Exodus 18
1 And Jethro, priest of Midian, father-in-law of Moses, heard all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, —in that Yahweh had brought forth Israel out of Egypt.
Yitro, mertua Musa, imam di Midian, mendengar tentang segala sesuatu yang dikerjakan Allah untuk Musa dan bangsa Israel, pada waktu ia memimpin mereka keluar dari Mesir.
2 So Jethro, Moses father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses wife, —after she had been sent home;
Maka pergilah Yitro mengunjungi Musa, membawa Zipora, istri Musa yang masih tinggal di Midian,
3 and her two sons, —of whom, the name of the one, was Gershom, for, said he, A sojourner, am I in a strange land,
bersama Gersom dan Eliezer, kedua anaknya laki-laki. Anak yang pertama dinamakan Gersom karena Musa berkata, "Aku seorang pendatang di negeri asing";
4 and, the name of the other, Eliezer, for the God of my father, was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.
anak yang kedua dinamakan Eliezer karena Musa berkata, "Allah pujaan nenek moyangku telah menolong dan menyelamatkan aku sehingga aku tidak dibunuh oleh raja Mesir".
5 And Jethro, Moses father-in-law, came in, with his two sons and his wife, unto Moses, —into the desert where, he, was encamping, the mountain of God;
Yitro datang bersama istri Musa dan kedua anaknya ke padang gurun tempat Musa berkemah dekat gunung suci.
6 and said unto Moses, I, thy father-in-law, Jethro, am coming in unto thee, —and thy wife, and her two sons, with her.
Musa diberi kabar bahwa mereka datang,
7 So Moses went forth to meet his father-in-law, and bowed himself down to him and kissed him, and they asked each other of their welfare, —and came into the tent.
maka keluarlah ia menyambut mereka. Ia sujud di depan Yitro dan menciumnya. Mereka saling menanyakan kesehatan masing-masing, lalu masuk ke dalam kemah Musa.
8 Then Moses recounted to his father-in-law, all that Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians, for Israel’s sake, —all the hardship which had befallen them by the way, and how Yahweh had delivered them.
Musa menceritakan kepada mertuanya segala sesuatu yang diperbuat TUHAN terhadap raja dan bangsa Mesir untuk menyelamatkan orang Israel. Ia juga menceritakan kepadanya tentang kesulitan-kesulitan yang dihadapi bangsa Israel di tengah jalan, dan bagaimana TUHAN menyelamatkan mereka.
9 Then did Jethro rejoice, for all the good which Yahweh had done to Israel, —whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.
Mendengar semua itu, Yitro merasa gembira
10 And Jethro said—Blessed be Yahweh, 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:
dan berkata, "Terpujilah TUHAN yang menyelamatkan kamu dari tangan raja dan bangsa Mesir! Terpujilah TUHAN yang membebaskan bangsa Israel dari perbudakan!
11 Now, I know, that, greater, is Yahweh than all the gods, —Even in the thing wherein they were arrogant over them.
Sekarang saya tahu bahwa TUHAN lebih besar dari semua ilah, karena semua itu dilakukan-Nya ketika orang Mesir bertindak dengan amat sombong terhadap orang Israel."
12 Then took Jethro father-in-law of Moses, an ascending-offering and sacrifices to God, —and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came in to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses before God.
Kemudian Yitro membawa beberapa kurban bakaran dan kurban sembelihan sebagai persembahan kepada Allah. Harun dan semua pemimpin bangsa Israel datang dan makan bersama-sama dengan Yitro dalam kehadiran Allah.
13 Now it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat, to judge the people, —and the people stood by Moses, from the morning, until the evening.
Keesokan harinya Musa mengadili perselisihan-perselisihan antara orang-orang Israel. Pekerjaan itu makan waktu dari pagi sampai malam.
14 And when Moses father-in-law saw all that he, was doing for the people, he said—What is this thing which, thou, art doing for the people? Wherefore art, thou, sitting alone, with all the people, stationed by thee, from morning until evening?
Ketika Yitro melihat semua yang harus dikerjakan Musa, ia bertanya, "Apa saja yang harus kaukerjakan untuk bangsa ini? Haruskah semua ini kaukerjakan sendirian, sehingga untuk minta nasihatmu saja, orang-orang itu mesti berdiri di sini dari pagi sampai malam?"
15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, —Because the people come in unto me to seek God:
Jawab Musa, "Orang-orang itu datang kepada saya untuk mengetahui kehendak Allah.
16 When they have a matter, they come in unto me, then do I judge between a man and his neighbour, —and make known the statutes of God and his laws.
Kalau mereka berselisih, mereka menghadap saya supaya memutuskan perkara mereka, dan saya sampaikan kepada mereka perintah-perintah dan hukum-hukum Allah."
17 Then said Moses’ father-in-law unto him, —Not good, is the thing that thou art doing.
Kata Yitro, "Tidak baik begitu.
18 Thou wilt get quite worn out, both thou and this people that is with thee, —for the thing is too heavy for thee, thou canst not do it, alone.
Dengan cara itu engkau melelahkan dirimu sendiri, dan juga orang-orang itu. Pekerjaan itu terlalu banyak untuk satu orang.
19 Now, hearken thou to my voice—let me counsel thee, and may God be with thee: Be, thou, for the people, in front of God, so shalt, thou, bring the matters unto God;
Dengarlah nasihat saya, dan Allah akan menolongmu. Memang baik engkau mewakili bangsa ini di hadapan Allah dan membawa persoalan mereka kepada-Nya.
20 and shalt cause to shine upon them, the statutes and the laws, —and make known to them the way wherein they should go, and the work they should do.
Engkau harus mengajarkan kepada mereka perintah-perintah Allah dan menerangkan cara hidup yang baik dan apa yang harus mereka lakukan.
21 Thou thyself, therefore shalt look out, from among all the people—men of ability, reverers of God, men of fidelity, haters of extortion, —and place them over [them] as rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
Tetapi di samping itu engkau harus memilih beberapa orang laki-laki yang bijaksana, dan menunjuk mereka menjadi pemimpin atas seribu orang, seratus orang, lima puluh orang, dan sepuluh orang. Mereka hendaknya orang-orang yang takut dan taat kepada Allah, dapat dipercaya dan tak mau menerima uang suap.
22 So shall they judge the people at any time, and it shall be, all the great matters, shall they bring in unto thee, but all the small matters, shall, they themselves, judge, —so, lighten thou the burden for thyself, and let them bear it with thee.
Suruhlah mereka bertindak sebagai hakim bangsa ini, masing-masing bagi kelompoknya. Tugas itu harus mereka lakukan secara teratur. Perkara-perkara yang penting boleh mereka ajukan kepadamu, tetapi perselisihan yang kecil-kecil dapat mereka bereskan sendiri. Hal itu akan meringankan engkau karena mereka ikut bertanggung jawab.
23 If, this thing, thou wilt do, and God shall command thee, then shalt thou be able to endure, —yea, moreover, all this people, shall go in, unto their dwellings, contented.
Jika engkau berbuat begitu, dan hal itu diperintahkan Allah kepadamu, engkau akan mampu melakukan tugasmu, dan semua orang akan pulang dengan puas karena persoalan mereka cepat dibereskan."
24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said;
Musa mengikuti nasihat Yitro,
25 and Moses chose men of ability out of all Israel, and set them to be heads over the people, —rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
dan memilih orang-orang yang bijaksana di antara bangsa Israel. Ia menunjuk mereka menjadi pemimpin atas seribu orang, seratus orang, lima puluh orang, dan sepuluh orang.
26 And they shall judge the people, at any time, —the hard matters, shall they bring in unto Moses, but all the small matters, shall, they themselves, judge.
Mereka menjalankan tugasnya sebagai hakim-hakim atas bangsa Israel. Perkara-perkara penting mereka ajukan kepada Musa, sedangkan perselisihan kecil-kecil mereka bereskan sendiri.
27 And Moses sent forth his father-in-law, —and he went his way by himself unto his own land.
Kemudian Musa melepas Yitro pergi dan pulanglah Yitro ke negerinya.
