Exodus 18
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12 13 14
15 16 17
18 19 20
21 22 23
24 25 26
27 28 29
30 31 32
33 34 35
36 37 38
39 40
1 When Jethro, the
priest of Midian, Moses father in law, heard of all that God had done
for Moses, and for Israel his people, and that the LORD had brought
Israel out of Egypt;
2 Then Jethro, Moses father in
law, took Zipporah, Moses wife, after he had sent her back,
3 And her two sons; of which the
name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a
strange land:
4 And the name of the other was
Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and
delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:
5 And Jethro, Moses father in
law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness, where
he encamped at the mount of God:
6 And he said unto Moses, I thy
father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons
with her.
7 And Moses went out to
meet his father in law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked
each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
8 And Moses told his father in law
all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israels
sake, and all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how
the LORD delivered them.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the
goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of
the hand of the Egyptians.
10 And Jethro said, Blessed be
the LORD, 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.
11 Now I know that the LORD is
greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he
was above them.
12 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 before God.
13 And it came to pass
on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by
Moses from the morning unto the evening.
14 And when Moses father in law
saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that
thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the
people stand by thee from morning unto even?
15 And Moses said unto his father in
law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:
16 When they have a matter, they
come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them
know the statutes of God, and his laws.
17 And Moses father in law said
unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both
thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is
too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
19 Hearken now unto my voice, I will
give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to
God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:
20 And thou shalt teach them
ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk,
and the work that they must do.
21 Moreover thou shalt provide out
of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating
covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of
thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of
tens:
22 And let them judge the people at
all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall
bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be
easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
23 If thou shalt do this thing, and
God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all
this people shall also go to their place in peace.
24 So Moses hearkened to the voice
of his father in law, and did all that he had said.
25 And Moses chose able men out of
all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands,
rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
26 And they judged the people at all
seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter
they judged themselves.
27 And Moses let his father in law
depart; and he went his way into his own land.
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