Exodus 17:8-19:15

English Standard Version

Israel Defeats Amalek

^8 (A)Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. ⁹ So Moses said to ^(B)Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with ^(C)the staff of God in my hand.” ¹⁰ So ^(D)Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and ^(E)Hur went up to the top of the hill. ¹¹ Whenever Moses ^(F)held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. ¹² But Moses' hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and ^(G)Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. ¹³ And ^(H)Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of ^(I)Joshua, that ^(J)I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” ¹⁵ And Moses ^(K)built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, ¹⁶ saying, “A hand upon the throne^[a] of the Lord! ^(L)The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Jethro's Advice

18 ^(M)Jethro, ^(N)the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. ² Now Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home, ³ along with her ^(O)two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (^(P)for he said, ^(Q)“I have been a sojourner^[b] in a foreign land”), ⁴ and the name of the other, Eliezer^[c] (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). ⁵ Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the ^(R)mountain of God. ⁶ And when he sent word to Moses, “I,^[d] your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” ⁷ Moses ^(S)went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and ^(T)kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. ⁸ Then Moses told his father-in-law ^(U)all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardship that had come upon them in the way, and how the Lord had delivered them. ⁹ And Jethro rejoiced for all the good that the Lord had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.

¹⁰ Jethro said, ^(V)“Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹ Now I know that ^(W)the Lord is greater than all gods, because in this affair they ^(X)dealt arrogantly with the people.”^{[e] 12} And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God; and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law ^(Y)before God.

¹³ The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. ¹⁴ When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” ¹⁵ And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because ^(Z)the people come to me to inquire of God; ^16 (AA)when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I ^(AB)make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” ¹⁷ Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. ^(AC)You are not able to do it alone. ¹⁹ Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall ^(AD)represent the people before God and ^(AE)bring their cases to God, ²⁰ and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know ^(AF)the way in which they must walk and ^(AG)what they must do. ²¹ Moreover, look for ^(AH)able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²² And ^(AI)let them judge the people at all times. ^(AJ)Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will ^(AK)bear the burden with you. ²³ If you do this, God will direct you, you will be ^(AL)able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”

²⁴ So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. ^25 (AM)Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²⁶ And ^(AN)they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves. ²⁷ Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and ^(AO)he went away to his own country.

Israel at Mount Sinai

19 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they ^(AP)came into the wilderness of Sinai. ² They set out from ^(AQ)Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before ^(AR)the mountain, ³ while ^(AS)Moses went up to God. ^(AT)The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: ^4 (AU)‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how ^(AV)I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. ⁵ Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be ^(AW)my treasured possession among all peoples, for ^(AX)all the earth is mine; ⁶ and you shall be to me a ^(AY)kingdom of priests and ^(AZ)a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

⁷ So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ^8 (BA)All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord. ⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you ^(BB)in a thick cloud, that ^(BC)the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also ^(BD)believe you forever.”

When Moses told the words of the people to the Lord, ¹⁰ the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and ^(BE)consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them ^(BF)wash their garments ¹¹ and be ready for the third day. For on the third day ^(BG)the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. ¹² And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. ^(BH)Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death. ¹³ No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot;^[f] whether beast or man, he shall not live.’ When ^(BI)the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain.” ¹⁴ So Moses ^(BJ)went down from the mountain to the people and ^(BK)consecrated the people; ^(BL)and they washed their garments. ¹⁵ And he said to the people, “Be ready for the ^(BM)third day; ^(BN)do not go near a woman.”