Exodus 18 :: New International Version (NIV)

Jethro Visits Moses

(Deu 1:9–18 )

Exo 18:1Now 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.

Exo 18:2

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

Exo 18:3

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

Exo 18:4

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

Exo 18:5

Exo 18:5Jethro, 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.

Exo 18:6

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

Exo 18:7

Exo 18:7So 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.

Exo 18:8

Exo 18:8Moses 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.

Exo 18:9

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

Exo 18:10

Exo 18:10He 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.

Exo 18:11

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

Exo 18:12

Exo 18:12Then 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.

Exo 18:13

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

Exo 18:14

Exo 18:14When 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?”

Exo 18:15

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

Exo 18:16

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

Exo 18:17

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

Exo 18:18

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

Exo 18:19

Exo 18:19Listen 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.

Exo 18:20

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

Exo 18:21

Exo 18:21But 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.

Exo 18:22

Exo 18:22Have 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.

Exo 18:23

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

Exo 18:24

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

Exo 18:25

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

Exo 18:26

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

Exo 18:27

Exo 18:27Then 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

(18:3)

Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for a foreigner there.

(18:4)

Eliezer means my God is helper.

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