CSB

CSB

Click to Change

Return to Top

Return to Top

Printer Icon

Print

Copy
Copy Options
Format by: Verse Paragraph
Strong's
Red Letter
Audio Bibles
The Blue Letter Bible

Exodus 18 :: Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

toggle collapse
Choose a new font size and typeface
Audio Bibles
Jethro’s Visit
(Deu 1:9–18 )
Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:1 -

Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything that God had done for Moses and for God’s people Israel when the LORD brought Israel out of Egypt.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:2 -

Now Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, had taken in Zipporah, Moses’s wife, after he had sent her back,

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:3 -

along with her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom[fn] (because Moses had said, “I have been a resident alien in a foreign land”)

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:4 -

and the other Eliezer (because he had said, “The God of my father was my helper and rescued me from Pharaoh’s sword”).[fn]

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:5 -

Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro, along with Moses’s wife and sons, came to him in the wilderness where he was camped at the mountain of God.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:6 -

He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:7 -

So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and then kissed him. They asked each other how they had been[fn] and went into the tent.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:8 -

Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships that confronted them on the way, and how the LORD rescued them.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:9 -

Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the LORD had done for Israel when he rescued them from the power of the Egyptians.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:10 -

“Blessed be the LORD,” Jethro exclaimed, “who rescued you from the power of Egypt and from the power of Pharaoh. He has rescued the people from under the power of Egypt!

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:11 -

“Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because he did wonders when the Egyptians acted arrogantly against Israel.”[fn]

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:12 -

Then Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat a meal with Moses’s father-in-law in God’s presence.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:13 -

The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:14 -

When Moses’s father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, “What is this you’re doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening? ”

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:15 -

Moses replied to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:16 -

“Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I make a decision between one man and another. I teach them God’s statutes and laws.”

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:17 -

“What you’re doing is not good,” Moses’s father-in-law said to him.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:18 -

“You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:19 -

“Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to him.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:20 -

“Instruct them about the statutes and laws, and teach them the way to live and what they must do.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:21 -

“But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating dishonest profit. Place them over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:22 -

“They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every major case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load,[fn] and they will bear it with you.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:23 -

“If you do this, and God so directs you, you will be able to endure, and also all these people will be able to go home satisfied.”[fn]

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:24 -

Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:25 -

So Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them leaders over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:26 -

They judged the people at all times; they would bring the hard cases to Moses, but they would judge every minor case themselves.

Unchecked Copy BoxExo 18:27 -

Moses let his father-in-law go, and he journeyed to his own land.

CSB Footnotes
In Hb the name Gershom sounds like the phrase “a stranger there.”
= My God Is Help
Lit other about well-being
Hb obscure
Lit lighten from on you
Lit go to their place in peace
CSB

Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017, 2020 by Holman Bible Publishers.

Additional information is provided here.

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

BLB Searches
Search the Bible
CSB
 [?]

Advanced Options

Other Searches

Multi-Verse Retrieval
x
CSB

Daily Devotionals
x

Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.

Daily Bible Reading Plans
x

Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

One-Year Plans

Two-Year Plan