Exodus 18:26

Exodus 18:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
• New International Version (NIV)They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And they judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.

Context of Exodus 18:26

24Moses listened to Jethro and he did everything that Jethro had said. 25Moses 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. They 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 18:26 word by word

וְשָׁפְט֥וּ אֶת־הָעָ֖ם בְּכָל־עֵ֑ת אֶת־הַדָּבָ֤ר הַקָּשֶׁה֙ יְבִיא֣וּן אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה וְכָל־הַדָּבָ֥ר הַקָּטֹ֖ן יִשְׁפּוּט֥וּ הֵֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And they judgedשָׁפַטshâphaţ · to judgeH8199
• the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• at all seasonsעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• the hardקָשֶׁהqâsheh · severeH7186
• causesדָּבָרdâbâr · word: caseH1697
• they broughtבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
• unto Mosesמֹשֶׁהmôsheh · MosesH4872
• but every smallקָטֹןqâţân qâţôn · smallH6996
• matterהֵ֫מָּהhêm hêmmâh · they(masc.)H1992

Cross-references for Exodus 18:26

• Exodus 18:14Jethro saw all these things that Moses did to help the people. So he said, ‘You are trying to do too much! Why do you sit there alone to judge all these people during the whole day?’
• Exodus 18:15Moses answered Jethro, ‘The people come to me to discover what God says.
• 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.
• 1 Kings 3:16Two women who were prostitutes came to meet with the king. They stood in front of him to tell him their problem.
• 1 Kings 10:1The Queen of Sheba heard news that Solomon was a great king who served the Lord. So she came to ask Solomon some difficult questions to see how wise he was.
• Job 29:16If poor people needed help, I helped them like their father would do. I spoke on behalf of strangers to help them get justice.

Commentaries on Exodus 18:26

• 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 18:26

• Court
• Government
• Moses

In the dictionaries

• Moses
• Appeal
• 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