1 Jetro, presten i Midjan, svigerfaren til Moses, hørte om alt det Gud hadde gjort for Moses og for sitt folk Israel, hvordan Herren hadde ført Israel ut av Egypt.

Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, how that Jehovah had brought Israel out of Egypt.

2 Jetro, Moses' svigerfar, tok med seg Sippora, Moses' kone, etter at han hadde sendt henne bort,

And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her away,

3 og hennes to sønner. Den ene het Gersom, for han sa, Jeg har vært en utlending i et fremmed land.

and her two sons; of whom the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land:

4 Den andre het Elieser, for han sa, Min fars Gud var min hjelp og frelste meg fra faraos sverd.

and the name of the other was Eliezer; for `he said', The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.

5 Jetro, Moses' svigerfar, kom med sine sønner og sin kone til Moses i ørkenen der han hadde slått leir, ved Guds fjell.

And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped, at the mount of God:

6 Og han sa til Moses: Jeg, din svigerfar Jetro, har kommet til deg, sammen med din kone og hennes to sønner.

and he said unto Moses, I, thy father-in-law Jethro, am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.

7 Moses gikk ut for å møte sin svigerfar, bøyde seg og kysset ham. De spurte hverandre om hvordan det sto til, og så gikk de inn i teltet.

And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance, and kissed him: and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.

8 Moses fortalte sin svigerfar om alt Herren hadde gjort mot farao og egypterne for Israels skyld, om alle vanskelighetene de hadde opplevd underveis, og hvordan Herren hadde frelst dem.

And Moses told his father-in-law all that Jehovah had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how Jehovah delivered them.

9 Jetro gledet seg over all den godheten som Herren hadde vist mot Israel, ved å frelse dem fra egypternes hånd.

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

10 Jetro sa: Velsignet være Herren, som har frelst dere fra egypternes hånd og fra faraos hånd, han som har frelst folket fra egypternes hånd.

And Jethro said, Blessed be Jehovah, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh; who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

11 Nå vet jeg at Herren er større enn alle guder; for det de stolte seg på, vendte seg mot dem.

Now I know that Jehovah is greater than all gods; yea, in the thing wherein they dealt proudly against them.

12 Jetro, Moses' svigerfar, tok brennoffer og slaktoffer for Gud, og Aron og alle de eldste i Israel kom for å spise brød med Moses' svigerfar for Guds ansikt.

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

13 Neste dag satt Moses for å dømme folket, og folket sto rundt Moses fra morgen til kveld.

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood about Moses from the morning unto the evening.

14 Da Moses' svigerfar så alt han gjorde for folket, sa han: Hva er dette du gjør for folket? Hvorfor sitter du alene og folk står omkring deg fra morgen til kveld?

And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand about thee from morning unto even?

15 Moses svarte sin svigerfar: Fordi folket kommer til meg for å spørre Gud.

And Moses said unto his father-in-law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God:

16 Når de har en sak, kommer de til meg, og jeg dømmer mellom en mann og hans neste og lærer dem Guds forskrifter og lover.

when they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.

17 Moses' svigerfar sa til ham: Det du gjør er ikke godt.

And Moses' father-in-law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.

18 Du vil trette deg ut, både du og folket som er med deg, for oppgaven er for tung for deg. Du kan ikke klare det alene.

Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for the thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.

19 Lytt nå til min stemme, jeg vil gi deg råd, og Gud være med deg: Stå for folket overfor Gud, og før deres saker for Gud.

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

20 Og lær dem forskriftene og lovene, og vis dem veien de skal gå og gjerningene de skal gjøre.

and thou shalt teach them the statutes and the laws, and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.

21 Du skal også se deg ut dyktige menn blant folket, slike som frykter Gud, menn av sannhet som hater urettferdig vinning, og sett dem som ledere over dem, til å være herskere over tusen, over hundre, over femti og over ti.

Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:

22 Og la dem dømme folket til enhver tid. Hver stor sak skal de bringe til deg, men hver liten sak skal de selv dømme, så vil det bli lettere for deg, da de bærer byrden sammen med deg.

and let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge themselves: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear `the burden' with thee.

23 Hvis du gjør dette, og Gud befaler deg det, da vil du kunne holde ut, og også dette folket vil komme til sitt sted med fred.

If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people also shall go to their place in peace.

24 Så hørte Moses på sin svigerfars ord og gjorde alt han hadde sagt.

So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.

25 Moses valgte ut dyktige menn blant hele Israel og satte dem til å være ledere over folket, herskere over tusen, over hundre, over femti og over ti.

And Moses 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 De dømte folket til enhver tid. Den vanskelige saken brakte de til Moses, men hver liten sak dømte de selv.

And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.

27 Så lot Moses sin svigerfar dra, og han vendte tilbake til sitt eget land.

And Moses let his father-in-law depart; and he went his way into his own land.