Exodus 18

1 Now Jethro,thepriest ofMidian, Moses’
father-in-law, heard of all that God had
done for Moses and for Israel his people,
how Yahweh had brought Israel out of
Egypt.

2 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, received
Zipporah, Moses’ wife, after he had sent
her away,

3 and her two sons. The name of one
son was Gershom,† for Moses said, “I have
lived as a foreigner in a foreign land”.

4 The name of the other was Eliezer,‡ for
he said, “My father’s God was my help and
delivered me from Pharaoh’s sword.”

5 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with
Moses’ sons and his wife to Moses into the
wilderness wherehe was encamped, atthe
Mountain of God.

6 He said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law
Jethro, have come to you with your wife,
and her two sons with her.”

7 Moses went out to meet his father-inlaw, and bowed and kissed him. They
asked each other oftheir welfare, and they
came into the tent.

8 Moses told his father-in-law all that
Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and to the
Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships that had come on them on the way,
and how Yahweh delivered them.

9 Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness
which Yahweh had done to Israel, in that
he had delivered them out of the hand of
the Egyptians.

10 Jethro said, “Blessed be Yahweh, who
has delivered you out of the hand of the
Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh;
who has delivered the people from under
the hand of the Egyptians.

11 Now I know that Yahweh is greater
than all gods because of the way that they
treated people arrogantly.”

12 Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, took a
burnt offering and sacrifices for God.
Aaron came with all the elders of Israel, to
eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law before
God.

13 On the next day, Moses sat to judge
the people, and the people stood around
Moses from the morning to the evening.

14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all
that he did to the people, he said, “What isthis thing
that you do for the people? Why
do you sit alone, and all the people stand
around you from morning to evening?”