Exodus 18:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God,

NIV: Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him.

NASB: Now listen to me: I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You be the people’s representative before God, and you bring the disputes to God,

CSB: Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to him.

NLT: Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him.

KJV: Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God:

NKJV: Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God.

Exodus 18:13–27 contains Jethro's helpful advice to Moses. Jethro advises his son-in-law not to take on the burden of resolving every dispute or question among the Israelites. Instead, he advises Moses to appoint a series of leaders. Each can pass a difficult judgment up to the next level. Only those which cannot be resolved by the lower levels should be brought to Moses. This frees Moses from trivial questions and lets him focus on larger concerns.

Moses' father-in-law Jethro (Exodus 4:18) has heard everything which happened to free the Hebrews from slavery (Exodus 12:40–41). He visits Israel, bringing Moses' family along. The two men share a happy reunion. After hearing more about the Lord's work, Jethro offers sacrifices. The next day, he notices that Moses is overwhelmed by making decisions for the people. Jethro suggests Moses appoint levels of leaders who can make lesser verdicts. Moses can then focus on teaching the people God's primary commands and resolving disputes which others cannot judge. This frees Moses to only arbitrate difficult situations.

Through God's power, Israel has just defeated an Amalekite attack (Exodus 17:8–13). Now Moses' father-in-law (Exodus 2:16–22) makes a visit. This man is Jethro, also known as Reuel. He sees Moses' burden as a leader and suggests ways to ease the pressure. Next, Israel will arrive at Mount Sinai. There they will receive God's instructions in the form of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19—20) and other specific components of God's covenant with them.

The book of Exodus establishes God's covenant relationship with the full-fledged nation of Israel. The descendants of Abraham prosper after settling in Egypt, only to be enslaved by a fearful, hateful Egyptian Pharaoh. God appoints Moses to lead the people out of this bondage. Moses serves as God's spokesman, as the Lord brings plagues and judgments on Egypt, leading to the release of Israel.