they could not drink it. That is why it was named Marah.^{[a] 24} The people complained to Moses and asked, “What are we going to drink?” ^25 (A)Moses prayed earnestly to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood, which he threw into the water; and the water became fit to drink.

There the Lord gave them laws to live by, and there he also tested them. ²⁶ He said, “If you will obey me completely by doing what I consider right and by keeping my commands, I will not punish you with any of the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. I am the Lord, the one who heals you.”

²⁷ Next they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees; there they camped by the water.

The Manna and the Quails

16 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim, and on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt, they came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. ² There in the desert they all complained to Moses and Aaron ³ and said to them, “We wish that the Lord had killed us in Egypt. There we could at least sit down and eat meat and as much other food as we wanted. But you have brought us out into this desert to starve us all to death.”

^4 (B)The Lord said to Moses, “Now I am going to cause food to rain down from the sky for all of you. The people must go out every day and gather enough for that day. In this way I can test them to find out if they will follow my instructions. ⁵ On the sixth day they are to bring in twice as much as usual and prepare it.”

⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt. ⁷ In the morning you will see the dazzling light of the Lord's presence. He has heard your complaints against him—yes, against him, because we are only carrying out his instructions.” ⁸ Then Moses said, “It is the Lord who will give you meat to eat in the evening and as much bread as you want in the morning, because he has heard how much you have complained against him. When you complain against us, you are really complaining against the Lord.”

⁹ Moses said to Aaron, “Tell the whole community to come and stand before the Lord, because he has heard their complaints.” ¹⁰ As Aaron spoke to the whole community, they turned toward the desert, and suddenly the dazzling light of the Lord appeared in a cloud. ¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them that at twilight they will have meat to eat, and in the morning they will have all the bread they want. Then they will know that I, the Lord, am their God.”

¹³ In the evening a large flock of quails flew in, enough to cover the camp, and in the morning there was dew all around the camp. ¹⁴ When the dew evaporated, there was something thin and flaky on the surface of the desert. It was as delicate as frost. ^15 (C)When the Israelites saw it, they didn't know what it was and asked each other, “What is it?”

Moses said to them, “This is the food that the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶ The Lord has commanded that each of you is to gather as much of it as he needs, two quarts for each member of his household.”

¹⁷ The Israelites did this, some gathering more, others less. ^18 (D)When they measured it, those who gathered much did not have too much, and those who gathered less did not have too little. Each had gathered just what he needed. ¹⁹ Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it for tomorrow.” ²⁰ But some of them did not listen to Moses and saved part of it. The next morning it was full of worms and smelled rotten, and Moses was angry with them. ²¹ Every morning each one gathered as much as he needed; and when the sun grew hot, what was left on the ground melted.

²² On the sixth day they gathered twice as much food, four quarts for each person. All the leaders of the community came and told Moses about it, ^23 (E)and he said to them, “The Lord has commanded that tomorrow is a holy day of rest, dedicated to him. Bake today what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Whatever is left should be put aside and kept for tomorrow.” ²⁴ As Moses had commanded, they kept what was left until the next day; it did not spoil or get worms in it. ²⁵ Moses said, “Eat this today, because today is the Sabbath, a day of rest dedicated to the Lord, and you will not find any food outside the camp. ²⁶ You must gather food for six days, but on the seventh day, the day of rest, there will be none.”

²⁷ On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather food, but they did not find any. ²⁸ Then the Lord said to Moses, “How much longer will you people refuse to obey my commands? ²⁹ Remember that I, the Lord, have given you a day of rest, and that is why on the sixth day I will always give you enough food for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day and not leave his home.” ³⁰ So the people did no work on the seventh day.

^31 (F)The people of Israel called the food manna.^[b] It was like a small white seed, and tasted like thin cakes made with honey. ³² Moses said, “The Lord has commanded us to save some manna, to be kept for our descendants, so that they can see the food which he gave us to eat in the desert when he brought us out of Egypt.” ^33 (G)Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, put two quarts of manna in it, and place it in the Lord's presence to be kept for our descendants.” ³⁴ As the Lord had commanded Moses, Aaron put it in front of the Covenant Box, so that it could be kept. ^35 (H)The Israelites ate manna for the next forty years, until they reached the land of Canaan, where they settled. (³⁶ The standard dry measure then in use equaled twenty quarts.)

Water from the Rock^(I)

17 ^(J)The whole Israelite community left the desert of Sin, moving from one place to another at the command of the Lord. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there to drink. ² They complained to Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Moses answered, “Why are you complaining? Why are you putting the Lord to the test?”

³ But the people were very thirsty and continued to complain to Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? To kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

⁴ Moses prayed earnestly to the Lord and said, “What can I do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Take some of the leaders of Israel with you, and go on ahead of the people. Take along the stick with which you struck the Nile. ⁶ I will stand before you on a rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” Moses did so in the presence of the leaders of Israel.

⁷ The place was named Massah and Meribah,^[c] because the Israelites complained and put the Lord to the test when they asked, “Is the Lord with us or not?”

War with the Amalekites

⁸ The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. ⁹ Moses said to Joshua, “Pick out some men to go and fight the Amalekites tomorrow. I will stand on top of the hill holding the stick that God told me to carry.” ¹⁰ Joshua did as Moses commanded him and went out to fight the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ As long as Moses held up his arms, the Israelites won, but when he put his arms down, the Amalekites started winning. ¹² When Moses' arms grew tired, Aaron and Hur brought a stone for him to sit on, while they stood beside him and held up his arms, holding them steady until the sun went down. ¹³ In this way Joshua totally defeated the Amalekites.

^14 (K)Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write an account of this victory, so that it will be remembered. Tell Joshua that I will completely destroy the Amalekites.” ¹⁵ Moses built an altar and named it “The Lord is my Banner.” ¹⁶ He said, “Hold high the banner of the Lord!^[d] The Lord will continue to fight against the Amalekites forever!”