Exodus 18:25

Exodus 18:25 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Moses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
• New King James Version (NKJV)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.

Context of Exodus 18:25

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. Moses chose wise men from all the Israelites. He made them officers to lead 1,000 people, or 100 people, or 50 people, or 10 people. 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. 27Then Moses said ‘goodbye’ to his wife's father, Jethro. Jethro returned to his own country.

Exodus 18:25 word by word

וַיִּבְחַ֨ר מֹשֶׁ֤ה אַנְשֵׁי־חַ֙יִל֙ מִכָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַיִּתֵּ֥ן אֹתָ֛ם רָאשִׁ֖ים עַל־הָעָ֑ם שָׂרֵ֤י אֲלָפִים֙ שָׂרֵ֣י מֵא֔וֹת שָׂרֵ֥י חֲמִשִּׁ֖ים וְשָׂרֵ֥י עֲשָׂרֹֽת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• choseבָּחַרbâchar · to chooseH977
• ableחַ֫יִלchayil · strengthH2428
• menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
• out of all Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• and madeנָתַןnâthan · to give: makeH5414
• them headsרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: leaderH7218
• over the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• rulersשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
• of thousandsאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
• of hundredsמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
• of fiftiesחֲמִשִּׁיםchămishshîym · fiftyH2572
• of tensעֶשֶׂר‛eώer ‛ăώârâh · tenH6235

Cross-references for Exodus 18:25

• Exodus 18:21But 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.
• Deuteronomy 1:15So I chose men that you knew were wise to be the leaders in your tribes. I gave them authority to rule over you. Some were leaders of groups of 1,000 men. Some led groups of 100 men, or 50 men, or ten men. I also chose other officers for each tribe.
• Acts 6:5The whole group of believers was happy with the apostles' words. So first they chose a man called Stephen. Stephen believed strongly in God and he was full of the Holy Spirit. The believers also chose six other men: Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas. Nicolas was from Antioch. He was not born as a Jew, but he had joined the Jews later.

Commentaries on Exodus 18:25

• 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. 13-27Jethro’s wise advice shows another example of God’s care and guidance. This time, God did not act through a miracle. Instead, He used practical wisdom. Jethro taught Moses a new way to lead. He told Moses to share his authority with other capable leaders. This way of leadership is called delegation. It means giving responsibility to others. Before this, Moses seems to have followed an Egyptian style of leadership. That system was very strict and top-down…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 18:25

• Court
• Government
• Israel
• Moses

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Moses
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Appeal
• Goodness
• Hard
• Heavy
• Jethro
• Matter

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