Exodus 18
18
Exodus 18
1¶ When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done with Moses and with Israel his people and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt,
2then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back,
3and her two sons, of which the name of the one was Gershon, for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land,
4and the name of the other was Eliezer, for the God of my father, said he, helped me and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh;
5and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where he was camped next to the mount of God;
6and he said unto Moses, I, thy father-in-law Jethro, am come unto thee and thy wife and her two sons with her.
7¶ And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and did obeisance and kissed him; and they asked each other of their peace; and they came into the tent.
8And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and all the travail that had come upon them in the way and how the Lord delivered them.
9And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
10And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, 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.
11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods; for in the thing in which they dealt proudly he prevailed against them.
12And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took burnt offerings and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.
13¶ And it came to pass another day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14And when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this that thou doest to the people? Why sittest thou thyself alone and all the people stand before thee from morning unto evening?
15And Moses said unto his father-in-law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God.
16When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I declare unto them the statutes of God and his laws.
17Then Moses’ father-in-law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
18Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou and this people that is with thee; for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
19Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people before God that thou may submit the causes unto God.
20And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws and shalt show them the way in which they must walk and the work that they must do.
21Moreover thou shalt consider out of all the people men of virtue, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness, and place princes over them, of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
22And let them judge the people at all seasons; and it shall be that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge, so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
23If thou shalt do this thing and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.
24So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.
25And Moses chose men of virtue out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, princes over thousands, over hundreds, over fifties, and over tens.
26And they judged the people at all seasons; the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
27And Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went to his own land.
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Exodus 18: JUB
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
Exodus 18
18
Jethro visits Moses
1Jethro was the priest of Midian and the father-in-law of Moses. And he heard what the LORD God had done for Moses and his people, after rescuing them from Egypt.
2-4In 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.”#18.2-4 Gershom: See the note at 2.22.#Ex 2.21,22.#Ac 7.29.
When his second son was born, Moses said, “I'll name him Eliezer,#18.2-4 Eliezer: In Hebrew “Eliezer” means “God has helped me”. because the God my father worshipped has saved me from the king of Egypt.”#18.2-4 saved…Egypt: See 2.1-15.
5-6While Israel was camped in the desert near Mount Sinai,#18.5,6 Mount Sinai: Hebrew “the mountain of God”. Jethro sent Moses this message: “I am coming to visit you, and I am bringing your wife and two sons.”
7When 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, 8where 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 their troubles.
9Jethro was so pleased to hear this good news about what the LORD had done, 10that he shouted, “Praise the LORD! He rescued you and the Israelites from the Egyptians and their king. 11Now I know that the LORD is the greatest God, because he has rescued Israel from their arrogant enemies.” 12Jethro 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)
13The next morning Moses sat down at the place where he decided legal cases for the people, and everyone crowded around him until evening. 14Jethro 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?”
15Moses answered, “Because they come here to find out what God wants them to do. 16They bring their complaints to me, and I make decisions on the basis of God's laws.”
17Jethro replied:
That isn't the best way to do it. 18You 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. 19God will help you if you follow my advice. You should be the one to speak to God for the people, 20and you should teach them God's laws and show them what they must do to live right.
21You will need to appoint some competent leaders who respect God and are trustworthy and honest. Then put them over groups of ten, fifty, a hundred, and a thousand. 22These 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. 23This is the way God wants it done. You won't be under nearly as much stress, and everyone else will return home feeling satisfied.
24Moses followed Jethro's advice. 25He chose some competent leaders from every tribe in Israel and put them over groups of ten, fifty, a hundred, and a thousand. 26They served as judges, deciding the easy cases themselves, but bringing the more difficult ones to Moses.
27After Moses and his father-in-law Jethro had said goodbye to each other, Jethro returned home.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012