Exodus:18
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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 ;
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Then Jethro ,
Moses '
father in law ,
took Zipporah ,
Moses '
wife ,
after he had sent her back ,
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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 :
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And the name of the other was Eliezer ;
for the God of my father ,
said he ,
was my help ,
and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh :
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And Jethro ,
Moses '
father in law ,
came with his sons and his wife to Moses into the wilderness ,
where he encamped at the mount of God :
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And he said to Moses ,
I your father in law Jethro am come to you ,
and your wife ,
and her two sons with her .
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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 .
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And Moses told his father in law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel '
sake ,
and all the travail that had come on them by the way ,
and how the LORD delivered them .
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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 .
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And Jethro said ,
Blessed be the LORD ,
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 .
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Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods :
for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them .
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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 .
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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 .
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And when Moses '
father in law saw all that he did to the people ,
he said ,
What is this thing that you do to the people ?
why sit you yourself alone ,
and all the people stand by you from morning to even ?
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And Moses said to his father in law ,
Because the people come to me to inquire of God :
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When they have a matter ,
they come to me ;
and I judge between one and another ,
and I do make them know the statutes of God ,
and his laws .
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And Moses '
father in law said to him ,
The thing that you do is not good .
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You will surely wear away ,
both you ,
and this people that is with you :
for this thing is too heavy for you ;
you are not able to perform it yourself alone .
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Listen now to my voice ,
I will give you counsel ,
and God shall be with you :
Be you for the people to God-ward ,
that you may bring the causes to God :
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And you shall teach them ordinances and laws ,
and shall show them the way wherein they must walk ,
and the work that they must do .
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Moreover you shall 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 :
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And let them judge the people at all seasons :
and it shall be ,
that every great matter they shall bring to you ,
but every small matter they shall judge :
so shall it be easier for yourself ,
and they shall bear the burden with you .
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If you shall do this thing ,
and God command you so ,
then you shall be able to endure ,
and all this people shall also go to their place in peace .
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So Moses listened to the voice of his father in law ,
and did all that he had said .
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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 .
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And they judged the people at all seasons :
the hard causes they brought to Moses ,
but every small matter they judged themselves .
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And Moses let his father in law depart ;
and he went his way into his own land .