The Song of Moses

15 Then Moses and the people of Israel began singing this song to the Lord: “I will sing to the Lord! He has done great things. He threw horse and rider into the sea. ²The Lord is my strength. He saves me, and I sing songs of praise to him.* The Lord is my God, and I praise him. The Lord is the God of my ancestors,* and I honor him. ³The Lord is a great soldier. The Lord is his name. ⁴He threw Pharaoh’s chariots and soldiers into the sea. Pharaoh’s very best soldiers drowned in the Red Sea.* ⁵The deep water covered them. And they sank to the bottom like rocks. ⁶“Your right arm is amazingly strong. Lord, your right arm shattered the enemy. ⁷In your great majesty you destroyed the men who stood against you. Your anger destroyed them, like fire burning straw. ⁸The wind you sent in anger piled the water high. The flowing water became a solid wall. The sea became solid to its deepest parts. ⁹“The enemy said, ‘I’ll chase them and catch them. I’ll take all their riches. I’ll take it all with my sword. I’ll take everything for myself.’ ¹⁰But you blew on them and covered them with the sea. They sank like lead into the deep sea. ¹¹“Are there any gods like the Lord? No! There are no gods like you—You are wonderfully holy! You are amazingly powerful! You do great miracles! ¹²You could raise your right hand and destroy the world! ¹³But with your kindness you lead the people you saved. And with your strength you lead them to your holy and pleasant land. ¹⁴“The other nations will hear this story, and they will be frightened. The people Philistia will shake with fear. ¹⁵The commanders of Edom will shake with fear. The leaders of Moab will be afraid. The people of Canaan will lose courage. ¹⁶Those people will be filled with fear when they see your strength. They will be as still as a rock until the Lord’s people pass by, until the people you have made pass by. ¹⁷Lord, you will lead your people to your mountain. You will let them live near the place you prepared for your throne. Master, you will build your temple! ¹⁸The Lord will rule forever and ever!” ¹⁹Yes, it really happened! Pharaoh’s horses and riders and chariots went into the sea. And the Lord brought all the water of the sea down on top of them. But the people of Israel walked through that sea on dry land. ²⁰Then Aaron’s sister, the woman prophet Miriam, took a tambourine. Miriam and the women began singing and dancing. Miriam repeated the words, ²¹“Sing to the Lord! He has done great things. He threw horse and rider into the sea…” ²²Moses led the people of Israel away from the Red Sea* and into the Shur desert. They traveled for three days in the desert. The people could not find any water. ²³After three days, the people came to Marah.* There was water at Marah, but it was too bitter to drink. (That is why the place was named Marah.) ²⁴The people began complaining to Moses. The people said, “Now what will we drink?” ²⁵Moses called to the Lord. So the Lord showed him a tree. Moses put the tree in the water. When he did this, the water became good to drink. In that place, the Lord judged the people and gave them a law. The Lord also tested the faith of the people. ²⁶The Lord said, “You must obey the Lord, your God. You must do the things he says are right. If you obey all the Lord’s commands and laws, then you will not be sick like the Egyptians. I, the Lord, will not give you any of the sicknesses I gave the Egyptians. I am the Lord. I am the one who makes you well.” ²⁷Then the people traveled to Elim. At Elim there were twelve springs of water and 70 palm trees. So the people made their camp there near that water.

The Lord ... him Literally, “Yah is my strength and praise. He became my salvation.” ancestors Literally, “fathers,” meaning a person’s parents, grandparents, and all the people they are descended from. Red Sea Or, “Reed Sea.” But see 1 Kings 9:26. Marah This name means “bitter.”

16 Then the people left Elim and came to the Sinai desert, between Elim and Sinai. They arrived at that place on the 15th day of the second month* after leaving Egypt. ²Then the people of Israel began complaining again. They complained to Moses and Aaron in the desert. ³The people said, “It would have been better if the Lord had just killed us in the land of Egypt. At least there we had plenty to eat. We had all the food we needed. But now you have brought us out here into this desert. So he can make us die from hunger.” ⁴Then 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 the people will do what I tell them. ⁵Every day the people will gather only enough food for one day. But on Friday, when the people prepare their food {for Saturday}, they will see that they have enough food for two days.* ⁶So Moses and Aaron said to the people of Israel, “Tonight you will see the power of the Lord. You will know that he is the One who brought you out of Egypt. ⁷You complained to the Lord, and he heard you. So tomorrow morning you will see the Glory of the Lord.* You have been complaining and complaining to us. Maybe now we can have a little rest.” ⁸And Moses said, “You have been complaining, and the Lord has heard your complaints. So tonight the Lord will give you meat. And in the morning you will have all the bread you need. You have been complaining to Aaron and me. But now, maybe we will have a little rest. Remember, you are not complaining against Aaron and me. You are complaining against the Lord.” ⁹Then Moses said to Aaron, “Speak to all the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘Come together before the Lord, because he has heard your complaints.’” ¹⁰Aaron spoke to all the people of Israel. They were all gathered together in one place. While Aaron was talking, all the people turned and looked into the desert. And they saw the Glory of the Lord* appear in a cloud. ¹¹The Lord said to Moses, ¹²“I have heard the complaints of the people of Israel. 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.’” ¹³That night, quails (birds) came all around the camp. {The people caught these birds for meat.} And in the morning dew lay on the ground near the camp. ¹⁴After the dew was gone, something like thin flakes of frost was on the ground. ¹⁵The people of Israel saw it and asked each other, “What is that?”* They asked this question because they did not know what it was. So Moses told them, “This is the food the Lord is giving you to eat. ¹⁶The Lord says, ‘Each person should gather what he needs. Each of you should gather a basket* for every person in your family.’” ¹⁷So the people of Israel did this. Each person gathered this food. Some people gathered more than others. ¹⁸The people gave the food to everyone in their family. After the food was measured, there was always enough for every person, but there was never too much. Each person gathered just enough for himself and his family to eat. ¹⁹Moses told them, “Don’t save that food to eat the next day.” ²⁰But some of the people did not obey Moses. Those people 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. ²¹Every morning the people gathered the food. Each person gathered as much as he could eat. But by noon* the food melted and was gone. ²²On Friday, the people gathered twice as much food. They gathered 2 baskets* for every person. So all the leaders of the people came and told this to Moses. ²³Moses 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.” ²⁴So the people saved the rest of the food for the next day. And none of the food spoiled. And worms did not get into any of it. ²⁵On Saturday, Moses told the people, “Today is the Sabbath, the special day of rest to honor the Lord. So none of you should be out in the fields. Eat the food you gathered yesterday. ²⁶You should gather the food for six days. But the seventh day {of the week} is a day of rest—so there will not be any of the special food on the ground.” ²⁷On Saturday, some of the people went out to gather some of the food, but they could not find any. ²⁸Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you people refuse to obey my commands and teachings? ²⁹Look, the Lord has made the Sabbath a day of rest for you. So, on Friday the Lord will give you enough food for two days. Then, on the Sabbath, each of you should sit down and relax! Stay where you are.” ³⁰So the people rested on the Sabbath. ³¹The people began calling the special food “manna.*” The manna was like small white coriander seeds, and it tasted like thin cakes made with honey. ³²Moses said, “The Lord said: ‘Save a basket* of this food for your descendants.* Then they can see the food that I gave to you in the desert when I took you out of Egypt.’” ³³So Moses told Aaron, “Take a jar and fill it with a full basket* of manna. Save this manna to put before the Lord. Save it for our descendants.*” ³⁴(Aaron {later} did what the Lord had commanded Moses. Aaron put the jar of manna in front of the Agreement.*) ³⁵The people ate the manna for 40 years. They ate the manna until they came to the land of rest, that is until they came to the edge of the land of Canaan. ({³⁶The measure they used for the manna was an omer.} An omer was about 8 cups.*)

15th day of the second month That is, the 15th of Iyyar. The people of Israel had been traveling for a month. Friday, … two days This happened so that the people would not have to work on the Sabbath (Saturday), the day of rest. Glory of the Lord One of the forms God used when he appeared to people. It was like a bright shining light. What is that? In Hebrew this is like the word “manna.” basket Literally, “1 omer” (2.2l). noon Literally, “the heat of the day.” 2 baskets Literally, “2 omers” (4.4l). manna This is like the Hebrew words meaning “What is that?” descendants A person’s children and their future families. basket Literally, “1 omer” (2.2l). descendants A person’s children and their future families. Agreement Literally, “Proof.” The two stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written on them were proof of the Agreement between God and Israel. about 8 cups Literally, “1/10 of an Ephah.”