New International Version
Exodus 18:21
21But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
Exodus 18:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
- English Standard Version (ESV)Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
- New Living Translation (NLT)But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.
Context of Exodus 18:21
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. 20Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22Have 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. 23If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”
Read all of Exodus 18Exodus 18:21 word by word
וְאַתָּ֣ה תֶחֱזֶ֣ה מִכָּל־הָ֠עָם אַנְשֵׁי־חַ֜יִל יִרְאֵ֧י אֱלֹהִ֛ים אַנְשֵׁ֥י אֱמֶ֖ת שֹׂ֣נְאֵי בָ֑צַע וְשַׂמְתָּ֣ עֲלֵהֶ֗ם שָׂרֵ֤י אֲלָפִים֙ שָׂרֵ֣י מֵא֔וֹת שָׂרֵ֥י חֲמִשִּׁ֖ים וְשָׂרֵ֥י עֲשָׂרֹֽת׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Moreover thou shalt provideחָזָהchâzâh · to seeH2372
- out of all the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- ableחַ֫יִלchayil · strengthH2428
- menאֱנוֹשׁ'ĕnôsh · humanH582
- such as fearיָרֵאyârê' · afraidH3373
- Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- of truthאֱמֶת'emeth · truth: faithfulH571
- hatingשָׂנֵאώânê' · to hateH8130
- covetousnessבֶּ֫צַעbetsa‛ · unjust-gainH1215
- and placeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
- rulersשַׂרώar · rulerH8269
- of thousandsאֶ֫לֶף'eleph · thousandH505
- of hundredsמֵאָהmê'âh mê'yâh · hundredH3967
- of fiftiesחֲמִשִּׁיםchămishshîym · fiftyH2572
- of tensעֶשֶׂר‛eώer ‛ăώârâh · tenH6235
Cross-references for Exodus 18:21
- Deuteronomy 1:13Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.”
- Acts 6:3Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them
- Exodus 18:25He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
- Deuteronomy 16:18Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall judge the people fairly.
- 1 Kings 3:9So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
- Proverbs 28:2When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order.
- Exodus 23:2“Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd,
- Genesis 22:12“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
- Genesis 42:18On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God:
- 2 Samuel 23:3The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God,
- 1 Kings 18:3and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord.
- 2 Chronicles 19:5He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah.
- Nehemiah 5:9So I continued, “What you are doing is not right. Shouldn’t you walk in the fear of our God to avoid the reproach of our Gentile enemies?
- Nehemiah 7:2I put in charge of Jerusalem my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah the commander of the citadel, because he was a man of integrity and feared God more than most people do.
- Ecclesiastes 12:13Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.
- Luke 18:2He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.
Commentaries on Exodus 18:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Able men - Persons of wisdom, discernment, judgment, prudence, and fortitude; for who can be a ruler without these qualifications? Such as fear God - Who are truly religious, without which they will feel little concerned either for the bodies or souls of the people. Men of truth - Honest and true in their own hearts and lives; speaking the truth, and judging according to the truth. Hating covetousness - Doing all for God's sake, and love to man; laboring…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Able men - The qualifications are remarkably complete, ability, piety, truthfulness, and unselfishness. From Deuteronomy 1:13, it appears that Moses left the selection of the persons to the people, an example followed by the Apostles; see Acts 6:3. Rulers of thousands - The numbers appear to be conventional, corresponding nearly, but not exactly, to the military, or civil divisions of the people: the largest division (1,000) is used as an equivalent of…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. 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 18:21
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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