Exodus 18:9-22

King James Version

⁹And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.

¹⁰And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

¹¹Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.

¹²And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father in law before God.

¹³And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.

¹⁴And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?

¹⁵And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:

¹⁶When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.

¹⁷And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.

¹⁸Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.

¹⁹Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:

²⁰And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.

²¹Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:

²²And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.

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Exodus 18:9-22

New International Version

⁹Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things^(A) the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰He said, “Praise be to the Lord,^(B) who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods,^(C) for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.”^(D) ¹²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law,^(E) brought a burnt offering^(F) and other sacrifices^(G) to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal^(H) with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence^(I) of God.

¹³The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. ¹⁴When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”

¹⁵Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.^(J) ¹⁶Whenever they have a dispute,^(K) it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”^(L)

¹⁷Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.^(M) ¹⁹Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you.^(N) You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes^(O) to him. ²⁰Teach them his decrees and instructions,^(P) and show them the way they are to live^(Q) and how they are to behave.^(R) ²¹But select capable men^(S) from all the people—men who fear^(T) God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain^(U)—and appoint them as officials^(V) over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²²Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case^(W) to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share^(X) it with you.

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Exodus 18:9-22

New King James Version

⁹Then Jethro rejoiced for all the ^(A)good which the Lord had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰And Jethro said, ^(B)“Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹Now I know that the Lord is ^(C)greater than all the gods; ^(D)for in the very thing in which they ^[a]behaved ^(E)proudly, He was above them.” ¹²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, ^[b]took a burnt ^(F)offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel ^(G)to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

¹³And so it was, on the next day, that Moses ^(H)sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. ¹⁴So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone ^[c]sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”

¹⁵And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because ^(I)the people come to me to inquire of God. ¹⁶When they have ^(J)a ^[d]difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

¹⁷So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. ¹⁸Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; ^(K)you are not able to perform it by yourself. ¹⁹Listen now to my voice; I will give you ^[e]counsel, and God will be with you: Stand ^(L)before God for the people, so that you may ^(M)bring the difficulties to God. ²⁰And you shall ^(N)teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and ^(O)the work they must do. ²¹Moreover you shall select from all the people ^(P)able men, such as ^(Q)fear God, ^(R)men of truth, ^(S)hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. ²²And let them judge the people at all times. ^(T)Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for ^(U)they will bear the burden with you.