Chapter 10

  1. So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore, the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree which, when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them and said, If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and will do that which is right in his sight, and will give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon you which I have brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the Lord that heals you. And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they encamped there by the waters.
  2. And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots and when we did eat bread to the full; for you have brought us forth into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them whether they will walk in my law or no. And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
  3. And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At evening, then you shall know that the Lord has brought you out from the land of Egypt, and in the morning, then you shall see the glory of the Lord; for he hears your murmurings against the Lord. And what are we that you murmur against us? And Moses said, This shall be when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full, for the Lord hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And what are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord. And Moses spoke unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your murmurings.
  4. And it came to pass, as Aaron spoke unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness; and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak unto them, saying, At evening you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.
  5. And it came to pass that at evening the quails came up and covered the camp. And in the morning, the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna — for they knew not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take every man for them who are in his tents. And the children of Israel did so and gathered, some more, some less. And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
  6. And Moses said, Let no man leave of it until the morning. Notwithstanding, they listened not unto Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning; and it bred worms and stank, and Moses was angry with them. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating. And when the sun waxed hot, it melted. And it came to pass that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man, and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord has said: Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord. Bake that which you will bake today, and boil that which you will boil, and that which remains over, lay up for you to be kept until the morning. And they laid it up until the morning as Moses bid, and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath unto the Lord; today you shall not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.
  7. And it came to pass that there went out some of the people on the seventh day in order to gather, and they found none. And the Lord said unto Moses, How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? See, because the Lord has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Abide 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. And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna, and it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
  8. And Moses said, This is the thing which the Lord commands: Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I have fed you in the wilderness when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations. As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the testimony to be kept. And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan. Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.
  9. And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink. Wherefore, the people did chide with Moses and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why do you chide with me? Why do you test the Lord? And the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses and said, Why is this that you have brought us up out of Egypt to kill us, and our children, and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? They are almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with you of the elders of Israel; and your rod with which you smote the river, take in your hand and go. Behold, I will stand before you there upon the rock in Horeb, and you shall smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel and because they tested the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us or not?
  10. Then came Amalek and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men and go out; fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand. So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass when Moses held up his hand that Israel prevailed, and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands were heavy, and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat thereon. And Aaron and Hur held up his hands, the one on the one side and the other on the other side, and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overcame Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovah-Nissi, for he said, Because the Lord has sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.