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¹ Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, how that Yahweh had brought Israel out of Egypt.² And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her away,³ and her two sons; of whom the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land:⁴ and the name of the other was Eliezer; for [he said], The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.⁵ And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped, at the mount of God:⁶ and he said to Moses, I, your father-in-law Jethro, have come to you, and your wife, and her two sons with her.

⁷ And 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.⁸ And Moses told his father-in-law all that Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the travail that had come on them by the way, and how Yahweh delivered them.⁹ And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which Yahweh had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.¹⁰ And Jethro said, Blessed be Yahweh, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh.¹¹ Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all gods; indeed, in the very thing through which they dealt proudly against 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 next day, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood about Moses from the morning to the evening.¹⁴ And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that you do to the people? why do you sit yourself alone, and all the people stand about you from morning to evening?¹⁵ And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to inquire of God:¹⁶ when they have a matter, it comes to 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 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 Now listen to my voice, I will give you counsel, and God be with you: be for the people toward God, and you bring the causes to God:²⁰ and you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and shall show them the way wherein 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 and let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they shall judge themselves: so it shall be easier for yourself, and they shall bear [the burden] with you.²³ If you shall do this thing, and God commands you so, then you shall be able to endure, and all this people also shall 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 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 to 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.