Exodus 18:1–12

Jethro’s Advice

18And ^aJethro, the priest of Midian, Moses’ father-in-law, heard of all that ^bGod had done for Moses and for Israel His people—that the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt. ²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took ^cZipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent her back, ³with her ^dtwo sons, of whom the name of one was ¹Gershom (for he said, ^e“I have been a ²stranger in a foreign land”) ⁴and the name of the other was ³Eliezer (for he said, “The God of my father was my ^fhelp, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh”); ⁵and Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness, where he was encamped at ^gthe mountain of God. ⁶Now he had said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her.”

⁷So Moses ^hwent out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and ⁱkissed him. And they asked each other about their well-being, and they went into the tent. ⁸And Moses told his father-in-law all that the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardship that had come upon them on the way, and how the Lord had ^jdelivered them. ⁹Then Jethro rejoiced for all the ^kgood which the Lord had done for Israel, whom He had delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. ¹⁰And Jethro said, ^l“Blessed be the Lord, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. ¹¹Now I know that the Lord is ^mgreater than all the gods; ⁿfor in the very thing in which they ⁴behaved ^oproudly, He was above them.” ¹²Then Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, ⁵took a burnt ^poffering and other sacrifices to offer to God. And Aaron came with all the elders of Israel ^qto eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before God.