God Gives Manna

16¹ And they journey from Elim, and all the company of the sons of Israel come in unto the wilderness of Sin, which 'is' between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month of their going out from the land of Egypt. ² And all the company of the sons of Israel murmur against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; ³ and the sons of Israel say unto them, 'Oh that we had died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt, in our sitting by the flesh-pot, in our eating bread to satiety—for ye have brought us out unto this wilderness to put all this assembly to death with hunger.' ⁴ 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; ⁵ and it hath been on the sixth day, that they have prepared that which they bring in, and it hath been double above that which they gather day 'by' day.' ⁶ And Moses saith—Aaron also—unto all the sons of Israel, 'Evening—and ye have known that Jehovah hath brought you out from the land of Egypt; ⁷ and morning—and ye have seen the honour of Jehovah, in His hearing your murmurings against Jehovah, and what 'are' we, that ye murmur against us?' ⁸ And Moses saith, 'In Jehovah's giving to you in the evening flesh to eat, and bread in the morning to satiety—in Jehovah's hearing your murmurings, which ye are murmuring against Him, and what 'are' we? your murmurings 'are' not against us, but against Jehovah.' ⁹ And Moses saith unto Aaron, 'Say unto all the company of the sons of Israel, Come ye near before Jehovah, for He hath heard your murmurings;' ¹⁰ and it cometh to pass, when Aaron is speaking unto all the company of the sons of Israel, that they turn towards the wilderness, and lo, the honour of Jehovah is seen in the cloud. ¹¹ And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying, ¹² 'I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel; speak unto them, saying, Between the evenings ye eat flesh, and in the morning ye are satisfied 'with' bread, and ye have known that I 'am' Jehovah your God.'

¹³ And it cometh to pass in the evening, that the quail cometh up, and covereth the camp, and in the morning there hath been the lying of dew round about the camp, ¹⁴ and the lying of the dew goeth up, and lo, on the face of the wilderness a thin, bare thing, thin as hoar-frost on the earth. ¹⁵ And the sons of Israel see, and say one unto another, 'What 'is' it?' for they have not known what it 'is'; and Moses saith unto them, 'It 'is' the bread which Jehovah hath given to you for food. ¹⁶ 'This 'is' the thing which Jehovah hath commanded: Gather of it each according to his eating, an omer for a poll; and the number of your persons, take ye each for those in his tent.' ¹⁷ And the sons of Israel do so, and they gather, he who is 'gathering' much, and he who is 'gathering' little; ¹⁸ and they measure with an omer, and he who is 'gathering' much hath nothing over, and he who is 'gathering' little hath no lack, each according to his eating they have gathered. ¹⁹ And Moses saith unto them, 'Let no man leave of it till morning;' ²⁰ and they have not hearkened unto Moses, and some of them do leave of it till morning, and it bringeth up worms and stinketh; and Moses is wroth with them. ²¹ And they gather it morning by morning, each according to his eating; when the sun hath been warm, then it hath melted.

²² And it cometh to pass on the sixth day, they have gathered a second bread, two omers for one, and all the princes of the company come in, and declare to Moses. ²³ And he saith unto them, 'It 'is' that which Jehovah hath spoken 'of'; a rest—a holy sabbath to Jehovah—'is' to-morrow; that which ye bake, bake; and that which ye boil, boil; and all that is over, let rest for yourselves in charge till the morning.' ²⁴ And they let it rest until the morning, as Moses hath commanded, and it hath not stank, and a worm hath not been in it. ²⁵ And Moses saith, 'Eat it to-day, for to-day 'is' a sabbath to Jehovah; to-day ye find it not in the field: ²⁶ six days ye do gather it, and in the seventh day—the sabbath—in it there is none.' ²⁷ And it cometh to pass on the seventh day, some of the people have gone out to gather, and have not found. ²⁸ And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'How long have ye refused to keep My commands, and My laws? ²⁹ see, because Jehovah hath given to you the sabbath, therefore He is giving to you on the sixth day bread of two days; abide ye each 'in' his place, no one doth go out from his place on the seventh day.' ³⁰ And the people rest on the seventh day, ³¹ and the house of Israel call its name Manna, and it 'is' as coriander seed, white; and its taste 'is' as a cake with honey.

³² And Moses saith, 'This 'is' the thing which Jehovah hath commanded: Fill the omer with it, for a charge for your generations, so that they see the bread which I have caused you to eat in the wilderness, in My bringing you out from the land of Egypt.' ³³ And Moses saith unto Aaron, 'Take one pot, and put there the fulness of the omer of manna, and let it rest before Jehovah, for a charge for your generations;' ³⁴ as Jehovah hath given commandment unto Moses, so doth Aaron let it rest before the Testimony, for a charge. ³⁵ And the sons of Israel have eaten the manna forty years, until their coming in unto the land to be inhabited; the manna they have eaten till their coming in unto the extremity of the land of Canaan. ³⁶ and the omer is a tenth of the ephah.

Water from the Rock

17¹ And all the company of the sons of Israel journey from the wilderness of Sin, on their journeyings, by the command of Jehovah, and encamp in Rephidim, and there is no water for the people to drink; ² and the people strive with Moses, and say, 'Give us water, and we drink.' And Moses saith to them, 'What?—ye strive with me, what?—ye try Jehovah?' ³ and the people thirst there for water, and the people murmur against Moses, and say, 'Why 'is' this?—thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to put us to death, also our sons and our cattle, with thirst.' ⁴ And Moses crieth to Jehovah, saying, 'What do I to this people? yet a little, and they have stoned me.' ⁵ And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Pass over before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel, and thy rod with which thou hast smitten the River take in thy hand, and thou hast gone: ⁶ Lo, I am standing before thee there on the rock in Horeb, and thou hast smitten on the rock, and waters have come out from it, and the people have drunk.' And Moses doth so before the eyes of the elders of Israel, ⁷ and he calleth the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the 'strife' of the sons of Israel, and because of their 'trying' Jehovah, saying, 'Is Jehovah in our midst or not?'

War with Amalek

⁸ And Amalek cometh, and fighteth with Israel in Rephidim, ⁹ and Moses saith unto Joshua, 'Choose for us men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to-morrow I am standing on the top of the hill, and the rod of God in my hand.' ¹⁰ And Joshua doth as Moses hath said to him, to fight with Amalek, and Moses, Aaron, and Hur, have gone up 'to' the top of the height; ¹¹ and it hath come to pass, when Moses lifteth up his hand, that Israel hath been mighty, and when he letteth his hands rest, that Amalek hath been mighty. ¹² And the hands of Moses 'are' heavy, and they take a stone, and set 'it' under him, and he sitteth on it: and Aaron and Hur have taken hold on his hands, on this side one, and on that one, and his hands are stedfast till the going in of the sun; ¹³ and Joshua weakeneth Amalek and his people by the mouth of the sword. ¹⁴ And Jehovah saith unto Moses, 'Write this, a memorial in a Book, and set 'it' in the ears of Joshua, that I do utterly wipe away the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens;' ¹⁵ and Moses buildeth an altar, and calleth its name Jehovah-Nissi, ¹⁶ and saith, 'Because a hand 'is' on the throne of Jah, war 'is' to Jehovah with Amalek from generation—generation.'

Jethro Visits Moses

18¹ And Jethro priest of Midian, father-in-law of Moses, heareth all that God hath done for Moses, and for Israel his people, that Jehovah hath brought out Israel from Egypt, ² and Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, taketh Zipporah, wife of Moses, besides her parents, ³ and her two sons, of whom the name of the one 'is' Gershom, for he said, 'a sojourner I have been in a strange land:' ⁴ and the name of the other 'is' Eliezer, for, 'the God of my father 'is' for my help, and doth deliver me from the sword of Pharaoh.' ⁵ And Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, cometh, and his sons, and his wife, unto Moses, unto the wilderness where he is encamping—the mount of God; ⁶ and he saith unto Moses, 'I, thy father-in-law, Jethro, am coming unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.'

⁷ And Moses goeth out to meet his father-in-law, and boweth himself, and kisseth him, and they ask one at another of welfare, and come into the tent; ⁸ and Moses recounteth to his father-in-law all that Jehovah hath done to Pharaoh, and to the Egyptians, on account of Israel, all the travail which hath found them in the way, and Jehovah doth deliver them. ⁹ And Jethro rejoiceth for all the good which Jehovah hath done to Israel, whom He hath delivered from the hand of the Egyptians; ¹⁰ and Jethro saith, 'Blessed 'is' Jehovah, who hath delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of Pharaoh—who hath delivered this people from under the hand of the Egyptians; ¹¹ now I have known that Jehovah 'is' greater than all the gods, for in the thing they have acted proudly—'He is' above them!' ¹² And Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, taketh a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron cometh in, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses, before God.

The Appointment of Judges

¹³ And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that Moses sitteth to judge the people, and the people stand before Moses, from the morning unto the evening; ¹⁴ and the father-in-law of Moses seeth all that he is doing to the people, and saith, 'What 'is' this thing which thou art doing to the people? wherefore art thou sitting by thyself, and all the people standing by thee from morning till evening?' ¹⁵ And Moses saith to his father-in-law, 'Because the people come unto me to seek God; ¹⁶ when they have a matter, it hath come unto me, and I have judged between a man and his neighbour, and made known the statutes of God, and His laws.' ¹⁷ And the father-in-law of Moses saith unto him, 'The thing which thou art doing 'is' not good; ¹⁸ thou dost surely wear away, both thou, and this people which 'is' with thee, for the thing is too heavy for thee, thou art not able to do it by thyself. ¹⁹ 'Now, hearken to my voice, I counsel thee, and God is with thee: be thou for the people over-against God, and thou hast brought in the things unto God; ²⁰ and thou hast warned them 'concerning' the statutes and the laws, and hast made known to them the way in which they go, and the work which they do. ²¹ 'And thou—thou dost provide out of all the people men of ability, fearing God, men of truth, hating dishonest gain, and hast placed 'these' over them, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens, ²² and they have judged the people at all times; and it hath come to pass, every great matter they bring in unto thee, and every small matter they judge themselves; and lighten it from off thyself, and they have borne with thee. ²³ If thou dost this thing, and God hath commanded thee, then thou hast been able to stand, and all this people also goeth in unto its place in peace.' ²⁴ And Moses hearkeneth to the voice of his father-in-law, and doth all that he said, ²⁵ and Moses chooseth men of ability out of all Israel, and maketh them chiefs over the people, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens, ²⁶ and they have judged the people at all times; the hard matter they bring in unto Moses, and every small matter they judge themselves. ²⁷ And Moses sendeth his father-in-law away, and he goeth away unto his own land.

Who Is the Greatest?

18¹ At that hour came the disciples near to Jesus, saying, 'Who, now, is greater in the reign of the heavens?' ² And Jesus having called near a child, did set him in the midst of them, ³ and said, 'Verily I say to you, if ye may not be turned and become as the children, ye may not enter into the reign of the heavens; ⁴ whoever then may humble himself as this child, he is the greater in the reign of the heavens. ⁵ 'And he who may receive one such child in my name, doth receive me,

Temptations to Sin

⁶ and whoever may cause to stumble one of those little ones who are believing in me, it is better for him that a weighty millstone may be hanged upon his neck, and he may be sunk in the depth of the sea.

⁷ 'Wo to the world from the stumbling-blocks! for there is a necessity for the stumbling-blocks to come, but wo to that man through whom the stumbling-block doth come! ⁸ 'And if thy hand or thy foot doth cause thee to stumble, cut them off and cast from thee; it is good for thee to enter into the life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast to the fire the age-during. ⁹ 'And if thine eye doth cause thee to stumble, pluck it out and cast from thee; it is good for thee one-eyed to enter into the life, rather than having two eyes to be cast to the gehenna of the fire.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

¹⁰ 'Beware!—ye may not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you, that their messengers in the heavens do always behold the face of my Father who is in the heavens, ¹¹ for the Son of Man did come to save the lost. ¹² 'What think ye? if a man may have an hundred sheep, and there may go astray one of them, doth he not—having left the ninety-nine, having gone on the mountains—seek that which is gone astray? ¹³ and if it may come to pass that he doth find it, verily I say to you, that he doth rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that have not gone astray; ¹⁴ so it is not will in presence of your Father who is in the heavens, that one of these little ones may perish.

A Brother Who Sins

¹⁵ 'And if thy brother may sin against thee, go and show him his fault between thee and him alone, if he may hear thee, thou didst gain thy brother; ¹⁶ and if he may not hear, take with thee yet one or two, that by the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may stand. ¹⁷ 'And if he may not hear them, say 'it' to the assembly, and if also the assembly he may not hear, let him be to thee as the heathen man and the tax-gatherer. ¹⁸ 'Verily I say to you, Whatever things ye may bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever things ye may loose on the earth shall be having been loosed in the heavens. ¹⁹ 'Again, I say to you, that, if two of you may agree on the earth concerning anything, whatever they may ask—it shall be done to them from my Father who is in the heavens, ²⁰ for where there are two or three gathered together—to my name, there am I in the midst of them.'