Exodus 18:13-27

New King James Version

¹³And so it was, on the next day, that Moses ^(A)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 ^[a]sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”

¹⁵And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because ^(B)the people come to me to inquire of God. ¹⁶When they have ^(C)a ^[b]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; ^(D)you are not able to perform it by yourself. ¹⁹Listen now to my voice; I will give you ^[c]counsel, and God will be with you: Stand ^(E)before God for the people, so that you may ^(F)bring the difficulties to God. ²⁰And you shall ^(G)teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and ^(H)the work they must do. ²¹Moreover you shall select from all the people ^(I)able men, such as ^(J)fear God, ^(K)men of truth, ^(L)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. ^(M)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 ^(N)they will bear the burden with you. ²³If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their ^(O)place in peace.”

²⁴So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. ²⁵And ^(P)Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. ²⁶So they judged the people at all times; the ^(Q)hard^[d] cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.

²⁷Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and ^(R)he went his way to his own land.

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Footnotes

Exodus 18:14 Sit as judge
Exodus 18:16 dispute
Exodus 18:19 advice
Exodus 18:26 difficult matters

Exodus 18:13-27

New International Version

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.^(A) ¹⁶Whenever they have a dispute,^(B) it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”^(C)

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.^(D) ¹⁹Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you.^(E) You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes^(F) to him. ²⁰Teach them his decrees and instructions,^(G) and show them the way they are to live^(H) and how they are to behave.^(I) ²¹But select capable men^(J) from all the people—men who fear^(K) God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain^(L)—and appoint them as officials^(M) over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²²Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case^(N) to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share^(O) it with you. ²³If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

²⁴Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. ²⁵He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders^(P) of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.^(Q) ²⁶They served as judges^(R) for the people at all times. The difficult cases^(S) they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.^(T)