The Song of Moses and Miriam

15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this songp to the Lord:

“I will singq to the Lord,

for he is highly exalted.

Both horse and driverr

he has hurled into the sea.s

2 “The Lord is my strengtht and my defensea;

he has become my salvation.u

He is my God,v and I will praise him,

my father’s God, and I will exaltw him.

3 The Lord is a warrior;x

the Lord is his name.y

4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his armyz

he has hurled into the sea.

The best of Pharaoh’s officers

are drowned in the Red Sea.b

5 The deep watersa have covered them;

they sank to the depths like a stone.b

6 Your right hand,c Lord,

was majestic in power.

Your right hand,d Lord,

shatterede the enemy.

7 “In the greatness of your majestyf

you threw down those who opposed you.

You unleashed your burning anger;g

it consumedh them like stubble.

8 By the blast of your nostrilsi

the waters piled up.j

The surging waters stood up like a wall;k

the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.l

9 The enemy boasted,

‘I will pursue,m I will overtake them.

I will divide the spoils;n

I will gorge myself on them.

I will draw my sword

and my hand will destroy them.’

10 But you blew with your breath,o

and the sea covered them.

They sank like lead

in the mighty waters.p

11 Who among the gods

is like you,q Lord?

Who is like you—

majestic in holiness,r

awesome in glory,s

working wonders?t

12 “You stretch outu your right hand,

and the earth swallows your enemies.v

13 In your unfailing love you will leadw

the people you have redeemed.x

In your strength you will guide them

to your holy dwelling.y

14 The nations will hear and tremble;z

anguisha will grip the people of Philistia.b

15 The chiefsc of Edomd will be terrified,

the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,e

the peoplec of Canaan will meltf away;

16  terrorg and dread will fall on them.

By the power of your arm

they will be as still as a stoneh—

until your people pass by, Lord,

until the people you boughtd i pass by.j

17 You will bringk them in and plantl them

on the mountainm of your inheritance—

the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,n

the sanctuary,o Lord, your hands established.

18 “The Lord reigns

for ever and ever.”p

19 When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemene went into the sea,q the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground.r 20 Then Miriams the prophet,t Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrelsu and dancing.v 21 Miriam sangw to them:

“Sing to the Lord,

for he is highly exalted.

Both horse and driverx

he has hurled into the sea.”y

The Waters of Marah and Elim

22 Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desertz of Shur.a For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water.b 23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.f c) 24 So the people grumbledd against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”e

25 Then Moses cried outf to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threwg it into the water, and the water became fit to drink.

There the Lord issued a ruling and instruction for them and put them to the test.h 26 He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keepi all his decrees,j I will not bring on you any of the diseasesk I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who healsl you.”

27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they campedm there near the water.

Manna and Quail

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

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heavent for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will testu 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 twicev 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,w 7 and in the morning you will see the gloryx of the Lord, because he has heard your grumblingy against him. Who are we, that you should grumble against us?”z 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 grumblinga against him. Who are we? You are not grumbling against us, but against the Lord.”b

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 gloryc of the Lord appearing in the cloud.d

11 The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumblinge 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.’ ”f

13 That evening quailg came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dewh around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frosti 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 knowj what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the breadk the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omera l for each person you have in your tent.’ ”

17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And 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.m Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

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

20 However, 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.o So Moses was angryp with them.

21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away. 22 On the sixth day, they gathered twiceq as much—two omersb for each person—and the leaders of the communityr came and reported this to Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a day of sabbath rest, a holy sabbaths 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.’ ”

24 So 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. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath,t there will not be any.”

27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will youc refuse to keep my commandsu and my instructions? 29 Bear 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.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 The people of Israel called the bread manna.d v 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 mannaw 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,x so that it might be preserved. 35 The Israelites ate mannay forty years,z until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.a

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