1
When Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father in law, heard of all that
God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had
brought Israel out of Egypt;
2
Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he
had sent her back,
3
And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I
have been an alien in a strange land:
4
And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he,
was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
5
And Jethro, Moses' father in law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into
the wilderness, where he encamped at the mount of God:
Sometime after Moses's wife, Zipporah, saved Moses when God tried to kill him,
she returned home to Midian.
Now, her father, Jethro [1], brings her back to Moses, along with their sons,
Gershom and Eliezer.
6
And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and
thy wife, and her two sons with her.
Jethro said to Moses,
I've brought you your wife and two sons.
7
And Moses went out to meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and
kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into
the tent.
8
And 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 by the way, and how the LORD delivered them.
9
And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to
Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
Moses bowed to Jethro and kissed him. [2]
10
And Jethro said, Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the
hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered
the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
Jethro said to Moses,
Blessed be God who has saved you from the Egyptians.
11Now I know that the LORD is
greater than all gods: for in the thing
wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.
Now I know that God is greater than all gods. [3]
12
And Jethro, Moses' father in law, took a burnt offering 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 on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and
the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
Moses spent the next day judging the people.
14
And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said,
What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself
alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
Jethro said,
Why are you doing this to the people?
15
And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to
enquire of God:
16
When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and
another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
Moses said,
Because the people come to me to enquire of God, resolve disputes, and tell them about God's laws.
17
And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not
good.
18
Thou 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.
19
Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with
thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes
unto God:
20
And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way
wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
Jethro said,
The thing you're doing isn't good.
It's too much for you. You can't do it alone.
21
Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear
God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be
rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers
of tens:
Teach the people laws and appoint God-fearing men to enforce them.[4]
22
And 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.
23
If 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.
You should judge the important matters and leave the smaller stuff for your subordinates.
24
So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he
had said.
25
And 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
And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought
unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
Moses did what Jethro suggested.
27
And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own
land.
And Jethro went home.
18:1-27
