Exodus 18

1 And Jethro priest of Midian, father-in-law of Moses, heareth all that God hath done for Moses, and for Israel his people, that Jehovah hath brought out Israel from Egypt,

And Jothor the priest of Madiam, the father-in-law of Moses, heard of all that the Lord did to his people Israel; for the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt.

2 and Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, taketh Zipporah, wife of Moses, besides her parents,

And Jothor the father-in-law of Moses, took Sepphora the wife of Moses after she had been sent away,

3 and her two sons, of whom the name of the one [is] Gershom, for he said, 'a sojourner I have been in a strange land:'

and her two sons: the name of the one was Gersam, [his father] saying, I was a sojourner in a strange land; —

4 and the name of the other [is] Eliezer, for, 'the God of my father [is] for my help, and doth deliver me from the sword of Pharaoh.'

and the name of the second Eliezer, saying, For the God of my father [is] my helper, and he has rescued me out of the hand of Pharao.

5 And Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, cometh, and his sons, and his wife, unto Moses, unto the wilderness where he is encamping — the mount of God;

And Jothor the father-in-law of Moses, and his sons and his wife, went forth to Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped on the mount of God.

6 and he saith unto Moses, 'I, thy father-in-law, Jethro, am coming unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.'

And it was told Moses, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law Jothor is coming to thee, and thy wife and two sons with him.

7 And Moses goeth out to meet his father-in-law, and boweth himself, and kisseth him, and they ask one at another of welfare, and come into the tent;

And Moses went forth to meet his father-in-law, and did him reverence, and kissed him, and they embraced each other, and he brought them into the tent.

8 and Moses recounteth to his father-in-law all that Jehovah hath done to Pharaoh, and to the Egyptians, on account of Israel, all the travail which hath found them in the way, and Jehovah doth deliver them.

And Moses related to his father-in-law all things that the Lord did to Pharao and all the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the labour that had befallen them in the way, and that the Lord had rescued them out of the hand of Pharao, and out of the hand of the Egyptians.

9 And Jethro rejoiceth for all the good which Jehovah hath done to Israel, whom He hath delivered from the hand of the Egyptians;

And Jothor was amazed at all the good things which the Lord did to them, forasmuch as he rescued them out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharao.

10 and Jethro saith, 'Blessed [is] Jehovah, who hath delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of Pharaoh — who hath delivered this people from under the hand of the Egyptians;

And Jothor said, Blessed be the Lord, because he has rescued them out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharao.

11 now I have known that Jehovah [is] greater than all the gods, for in the thing they have acted proudly — [He is] above them!'

Now know I that the Lord is great above all gods, because of this, wherein they attacked them.

12 And Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, taketh a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron cometh in, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses, before God.

And Jothor the father-in-law of Moses took whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices for God, for Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses before God.

13 And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that Moses sitteth to judge the people, and the people stand before Moses, from the morning unto the evening;

And it came to pass after the morrow that Moses sat to judge the people, and all the people stood by Moses from morning till evening.

14 and the father-in-law of Moses seeth all that he is doing to the people, and saith, 'What [is] this thing which thou art doing to the people? wherefore art thou sitting by thyself, and all the people standing by thee from morning till evening?'

And Jothor having seen all that [Moses] did to the people, says, What is this that thou doest to the people? wherefore sittest thou alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning till evening?

15 And Moses saith to his father-in-law, 'Because the people come unto me to seek God;

And Moses says to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to seek judgment from God.

16 when they have a matter, it hath come unto me, and I have judged between a man and his neighbour, and made known the statutes of God, and His laws.'

For whenever there is a dispute among them, and they come to me, I give judgment upon each, and I teach them the ordinances of God and his law.

17 And the father-in-law of Moses saith unto him, 'The thing which thou art doing [is] not good;

And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, Thou dost not this thing rightly,

18 thou dost surely wear away, both thou, and this people which [is] with thee, for the thing is too heavy for thee, thou art not able to do it by thyself.

thou wilt wear away with intolerable weariness, both those and all this people which is with thee: this thing is hard, thou wilt not be able to endure it thyself alone.

19 'Now, hearken to my voice, I counsel thee, and God is with thee: be thou for the people over-against God, and thou hast brought in the things unto God;

Now then hearken to me, and I will advise thee, and God shall be with thee: be thou to the people in the things pertaining to God, and thou shalt bring their matters to God.

20 and thou hast warned them [concerning] the statutes and the laws, and hast made known to them the way in which they go, and the work which they do.

And thou shalt testify to them the ordinances of God and his law, and thou shalt shew to them the ways in which they shall walk, and the works which they shall do.

21 'And thou — thou dost provide out of all the people men of ability, fearing God, men of truth, hating dishonest gain, and hast placed [these] over them, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens,

And do thou look out for thyself out of all the people able men, fearing God, righteous men, hating pride, and thou shalt set over the people captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens.

22 and they have judged the people at all times; and it hath come to pass, every great matter they bring in unto thee, and every small matter they judge themselves; and lighten it from off thyself, and they have borne with thee.

And they shall judge the people at all times, and the too burdensome matter they shall bring to thee, but they shall judge the smaller cases; so they shall relieve thee and help thee.

23 If thou dost this thing, and God hath commanded thee, then thou hast been able to stand, and all this people also goeth in unto its place in peace.'

If thou wilt do this thing, God shall strengthen thee, and thou shalt be able to attend, and all this people shall come with peace into their own place.

24 And Moses hearkeneth to the voice of his father-in-law, and doth all that he said,

And Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did whatsoever he said to him.

25 and Moses chooseth men of ability out of all Israel, and maketh them chiefs over the people, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens,

And Moses chose out able men out of all Israel, and he made them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties and captains of tens over the people.

26 and they have judged the people at all times; the hard matter they bring in unto Moses, and every small matter they judge themselves.

And they judged the people at all times; and every too burdensome matter they brought to Moses, but every light matter they judged themselves.

27 And Moses sendeth his father-in-law away, and he goeth away unto his own land.

And Moses dismissed his father-in-law, and he returned to his own land.