Font Size
Exodus 16:16-18
New English Translation
Exodus 16:16-18
New English Translation
16 “This is what[a] the Lord has commanded:[b] ‘Each person is to gather[c] from it what he can eat, an omer[d] per person[e] according to the number[f] of your people;[g] each one will pick it up[h] for whoever lives[i] in his tent.’” 17 The Israelites did so, and they gathered—some more, some less. 18 When[j] they measured with an omer, the one who gathered much had nothing left over, and the one who gathered little lacked nothing; each one had gathered what he could eat.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 16:16 tn Heb “the thing that.”
- Exodus 16:16 tn The perfect tense could be taken as a definite past with Moses now reporting it. In this case a very recent past. But in declaring the word from Yahweh it could be instantaneous, and receive a present tense translation—“here and now he commands you.”
- Exodus 16:16 tn The form is the plural imperative: “Gather [you] each man according to his eating.”
- Exodus 16:16 sn The omer is an amount mentioned only in this chapter, and its size is unknown, except by comparison with the ephah (v. 36). A number of recent English versions approximate the omer as “two quarts” (cf. NCV, CEV, NLT); TEV “two litres.”
- Exodus 16:16 tn Heb “for a head.”
- Exodus 16:16 tn The word “number” is an accusative that defines more precisely how much was to be gathered (see GKC 374 §118.h).
- Exodus 16:16 tn Traditionally “souls.”
- Exodus 16:16 tn Heb “will take.”
- Exodus 16:16 tn “lives” has been supplied.
- Exodus 16:18 tn The preterite with the vav (ו) consecutive is subordinated here as a temporal clause.
Exodus 16:16-18
New International Version
Exodus 16:16-18
New International Version
16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer[a](A) for each person you have in your tent.’”
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. 18 And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.(B) Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.
Footnotes
- Exodus 16:16 That is, possibly about 3 pounds or about 1.4 kilograms; also in verses 18, 32, 33 and 36
New English Translation (NET)
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.