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Exodus 18:1–4

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”).

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Exodus 18:1–4 — 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.”

Exodus 18:1–4 — 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:

Exodus 18:1–4 — 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.”)

Exodus 18:1–4 — 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”);

Exodus 18:1–4 — 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.”

Exodus 18:1–4 — 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.

Exodus 18:1–4 — 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.

Exodus 18:1–4 — 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.” 

Exodus 18:1–4 — 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”).

Exodus 18:1–4 — 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”).

Exodus 18:1–4 — 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.”

Exodus 18:1–4 — 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.”

Exodus 18:1–4 — 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.”


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