The entire community of Israel set out from Elim and came into the Desert of Sin, between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after leaving Egypt. There, the whole assembly grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
The people cried, "If only the LORD had killed us in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate our fill, but you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us to death."
Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to gather only what they need, and in this way I will test whether they will walk in My instructions. On the sixth day they are to gather twice as much as on other days."
So Moses and Aaron told the Israelites, "In the evening you will know that it was the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, and in the morning you will see His glory, because He has heard your complaints against Him. Who are we, that you grumble against us? You are not grumbling against us, but against the LORD."
Then Aaron spoke to the whole assembly, and as they looked toward the desert, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. The LORD said to Moses, "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."
That evening, quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning, when the dew lifted, thin flakes like frost lay upon the ground. The Israelites looked at it and said, "What is it?" for they did not understand. Moses told them, "This is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. Each household is to gather as much as is needed—an omer for each person."
The people gathered, some more and some less, but when measured by the omer, no one had too much and no one too little; each had what they needed. Moses warned them not to keep any until morning, but some disobeyed, and it bred worms and stank. So each morning they gathered what they required, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.
On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much, and when the leaders reported this to Moses, he told them: "Tomorrow is a Sabbath, a day of rest, holy to the LORD. Bake and boil what you need today; keep what is left until morning." They obeyed, and this time the bread did not spoil.
Moses said, "Eat it today, for there will be none on the Sabbath. Six days you will gather, but the seventh day is for rest." Yet some went out on the seventh day and found nothing. The LORD said, "How long will you refuse My commands? Remember, I have given you the Sabbath; that is why I provide double on the sixth day. Let each stay in place on the seventh day." So the people rested.
The Israelites called the bread "manna." It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. Moses commanded: "Keep an omer of manna for future generations, so they may see the bread the LORD gave you in the wilderness when He brought you out of Egypt." Aaron placed a jar of manna before the Testimony, as the LORD commanded.
The Israelites ate manna for forty years, until they reached the border of Canaan.