Moses also said to Aaron: Say to the whole congregation of the children of Israel: Come before the Lord: for he hath heard your murmuring.

And Moses spoke to Aaron, Say to all the assembly of the children of Israel, Come near into the presence of Jehovah; for he has heard your murmurings.

And Moses spoke to Aaron, Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings.

And Moses saith unto Aaron, 'Say unto all the company of the sons of Israel, Come ye near before Jehovah, for He hath heard your murmurings;'

And Moses said to Aaron, Say to all the people of Israel, Come near before the Lord for he has given ear to your outcry.

Moses also said to Aaron: "Say to the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, 'Approach before the Lord. For he has heard your murmuring.' "

Et dixit Moses ad Aharon, Dic ad universum coetum filiorum Israel, Accedite in conspectum Jehovae quia audivit murmurationes vestras.

And Moses spoke unto Aaron. There is no question but that he here cites them as criminals before the tribunal of God, as if he had said that they were mistaken, if they thought that their murmurings were unobserved. Nevertheless, he alludes also to the cloud, which was the visible symbol of God's presence; and thus reproves their folly in not hesitating to provoke a God, who was so near, and almost; before their very eyes. First, then, we must remark, that they were in a manner drawn from their hiding-places, that their pride might be broken; and, secondly, that their stupidity was rebuked, for not reverencing God though present. And this is made more clear by the context, where it is said, that the glory of the Lord appeared "toward the wilderness," by which word I imagine the less habitable region to be indicated. For, although the country on all sides was barren, and uninhabited, yet on one side the Amalekites were near, and other tribes, as we shall soon see. The glory of God I suppose to mean, not that which they saw daily, but which was now manifested to them in an unusual manner to inspire alarm; because they were hardened against its ordinary manifestations.

Come near before the Lord - This has been supposed to refer to some particular place, where the Lord manifested his presence. The great tabernacle was not yet built, but there appears to have been a small tabernacle or tent called the Tabernacle of the Congregation, which, after the sin of the golden calf, was always placed without the camp; see Exodus 33:7 : And Moses took the Tabernacle and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it The Tabernacle of the Congregation; and it came to pass that every one that sought the Lord went out unto the Tabernacle of the Congregation, which was without the camp. This could not be that portable temple which is described Exodus 26, etc., and which was not set up till the first day of the first month of the second year, after their departure from Egypt, (Exodus 40)., which was upwards of ten months after the time mentioned in this chapter; and notwithstanding this, the Israelites are commanded (Exodus 16:34) to lay up an omer of the manna before the testimony, which certainly refers to an ark, tabernacle, or some such portable shrine, already in existence. If the great tabernacle be intended, the whole account of laying up the manna must be introduced here by anticipation, Moses finishing the account of what was afterwards done, because the commencement of those circumstances which comprehended the reasons of the fact itself took place now. See Clarke's note on Exodus 16:34.
But from the reasonings in the preceding verses it appears that much infidelity still reigned in the hearts of the people; and in order to convince them that it was God and not Moses that had brought them out of Egypt, he (Moses) desired them to come near, or pay particular attention to some extraordinary manifestation of the Lord. And we are told in the tenth verse, that "as Aaron spake unto them, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold the glory of the Lord appeared, and the Lord spake unto Moses," etc. Is not this passage explained by Exodus 19:9, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear, when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever?" May we not conclude that Moses invited them to come near before the Lord, and so witness his glory, that they might be convinced it was God and not he that led them out of Egypt, and that they ought to submit to him, and cease from their murmurings? It is said, Exodus 19:17, that Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God. And in this instance there might have been a similar though less awful manifestation of the Divine presence.

And Moses spake unto Aaron,.... Who was his prophet and spokesman to the people:
say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel; to the heads of them, to as many as could conveniently hear him, and were to report what he said to the rest:
come near before the Lord; who was in the pillar of cloud, which from the first appearance of it never removed from them, nor the Lord from that; though some have thought, that before the tabernacle was built, there was some small tent or little tabernacle where the Shechinah was; but for this there is no foundation, there is for the other suggested:
for he hath heard your murmurings; which is repeated again and again, to observe to them the evil of it, and what notice the Lord took of it, though he indulged them in so gracious a manner he did.

But before Jehovah manifested Himself to the people in His glory, by relieving their distress, He gave them to behold His glory in the cloud, and by speaking out of the cloud, confirmed both the reproaches and promises of His servants. In the murmuring of the people, their unbelief in the actual presence of God had been clearly manifested. "It was a deep unbelief," says Luther, "that they had thus fallen back, letting go the word and promise of God, and forgetting His former miracles and aid." Even the pillar of cloud, this constant sign of the gracious guidance of God, had lost its meaning in the eyes of the people; so that it was needful to inspire the murmuring multitude with a salutary fear of the majesty of Jehovah, not only that their rebellion against the God who had watched them with a father's care might be brought to mind, but also that the fact might be deeply impressed upon their hearts, that the food about to be sent was a gift of His grace. "Coming near before Jehovah" (Exodus 16:9), was coming out of the tents to the place where the cloud was standing. On thus coming out, "they turned towards the desert" (Exodus 16:10), i.e., their faces were directed towards the desert of Sin; "and, behold, the glory of Jehovah appeared in the cloud," i.e., in a flash of light bursting forth from the cloud, and revealing the majesty of God. This extraordinary sign of the glory of God appeared in the desert, partly to show the estrangement of the murmuring nation from its God, but still more to show to the people, that God could glorify Himself by bestowing gifts upon His people even in the barren wilderness. For Jehovah spoke to Moses out of this sign, and confirmed to the people what Moses had promised them (Exodus 16:11, Exodus 16:12).