New International Version
Exodus 18:15
15Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will.
Exodus 18:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Moses said unto his father in law, Because the people come unto me to enquire of God:
- English Standard Version (ESV)And Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God;
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God.
Context of Exodus 18:15
13The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14When 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?” Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.” 17Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good.
Read all of Exodus 18Exodus 18:15 word by word
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֖ה לְחֹתְנ֑וֹ כִּֽי־יָבֹ֥א אֵלַ֛י הָעָ֖ם לִדְרֹ֥שׁ אֱלֹהִֽים׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 18:15
- Exodus 18:19Listen 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.
- Leviticus 24:12They put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them.
- Numbers 15:34and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him.
- Numbers 27:5So Moses brought their case before the Lord,
Commentaries on Exodus 18:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15The people come unto me to inquire of God - To know the mind and will of God on the subject of their inquiries. Moses was the mediator between God and the people; and as they believed that all justice and judgment must come from him, therefore they came to Moses to know what God had spoken.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15To enquire of God - The decisions of Moses were doubtless accepted by the people as oracles. The internal prompting of the Spirit was a sufficient guidance for him, and a sufficient authority for the people.Read the comment
- 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. 13-16Moses had begun to take a role similar to Pharaoh’s. He was making himself necessary for every decision the people faced.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 18:15
In the dictionaries
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
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