² In the desert the whole community grumbled^(A) against Moses and Aaron. ³ The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt!^(B) There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food^(C) we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”^(D)

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

⁶ So 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,^{(H) 7} and in the morning you will see the glory^(I) of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling^(J) against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?”^{(K) 8} Moses 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^(L) against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”^(M)

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

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

¹¹ The Lord said to Moses, ¹² “I have heard the grumbling^(P) 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.’”^(Q)

¹³ That evening quail^(R) came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew^(S) around the camp. ¹⁴ When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost^(T) on the ground appeared on the desert floor. ¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know^(U) what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread^(V) the Lord has given you to eat.

³¹ The people of Israel called the bread manna.^[a](A) It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. ³² Moses 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.’”

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

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