Exodus 18
New King James Version
Jethro’s Advice(A)
18 And (B)Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that (C)God had done for Moses and for Israel His people—that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took (D)Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, 3 with her (E)two sons, of whom the name of one was [a]Gershom (for he said, (F)“I have been a [b]stranger in a foreign land”) 4 and the name of the other was [c]Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my (G)help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”); 5 and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at (H)the mountain of God. 6 Now he had said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.”
7 So Moses (I)went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and (J)kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the tent. 8 And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the Lord had (K)delivered them. 9 Then Jethro rejoiced for all the (L)good which the Lord had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. 10 And Jethro said, (M)“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. 11 Now I know that the Lord is (N)greater than all the gods; (O)for in the very thing in which they [d]behaved (P)proudly, He was above them.” 12 Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, [e]took a burnt (Q)offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel (R)to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
13 And so it was, on the next day, that Moses (S)sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. 14 So 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 [f]sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”
15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because (T)the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 When they have (U)a [g]difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”
17 So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. 18 Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; (V)you are not able to perform it by yourself. 19 Listen now to my voice; I will give you [h]counsel, and God will be with you: Stand (W)before God for the people, so that you may (X)bring the difficulties to God. 20 And you shall (Y)teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and (Z)the work they must do. 21 Moreover you shall select from all the people (AA)able men, such as (AB)fear God, (AC)men of truth, (AD)hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 22 And let them judge the people at all times. (AE)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 (AF)they will bear the burden with you. 23 If 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 (AG)place in peace.”
24 So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. 25 And (AH)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. 26 So they judged the people at all times; the (AI)hard[i] cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.
27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and (AJ)he went his way to his own land.
Footnotes
- Exodus 18:3 Lit. Stranger There
- Exodus 18:3 sojourner, temporary resident
- Exodus 18:4 Lit. My God Is Help
- Exodus 18:11 acted presumptuously
- Exodus 18:12 So with MT, LXX; Syr., Tg., Vg. offered
- Exodus 18:14 Sit as judge
- Exodus 18:16 dispute
- Exodus 18:19 advice
- Exodus 18:26 difficult matters
Izlazak 18
Biblija: suvremeni hrvatski prijevod
Jitro u posjeti Mojsiju
18 Midjanski svećenik Jitro, Mojsijev tast, čuo je sve što je Bog učinio za Mojsija i za svoj narod Izrael—kako je BOG izveo Izrael iz Egipta. 2 Kad je Mojsije bio poslao svoju ženu Siporu natrag u Midjan, njegov ju je tast Jitro primio k sebi, 3 kao i obojicu njezinih sinova. Jedan od njih zvao se Geršom[a] jer je Mojsije rekao: »Ja sam stranac u tuđini«, 4 a drugi se zvao Eliezer[b] jer je rekao: »Bog mog oca bio mi je pomagač i spasio me od faraonovog mača.« 5 Mojsijev tast Jitro, s njegovom dvojicom sinova i ženom, došao je k Mojsiju u pustinju, ondje gdje se utaborio pokraj Božje planine.
6 Jitro je poručio Mojsiju: »Ja, tvoj tast Jitro, dolazim ti s tvojom ženom i obojicom njezinih sinova.«
7 Mojsije je izašao ususret svome tastu, poklonio mu se i poljubio ga. Pitali su jedan drugoga: »Jesi li dobro?« pa ušli u šator. 8 Mojsije je ispričao tastu o svemu što je BOG učinio s faraonom i Egipćanima radi Izraela, o svim nevoljama koje su ih zadesile na putu i kako ih je spasio BOG.
9 Jitro se obradovao zbog svega dobrog što je BOG učinio za Izrael i što ga je spasio iz ruku Egipćana. 10 Rekao je: »Blagoslovljen BOG koji vas je oslobodio od egipatske vlasti i faraonove moći. 11 Sad znam da je BOG veći od svih bogova jer je oslobodio narod iz ruku Egipćana koji su bahato postupali s njima.«
12 Zatim je Mojsijev tast Jitro prinio Bogu žrtvu paljenicu[c] i druge žrtve, a Aron je došao sa svim izraelskim starješinama pa su jeli s Mojsijevim tastom u Božjoj prisutnosti.
Jitrov savjet
(Pnz 1,9-18)
13 Sutradan je Mojsije služio narodu kao sudac. Bilo je toliko naroda da su stajali oko njega cijeli dan. 14 Kad je Mojsijev tast vidio što sve Mojsije radi za narod, rekao je: »Zašto tako radiš za taj narod? Zašto si ti jedini sudac, dok sav taj narod stoji oko tebe cijeli dan?«
15 »Zato što mi narod dolazi da čuje Božju volju«, odgovori mu Mojsije. 16 »Kad se oko nečega spore, dođu k meni, a ja donesem presudu i upoznam ih s Božjim uredbama i zakonima.«
17 Tada je tast rekao Mojsiju: »Nije dobro to što radiš. 18 Iscrpit ćeš se i ti i ovaj narod s tobom. Ovaj je posao pretežak za tebe—ne možeš ga obavljati sam. 19 A sad me poslušaj jer ću ti dati savjet. I neka Bog bude s tobom. Nastavi zastupati narod pred Bogom i iznositi Bogu njihove sporove. 20 Uči ih uredbama i zakonima i ukazuj im kako trebaju živjeti i što trebaju raditi. 21 No odaberi sposobne ljude iz cijeloga naroda, koji imaju strahopoštovanja prema Bogu, koji su pouzdani i mrze mito[d]. Njih postavi za zapovjednike nad skupinama od tisuću, sto, pedeset i deset ljudi. 22 Neka služe narodu kao suci u svako doba. Sve teže slučajeve neka iznose tebi, a lakše neka rješavaju sami. Tako će tebi biti lakše i oni će nositi teret s tobom. 23 Ako tako učiniš, ako ti Bog tako zapovjedi, onda ćeš moći izdržati i sav ovaj narod odlazit će kući zadovoljan.«
24 Mojsije je poslušao svog tasta i učinio sve što mu je rekao. 25 Odabrao je sposobne ljude iz cijeloga Izraela i postavio ih kao glavare naroda—kao zapovjednike nad tisuću, sto, pedeset i deset ljudi. 26 Služili su narodu kao suci u svako doba. Teže su slučajeve iznosili Mojsiju, a sve lakše rješavali su sami.
27 Tada je Mojsije ispratio svog tasta na put i on se vratio u svoju zemlju.
Footnotes
- 18,3 Geršom zvuči kao hebrejska riječ za »stranac«.
- 18,4 Eliezer znači »moj Bog je pomagač«.
- 18,12 žrtva paljenica Životinja koja se čitava spaljivala na žrtveniku kao ugodan prinos Bogu.
- 18,21 mrze mito Ljudi koji se ne daju potkupiti, koji neće potajno uzeti novac od osobe da bi presudili njoj u korist.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Biblija: suvremeni hrvatski prijevod (SHP) © 2019 Bible League International