12. “I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. So tell them, ‘Tonight you will eat meat. And in the morning you will have all the bread you want. Then you will know you can trust the Lord, your God.’”
13. That evening, flocks of quail came and filled the camp, and in the morning dew lay on the ground all around it.
14. After the dew was gone, something like thin flakes of frost was on the ground.
15. When the Israelites saw it, they asked each other, “What is that?” because they did not know what it was. So Moses told them, “This is the food the Lord is giving you to eat.
16. The Lord says, ‘Each of you should gather what you need, a basket of manna for everyone in your family.’”
17. So that is what the Israelites did. Some people gathered a large amount, some people gathered a little.
18. But when they measured what they had gathered, there was no shortage and there was none left over. Everyone gathered just what they needed.
19. Moses told them, “Don’t save that food to eat the next day.”
20. But some of the people did not obey Moses. They saved their food for the next day. But worms got into the food and it began to stink. Moses was angry with the people who did this.
21. Every morning the people gathered as much food as they could eat, but by noon the food melted and was gone.
22. On Friday the people gathered twice as much food—two baskets for every person. So all the leaders of the people came and told this to Moses.
23. Moses told them, “This is what the Lord said would happen. It happened because tomorrow is the Sabbath, the special day of rest to honor the Lord. You can cook all the food you need to cook for today, but save the rest of this food for tomorrow morning.”
24. So the people saved the rest of the food for the next day, as Moses had commanded, and none of the food spoiled or had worms in it.