In the Wilderness of Sin, the Israelites complained that they had more food in Egypt. God said, I will rain bread from the sky for you. In the evening quail covered the camp, and in the morning a fine, flaky substance lay on the ground. The people asked, What is it? Moses said, It is the bread which Yahweh has given you. They were to gather enough for each day, and twice as much on the sixth day, resting on the Sabbath. Some disobeyed, but God provided. Israel ate manna forty years, and a jar was kept as a reminder.
1They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to 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.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
2The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness;This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
3and the children of Israel said to them, “We wish that we had died by Yahweh’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
4Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
5It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
6Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening, you shall know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
7In the morning, you shall see Yahweh’s glory; because he hears your murmurings against Yahweh. Who are we, that you murmur against us?”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
8Moses said, “Now Yahweh will give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you, because Yahweh hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against Yahweh.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
9Moses said to Aaron, “Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘Come close to Yahweh, for he has heard your murmurings.’”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
10As Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, Yahweh’s glory appeared in the cloud.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
11Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
12“I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, ‘At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God.’”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
13In the evening, quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
14When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
15When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they didn’t know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
16This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded: ‘Gather of it everyone according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, you shall take it, every man for those who are in his tent.’”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
17The children of Israel did so, and some gathered more, some less.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
18When they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack. They each gathered according to his eating.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
19Moses said to them, “Let no one leave of it until the morning.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
20Notwithstanding they didn’t listen to Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning, so it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
21They gathered it morning by morning, everyone according to his eating. When the sun grew hot, it melted.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
22On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one; and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
23He said to them, “This is that which Yahweh has spoken, ‘Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to Yahweh. Bake that which you want to bake, and boil that which you want to boil; and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.’”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
24They laid it up until the morning, as Moses ordered, and it didn’t become foul, and there were no worms in it.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
25Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to Yahweh. Today you shall not find it in the field.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
26Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it there shall be none.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
27On the seventh day, some of the people went out to gather, and they found none.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
28Yahweh said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
29Behold, because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
30So the people rested on the seventh day.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
31The house of Israel called its name “Manna”, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
32Moses said, “This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded, ‘Let an omer-full of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
33Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it up before Yahweh, to be kept throughout your generations.”This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
34As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
35The children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
36Now an omer is one tenth of an ephah.This verse is not in this translation's source text (many modern translations omit it). See your Bible's footnote.
Scripture: World English Bible, public domain, eBible.org
Worksheets
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2Look over the worksheet
3Tap Print worksheet. Print the answer key separately.
God's people were in the desert. They were hungry, and they grumbled. God said, I will rain bread from the sky for you.
That evening, birds called quail came, and the people had meat. In the morning, there was something white and flaky on the ground. The people said, What is it? Moses said, It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat. They called it manna. It tasted like wafers with honey.
God said to gather just enough for each day. On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much. The seventh day was a day of rest. God fed His people with manna for forty years!
Memory Verse
“When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they didn’t know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat.”
Exodus 16:15 (WEB)
Show What You Know
Circle the right answer, or write it on the lines.
Why did the people grumble?
They were hungryForty yearsWafers with honey
What birds came in the evening?
What is it?QuailThey were hungry
What did the people say when they saw the manna?
What is it?They were hungryQuail
What did manna taste like?
QuailWafers with honeyWhat is it?
How long did God feed them with manna?
What is it?Forty yearsWafers with honey
Word Search
Find and circle each word. Words go across and down.
MORNING
BASKET
BREAD
MANNA
BIRDS
BIRD
REST
FOOD
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for today's Bible story. Help me to . Amen.
In the Wilderness of Sin, the whole congregation murmured against Moses and Aaron: We wish that we had died by Yahweh's hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread. Yahweh said, Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you. The people were to gather a day's portion every day, so God could test whether they would walk in his law. On the sixth day they would gather twice as much.
Moses said, Your murmurings are not against us, but against Yahweh. The glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud. In the evening quail covered the camp. In the morning, when the dew lifted, there was a small round thing, as small as frost on the ground. They said, What is it? Moses said, It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat. Each gathered as much as he needed; he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack.
Moses said, Let no one leave of it until the morning. Some did, and it bred worms and stank. On the sixth day they gathered twice as much, and what was kept for the Sabbath did not spoil. Some went out on the seventh day and found none. So the people rested on the seventh day. They called it Manna; it was like coriander seed, white, tasting like wafers with honey. An omer of it was kept for future generations. Israel ate manna forty years.
Memory Verse
“Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.”
Exodus 16:4 (WEB)
Answer the Questions
What did the people wish when they murmured?
Why did God give a day's portion each day?
Who were the murmurings really against?
What happened to manna kept overnight on ordinary days?
What was different about the Sabbath?
Story Order
Write what happened in each box.
1
2
3
4
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for today's Bible story. Help me to . Amen.
Israel grumbled even after God had rescued them. Moses told them their complaints were really against God. Grumbling shows we doubt God's goodness.
God gave manna one day at a time. The people had to trust Him every morning. Those who tried to store extra found it spoiled. God wanted them to depend on Him daily.
God also gave the Sabbath, a day of rest. In the New Testament, Jesus teaches his followers to ask God for daily bread, and he calls himself the bread of life (John 6:35).
Show What You Know
Who were Israel's complaints really against?
Why did God give manna one day at a time?
What happened when people stored extra?
What did Jesus call Himself in John 6:35?
Word Bank Fill-In
Use the word bank to fill in each blank.
Godmannarestbreadmorning
Israel grumbled even after had rescued them.
God gave one day at a time.
The people had to trust Him every .
God also gave the Sabbath, a day of .
In the New Testament, Jesus teaches his followers to ask God for daily , and he calls himself the bread of life (John 6:35).
Think About It
How can you trust God one day at a time?
Jesus is the bread of life. How does He satisfy you more than food?
Memory Verse
“When the children of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they didn’t know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat.”
Exodus 16:15 (WEB)
Copy It
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for today's Bible story. Help me to . Amen.
About a month after leaving Egypt, the people complain that slavery with food was better than freedom in the wilderness. Their memory of Egypt has become distorted. Moses explains that their grumbling is aimed at God. Still, God responds with grace and with a test: daily manna would show whether they would walk in my law.
The manna teaches daily dependence. Everyone had enough: He who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack, a verse Paul uses to encourage generosity (2 Corinthians 8:15). Hoarding failed; it bred worms. The Sabbath pattern also appears here, before the Ten Commandments are given at Sinai. God provides double on the sixth day so His people can rest.
Deuteronomy 8:3 explains the lesson: God fed them with manna to teach them that people do not live by bread only, but by every word that comes from God's mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3). In the New Testament, Jesus quoted this when tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:4). In the New Testament, in John 6, after feeding the 5,000, Jesus says that He is the true bread from heaven, who gives eternal life. A jar of manna was kept before the Testimony as a lasting reminder of God's faithful provision.
Show What You Know
How had Israel's memory of Egypt become distorted?
How does Paul use the manna in 2 Corinthians 8:15?
What happened when people hoarded manna?
What lesson does Deuteronomy 8:3 draw from the manna?
What does Jesus claim in John 6?
Word Bank Fill-In
Use the word bank to fill in each blank.
mannaGodrestbreadfood
About a month after leaving Egypt, the people complain that slavery with was better than freedom in the wilderness.
Moses explains that their grumbling is aimed at .
Still, God responds with grace and with a test: daily would show whether they would walk in my law.
God provides double on the sixth day so His people can .
In the New Testament, in John 6, after feeding the 5,000, Jesus says that He is the true from heaven, who gives eternal life.
Think About It
How can remembering the past wrongly lead us to complain?
Why do you think God built rest into the pattern of provision?
Memory Verse
“Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.”
Exodus 16:4 (WEB)
Copy It
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for today's Bible story. Help me to . Amen.