Exodus 18
18
1Moses' father-in-law Jethro,#18:1. Also called Reuel in chapter 2. the priest of Midian, heard about everything God had done for Moses and his people the Israelites, and how the Lord had led them out of Egypt. 2When Moses had sent home his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro had welcomed her, 3together with her two sons. One son was named Gershom,#18:3. See 2:22. for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.” 4The other son was named Eliezer,#18:4. Meaning, “my God is my help.” because Moses had said, “The God of my father was my helper, and saved me from death at Pharaoh's hand.”
5Moses' father-in-law Jethro, together with Moses' wife and sons, came to see him in the desert at the camp near the mountain of God. 6Moses was told beforehand, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to see you together with your wife and her two sons.”
7Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They asked each other how they were and then went into the tent. 8Moses told his father-in-law about everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians on behalf of the Israelites, about all the troubles they had experienced on the way, and about how the Lord had saved them.
9Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel when he'd saved them from the Egyptians. 10Jethro announced, “May the Lord be blessed, who saved you from the Egyptians and from Pharaoh. 11This is so convincing to me that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he saved the people from the Egyptians when they acted so arrogantly towards the Israelites.”
12Then Jethro presented a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with him in God's presence.
13The following day Moses sat as a judge for the people, and they presented their cases to him from morning to evening. 14When his father-in-law saw everything that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What's all this you're doing for the people? Why are you sitting alone as judge, with everyone presenting their cases to you from morning to evening?”
15“Because the people come to me to ask God for his decision,” Moses replied. 16“When they argue over something, the case is brought before me to decide between them, and I explain to them God's laws and regulations.”
17Jethro told him, “What you're doing is not the best. 18You, and these people who come to you, are all going to wear yourselves out, because the workload is far too heavy. You can't handle it alone. 19So please listen to me. I'm going to give you some advice, and God will be with you. Yes, you must continue to be the people's representative before God, and take their cases to him. 20Go on teaching them the laws and regulations. Show them how to live and the work they are to do. 21But now you should choose men who are competent from among the people, men who respect God and who are trustworthy and not corrupt. Put them in charge of the people as leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 22These men are to judge the people on a continuing basis. Major issues they can bring to you, but they can decide all the small matters themselves. In this way your burden will be made lighter as they share it with you. 23If you follow my advice, and if it's what God tells you to do, then you will be able to survive, and all these people can go home satisfied that their cases have been heard.”#18:23. “Satisfied that their cases have been heard”: literally, “in peace.” The word shalom however means more than peace, it also has the meaning of well-being and harmony within the community.
24Moses listened to what his father-in-law said and followed all his advice. 25So Moses chose competent men from all of Israel and put them in charge of the people as leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 26They acted as judges for the people on a continuing basis. They brought the difficult cases to Moses, but they would judge the small matters themselves.
27Then Moses sent Jethro on his way, and he went back to his own country.
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Exodus 18: FBV
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Exodus 18
18
Jethro Visits Moses
1Moses’ father-in-law Jethro was the priest of Midian. He heard about everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel. Jethro heard how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2Moses had sent his wife Zipporah to his father-in-law. So Jethro welcomed her 3and her two sons. One son was named Gershom. That’s because Moses had said, “I’m an outsider in a strange land.” 4The other was named Eliezer. That’s because Moses had said, “My father’s God helped me. He saved me from Pharaoh’s sword.”
5Moses’ father-in-law Jethro came to Moses in the desert. Moses’ sons and wife came with Jethro. Moses was camped near the mountain of God. 6Jethro had sent a message to him. It said, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you. I’m bringing your wife and her two sons.”
7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. Moses bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other. Then they went into the tent. 8Moses told Jethro everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The Lord did all of this because of how much he loved Israel. Moses told Jethro about all their hard times along the way. He told him about how the Lord had saved them.
9Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel. He heard about how God had saved them from the power of the Egyptians. 10He said, “I praise the Lord. He saved you and your people from the power of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh. 11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods. See what he did to those who looked down on Israel.” 12Then Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God. Aaron came with all the elders of Israel. They ate a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the sight of God.
13The next day Moses took his seat to serve the people as their judge. They stood around him from morning until evening. 14His father-in-law saw everything Moses was doing for the people. So he said, “Aren’t you trying to do too much for the people? You are the only judge. And all these people are standing around you from morning until evening.”
15Moses answered, “The people come to me to find out what God wants them to do. 16Anytime they don’t agree with one another, they come to me. I decide between them. I tell them about God’s rules and instructions.”
17Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing isn’t good. 18You will just get worn out. And so will these people who come to you. There’s too much work for you. You can’t possibly handle it by yourself. 19Listen to me. I’ll give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must speak to God for the people. Take their problems to him. 20Teach them his rules and instructions. Show them how to live and what to do. 21But choose men of ability from all the people. They must have respect for God. You must be able to trust them. They must not try to get money by cheating others. Appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22Let them serve the people as judges. But have them bring every hard case to you. They can decide the easy ones themselves. That will make your load lighter. They will share it with you. 23If this is what God wants and if you do it, then you will be able to carry the load. And all these people will go home satisfied.”
24Moses listened to his father-in-law. He did everything Jethro said. 25He chose men of ability from the whole community of Israel. He made them leaders of the people. They became officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26They judged the people at all times. They brought the hard cases to Moses. But they decided the easy ones themselves.
27Moses sent his father-in-law on his way. So Jethro returned to his own country.
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