¹ L’anno undicesimo, il terzo mese, il primo giorno del mese, la parola dell’Eterno mi fu rivolta in questi termini:

² "Figliuol d’uomo, di’ a Faraone re d’Egitto, e alla sua moltitudine: A chi somigli tu nella tua grandezza?

³ Ecco, l’Assiro era un cedro del Libano, dai bei rami, dall’ombra folta, dal tronco slanciato, dalla vetta sporgente fra il folto de’ rami.

⁴ Le acque lo nutrivano, l’abisso lo facea crescere, andando, coi suoi fiumi, intorno al luogo dov’era piantato, mentre mandava i suoi canali a tutti gli alberi dei campi.

⁵ Perciò la sua altezza era superiore a quella di tutti gli alberi della campagna, i suoi rami s’eran moltiplicati, e i suoi ramoscelli s’erano allungati per l’abbondanza delle acque che lo faceano sviluppare.

⁶ Tutti gli uccelli del cielo s’annidavano fra i suoi rami, tutte le bestie dei campi figliavano sotto i suoi ramoscelli, e tutte le grandi nazioni dimoravano alla sua ombra.

⁷ Era bello per la sua grandezza, per la lunghezza dei suoi rami, perché la sua radice era presso acque abbondanti.

⁸ I cedri non lo sorpassavano nel giardino di Dio; i cipressi non uguagliavano i suoi ramoscelli, e i platani non eran neppure come i suoi rami; nessun albero nel giardino di Dio lo pareggiava in bellezza.

⁹ Io l’avevo reso bello per l’abbondanza de’ suoi rami, e tutti gli alberi d’Eden, che sono nel giardino di Dio, gli portavano invidia.

¹⁰ Perciò, così parla il Signore, l’Eterno: Perché era salito a tanta altezza e sporgeva la sua vetta tra il folto de’ rami e perché il suo cuore s’era insuperbito della sua altezza,

¹¹ io lo diedi in mano del più forte fra le nazioni perché lo trattasse a suo piacimento; per la sua empietà io lo scacciai.

¹² Degli stranieri, i più violenti fra le nazioni, l’hanno tagliato e l’han lasciato in abbandono; sui monti e in tutte le valli son caduti i suoi rami, i suoi ramoscelli sono stati spezzati in tutti i burroni del paese, e tutti i popoli della terra si son ritirati dalla sua ombra, e l’hanno abbandonato.

¹³ Sul suo tronco caduto si posano tutti gli uccelli del cielo, e sopra i suoi rami stanno tutte le bestie de’ campi.

¹⁴ Così è avvenuto affinché gli alberi tutti piantati presso alle acque non sian fieri della propria altezza, non sporgan più la vetta fra il folto de’ rami, e tutti gli alberi potenti che si dissetano alle acque non persistano nella loro fierezza; poiché tutti quanti son dati alla morte, alle profondità della terra, assieme ai figliuoli degli uomini, a quelli che scendon nella fossa.

¹⁵ Così parla il Signore, l’Eterno: Il giorno ch’ei discese nel soggiorno de’ morti, io feci fare cordoglio; a motivo di lui velai l’abisso, ne arrestai i fiumi, e le grandi acque furon fermate; a motivo di lui abbrunai il Libano, e tutti gli alberi de’ campi vennero meno a motivo di lui.

¹⁶ Al rumore della sua caduta fece tremare le nazioni, quando lo feci scendere nel soggiorno de’ morti con quelli che scendono nella fossa; e nelle profondità della terra si consolarono tutti gli alberi di Eden, i più scelti e i più belli del Libano, tutti quelli che si dissetavano alle acque.

¹⁷ Anch’essi discesero con lui nel soggiorno de’ morti, verso quelli che la spada ha uccisi: verso quelli che erano il suo braccio, e stavano alla sua ombra in mezzo alle nazioni.

¹⁸ A chi dunque somigli tu per gloria e per grandezza fra gli alberi d’Eden? Così tu sarai precipitato con gli alberi d’Eden nelle profondità della terra; tu giacerai in mezzo agl’incirconcisi, fra quelli che la spada ha uccisi. Tal sarà di Faraone con tutta la sua moltitudine, dice il Signore, l’Eterno".

¹ They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

² The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness;

³ and the children of Israel said to them, "We wish that we had died by the hand of Yahweh 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."

⁴ Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from the sky 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.

⁵ It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily."

⁶ Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "At evening, then you shall know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt;

⁷ and in the morning, then you shall see the glory of Yahweh; because he hears your murmurings against Yahweh. Who are we, that you murmur against us?"

⁸ Moses said, "Now Yahweh shall give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you; because Yahweh hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against Yahweh."

⁹ Moses said to Aaron, "Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, 'Come near before Yahweh, for he has heard your murmurings.'"

¹⁰ It happened, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud.

¹¹ Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

¹² "I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread: and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God.'"

¹³ It happened at evening that quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp.

¹⁴ When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground.

¹⁵ When the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, "What is it?" For they didn't know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat."

¹⁶ This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded: "Gather of it everyone according to his eating; an omer a head, according to the number of your persons, you shall take it, every man for those who are in his tent."

¹⁷ The children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less.

¹⁸ When they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack. They gathered every man according to his eating.

¹⁹ Moses said to them, "Let no one leave of it until the morning."

²⁰ Notwithstanding they didn't listen to Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and became foul: and Moses was angry with them.

²¹ They gathered it morning by morning, everyone according to his eating. When the sun grew hot, it melted.

²² It happened that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one, and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

²³ He said to them, "This is that which Yahweh has spoken, 'Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to Yahweh. Bake that which you want to Bake, and boil that which you want to boil; and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.'"

²⁴ They laid it up until the morning, as Moses asked, and it didn't become foul, neither was there any worm in it.

²⁵ Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to Yahweh. today you shall not find it in the field.

²⁶ Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it there shall be none."

²⁷ It happened on the seventh day, that some of the people went out to gather, and they found none.

²⁸ Yahweh said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?

²⁹ Behold, because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day."

³⁰ So the people rested on the seventh day.

³¹ The house of Israel called its name Manna, and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey.

³² Moses said, "This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded, 'Let an omer-full of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.'"

³³ Moses said to Aaron, "Take a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it up before Yahweh, to be kept throughout your generations."

³⁴ As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.

³⁵ The children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan.

³⁶ Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.