Exodus:18
Seeker Overlay ON
*
Now Jethro ,
the priest of Midian ,
Moses '
father-in-law ,
heard of all that God had done for Moses ,
and for Israel His people ,
how that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt .
*
And Jethro ,
Moses '
father-in-law ,
took Zipporah ,
Moses '
wife ,
after he had sent her away ,
*
and her two sons ;
of whom the name of the one was Gershom ;
for he said : '
I have been a stranger in a strange land ';
*
and the name of the other was Eliezer : '
for the God of my father was my help ,
and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh .'
*
And Jethro ,
Moses '
father-in-law ,
came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped ,
at the mount of God ;
*
and he said unto Moses : '
I thy father-in-law Jethro am coming unto thee ,
and thy wife ,
and her two sons with her .'
*
And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law ,
and bowed down and kissed him ;
and they asked each other of their welfare ;
and they came into the tent .
*
And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel '
s sake ,
all the travail that had come upon them by the way ,
and how the LORD delivered them .
*
And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel ,
in that He had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians .
*
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 .
*
Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods ;
yea ,
for that they dealt proudly against them .'
*
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 .
*
And it came to pass on the morrow ,
that Moses sat to judge the people ;
and the people stood about Moses from the morning unto the evening .
*
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 about thee from morning unto even ?'
*
And Moses said unto his father-in-law : '
Because the people come unto me to inquire of God ;
*
when they have a matter ,
it cometh unto me ;
and I judge between a man and his neighbour ,
and I make them know the statutes of God ,
and His laws .'
*
And Moses '
father-in-law said unto him : '
The thing that thou doest is not good .
*
Thou wilt surely wear away ,
both thou ,
and this people that is with thee ;
for the thing is too heavy for thee ;
thou art not able to perform it thyself alone .
*
Hearken now unto my voice ,
I will give thee counsel ,
and God be with thee :
be thou for the people before God ,
and bring thou the causes unto God .
*
And thou shalt teach them the statutes and the laws ,
and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk ,
and the work that they must do .
*
Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men ,
such as fear God ,
men of truth ,
hating unjust gain ;
and place such over them ,
to be rulers of thousands ,
rulers of hundreds ,
rulers of fifties ,
and rulers of tens .
*
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 themselves ;
so shall they make it easier for thee and bear the burden with thee .
*
If thou shalt do this thing ,
and God command thee so ,
then thou shalt be able to endure ,
and all this people also shall go to their place in peace .'
*
So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law ,
and did all that he had said .
*
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 .
*
And they judged the people at all seasons :
the hard causes they brought unto Moses ,
but every small matter they judged themselves .
*
And Moses let his father-in-law depart ;
and he went his way into his own land .