Exodus 18
World English Bible
18 Now 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 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, received Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her away, 3 and her two sons. The name of one son was Gershom,[a] for Moses said, “I have lived as a foreigner in a foreign land”. 4 The name of the other was Eliezer,[b] for he said, “My father’s God was my help and delivered me from Pharaoh’s sword.” 5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with Moses’ sons and his wife to Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped, at the Mountain of God. 6 He said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, have come to you with your wife, and her two sons with her.”
7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and bowed and kissed him. They asked each other of their welfare, and they came into the tent. 8 Moses told his father-in-law all that Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships that had come on them on the way, and how Yahweh delivered them. 9 Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which Yahweh had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians. 10 Jethro said, “Blessed be Yahweh, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh; who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all gods because of the way that they treated people arrogantly.” 12 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God. Aaron came with all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
13 On the next day, Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from the morning to the evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, “What is this thing that you do for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning to evening?”
15 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. 18 You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you; for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to perform it yourself alone. 19 Listen now to my voice. I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You represent the people before God, and bring the causes to God. 20 You shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and shall show them the way in which they must walk, and the work that they must do. 21 Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men which fear God: men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 22 Let them judge the people at all times. It shall be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they shall judge themselves. So shall it be easier for you, and they shall share the load with you. 23 If you will do this thing, and God commands you so, then you will be able to endure, and all these 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 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 They judged the people at all times. They brought the hard cases to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. 27 Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way into his own land.
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
Exodus 18
Contemporary English Version
Jethro Visits Moses
18 Jethro was the priest of Midian and the father-in-law of Moses. He heard what the Lord God had done for Moses and his people, after rescuing them from Egypt.
2-4 (A) In the meantime, Moses had sent his wife Zipporah and her two sons to stay with Jethro, and he had welcomed them. Moses was still a foreigner in Midian when his first son was born, and so Moses said, “I'll name him Gershom.”[a]
When his second son was born, Moses said, “I'll name him Eliezer,[b] because the God my father worshiped has saved me from the king of Egypt.”[c]
5-6 While Israel was camped in the desert near Mount Sinai,[d] Jethro sent Moses this message: “I am coming to visit you, and I am bringing your wife and two sons.”
7 When they arrived, Moses went out and bowed down in front of Jethro, then kissed him. After they had greeted each other, they went into the tent, 8 where Moses told him everything the Lord had done to protect Israel against the Egyptians and their king. He also told him how the Lord had helped them in all of their troubles.
9 Jethro was so pleased to hear this good news about what the Lord had done, 10 that he shouted, “Praise the Lord! He rescued you and the Israelites from the Egyptians and their king. 11 (B) Now I know that the Lord is the greatest God, because he has rescued Israel from their arrogant enemies.” 12 Jethro offered sacrifices to God. Then Aaron and Israel's leaders came to eat with Jethro there at the place of worship.
Judges Are Appointed
(Deuteronomy 1.9-18)
13 The next morning Moses sat down at the place where he decided legal cases for the people, and everyone crowded around him until evening. 14 Jethro saw how much Moses had to do for the people, and he asked, “Why are you the only judge? Why do you let these people crowd around you from morning till evening?”
15 Moses answered, “Because they come here to find out what God wants them to do. 16 They bring their complaints to me, and I make decisions on the basis of God's laws.”
17 Jethro replied:
That isn't the best way to do it. 18 You and the people who come to you will soon be worn out. The job is too much for one person; you can't do it alone. 19 God will help you if you follow my advice. You should be the one to speak to God for the people, 20 and you should teach them God's laws and show them what they must do to live right.
21 You will need to appoint some competent leaders who respect God and are trustworthy and honest. Then put them over groups of 10, 50, 100, and 1,000. 22 These judges can handle the ordinary cases and bring the more difficult ones to you. Having them to share the load will make your work easier. 23 This is the way God wants it done. You won't be under nearly as much stress, and everyone else will return home feeling satisfied.
24 Moses followed Jethro's advice. 25 He chose some competent leaders from every tribe in Israel and put them over groups of 10, 50, 100, and 1,000. 26 They served as judges, deciding the easy cases themselves, but bringing the more difficult ones to Moses.
27 After Moses and his father-in-law Jethro had said goodbye to each other, Jethro returned home.
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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