Moses is still speaking. The word for This sometimes points backward as well as forward. Moffatt has “That is what the Eternal orders each of you to gather,” referring to the manna in verse 15, and New American Bible seems to interpret the This as referring to what has already been said, “Now, this is what the LORD has commanded. So gather it….” But since the words that follow are in fact what the LORD has commanded, it is better to follow Revised Standard Version and others in understanding This as pointing to what follows. Good News Translation‘s rendering, using indirect speech, solves this problem: “The LORD has commanded that….” However, in languages that must use direct speech, one may say, for example, “The LORD commands, ‘You must gather…’ ” or even “The LORD said to me, ‘Tell the people, “Each of you must gather….” ’ ” It may be easier to put this clause at the end of the verse and say “This is what the LORD told me to tell you.” What the LORD has commanded, literally “the word [davar] which Yahweh commanded,” now introduces the words of Yahweh. Gather of it is literally “you [plural] gather [or, collect] from it.” Every man of you means “each of you” (Good News Translation). Contemporary English Version has “for each person,” which includes the women. As much as he can eat is literally “to the mouth of his eating,” or “according to his eating” (King James Version). It really means “as much as he should eat” or “as much of it as he needs” (Good News Translation).

You shall take an omer apiece is literally “an omer for a skull [or, head],” which would have been about “two quarts” (2.3 liters) per person. Many languages will have suitable terms for amounts collected in baskets, pots, jars, coconut shells, or other containers that equal approximately two quarts of manna; for example, “two coconut shells full of manna.” According to the number of the persons whom each of you has in his tent is literally “from the number of your throats, a man [or, each] for whom in his tent.” This should not be translated literally, but the meaning is simply “for every person in his tent” (Revised English Bible), “for each member of his household” (Good News Translation), or “for each person in your family” (Contemporary English Version).

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• Moses said, “Each of you must gather as much of it as he needs; that is, two quarts for each member of his family. This is what Yahweh told me to command you.”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .