It bred worms - This result was supernatural: no such tendency to rapid decomposition is recorded of common manna.

It bred worms - Their sinful curiosity and covetousness led them to make the trial; and they had a mass of the most loathsome putrefaction for their pains. How gracious is God! He is continually rendering disobedience and sin irksome to the transgressor; that finding his evil ways to be unprofitable, he may return to his Maker, and trust in God alone.

Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and (i) stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
(i) No creature is so pure, but being abused it turns to our destruction.

Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses,.... That is, not all of them, some of them did, and perhaps the far greater part of them:
but some of them left it until the morning; out of distrust, for fear they should have none the next day; being men of little faith, that could not trust God for a supply for the morrow; the Targum of Jonathan says, these were Dathan and Abiram; and so Jarchi:
and it bred worms, and stank; or by an "hysteron proteron", and transposition of the words, the sense may be, that it stank, corrupted, and putrefied, and so produced worms, in which order the words lie, Exodus 16:24, and this was not from the nature of the manna to breed worms so soon, but God so ordering and disposing it, that it should do so; for otherwise it would keep to another day, as what was gathered on the sixth day kept to the seventh, and there was a part of it kept for many ages, see Exodus 16:24, and since the manna was of the meal kind, perhaps those worms it bred might be of the weevil sort, as Scheuchzer conjectures (s):
and Moses was wroth with them; for breaking the commandment of God.
(s) Physica Sacra, vol. 2. p. 179.