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.
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- 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
Lexham English Bible
Jethro’s Visit to Moses at the Mountain of God
18 And Jethro, the priest of Midian, the father-in-law of Moses, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, his people, that Yahweh had brought Israel out from Egypt. 2 And Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, took Zipporah the wife of Moses after her sending away, 3 and her two sons—the one whose name was Gershom, for he had said, “I have been an alien in a foreign land,” 4 and the one whose name was Eliezer, for “the God of my father was my help, and he delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.” 5 And Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, came and his sons and his wife to Moses, to the desert where he was camping there at the mountain of God. 6 And he said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you and your wife and her two sons with her.” 7 And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed, and he kissed him, and they each asked about the other’s welfare,[a] and they came into the tent.
8 And Moses told his father-in-law all that Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and to Egypt on account of Israel, all the hardship that had found them on the way, and how Yahweh delivered them. 9 And Jethro rejoiced over all the good that Yahweh had done for Israel when he delivered them from the hand of Egypt. 10 And Jethro said, “Blessed be Yahweh, who has delivered you from the hand of Egypt and from the hand of Pharaoh—who has delivered the people from under the hand of Egypt. 11 Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all the gods, even in the matter where they the Egyptians dealt arrogantly against the Israelites.”[b] 12 And Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God, and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses before God.
13 And[c] the next day, Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening. 14 And the father-in-law of Moses saw all that he was doing for the people, and he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting alone and all the people are standing by you from morning until evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to seek God. 16 When they have an issue,[d] it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make known God’s rule and his instructions.”
17 And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. 18 Surely you will wear out, both you and this people who are with you, because the thing is too difficult[e] for you. You are not able to do it alone. 19 Now listen to my voice; I will advise you, and may God be with you. You be for the people before God, and you bring the issues to God. 20 And you warn them of the rules and the instructions, and you make known to them the way in which they must walk and the work that they must do. 21 And you will select from all the people men of ability, fearers of God, trustworthy men, haters of dishonest gain,[f] and you will appoint such men over them as commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, and commanders of tens. 22 And let them judge the people all the time, and[g] every major issue they will bring to you, and every minor issue they will judge themselves. And so lighten it for yourself, and they will bear it with you. 23 If you will do this thing and God will command you, then you will be able to endure, and also each of the people will go to his home[h] in peace.”
24 And Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law, and he did all that he had said. 25 And Moses chose men of ability from all Israel, and he appointed them as heads over the people, as commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, and commanders of tens. 26 And they judged the people all the time; the difficult issues[i] they would bring to Moses, and every minor issue they would judge themselves. 27 And Moses let his father-in-law go, and he went to his land.
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- Exodus 18:7 Literally “they asked a man to his neighbor to welfare”
- Exodus 18:11 Literally “because in the thing that they dealt arrogantly over them”
- Exodus 18:13 Literally “And it was”
- Exodus 18:16 Literally “a thing is to them”
- Exodus 18:18 Literally “heavy”
- Exodus 18:21 Or “unjust profit”
- Exodus 18:22 Literally “and it will be”
- Exodus 18:23 Or “his place”
- Exodus 18:26 Hebrew “issue”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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