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The Blue Letter Bible

Exodus 18 :: New International Version (NIV)

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Jethro Visits Moses

(Deu 1:9–18 )

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:1

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:1 - Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:2

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:2 - After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:3

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:3 - and her two sons. One son was named Gershom,[fn] for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”;

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:4

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:4 - and the other was named Eliezer,[fn] for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:5

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:5 - Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, together with Moses’ sons and wife, came to him in the wilderness, where he was camped near the mountain of God.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:6

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:6 - Jethro had sent word to him, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:7

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:7 - So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:8

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:8 - Moses told his father-in-law about everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake and about all the hardships they had met along the way and how the LORD had saved them.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:9

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:9 - Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel in rescuing them from the hand of the Egyptians.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:10

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:10 - He said, “Praise be to the LORD, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:11

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:11 - Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:12

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:12 - Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:13

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:13 - The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:14

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:14 - When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:15

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:15 - Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:16

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:16 - Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:17

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:17 - Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:18

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:18 - You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:19

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:19 - Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:20

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:20 - Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:21

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:21 - But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:22

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:22 - Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:23

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:23 - If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:24

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:24 - Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:25

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:25 - He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:26

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:26 - They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:27

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:27 - Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country.
See the NIV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NIV Footnotes
Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for a foreigner there.
Eliezer means my God is helper.
NIV

HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.


See detailed copyright information.

For more information on this translation, see the NIV Preface.

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Exodus Chapter 18 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New King James Version New Living Translation English Standard Version Christian Standard Bible New American Standard Bible 2020 New American Standard Bible 1995 Legacy Standard Bible Amplified Bible New English Translation Revised Standard Version American Standard Version Young's Literal Translation Darby Translation Webster's Bible Hebrew Names Version Latin Vulgate Westminster Leningrad Codex Septuagint Smith Van Dyck Arabic Bible Open New Arabic Version Brenton's English Septuagint Reina Valera 1909 Reina-Valera 1960 Bible in Basic English Chinese Traditional Union Espanol Moderno Korean Holy Bible Louis Segond German Luther Russian Synodal Translation Sagradas Escrituras