Exodus 18:22

Exodus 18:22 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.

Context of Exodus 18:22

20You are the person who must teach them God's laws and commands. You must show them how they should live and what they must do. 21But you must also choose some other clever men to help you. They must be honest men who respect God. They must not want to take money from people. Choose these men to be officers with authority over groups of the people. They will be leaders of 1,000 people, or 100 people, or 50 people, or 10 people. They will be able to work as judges for the people, every day. They can decide the small quarrels. But if there is a difficult problem, they must bring it to you. That will make your work easier, because they will help you with the work. 23If you agree with my idea, and if God commands you to do it, it will help you. The work will not be too hard for you. And all these people will go home happily.’ 24Moses listened to Jethro and he did everything that Jethro had said.

Exodus 18:22 word by word

וְשָׁפְט֣וּ אֶת־הָעָם֮ בְּכָל־עֵת֒ וְהָיָ֞ה כָּל־הַדָּבָ֤ר הַגָּדֹל֙ יָבִ֣יאוּ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְכָל־הַדָּבָ֥ר הַקָּטֹ֖ן יִשְׁפְּטוּ־הֵ֑ם וְהָקֵל֙ מֵֽעָלֶ֔יךָ וְנָשְׂא֖וּ אִתָּֽךְ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And let them judgeשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
• the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• at all seasonsעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• every greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• matterדָּבָרdâbâr · word: thingH1697
• they shall bringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
• unto thee, but every smallקָטֹןqâţân qâţôn · smallH6996
• so shall it be easierקָלַלqâlal · to lightenH7043
• for thyself, and they shall bearנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: bearH5375

Cross-references for Exodus 18:22

• Exodus 18:26They worked as judges for the people at all times. If there was a difficult problem, they took it to Moses for him to decide. But they themselves decided the small problems.
• Romans 13:6This is also the reason why you pay taxes to the government. You should pay them, because the officers are God's servants. They are doing the work that God has given to them.
• Leviticus 24:11The Israelite woman's son said bad things about God. The people took him to Moses. (The name of the mother was Shelomith. She was the daughter of Dibri from the family of Dan.)
• Numbers 15:33Some people found him while he was picking up the sticks. They took him to Moses and Aaron and to all the people.
• Numbers 27:2Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the people were standing at the front of the Tent of Meeting. Zelophehad's daughters said to them,
• Numbers 36:1The leaders of the families in Gilead's clan went to Moses and to the other leaders of the Israelites' clans. (Gilead was the descendant of Makir, who was the descendant of Manasseh. Manasseh was Joseph's son.)
• Deuteronomy 1:17When you judge them, do not make any difference between important people and poor people. Listen to all of them in a careful way. Do not be afraid of anyone. God is the one who decides what is right. If it is too difficult for you to decide who is right, bring it to me. I will listen and then I will decide what is right.’
• Deuteronomy 17:8It may be difficult for the judges in your towns to decide what is true. This may happen when one person has attacked or killed another person. It may happen when people cannot agree about some land. It may be anything that people in your towns are arguing about. If you do not know who is right, you must take those people to the place that the Lord your God will choose.
• Exodus 18:18You will become too tired. The people who come to you will also become tired. You cannot do all this work alone.
• Numbers 11:17Then I will come down and I will speak with you there. I will take some of the authority of my Spirit that I gave to you. I will share it with them. Then they will help you to lead the people. So you will not be the only man who is doing that job.

Commentaries on Exodus 18:22

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-27Verses 13-27 Here is the great zeal and the toil of Moses as a magistrate. Having been employed to redeem Israel out of the house of bondage, he is a further type of Christ, that he is employed as a lawgiver and a judge among them. If the people were as quarrelsome one with another as they were with God, no doubt Moses had many causes brought before him. This business Moses was called to; it appears that he did it with great care and kindness. The meanest…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-22Moses needed to distinguish between his teaching function, in which he received and declared God’s decrees and instructions (18:19–20), and his administrative function, in which he applied all of those decrees and instructions (18:21–22).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-2613-26. on the morrow ... Moses sat to judge the people, &c.--We are here presented with a specimen of his daily morning occupations; and among the multifarious duties his divine legation imposed, it must be considered only a small portion of his official employments. He appears in this attitude as a type of Christ in His legislative and judicial characters. the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening, &c.--Governors in the East seat…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 18:22

• Court
• Government
• Judge
• Moses
• Prudence
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Appeal
• Burden
• Goodness
• Hard
• Heavy
• Jethro
• Matter
• Wear
• Blindness, Judicial
• Courts, Judicial

Commentaries on Exodus 18

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings