2 Mosebok 18

1 Jetro, presten i Midian, Moses' svigerfar, fikk høre alt det Gud hadde gjort for Moses og for sitt folk Israel, hvorledes Herren hadde ført Israel ut av Egypten.

Now news came to Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, of all God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, and how the Lord had taken Israel out of Egypt.

2 Da tok Jetro, Moses' svigerfar, Sippora, Moses' hustru, som Moses før hadde sendt hjem,

And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her away,

3 og hennes to sønner - den ene hette Gersom, for Moses hadde sagt: Jeg er blitt gjest i et fremmed land,

And her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom, for he said, I have been living in a strange land:

4 og den andre hette Elieser, for han hadde sagt: Min fars Gud var min hjelp og fridde mig fra Faraos sverd.

And the name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, The God of my father was my help, and kept me safe from the sword of Pharaoh:

5 Da nu Jetro, Moses' svigerfar, kom med hans sønner og hans hustru til ham i ørkenen, der hvor Moses hadde slått leir, ved Guds berg,

And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to where Moses had put up his tent in the waste land, by the mountain of God.

6 sendte han bud til Moses og sa: Jeg, din svigerfar Jetro, kommer til dig med din hustru og hennes to sønner.

And he said to Moses, I, your father-in-law, have come to you, with your wife and your two sons.

7 Da gikk Moses sin svigerfar møte, bøide sig for ham og kysset ham, og de spurte hverandre hvorledes det stod til; så gikk de inn i teltet.

And Moses went out to his father-in-law, and went down on his face before him and gave him a kiss; and they said to one another, Are you well? and they came into the tent.

8 Og Moses fortalte sin svigerfar alt det Herren hadde gjort med Farao og egypterne for Israels skyld, og all den møie de hadde hatt på veien, og hvorledes Herren hadde hjulpet dem.

And Moses gave his father-in-law an account of all the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians because of Israel, and of all the troubles which had come on them by the way, and how the Lord had given them salvation.

9 Da blev Jetro glad over alt det gode Herren hadde gjort mot Israel, at han hadde fridd dem av egypternes hånd.

And Jethro was glad because the Lord had been good to Israel, freeing them from the power of the Egyptians.

10 Og Jetro sa: Lovet være Herren, som fridde eder av egypternes hånd Og av Faraos hånd - han som fridde folket av egypternes hånd!

And Jethro said, Praise be to the Lord, who has taken you out of the hand of Pharaoh and out of the hand of the Egyptians; freeing the people from the yoke of the Egyptians.

11 Nu vet jeg at Herren er større enn alle guder; for således viste han sig ved det hvormed egypterne viste sitt overmot mot dette folk.

Now I am certain that the Lord is greater than all gods, for he has overcome them in their pride.

12 Og Jetro, Moses' svigerfar, tok og ofret brennoffer og slaktoffer til Gud; og Aron og alle Israels eldste kom og holdt måltid med Moses' svigerfar for Guds åsyn.

Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, made a burned offering to God: and Aaron came, with the chiefs of Israel, and had a meal with Moses' father-in-law, before God.

13 Dagen efter satt Moses og skiftet rett mellem folket, og folket stod omkring Moses fra morgen til kveld.

Now on the day after, Moses took his seat to give decisions for the people: and the people were waiting before Moses from morning till evening.

14 Da Moses' svigerfar så hvor meget han hadde å gjøre for folket, sa han: Hvad er dette for et arbeid du legger på dig for folket? Hvorfor sitter du alene og dømmer mens hele folket står omkring dig fra morgen til kveld?

And when Moses' father-in-law saw all he was doing, he said, What is this you are doing for the people? why are you seated here by yourself, with all the people waiting before you from morning till evening?

15 Moses svarte sin svigerfar: Folket kommer til mig for å få vite Guds vilje;

And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to get directions from God:

16 når de har en sak, da kommer de til mig, og jeg skifter rett mellem dem og lærer dem Guds bud og lover.

And if they have any question between themselves, they come to me, and I am judge between a man and his neighbour, and I give them the orders and laws of God.

17 Da sa Moses' svigerfar til ham: Det er ikke klokt det du her gjør.

And Moses' father-in-law said to him, What you are doing is not good.

18 Du må jo bli altfor trett, både du og dette folk som er med dig; for dette arbeid er for svært for dig, du makter ikke å gjøre det alene.

Your strength and that of the people will be completely used up: this work is more than you are able to do by yourself.

19 Men hør nu på mig! Jeg vil gi dig et råd, og Gud skal være med dig. Tred du frem for Gud på folkets vegne og legg deres saker frem for ham,

Give ear now to my suggestion, and may God be with you: you are to be the people's representative before God, taking their causes to him:

20 forklar dem budene og lovene, og lær dem den vei de skal vandre, og den gjerning de skal gjøre.

Teaching them his rules and his laws, guiding them in the way they have to go, and making clear to them the work they have to do.

21 Velg dig så ut duelige menn av hele folket, menn som frykter Gud, troverdige menn, som hater urettferdig vinning, og sett dem til domsmenn over dem, nogen over tusen, nogen over hundre, nogen over femti og nogen over ti!

But for the rest, take from among the people able men, such as have the fear of God, true men hating profits wrongly made; and put such men over them, to be captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens;

22 Og de skal skifte rett mellem folket til enhver tid; enhver stor sak skal de komme til dig med, men enhver liten sak skal de selv dømme i. Således letter du byrden for dig selv, og de bærer den med dig.

And let them be judges in the causes of the people at all times: and let them put before you all important questions, but in small things let them give decisions themselves: in this way, it will be less hard for you, and they will take the weight off you.

23 Dersom du gjør dette, og Gud byder dig det, da vil du kunne holde ut, og da vil også alt folket her kunne gå hjem i fred.

If you do this, and God gives approval, then you will be able to go on without weariness, and all this people will go to their tents in peace.

24 Moses lød sin svigerfars råd og gjorde alt det han sa.

So Moses took note of the words of his father-in-law, and did as he had said.

25 Han valgte ut duelige menn av hele Israel og satte dem til høvdinger over folket, til domsmenn, nogen over tusen, nogen over hundre, nogen over femti og nogen over ti.

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

26 Og de skiftet rett mellem folket til enhver tid; enhver vanskelig sak kom de til Moses med, men i enhver liten sak dømte de selv.

And they were judges in the causes of the people at all times: the hard questions they put before Moses; but on every small point they gave decisions themselves.

27 Så bad Moses farvel med sin svigerfar, og han drog hjem til sitt eget land.

And Moses let his father-in-law go away, and he went back to his land.