Exodus 18:17 - Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

Exodus 18:17

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

16 When they have ^aa difficulty, 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; ^ayou are not able to perform it by yourself.

19 Listen now to my voice; I will give you¹ counsel, and God will be with you: Stand ^abefore God for the people, so that you may ^bbring the difficulties to God.

20 And you shall ^ateach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and ^bthe work they must do.

21 Moreover you shall select from all the people ^aable men, such as ^bfear God, ^cmen of truth, ^dhating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

22 And let them judge the people at all times. ^aThen it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for ^bthey will bear the burden with you.

23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their ^aplace in peace.”

24 So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said.

25 And ^aMoses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

26 So they judged the people at all times; the ^ahard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.

27 Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and ^ahe went his way to his own land.

Commentaries:

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

<< Exodus 18:16

Exodus 18:18 >>

Exodus 18:13-26

on the morrow . . . Moses sat to judge the people, etc.—We are here presented with a specimen of his daily morning occupations; and among the multifarious duties his divine legation imposed, it must be considered only a small portion of his official employments. He appears in this attitude as a type of Christ in His legislative and judicial characters.

the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening, etc.—Governors in the East seat themselves at the most public gate of their palace or the city, and there, amid a crowd of applicants, hear causes, receive petitions, redress grievances, and adjust the claims of contending parties.

**Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Exodus 18:17:**

Numbers 12:1

<< Exodus 18:16

Exodus 18:18 >>

DISCLAIMER: Church of the Great God (CGG) provides these resources to aid the individual in studying the Bible. However, it is up to the individual to "prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). The content of these resources does not necessarily reflect the views of CGG. They are provided for information purposes only.