Exodus 18
Legacy Standard Bible
Jethro’s Counsel
18 Now (A)Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people, how Yahweh had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife (B)Zipporah, after he had sent her away, 3 and her (C)two sons, of whom [a]one was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have been (D)a [b]sojourner in a foreign land.” 4 [c]And the other was named [d](E)Eliezer, for he said, “(F)The God of my father was my help and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”
5 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses [e]in the wilderness where he was camped, at (G)the mount of God. 6 And he [f]sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.” 7 Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and (H)he bowed down and (I)kissed him; and they (J)asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent. 8 And Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians (K)for Israel’s sake, all the (L)hardship that had befallen them on the journey, and how (M)Yahweh had delivered them. 9 And Jethro rejoiced over all (N)the goodness which Yahweh had done to Israel, that He had delivered [g]them from the hand of the Egyptians. 10 So Jethro said, “(O)Blessed be Yahweh who delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and who delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that (P)Yahweh is greater than all the gods; [h]for (Q)in this matter they acted presumptuously against [i]the people.” 12 (R)Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat [j]a meal with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
13 Now it happened the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening. 14 And Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, so he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me (S)to inquire of God. 16 When they have a (T)matter, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.” 17 And Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. 18 (U)You will surely wear out, both yourself and [k]these people who are with you, for the [l]task is too heavy for you; (V)you cannot do it alone. 19 Now listen to my voice: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. [m]You be the people’s representative before God, and you (W)bring the matters to God; 20 (X)then warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make known to them (Y)the way in which they shall go and the work they shall do. 21 But you shall [n]select (Z)excellent men out of all the people, (AA)those who fear God, men of truth, those who (AB)hate greedy gain; and you shall place these men over them as leaders of thousands, [o]of hundreds, [p]of fifties, and [q]of tens. 22 And they will judge the people at all times. And it will be (AC)that every major matter they will bring to you, but every minor matter they themselves will judge. So it will be easier for you, and (AD)they will bear the burden with you. 23 If you do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to [r]endure, and all [s]these people also will go to [t]their place in peace.”
24 So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 And Moses chose (AE)excellent men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, [u]of hundreds, [v]of fifties, and [w]of tens. 26 And they judged the people at all times; (AF)the difficult matter they would bring to Moses, but every minor matter they themselves would judge. 27 Then Moses [x](AG)let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way into his own land.
Footnotes
- Exodus 18:3 Lit the name of the one was
- Exodus 18:3 Heb ger
- Exodus 18:4 Lit The name of the other was
- Exodus 18:4 Lit My God is help
- Exodus 18:5 Lit unto
- Exodus 18:6 Lit said
- Exodus 18:9 Lit him
- Exodus 18:11 Lit indeed, in the thing in which they
- Exodus 18:11 Lit them
- Exodus 18:12 Lit bread
- Exodus 18:18 Lit this
- Exodus 18:18 Lit matter
- Exodus 18:19 Lit You be for the people in front of God
- Exodus 18:21 Lit see
- Exodus 18:21 Lit leaders of
- Exodus 18:21 Lit leaders of
- Exodus 18:21 Lit leaders of
- Exodus 18:23 Lit stand
- Exodus 18:23 Lit this
- Exodus 18:23 Lit his
- Exodus 18:25 Lit leaders of
- Exodus 18:25 Lit leaders of
- Exodus 18:25 Lit leaders of
- Exodus 18:27 Lit sent off his father-in-law
Exodus 18
Common English Bible
Sharing the burden of leadership
18 Jethro, Midian’s priest and Moses’ father-in-law, heard about everything that God had done for Moses and for God’s people Israel, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Moses’ father-in-law Jethro took with him Zipporah, Moses’ wife whom he had sent away, 3 along with her two sons. One was named Gershom because he said, “I have been an immigrant[a] living in a foreign land.” 4 The other was named Eliezer[b] because he said, “The God of my ancestors was my helper who rescued me from Pharaoh’s sword.” 5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought Moses’ sons and wife back to him in the desert where he had set up camp at God’s mountain. 6 He sent word to Moses: “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you along with your wife and her two sons.” 7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him. They asked each other how they were doing, and then they went into the tent. 8 Moses then told his father-in-law everything that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians on Israel’s behalf, all the difficulty they had on their journey, and how the Lord had rescued them. 9 Jethro was glad about all the good things that the Lord had done for Israel in saving them from the Egyptians’ power.
10 Jethro said, “Bless the Lord who rescued you from the Egyptians’ power and from Pharaoh’s power, who rescued the people from Egypt’s oppressive power. 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods, because of what happened when the Egyptians plotted against them.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought an entirely burned offering and sacrifices to God. Aaron came with all of Israel’s elders to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in God’s presence.
13 The next day Moses sat as a judge for the people, while the people stood around Moses from morning until evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What’s this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people are standing around you from morning until evening?”
15 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 When a conflict arises between them, they come to me and I judge between the two of them. I also teach them God’s regulations and instructions.”
17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing isn’t good. 18 You will end up totally wearing yourself out, both you and these people who are with you. The work is too difficult for you. You can’t do it alone. 19 Now listen to me and let me give you some advice. And may God be with you! Your role should be to represent the people before God. You should bring their disputes before God yourself. 20 Explain the regulations and instructions to them. Let them know the way they are supposed to go and the things they are supposed to do. 21 But you should also look among all the people for capable persons who respect God. They should be trustworthy and not corrupt. Set these persons over the people as officers of groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 22 Let them sit as judges for the people at all times. They should bring every major dispute to you, but they should decide all of the minor cases themselves. This will be much easier for you, and they will share your load. 23 If you do this and God directs you, then you will be able to endure. And all these people will be able to go back to their homes much happier.”
24 Moses listened to his father-in-law’s suggestions and did everything that he had said. 25 Moses chose capable persons from all Israel and set them as leaders over the people, as officers over groups of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 26 They acted as judges for the people at all times. They would refer the hard cases to Moses, but all of the minor cases they decided themselves. 27 Then Moses said good-bye to his father-in-law, and Jethro went back to his own country.
Footnotes
- Exodus 18:3 Heb ger sounds like Gershom.
- Exodus 18:4 Or my God is a helper.
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