Exodus 18
And when Jethro the priest of Madian, the kinsman of Moses, had heard all the things that God had done to Moses, and to Israel his people, and that the Lord had brought forth Israel out of Egypt:
2 He took Sephora, the wife of Moses, whom he had sent back:
3 And her two sons, of whom one was called Gersam: his father saying, I have been a stranger in a foreign country.
4 And the other Eliezer: For the God of my father, said he, is my helper, and hath delivered me from the sword of Pharao.
5 And Jethro, the kinsman of Moses, came with his sons, and his wife to Moses into the desert, where he was camped by the mountain of God.
6 And he sent word to Moses, saying: I Jethro, thy kinsman, come to thee, and thy wife, and thy two sons with her.
7 And he went out to meet his kinsman, and worshipped and kissed him: and they saluted one another with words of peace. And when he was come into the tent,
8 Moses told his kinsman all that the Lord had done to Pharao, and the Egyptians in favour of Israel: and all the labour which had befallen them in the journey, and that the Lord had delivered them.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the good things that the Lord had done to Israel, because he had delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptians.
10 And he said: Blessed is the Lord, who hath delivered his people out of the hand of Egypt.
11 Now I know, that the Lord is great above all gods; because they dealt proudly against them.
12 So Jethro, the kinsman of Moses, offered holocausts and sacrifices to God: and Aaron and all the ancients of Israel came, to eat bread with him before God.
13 And the next day Moses sat to judge the people, who stood by Moses from morning until night.
14 And when his kinsman had seen all things that he did among the people, he said: What is it that thou dost among the people? Why sittest thou alone, and all the people wait from morning till night?
15 And Moses answered him: The people come to me to seek the judgment of God?
16 And when any controversy falleth out among them, they come to me to judge between them, and to shew the precepts of God, and his laws.
17 But he said: The thing thou dost is not good.
18 Thou art spent with foolish labour, both thou, and this people that is with thee; the business is above thy strength, thou alone canst not bear it.
19 But hear my words and counsels, and God shall be with thee. Be thou to the people in those things that pertain to God, to bring their words to him:
20 And to shew the people the ceremonies, and the manner of worshipping; and the way wherein they ought to walk, and the work that they ought to do.
21 And provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, in whom there is truth, and that hate avarice, and appoint of them rulers of thousands, and of hundreds, and of fifties, and of tens,
22 Who may judge the people at all times: and when any great matter soever shall fall out, let them refer it to thee, and let them judge the lesser matters only: that so it may be lighter for thee, the burden being shared out unto others.
23 If thou dost this, thou shalt fulfil the commandment of God, and shalt be able to bear his precepts: and all this people shall return to their places with peace.
24 And when Moses heard this, he did all things that he had suggested unto him.
25 And choosing able men out of all Israel, he appointed them rulers of the people, rulers over thousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and over tens.
26 And they judged the people at all times: and whatsoever was of greater difficulty they referred to him, and they judged the easier cases only.
27 And he let his kinsman depart: and he returned and went into his own country.
Exodus 31–32
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 Behold, I have called by name Beseleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Juda,
3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, with wisdom and understanding, and knowledge in all manner of work,
4 To devise whatsoever may be artificially made of gold, and silver, and brass,
5 Of marble, and precious stones, and variety of wood.
6 And I have given him for his companion Ooliab, the son of Achisamech, of the tribe of Dan. And I have put wisdom in the heart of every skilful man, that they may make all things which I have commanded thee,
7 The tabernacle of the covenant, and the ark of the testimony, and the propitiatory, that is over it, and all the vessels of the tabernacle,
8 And the table and the vessels thereof, the most pure candlestick with the vessels thereof, and the altars of incense,
9 And of holocaust, and all their vessels, the laver with its foot,
10 The holy vestments in the ministry for Aaron the priest, and for his sons, that they may execute their office, about the sacred things:
11 The oil of unction, and the incense of spices in the sanctuary, all things which I have commanded thee, shall they make.
12 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
13 Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them: See that you keep my sabbath; because it is a sign between me and you in your generations that you may know that I am the Lord, who sanctify you.
14 Keep you my sabbath: for it is holy unto you: he that shall profane it, shall be put to death: he that shall do any work in it, his soul shall perish out of the midst of his people.
15 Six days shall you do work: in the seventh day is the sabbath, the rest holy to the Lord. Every one that shall do any work on this day, shall die.
16 Let the children of Israel keep the sabbath, and celebrate it in their generations. It is an everlasting covenant
17 Between me and the children of Israel, and a perpetual sign. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and in the seventh he ceased from work.
18 And the Lord, when he had ended these words in Mount Sinai, gave to Moses two stone tables of testimony, written with the finger of God.
And the people seeing that Moses delayed to come down from the mount, gathering together against Aaron, said: Arise, make us gods, that may go before us: For as to this Moses, the man that brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what has befallen him.
2 And Aaron said to them: Take the golden earrings from the ears of your wives, and your sons and daughters, and bring them to me.
3 And the people did what he had commanded, bringing the earrings to Aaron.
4 And when he had received them, he fashioned them by founders’ work, and made of them a molten calf. And they said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
5 And when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and made proclamation by a crier’s voice, saying To morrow is the solemnity of the Lord.
6 And rising in the morning, they offered holocausts, and peace victims, and the people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play.
7 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Go, get thee down: thy people, which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, hath sinned.
8 They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
9 And again the Lord said to Moses: I see that this people is stiffnecked:
10 Let me alone, that my wrath may be kindled against them, and that I may destroy them, and I will make of thee a great nation.
11 But Moses besought the Lord his God, saying: Why, O Lord, is thy indignation enkindled against thy people, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and with a mighty hand?
12 Let not the Egyptians say, I beseech thee: He craftily brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains, and destroy them from the earth: let thy anger cease, and be appeased upon the wickedness of thy people.
13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou sworest by thy own self, saying: I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven: and this whole land that I have spoken of, I will give to your seed, and you shall possess it for ever:
14 And the Lord was appeased from doing the evil which he had spoken against his people.
15 And Moses returned from the mount, carrying the two tables of the testimony in his hand, written on both sides,
16 And made by the work of God; the writing also of God was graven in the tables.
17 And Josue hearing the noise of the people shouting, said to Moses: The noise of battle is heard in the camp.
18 But he answered: It is not the cry of men encouraging to fight, nor the shout of men compelling to flee: but I hear the voice of singers.