Good News Translation GNT
New International Version NIV
13 The next day Moses was settling disputes among the people, and he was kept busy from morning till night.
13
The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.
14 When Jethro saw everything that Moses had to do, he asked, "What is all this that you are doing for the people? Why are you doing this all alone, with people standing here from morning till night to consult you?"
14
When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”
15 Moses answered, "I must do this because the people come to me to learn God's will.
15
Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.
16 When two people have a dispute, they come to me, and I decide which one of them is right, and I tell them God's commands and laws."
16
Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”
17 Then Jethro said, "You are not doing this right.
17
Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good.
18 You will wear yourself out and these people as well. This is too much for you to do alone.
18
You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.
19 Now let me give you some good advice, and God will be with you. It is right for you to represent the people before God and bring their disputes to him.
19
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.
20 You should teach them God's commands and explain to them how they should live and what they should do.
20
Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave.
21 But in addition, you should choose some capable men and appoint them as leaders of the people: leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They must be God-fearing men who can be trusted and who cannot be bribed.
21
But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
22 Let them serve as judges for the people on a permanent basis. They can bring all the difficult cases to you, but they themselves can decide all the smaller disputes. That will make it easier for you, as they share your burden.
22
Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you.
23 If you do this, as God commands, you will not wear yourself out, and all these people can go home with their disputes settled."
23
If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
24 Moses took Jethro's advice
24
Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
25 and chose capable men from among all the Israelites. He appointed them as leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.
25
He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
26 They served as judges for the people on a permanent basis, bringing the difficult cases to Moses but deciding the smaller disputes themselves.
26
They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.