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Chapter 18 |
| 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:
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| 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 Israel's 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.
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| 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 inquire 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 show 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. |
