| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1When 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; | 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. |
| 2Then Jethro, Moses' father in law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back, | 2After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her |
| 3And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: | 3and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, "I have become a foreigner in a foreign land"; |
| 4And 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: | 4and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, "My father's God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh." |
| 5And 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: | 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. |
| 6And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. | 6Jethro had sent word to him, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons." |
| 7And 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. | 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. |
| 8And 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. | 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. |
| 9And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, whom he had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. | 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. |
| 10And 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. | 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. |
| 11Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them. | 11Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly." |
| 12And 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. | 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. |
| 13And 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. | 13The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. |
| 14And 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? | 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?" |
| 15And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God: | 15Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God's will. |
| 16When 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. | 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." |
| 17And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. | 17Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. |
| 18Thou 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. | 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. |
| 19Hearken 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: | 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. |
| 20And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do. | 20Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. |
| 21Moreover 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: | 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. |
| 22And 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. | 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. |
| 23If 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. | 23If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied." |
| 24So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father in law, and did all that he had said. | 24Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. |
| 25And 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. | 25He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. |
| 26And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves. | 26They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves. |
| 27And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land. | 27Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own country. |
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