Exodus 16:19
ESV
And Moses said to them, "Let no one leave any of it over till the morning."
NIV
Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning."
NASB
Moses said to them, 'No one is to leave any of it until morning.'
CSB
Moses said to them, "No one is to let any of it remain until morning."
NLT
Then Moses told them, 'Do not keep any of it until morning.'
KJV
And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
NKJV
And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning.”
What does Exodus 16:19 mean?
To ease fears about food supplies (Exodus 16:1–3), the Lord provided Israel with a single miraculous flock of quail (Exodus 16:13). The next morning, the people discovered a brand-new substance (Deuteronomy 8:3) left behind after the dew was dry. This is "manna," a grain-like material (Numbers 11:7–8) made up of tiny white flakes (Exodus 16:14, 31). The people are told to collect a certain amount of this for each person (Exodus 16:16–18, 21).Here, Moses warns the people that manna is not to be stored or stockpiled. God intends to supply this to Israel each morning (Exodus 16:21) and will do so for the next forty years (Exodus 16:35). Part of the lesson is how Israel should trust God and depend on Him for their needs. However, some ignore these instructions and try to reserve some manna for the next day. It quickly becomes rotten (Exodus 16:20). Only manna collected the day before the Sabbath will keep overnight (Exodus 16:23).
Exodus 16:13–30 explains the miraculous provision of meat and bread during Israel's journey through the wilderness. Quail—small birds—arrive at night. In the morning, the ground is covered in a strange substance. This becomes a bread-like food for Israel, later called "manna" (Exodus 16:31). It also symbolizes their daily dependence on God—it could not be kept longer than instructed, so the people had to continually trust the Lord to provide more. To further prove this, God instructs the people to rest on the seventh day of the week.
As the recently-rescued Israelites (Exodus 14:21–31) journey on, they complain about food. God provides them with manna: a grain-like substance which miraculously appears each morning. The people are given instructions about how to gather and use manna. Only on the sixth day of the week can they collect more and keep leftovers for the following day. That seventh day is to be a time of rest, called a "sabbath."
