Exodus 18:17

17 at ille non bonam inquit rem facis

Exodus 18:17 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 18:17

And Moses's father in law said unto him
Having observed what he did, and heard his answer to the question he put to him:

the thing that thou doest is not good;
not meaning that it was not morally good, or that it was morally evil; for it was certainly a good thing to inquire of the mind and will of God for the people, and to hear and decide matters in controversy between them, and do justice to both parties; but it was not good for the health of Moses; it was not commodious and convenient for him; it was not for his bodily welfare; it was too much for him, as he explains himself in the next verse.

Exodus 18:17 In-Context

15 cui respondit Moses venit ad me populus quaerens sententiam Dei
16 cumque acciderit eis aliqua disceptatio veniunt ad me ut iudicem inter eos et ostendam praecepta Dei et leges eius
17 at ille non bonam inquit rem facis
18 stulto labore consumeris et tu et populus iste qui tecum est ultra vires tuas est negotium solus illud non poteris sustinere
19 sed audi verba mea atque consilia et erit Deus tecum esto tu populo in his quae ad Deum pertinent ut referas quae dicuntur ad eum
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.