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.
Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people. He heard that Yahweh had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2 Da tok Jetro, Moses' svigerfar, Sippora, Moses' hustru, som Moses før hadde sendt hjem,
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home,
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; the name of the one son was Gershom, for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner 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.
The name of the other was Eliezer, for Moses had said, “My ancestor's God was my help. He rescued me from Pharaoh's sword.”
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,
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with Moses' sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped 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.
He said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her 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.
Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. They asked about each other's welfare and then 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.
Moses told his father-in-law all that Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel's sake, about all the hardships that had come to them along the way, and how Yahweh had rescued them.
9 Da blev Jetro glad over alt det gode Herren hadde gjort mot Israel, at han hadde fridd dem av egypternes hånd.
Jethro rejoiced over all the good that Yahweh had done for Israel, in that he had rescued them from 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!
Jethro said, “May Yahweh be praised, for he has rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and delivered the people from 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 Yahweh is greater than all the gods, because when the Egyptians treated the Israelites arrogantly, God rescued his people.”
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.
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices for God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat a meal before God with Moses' father-in-law.
13 Dagen efter satt Moses og skiftet rett mellem folket, og folket stod omkring Moses fra morgen til kveld.
On the next day Moses sat down to judge the people. The people stood around him from morning until 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?
When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing with the people? Why is it that you sit alone and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?”
15 Moses svarte sin svigerfar: Folket kommer til mig for å få vite Guds vilje;
Moses said to his father-in-law, “The people come to me to ask for God's direction.
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 dispute, they come to me. I decide between one person and another, and I teach them God's statutes and laws.”
17 Da sa Moses' svigerfar til ham: Det er ikke klokt det du her gjør.
Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not very 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.
You will surely wear yourselves out, you and the people who are with you. This burden is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it 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,
Listen to me. I will give you advice, and God will be with you, because you are the people's representative to God, and you bring their disputes to him.
20 forklar dem budene og lovene, og lær dem den vei de skal vandre, og den gjerning de skal gjøre.
You must teach them his statutes and laws. You must show them the way to walk and the work 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!
Furthermore, you must choose capable men from all the people, men who honor God, men of truth who hate unjust gain. You must put them over people, to be leaders in charge of thousands, hundreds, 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.
They will judge the people in all routine cases, but the difficult cases they will bring to you. As for all the small cases, they can judge those themselves. In that way it will be easier for you, and they will carry the burden with 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 if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure, and the entire people will be able to go home satisfied.”
24 Moses lød sin svigerfars råd og gjorde alt det han sa.
So Moses listened to his father-in-law's words and did everything 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.
Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders in charge of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and 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.
They judged the people in normal circumstances. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but they themselves judged all the small cases.
27 Så bad Moses farvel med sin svigerfar, og han drog hjem til sitt eget land.
Then Moses let his father-in-law leave, and Jethro went back into his own land.
