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The Blue Letter Bible

Exodus 18 :: New King James Version (NKJV)

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Jethro’s Advice
The Appointment of Judges
(Deut. 1:9–18 )

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:1

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:1 - And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people—that the LORD had brought Israel out of Egypt.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:2

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:2 - Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back,

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:3

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:3 - with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land”)[fn]

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:4

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:4 - and the name of the other was Eliezer[fn] (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”);

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:5

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

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:6

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

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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, bowed down, and kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the tent.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:8

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:8 - And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:9

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:9 - Then Jethro rejoiced for all the good which the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:10

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:10 - 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, and who has delivered the people from under 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 the gods; for in the very thing in which they behaved proudly, He was above them.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:12

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:12 - Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took[fn] a burnt offering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:13

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:13 - And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:14

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:14 - So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:15

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:15 - And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:16

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:16 - “When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:17

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:17 - So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:18

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:18 - “Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:19

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:19 - “Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:20

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:20 - “And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:21

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:21 - “Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:22

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:22 - “And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:23

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:23 - “If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.”

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:24

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:24 - So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:25

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:25 - 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.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:26

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:26 - So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.

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Unchecked Copy Box Exo 18:27

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:27 - Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to his own land.
See the NKJV Preface (Especially for Parenthesis, Brackets, & Asterisks).
NKJV Footnotes
Compare Exodus 2:22
Literally My God Is Help
Following Masoretic Text and Septuagint; Syriac, Targum, and Vulgate read offered.
NKJV

New King James Version, © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

The text of the New King James Version (NKJV) appearing on or deriving from this or any other web page is for personal use only. Any other use of the NKJV must be in conformity with the Quotation Policy for the New King James Version. For more information about the New King James Version, the Quotation Policy, and for inquiries about permission to use the New King James Version, go to Thomas Nelson, Inc..

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

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Exodus Chapter 18 — Additional Translations:

King James Version New Living Translation New International Version 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