VERSE STUDY • KJV

Exodus 18:13-26

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 shew 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.

Read it in 5 translations

KJV King James Version

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 shew 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.

BSB Berean Standard Bible

¹³ The next day Moses took his seat to judge the people, and they stood around him from morning until evening. ¹⁴ When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone as judge, with all the people standing around you from morning till evening?” ¹⁵ “Because the people come to me to inquire of God,” Moses replied. ¹⁶ “Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me to judge between one man and another, and I make known to them the statutes and laws of God.” ¹⁷ But Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. ¹⁸ Surely you and these people with you will wear yourselves out, because the task is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone. ¹⁹ Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their causes to Him. ²⁰ Teach them the statutes and laws, and show them the way to live and the work they must do. ²¹ Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²² Have these men judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you any major issue, but all minor cases they can judge on their own, so that your load may be lightened as they share it with you. ²³ If you follow this advice and God so directs you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people can go home in peace.” ²⁴ Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. ²⁵ So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²⁶ And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves.

WEB World English Bible

¹³ It happened on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from the morning to the evening. ¹⁴ When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, “What is this thing that you do for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning to evening?” ¹⁵ Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. ¹⁶ When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.” ¹⁷ Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. ¹⁸ You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you; for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to perform it yourself alone. ¹⁹ Listen now to my voice. I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You represent the people before God, and bring the causes to God. ²⁰ You shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and shall show them the way in which they must walk, and the work that they must do. ²¹ Moreover you shall 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. ²² Let them judge the people at all times. It shall be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they shall judge themselves. So shall it be easier for you, and they shall share the load with you. ²³ If you will do this thing, and God commands you so, then you will be able to endure, and all of these people also will go to their place in peace.” ²⁴ So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said. ²⁵ 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 They judged the people at all times. They brought the hard causes to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.

ASV American Standard Version

¹³ 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. 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 about 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 a man and his neighbor, and I 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 the 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 be with thee: be thou for the people to God-ward, and bring thou the causes unto God: ²⁰ 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. ²¹ 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: 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 themselves: 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 also shall 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.

YLT Young’s Literal Translation

¹³ And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that Moses sitteth to judge the people, and the people stand before Moses, from the morning unto the evening; ¹⁴ and the father-in-law of Moses seeth all that he is doing to the people, and saith, ‘What is this thing which thou art doing to the people? wherefore art thou sitting by thyself, and all the people standing by thee from morning till evening?’ ¹⁵ And Moses saith to his father-in-law, ‘Because the people come unto me to seek God; ¹⁶ when they have a matter, it hath come unto me, and I have judged between a man and his neighbour, and made known the statutes of God, and His laws.’ ¹⁷ And the father-in-law of Moses saith unto him, ‘The thing which thou art doing is not good; ¹⁸ thou dost surely wear away, both thou, and this people which is with thee, for the thing is too heavy for thee, thou art not able to do it by thyself. ¹⁹ ‘Now, hearken to my voice, I counsel thee, and God is with thee: be thou for the people over-against God, and thou hast brought in the things unto God; ²⁰ and thou hast warned them concerning the statutes and the laws, and hast made known to them the way in which they go, and the work which they do. ²¹ And thou—thou dost provide out of all the people men of ability, fearing God, men of truth, hating dishonest gain, and hast placed these over them, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens, ²² and they have judged the people at all times; and it hath come to pass, every great matter they bring in unto thee, and every small matter they judge themselves; and lighten it from off thyself, and they have borne with thee. ²³ If thou dost this thing, and God hath commanded thee, then thou hast been able to stand, and all this people also goeth in unto its place in peace.’ ²⁴ And Moses hearkeneth to the voice of his father-in-law, and doth all that he said, ²⁵ and Moses chooseth men of ability out of all Israel, and maketh them chiefs over the people, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens, ²⁶ and they have judged the people at all times; the hard matter they bring in unto Moses, and every small matter they judge themselves.

Surrounding context — Exodus 18

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 shew 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.

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HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION

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