Exodus 16:4

Good News Translation

The Lord said to Moses, "Now I am going to cause food to rain down from the sky for all of you. The people must go out every day and gather enough for that day. In this way I can test them to find out if they will follow my instructions.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Then said the LORD to Moshe, "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.

King James Version
Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

Lexham English Bible
And Yahweh said to Moses, "Look, I am going to rain down for you bread from the heavens, and the people will go out and gather enough for the day on its day; in that way I will test them: Will they go according to my law or not?

New Century Version
Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will cause food to fall like rain from the sky for all of you. Every day the people must go out and gather what they need for that day. I want to see if the people will do what I teach them.

New English Translation
Then the Lord said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people will go out and gather the amount for each day, so that I may test them. Will they walk in my law or not?

Amplified Bible
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will cause bread to rain from heaven for you; the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, so that I may test them [to determine] whether or not they will walk [obediently] in My instruction (law).

New American Standard Bible
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, so that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then sayd the Lord vnto Moses, Behold, I wil cause bread to rayne from heauen to you, & the people shal goe out, and gather that that is sufficient for euery day, that I may proue them, whether they wil walke in my Law or no.

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My law.

Contemporary English Version
The Lord said to Moses, "I will send bread down from heaven like rain. Each day the people can go out and gather only enough for that day. That's how I will see if they obey me.

Complete Jewish Bible
Adonai said to Moshe, "Here, I will cause bread to rain down from heaven for you. The people are to go out and gather a day's ration every day. By this I will test whether they will observe my Torah or not.

Darby Translation
Then said Jehovah to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather the daily need on its day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not.

Easy-to-Read Version
Then the Lord said to Moses, "I will cause food to fall from the sky. This food will be for you to eat. Every day the people should go out and gather the food they need that day. I will do this to see if they will do what I tell them.

English Standard Version
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven 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.

George Lamsa Translation
Then the LORD said to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather sufficient food, day by day, for I will prove them, whether they will keep my laws or not.

Christian Standard Bible®
Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. This way I will test them to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.

Literal Translation
And Jehovah said to Moses, Behold, I AM ! Bread will rain from the heavens for you. And the people shall go out and gather the matter of a day in its day, so that I may test them, whether they will walk in My Law or not.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The sayde ye LORDE vnto Moses: beholde I wyl rayne you bred from heauen, and let the people go out, and gather daylie, what they nede, that I maye proue whether they walke in my lawe or not.

American Standard Version
Then said Jehovah unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not.

Bible in Basic English
Then the Lord said to Moses, See, I will send down bread from heaven for you; and the people will go out every day and get enough for the day's needs; so that I may put them to the test to see if they will keep my laws or not.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then sayde the Lorde vnto Moyses: Beholde, I wyll rayne bread from heauen to you, and the people shall go out & gather a certaine rate euery day, that I may proue them whether they wyll walke in my lawe, or no.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then said the LORD unto Moses: 'Behold, I will cause to rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law, or not.

King James Version (1611)
Then said the Lord vnto Moses, Behold, I will raine bread from heauen for you: and the people shall goe out, and gather a certaine rate euery day, that I may proue them, whether they will walke in my Law, or no.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread upon you out of heaven: and the people shall go forth, and they shall gather their daily portion for the day, that I may try them whether they will walk in my law or not.

English Revised Version
Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.

Berean Standard Bible
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test whether or not they will follow My instructions.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe the Lord seide to Moises, Lo! Y schal reyne to you looues fro heuene; the puple go out, that it gadere tho thingis that sufficen bi ech day; that Y asaie the puple, whethir it goith in my lawe, ether nai.

Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Lo, I am raining to you bread from the heavens -- and the people have gone out and gathered the matter of a day in its day -- so that I try them whether they walk in My law, or not;

Update Bible Version
Then Yahweh said to Moses, Look, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then said the LORD to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not.

World English Bible
Then said Yahweh 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.

New King James Version
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.

New Living Translation
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Look, I'm going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.

New Life Bible
Then the Lord said to Moses, "See, I will rain bread from heaven for you. The people will go out and gather a day's share every day, so I may test them to see if they will follow My Law or not.

New Revised Standard
Then the Lord said to Moses, "I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Yahweh unto Moses, Behold me! ruining down for you bread out of heaven, - and the people shall go out and gather the portion for a day, on its day, that I may prove them whether they will walk in my law, or not.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Lord said to Moses: Behold I will rain bread from heaven for you; let the people go forth, and gather what is sufficient for every day: that I may prove them whether they will walk in my law, or not.

Revised Standard Version
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or not.

THE MESSAGE
God said to Moses, "I'm going to rain bread down from the skies for you. The people will go out and gather each day's ration. I'm going to test them to see if they'll live according to my Teaching or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have gathered, it will turn out to be twice as much as their daily ration."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.

Contextual Overview

¹ The whole Israelite community set out from Elim, and on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left Egypt, they came to the desert of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai. ² There in the desert they all complained to Moses and Aaron ³ and said to them, "We wish that the Lord had killed us in Egypt. There we could at least sit down and eat meat and as much other food as we wanted. But you have brought us out into this desert to starve us all to death." ⁴ The Lord said to Moses, "Now I am going to cause food to rain down from the sky for all of you. The people must go out every day and gather enough for that day. In this way I can test them to find out if they will follow my instructions. ⁵ On the sixth day they are to bring in twice as much as usual and prepare it." ⁶ So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, "This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt. ⁷ In the morning you will see the dazzling light of the Lord 's presence. He has heard your complaints against him—yes, against him, because we are only carrying out his instructions." ⁸ Then Moses said, "It is the Lord who will give you meat to eat in the evening and as much bread as you want in the morning, because he has heard how much you have complained against him. When you complain against us, you are really complaining against the Lord ." ⁹ Moses said to Aaron, "Tell the whole community to come and stand before the Lord , because he has heard their complaints." ¹⁰ As Aaron spoke to the whole community, they turned toward the desert, and suddenly the dazzling light of the Lord appeared in a cloud.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I will rain: Psalms 78:24, Psalms 78:25, Psalms 105:40, John 6:31, John 6:32, 1 Corinthians 10:3

a certain rate every day: Heb. the portion of a day in his day, Nehemiah 11:23, Proverbs 30:8, Matthew 6:11, Matthew 6:32, Matthew 6:33, Luke 11:3

prove them: Exodus 15:25, Deuteronomy 8:2, Deuteronomy 8:16, Joshua 24:15

Reciprocal: Genesis 5:22 - General Genesis 22:1 - God Exodus 16:15 - This is Ruth 1:6 - in giving Nehemiah 9:15 - gavest John 6:51 - and the bread 2 Corinthians 2:9 - that

Cross-References

Genesis 16:4
Abram had intercourse with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she found out that she was pregnant, she became proud and despised Sarai.

Genesis 16:5
Then Sarai said to Abram, "It's your fault that Hagar despises me. I myself gave her to you, and ever since she found out that she was pregnant, she has despised me. May the Lord judge which of us is right, you or me!"

Genesis 16:6
Abram answered, "Very well, she is your slave and under your control; do whatever you want with her." Then Sarai treated Hagar so cruelly that she ran away.

Genesis 16:8
and said, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She answered, "I am running away from my mistress."

2 Samuel 6:16
As the Box was being brought into the city, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and jumping around in the sacred dance, and she was disgusted with him.

Proverbs 30:23
a hateful woman who gets married, and a servant woman who takes the place of her mistress.

1 Corinthians 4:6
For your sake, my friends, I have applied all this to Apollos and me, using the two of us as an example, so that you may learn what the saying means, "Observe the proper rules." None of you should be proud of one person and despise another.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said the Lord unto Moses,.... Who no doubt had been praying to him, as was his usual manner, when the people were in distress and complained, and was heard and answered by him: behold,

I will rain bread from heaven for you; though they were a murmuring, rebellious, and ungrateful people, the Lord dealt kindly and bountifully with them; he did not rain fire and brimstone upon them, as on Sodom and Gomorrah, nor snares and an horrible tempest, as on the wicked; but what was desirable by them, and suitable to their present circumstances, even bread, which was what they wanted, and this ready prepared; for though they did dress it in different ways, yet it might be eaten without any preparation at all; and this it was promised should be rained down upon them, there should be great plenty of it; it should come as thick and as fast as a shower of rain, and lie around their camp ready at hand to take up; and this should not spring out of the earth as bread corn does, but come down from heaven; and being such a wonderful thing, a "behold" is prefixed unto it, denoting the marvellousness of it, as well as exciting attention to what was said: our Lord may seem to contradict this, when he says, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, John 6:32, but the reconciliation is easy; for not to observe that it was God, and not Moses, that gave this bread, so though it came from the airy heavens, and along with the dew of it, where it was prepared perhaps by the ministry of angels, and therefore called the corn of heaven, and angels' bread, Psalms 78:24, yet it came not from the heaven of heavens, the third heaven, from whence the true bread, the antitype of this, came, even our Lord Jesus Christ himself:

and the people shall go out, and gather a certain rate of it every day; or "the thing of the day in its day" i, the bread day by day; to which our Lord may be thought to allude, when he directs his disciples to pray, give us this day our daily bread; as this would be rained every morning, the people were to go out of the camp, and gather it up for their daily use, and which was to be done every day:

that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law or no; by this single instance of their obedience to his will in going out every morning to gather their bread, that should be rained for them, he proposed to try and prove their obedience to his law in all other respects; what regard would be had to it when it should be given, and what might be expected from them, and likewise whether they would depend upon his providence in this case also.

i דבר יום ביומו "rem diei in die suo", Pagninus, Montanus, Munster, Vatablus, Fagius, Drusius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

That I may prove them - The trial consisted in the restriction to the supply of their daily wants.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 16:4. I will rain bread — Therefore this substance was not a production of the desert: nor was the dew that was the instrument of producing it common there, else they must have had this bread for a month before.