New King James Version
Exodus 16:4
4Then 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.
Exodus 16:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)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.
Context of Exodus 16:4
2Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” 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. 5And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” 6Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, “At evening you shall know that the Lord has brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Read all of Exodus 16Exodus 16:4 word by word
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה הִנְנִ֨י מַמְטִ֥יר לָכֶ֛ם לֶ֖חֶם מִן־הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם וְיָצָ֨א הָעָ֤ם וְלָֽקְטוּ֙ דְּבַר־י֣וֹם בְּיוֹמ֔וֹ לְמַ֧עַן אֲנַסֶּ֛נּוּ הֲיֵלֵ֥ךְ בְּתוֹרָתִ֖י אִם־לֹֽא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- unto Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
- Behold, I will rainמָטַרmâţar · to rainH4305
- breadלֶ֫חֶםlechem · food: breadH3899
- from heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
- for you; and the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- shall go outיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- and gatherלָקַטlâqaţ · to gatherH3950
- a certain rateדָּבָרdâbâr · word: portionH1697
- every dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
- that I may proveנָסָהnâsâh · to testH5254
- them, whether they will walkיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- in my lawתּוֹרָהtôrâh tôrâh · instructionH8451
Cross-references for Exodus 16:4
- Psalms 78:24Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven.
- Psalms 105:40The people asked, and He brought quail, And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
- John 6:31Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
- 1 Corinthians 10:3all ate the same spiritual food,
- Nehemiah 11:23For it was the king’s command concerning them that a certain portion should be for the singers, a quota day by day.
- Proverbs 30:8Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me;
- Matthew 6:11Give us this day our daily bread.
- Luke 11:3Give us day by day our daily bread.
- Exodus 15:25So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them,
- Deuteronomy 8:2And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
- Joshua 24:15And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Commentaries on Exodus 16:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4I 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.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4That I may prove them - The trial consisted in the restriction to the supply of their daily wants.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5These were the Lord’s instructions for gathering the food he gave in the wilderness. He provided enough for each day. On the sixth day, he gave a double portion. This way, the people did not need to gather food on the Sabbath (see 16:21–30). The Israelites kept the Sabbath even before it was written in the Ten Commandments. Many people resist a way of life that requires daily trust in God. We prefer to store up supplies so that we feel independent. But…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Then said the Lord unto Moses--Though the outbreak was immediately against the human leaders, it was indirectly against God: yet mark His patience, and how graciously He promised to redress the grievance. I will rain bread from heaven--Israel, a type of the Church which is from above, and being under the conduct, government, and laws of heaven, received their food from heaven also (Psa 78:24). that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 16:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries