Exodus 18:15
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?”
“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.
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- “Because the people come to me to inquire of God,” Moses replied.
- KJV
- And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:
- WEB
- Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
- ASV
- And Moses said unto his father-in-law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God:
- DARBY
- And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to enquire of God.
- BLB
- And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
- ÅB
- Moses svarte sin svigerfar: Folket kommer til meg for å få vite Guds vilje;
- OTB
- Moses svarte sin svigerfar: «Fordi folket kommer til meg for å søke Guds vilje.
- B1930
- Moses svarte sin svigerfar: Folket kommer til mig for å få vite Guds vilje;
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Numbers 15:34
and because it had not been declared what should be done to him, they placed him in custody.
Read in contextNumbers 27:5
So Moses brought their case before the LORD,
Read in contextLeviticus 24:12–14
They placed him in custody until the will of the LORD should be made clear to them.
Read in contextNumbers 9:6
But there were some men who were unclean due to a dead body, so they could not observe the Passover on that day. And they came before Moses and Aaron that same day
Read in contextExodus 18:19–20
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.
Read in contextDeuteronomy 17:8–13
If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose.
Read in contextNumbers 9:8
“Wait here until I find out what the LORD commands concerning you,” Moses replied.
Read in context