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 camp. And when the dew that lay was gone up, look, 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…an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take you every man for them which are in his tent. And…let no man leave of it until the morning."

Regardless, they listened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stunk: and Moses was angry with them. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun became 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 what you will boil; and that which remains over lay up for you to be kept until the morning." And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses instructed: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm in it.

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."

So the people rested on the seventh day. And the house of Israel called the name of it Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.

And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin…according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink… 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 be 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 struck the river, take in your hand, and go. Look, I will stand before you there upon the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike 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 tempted the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us, or not?"

In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.

And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, "This shall you say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; You have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if you will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And you shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak unto the children of Israel."

And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words, which the LORD commanded him.

And all the people answered together, and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.

And the LORD said unto Moses, "Go unto the people, and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai."

And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunder and lightning, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And God spoke all these words, saying, "I am the LORD your God, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make unto you any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, looking after the sins of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain.

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor, and do all your work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD your God: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger that is within your gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and made it holy.

"Honor your father and your mother: that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God gives you.

"You shall not kill.
"You shall not commit adultery.
"You shall not steal.
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."

And all the people saw the thundering, and the lightning, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they moved, and stood far away.

And Moses said unto the people, "Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that you sin not."

REFERENCES

Exodus 16:13-16, 19-26, 30-31; Exodus 17:1, 3-7; Exodus 19:1, 3-8, 10-11, 16; Exodus 20:1-18, 20.

CHAPTER 9