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Exodus 18:13–18

13 And so it was, on the next day, that Moses rsat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. 14 So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone 6sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”

15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because sthe people come to me to inquire of God. 16 When they have ta 7difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

17 So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. 18 Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; uyou are not able to perform it by yourself.

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Exodus 18:13–18 — The New International Version (NIV)

13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”

15 Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”

17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.

Exodus 18:13–18 — English Standard Version (ESV)

13 The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till 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 dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone.

Exodus 18:13–18 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. 14 And when Moses’ father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even? 15 And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God: 16 When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws. 17 And Moses’ father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. 18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.

Exodus 18:13–18 — New Living Translation (NLT)

13 The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other. They waited before him from morning till evening.

14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”

15 Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God. 16 When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions.”

17 “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. 18 “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.

Exodus 18:13–18 — New Century Version (NCV)

13 The next day Moses solved disagreements among the people, and the people stood around him from morning until night. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What is all this you are doing for the people? Why are you the only one to solve disagreements? All the people are standing around you from morning until night!”

15 Then Moses said to his father-in-law, “It is because the people come to me for God’s help in solving their disagreements. 16 When people have a disagreement, they come to me, and I decide who is right. I tell them God’s laws and teachings.”

17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “You are not doing this right. 18 You and the people who come to you will get too tired. This is too much work for you; you can’t do it by yourself.

Exodus 18:13–18 — American Standard Version (ASV)

13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood about Moses from the morning unto the evening. 14 And when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand about thee from morning unto even? 15 And Moses said unto his father-in-law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God: 16 when they have a matter, they come unto 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 unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. 18 Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for the thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.

Exodus 18:13–18 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood by Moses from the morning to the evening. 14 And Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did with the people, and said, What is this thing which thou art doing with the people? why dost thou sit alone, and all the people are standing by thee from morning to evening? 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to enquire of God. 16 When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known to them the statutes of God, and his laws. 17 And Moses’ father-in-law said to him, The thing that thou art doing is not good. 18 Thou wilt be quite exhausted, both thou and this people that is with thee; for the thing is too heavy for thee: thou canst not perform it alone.

Exodus 18:13–18 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

13 The next day Moses was settling disagreements among the people. The people stood around Moses from morning until evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw everything Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “Why are you doing this for the people? Why do you sit here alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?” 

15 Moses answered his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to find out God’s will. 16 Whenever they have a disagreement and bring it to me, I decide which person is right, and I tell them God’s laws and instructions.” 

17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you’re doing is not good. 18 You and your people will wear yourselves out. This is too much work for you. You can’t do it alone!

Exodus 18:13–18 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

13 The next day Moses sat down to judge the people, and they stood around Moses from morning until evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, “What is this thing you’re doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”

15 Moses replied to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 Whenever they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I make a decision between one man and another. I teach them God’s statutes and laws.”

17 “What you’re doing is not good,” Moses’ father-in-law said to him. 18 “You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you. You can’t do it alone.

Exodus 18:13–18 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

13 The next day Moses sat as judge for the people, while the people stood around him from morning until evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?” 15 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. 16 When they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make known to them the statutes and instructions of God.” 17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.

Exodus 18:13–18 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

13 And the next day, Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening. 14 And the father-in-law of Moses saw all that he was doing for the people, and he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting alone and all the people are standing by you from morning until evening?” 15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to seek God. 16 When they have an issue, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make known God’s rule and his instructions.”

17 And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. 18 Surely you will wear out, both you and this people who are with you, because the thing is too difficult for you. You are not able to do it alone.

Exodus 18:13–18 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

13 The next day Moses took his seat to serve the people as their judge. They stood around him from morning until evening. 14 His father-in-law saw everything Moses was doing for the people. So he said, “Aren’t you trying to do too much for the people? You are the only judge. And all of these people are standing around you from morning until evening.”

15 Moses answered him. He said, “The people come to me to find out what God wants them to do. 16 Anytime they don’t agree, they come to me. I decide between them. I tell them about God’s rules and laws.”

17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing isn’t good. 18 You will just get worn out. And so will these people who come to you. There’s too much work for you. You can’t possibly handle it by yourself.

Exodus 18:13–18 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

13 It came about the next day that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from the morning until the evening.

14 Now when Moses father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?”

15 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.

16 When they have a dispute, it comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor and make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

17 Moses father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good.

18 “You will surely wear out, both yourself and these people who are with you, for the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone.


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