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.

And Jethro the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done to Moses, and to Israel his people; that Jehovah had brought 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 back,

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, of whom the name of the one was Gershom — for he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign 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, Eliezer — For the God of my father has been my help, and has delivered me 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 to Moses with his sons and his wife into the wilderness, where he encamped at 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 sent word to Moses: I, thy father-in-law Jethro, am come to thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.

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 meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other [after] their welfare, and went 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 told his father-in-law all that Jehovah had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake; all the trouble that had befallen them on the way, and [how] Jehovah had delivered them.

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

And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness that Jehovah had done to Israel; that he had delivered them out of the hand 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, Blessed be Jehovah, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh; who has delivered the people from under the hand 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 know that Jehovah is greater than all gods; for in the thing in which they acted haughtily [he was] above them.

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.

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 in the presence of God.

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

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood by Moses from the morning to the 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 Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did with the people, and said, What is this thing which thou art doing with the people? why dost thou sit alone, and all the people are standing by thee from morning to 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 enquire of 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.

When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known [to them] the statutes of God, and his laws.

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

And Moses' father-in-law said to him, The thing that thou art 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.

Thou wilt be quite exhausted, both thou and this people that is with thee; for the thing is too heavy for thee: thou canst not perform it alone.

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,

Hearken now to my voice: I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee. Be thou for the people with God, and bring the matters before God;

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

and teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they must walk, and the work that they must 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 do thou provide among all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place [them] over them, chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs 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.

that they may judge the people at all times; and it shall be [that] they shall bring to thee every great matter, and that they shall judge every small matter, and they shall lighten [the task] on thee, and they shall bear [it] with thee.

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 thou do this thing, and God command thee [so], thou wilt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.

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

And Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that 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 Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs 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 judged the people at all times: the hard matters they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged.

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

And Moses sent away his father-in-law, and he departed into his land.