Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” New Living Translation “If only the LORD had killed us back in Egypt,” they moaned. “There we sat around pots filled with meat and ate all the bread we wanted. But now you have brought us into this wilderness to starve us all to death.” English Standard Version and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Berean Standard Bible “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt!” they said. “There we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death!” King James Bible And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. New King James Version And 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.” New American Standard Bible The sons of Israel said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger!” NASB 1995 The sons of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the LORD’S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” NASB 1977 And the sons of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the LORD’S hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Legacy Standard Bible And the sons of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to put this whole assembly to death with hunger.” Amplified Bible and the Israelites said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger.” Christian Standard Bible The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger! ” Holman Christian Standard Bible The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!” American Standard Version and the children of Israel said unto them, Would that we had died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Contemporary English Version "We wish the LORD had killed us in Egypt. When we lived there, we could at least sit down and eat all the bread and meat we wanted. But you have brought us out here into this desert, where we are going to starve." English Revised Version and the children of Israel said unto them, Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. GOD'S WORD® Translation The Israelites said to them, "If only the LORD had let us die in Egypt! There we sat by our pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted! You brought us out into this desert to let us all starve to death!" Good News Translation 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." International Standard Version The Israelis told them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt when we sat by the cooking pots, when we ate bread until we were filled—because you brought us to this desert to kill this entire congregation with hunger." Majority Standard Bible ?If only we had died by the LORD?s hand in the land of Egypt!? they said. ?There we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death!? NET Bible The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this desert to kill this whole assembly with hunger!" New Heart English Bible and the children of Israel said to them, "We wish that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger." Webster's Bible Translation And the children of Israel said to them, O that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread to the full: for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. World English Bible and the children of Israel said to them, “We wish that we had died by Yahweh’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Literal Translations Literal Standard Versionand the sons of Israel say to them, “Oh that we had died by the hand of YHWH in the land of Egypt, in our sitting by the flesh-pot, in our eating bread to satiety—for you have brought us out to this wilderness to put all this assembly to death with hunger.” Young's Literal Translation 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.' Smith's Literal Translation And the sons of Israel will say to them, Who will give to die by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt in our sitting by the pot of flesh, in our eating bread to satiety? for ye brought us forth to this desert to kill all this convocation with hunger. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleAnd the children of Israel said to them: Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat over the flesh pots, and ate bread to the full. Why have you brought us into this desert, that you might destroy all the multitude with famine? Catholic Public Domain Version And the sons of Israel said to them: “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat around bowls of meat and ate bread until filled. Why have you led us away, into this desert, so that you might kill the entire multitude with famine?” New American Bible The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died at the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our kettles of meat and ate our fill of bread! But you have led us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of famine!” New Revised Standard Version The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleAnd the children of Israel said to them, Would 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 did eat bread to the full; for you have brought us forth into this wilderness to destroy the whole assembly of Israel with hunger. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated And the children of Israel said to them: “We were wishing that we had died by the hand of LORD JEHOVAH in the land of Egypt when we were sitting by the pots of flesh and we were eating bread and were full, for you brought us to this wilderness to destroy the whole assembly of the children of Israel with hunger.” OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917and the children of Israel said unto them: 'Would that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.' Brenton Septuagint Translation And the children of Israel said to them, Would we had died smitten by the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, and ate bread to satiety! for ye have brought us out into this wilderness, to slay all this congregation with hunger. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Manna and Quail from Heaven…2And there in the desert they all grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3“If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt!” they said. “There we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, but you have brought us into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death!” 4Then 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.… Cross References Numbers 11:4-6 Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat? / We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. / But now our appetite is gone; there is nothing to see but this manna!” Numbers 14:2-4 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! / Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” / So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.” Psalm 78:18-20 They willfully tested God by demanding the food they craved. / They spoke against God, saying, “Can God really prepare a table in the wilderness? / When He struck the rock, water gushed out and torrents raged. But can He also give bread or supply His people with meat?” Psalm 106:13-15 Yet they soon forgot His works and failed to wait for His counsel. / They craved intensely in the wilderness and tested God in the desert. / So He granted their request, but sent a wasting disease upon them. John 6:31-35 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” / Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. / For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ... 1 Corinthians 10:6-10 These things took place as examples to keep us from craving evil things as they did. / Do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” / We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. ... Numbers 21:5 and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!” Deuteronomy 8:3 He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Matthew 4:4 But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Nehemiah 9:15-20 In their hunger You gave them bread from heaven; in their thirst You brought them water from the rock. You told them to go in and possess the land that You had sworn to give them. / But they and our fathers became arrogant and stiff-necked and did not obey Your commandments. / They refused to listen and failed to remember the wonders You performed among them. They stiffened their necks and appointed a leader to return them to their bondage in Egypt. But You are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in loving devotion, and You did not forsake them. ... John 6:49-51 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. / This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die. / I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.” Philippians 2:14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, Numbers 20:3-5 The people quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had perished with our brothers before the LORD! / Why have you brought the LORD’s assembly into this wilderness for us and our livestock to die here? / Why have you led us up out of Egypt to bring us to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain, figs, vines, or pomegranates—and there is no water to drink!” Psalm 78:25 Man ate the bread of angels; He sent them food in abundance. Hebrews 3:7-11 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice, / do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness, / where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works. ... Treasury of Scripture And the children of Israel said to them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for you have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. would Numbers 20:3-6 And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! … Deuteronomy 28:67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. Joshua 7:7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! we had Numbers 11:15 And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness. Numbers 14:2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! Job 3:1,10,20 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day… flesh Exodus 2:23 And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. Numbers 11:4,5 And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? … to kill Exodus 5:21 And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us. Exodus 17:3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? Numbers 16:13,41 Is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land that floweth with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, except thou make thyself altogether a prince over us? … hunger Deuteronomy 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. Jeremiah 2:6 Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? Lamentations 4:9 They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field. Jump to Previous Assembly Ate Bread Children Died Eat Egypt Fill Flesh Forth Full Hand Hunger Israel Kill Meat Pots Sat Whole Wilderness WishJump to Next Assembly Ate Bread Children Died Eat Egypt Fill Flesh Forth Full Hand Hunger Israel Kill Meat Pots Sat Whole Wilderness WishExodus 16 1. The Israelites come to Sin, and murmur for want of bread4. God promises them bread and meat from heaven, and they are rebuked 13. Quail and manna are sent 16. The ordering of manna 25. It was not to be found on the Sabbath 32. An omer of it is preserved The Israelites said to them This phrase introduces the collective voice of the Israelites, who are expressing their concerns to Moses and Aaron. The Israelites, having been recently liberated from Egyptian bondage, are now in the wilderness. This setting is crucial as it highlights their transition from slavery to freedom, yet also their struggle with trust and faith in God's provision. Historically, this moment is a test of faith, as they are learning to rely on God rather than the security of their past, albeit oppressive, life in Egypt. If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt when we sat by pots of meat and ate our fill of bread for you have brought us into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death By the hand of the Lord.--There is, perhaps, an allusion to the last of the plagues, "Would that we had not been spared, but had been smitten, as the Egyptians were! A sudden death would have been far better than a long and lingering one." (Comp, Lamentations 4:9.) When we did eat bread to the full.--The Israelites had been well fed in Egypt. They had been nourished upon flesh, fish, bread, and abundant vegetables, especially cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlick (Numbers 11:5). It was the habit of the Egyptians to feed well those whom they employed in forced labours (Herod. ii. 125), just as slave-owners commonly do their slaves. The remembrance of the past abundance intensified the pain felt at the present want. To kill this whole assembly with hunger.--It is difficult to imagine that there could have been as yet any real danger of starvation. The cattle may have suffered considerably in the passage through the wilderness of Shur, but the bulk of it survived (Exodus 17:3), and there were lambs enough for the whole nation to observe a Passover a few months later at Sinai (Numbers 9:1-5). But it may well be that a considerable number of the Israelites had had no cattle; others may have lost what they had, or have consumed them. Want may have stared some in the face, and the nation generally may have come to see that the prospect before them was a dismal one. Even supposing that the desert was anciently four or five times as productive as it is now, it could not possibly have afforded sufficient pasturage to maintain such flocks and herds as would have been requisite to support on their milk and flesh a population of two millions. It may have been brought home to the people that their flocks and herds were rapidly diminishing, and they may have realised the danger that impended of ultimate starvation after the cattle was all gone. . . . Verse 3. - Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt - i.e., "Would that God had smitten us with a painless death, as he did the first-born of the Egyptians! Then we should have avoided the painful and lingering death from starvation which we now see before us." The cry puts on the garb of piety, and names the name of Jehovah, but indicates a want of faith in him, his power, and his promises (Exodus 4:8, 17; Exodus 6:8; Exodus 12:25; Exodus 13:5, 11), which was sinful, and, after the miracles that they had seen, barely excusable. When we sat by the flesh-pots of Egypt. Compare Numbers 11:5. Both passages make it clear that, whatever the sufferings of the Israelites in Egypt from the cruelty of the taskmasters and the hard tasks set them, at any rate their sustenance was well cared for - they had abundance of agreeable food. Did eat bread. It has been said that "bread" here means "food in general" (Kalisch); and no doubt the word has sometimes that sense. But it was probably actual bread, rather than anything else, for which the Israelites were longing. See the Introduction to the chapter. CHAPTER 16:4-8 Hebrew “If onlyמִֽי־ (mî-) Interjection Strong's 4310: Who?, whoever, in oblique construction with prefix, suffix we had died מוּתֵ֤נוּ (mū·ṯê·nū) Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | first person common plural Strong's 4191: To die, to kill by the LORD’s יְהוָה֙ (Yah·weh) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel hand בְיַד־ (ḇə·yaḏ-) Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct Strong's 3027: A hand in the land בְּאֶ֣רֶץ (bə·’e·reṣ) Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct Strong's 776: Earth, land of Egypt!” מִצְרַ֔יִם (miṣ·ra·yim) Noun - proper - feminine singular Strong's 4714: Egypt -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their country in Northwest Africa [they said]. בְּנֵ֣י (bə·nê) Noun - masculine plural construct Strong's 1121: A son “There we sat בְּשִׁבְתֵּ֙נוּ֙ (bə·šiḇ·tê·nū) Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | first person common plural Strong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marry by עַל־ (‘al-) Preposition Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against pots סִ֣יר (sîr) Noun - common singular construct Strong's 5518: A pot, a thorn, a hook of meat הַבָּשָׂ֔ר (hab·bā·śār) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 1320: Flesh, body, person, the pudenda of a, man and ate בְּאָכְלֵ֥נוּ (bə·’ā·ḵə·lê·nū) Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | first person common plural Strong's 398: To eat our fill לָשֹׂ֑בַע (lā·śō·ḇa‘) Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 7648: Satisfaction, joy) of bread, לֶ֖חֶם (le·ḥem) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 3899: Food, bread, grain but כִּֽי־ (kî-) Conjunction Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction you have brought הוֹצֵאתֶ֤ם (hō·w·ṣê·ṯem) Verb - Hifil - Perfect - second person masculine plural Strong's 3318: To go, bring, out, direct and proxim us into אֶל־ (’el-) Preposition Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to this הַזֶּ֔ה (haz·zeh) Article | Pronoun - masculine singular Strong's 2088: This, that desert הַמִּדְבָּ֣ר (ham·miḏ·bār) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 4057: A pasture, a desert, speech to starve בָּרָעָֽב׃ (bā·rā·‘āḇ) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 7458: Famine, hunger this הַזֶּ֖ה (haz·zeh) Article | Pronoun - masculine singular Strong's 2088: This, that whole כָּל־ (kāl-) Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every assembly הַקָּהָ֥ל (haq·qā·hāl) Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 6951: Assembly, convocation, congregation to death!” לְהָמִ֛ית (lə·hā·mîṯ) Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct Strong's 4191: To die, to kill Links Exodus 16:3 NIVExodus 16:3 NLT Exodus 16:3 ESV Exodus 16:3 NASB Exodus 16:3 KJV Exodus 16:3 BibleApps.com Exodus 16:3 Biblia Paralela Exodus 16:3 Chinese Bible Exodus 16:3 French Bible Exodus 16:3 Catholic Bible OT Law: Exodus 16:3 And the children of Israel said (Exo. 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