Loading…

Exodus 18:1–7

Jethro’s Advice

18 mJethro, nthe priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her home, along with her otwo sons. The name of the one was Gershom (pfor he said, q“I have been a sojourner1 in a foreign land”), and the name of the other, Eliezer2 (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was encamped at the rmountain of God. And when he sent word to Moses, “I,3 your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her,” Moses swent out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and tkissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent.

Read more Explain verse



Exodus 18:1–7 — The New International Version (NIV)

Now 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.

After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have become a foreigner in a foreign land”; and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, “My father’s God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

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

So 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.

Exodus 18:1–7 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

When 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; Then Jethro, Moses’ father in law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, And her two sons; of which the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been an alien in a strange land: And 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: And 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: And he said unto Moses, I thy father in law Jethro am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. 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.

Exodus 18:1–7 — New Living Translation (NLT)

Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything God had done for Moses and his people, the Israelites. He heard especially about how the Lord had rescued them from Egypt.

Earlier, Moses had sent his wife, Zipporah, and his two sons back to Jethro, who had taken them in. (Moses’ first son was named Gershom, for Moses had said when the boy was born, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.” His second son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my ancestors was my helper; he rescued me from the sword of Pharaoh.”) Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, now came to visit Moses in the wilderness. He brought Moses’ wife and two sons with him, and they arrived while Moses and the people were camped near the mountain of God. Jethro had sent a message to Moses, saying, “I, Jethro, your father-in-law, am coming to see you with your wife and your two sons.”

So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. He bowed low and kissed him. They asked about each other’s welfare and then went into Moses’ tent.

Exodus 18:1–7 — The New King James Version (NKJV)

And Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel His people—that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, with her two sons, of whom the name of one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land”) 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”); and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mountain of God. Now he had said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.”

So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the tent.

Exodus 18:1–7 — New Century Version (NCV)

Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, was the priest of Midian. He heard about everything that God had done for Moses and his people, the Israelites, and how the Lord had led the Israelites out of Egypt. Now Moses had sent his wife Zipporah to Jethro, his father-in-law, along with his two sons. The first son was named Gershom, because when he was born, Moses said, “I am a stranger in a foreign country.” The other son was named Eliezer, because when he was born, Moses said, “The God of my father is my help. He saved me from the king of Egypt.”

So Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Moses’ wife and his two sons and went to Moses. He was camped in the desert near the mountain of God. Jethro had sent a message ahead to Moses that said, “I, Jethro, your father-in-law, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. After the two men asked about each other’s health, they went into Moses’ tent.

Exodus 18:1–7 — American Standard Version (ASV)

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 Jehovah had brought Israel out of Egypt. And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her away, 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: 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. And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped, at the mount of God: and he said unto Moses, I, thy father-in-law Jethro, am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her. 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.

Exodus 18:1–7 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

And Jethro the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done to Moses, and to Israel his people; that Jehovah had brought Israel out of Egypt. And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, 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, —and the name of the other, Eliezer—For the God of my father has been my help, and has delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh. And Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came to Moses with his sons and his wife into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mountain of God. And he sent word to Moses: I, thy father-in-law Jethro, am come to thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.

And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other after their welfare, and went into the tent.

Exodus 18:1–7 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything God had done for Moses and his people Israel and how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. When Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro had taken her in, along with her two sons. The one son was named Gershom [Foreigner], because Moses said, “I was a foreigner living in another country.” The name of the other was Eliezer [My God Is a Helper], because he said, “My father’s God was my helper. He saved me from Pharaoh’s death sentence.” 

Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought Moses’ sons and wife to Moses in the desert where he was camped near the mountain of God. Jethro had sent word to Moses, “I’m coming to ⸤visit⸥ you, ⸤and I’m bringing⸥ your wife and her two sons.” 

So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. Moses bowed with his face touching the ground and kissed Jethro. After they asked each other how they were, they went into the tent.

Exodus 18:1–7 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

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

Now Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, had taken in Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, along with her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom (because Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land”) and the other Eliezer (because he had said, “The God of my father was my helper and delivered me from Pharaoh’s sword”).

Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, along with Moses’ wife and sons, came to him in the wilderness where he was camped at the mountain of God. He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”

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

Exodus 18:1–7 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro took her back, along with her two sons. The name of the one was Gershom (for he said, “I have been an alien in a foreign land”), and the name of the other, Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”). Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came into the wilderness where Moses was encamped at the mountain of God, bringing Moses’ sons and wife to him. He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you, with your wife and her two sons.” Moses went out to meet his father-in-law; he bowed down and kissed him; each asked after the other’s welfare, and they went into the tent.

Exodus 18:1–7 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

And Jethro, the priest of Midian, the father-in-law of Moses, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, his people, that Yahweh had brought Israel out from Egypt. And Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, took Zipporah the wife of Moses after her sending away, and her two sons—the one whose name was Gershom, for he had said, “I have been an alien in a foreign land,” and the one whose name was Eliezer, for “the God of my father was my help, and he delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.” And Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, came and his sons and his wife to Moses, to the desert where he was camping there at the mountain of God. And he said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you and your wife and her two sons with her.” And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed, and he kissed him, and they each asked about the other’s welfare, and they came into the tent.

Exodus 18:1–7 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

Moses’ father-in-law Jethro was the priest of Midian. He heard about everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel. He heard how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.

Moses had sent his wife Zipporah to his father-in-law. So Jethro welcomed her and her two sons. One son was named Gershom. That’s because Moses had said, “I’m an outsider in a strange land.” The other was named Eliezer. That’s because Moses had said, “My father’s God helped me. He saved me from Pharaoh’s sword.”

Moses’ father-in-law Jethro came to Moses in the desert. Moses’ sons and wife came with Jethro. Moses was camped near the mountain of God. Jethro had sent a message to him. It said, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you. I’m bringing your wife and her two sons.”

So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. Moses bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other. Then they went into the tent.

Exodus 18:1–7 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

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 the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.

Jethro, Moses father-in-law, took Moses wife Zipporah, after he had sent her away,

and her two sons, of whom one was named Gershom, for Moses said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.”

The other was named Eliezer, for he said, “The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.”

Then Jethro, Moses father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped, at the mount of God.

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

Then Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and he bowed down and kissed him; and they asked each other of their welfare and went into the tent.


A service of Logos Bible Software