Jetro besøger Moses
1Det varede ikke længe, før Jetro, Moses’ svigerfar, der var præst i Midjan, hørte om de fantastiske mirakler, Gud havde gjort, da han førte sit folk, israelitterne, ud af Egypten.
2Moses havde på et tidligere tidspunkt sendt sin kone Zippora og sine to sønner tilbage til Jetro. 3Moses’ ældste søn fik navnet Gershom,18,3 Det betyder: „udlænding”. for han sagde: „Jeg har levet som fremmed i udlandet.” 4Hans anden søn fik navnet Eliezer,18,4 Det betyder: „Gud er min hjælper”. for han sagde: „Mine forfædres Gud er blevet min hjælper ved at redde mig ud af Faraos kløer.” 5Jetro var nu på vej sammen med Zippora og de to sønner til Moses i ørkenen, hvor han havde slået lejr ved Guds bjerg.18,5 Det er Sinaibjerget, også kaldet Horebs bjerg.
6Han sendte en besked i forvejen til Moses: „Jeg, din svigerfar Jetro, er på vej med din kone og dine to sønner.” 7Moses gik straks sin svigerfar i møde, bøjede sig ærbødigt og kyssede ham på kinden til velkomst. Efter at have spurgt til hinandens helbred gik de ind i Moses’ telt for at tale sammen. 8Moses fortalte sin svigerfar om alle de undere, Herren havde gjort for at redde israelitterne fra Farao og egypterne. Han fortalte også om de problemer, der havde været undervejs, og om, hvordan Herren havde hjulpet folket igennem det alt sammen. 9Jetro var begejstret over at høre, hvad Herren havde gjort for Israels folk, og hvordan han havde ført dem ud af Egypten.
10„Lovet være Jahve,” sagde Jetro, „for han har reddet jer fra egypterne og Farao—ja, han har virkelig befriet jer fra slaveriet i Egypten. 11Nu ser jeg, at Jahve er større end nogen anden gud, for han har befriet sit folk fra de stolte og brutale egyptere.”
12Så ofrede Jetro brændofre og andre ofre til Gud, og Aron og Israels øvrige ledere kom for at spise offermåltid sammen med ham.
13Næste dag satte Moses sig som sædvanlig for at høre på folks klager og løse deres indbyrdes konflikter. De stod i kø omkring ham fra morgen til aften. 14Da hans svigerfar så, hvor tidkrævende et arbejde det var, sagde han: „Sikke meget arbejde du har med folket. Hvorfor er du alene om at klare den store opgave? Folk står jo i kø hele dagen for at få hjælp.”
15„Folket kommer til mig i håb om at få Guds svar på deres problemer,” forklarede Moses, 16„og når de har en retssag, er jeg deres dommer. Det er jo min opgave at undervise dem om Guds forordninger og instruktioner.”
17„Det er ikke en god måde at gøre det på,” svarede Jetro. 18„Både du selv og folket bliver jo ganske udmattede. Moses, den opgave er for tung en byrde, hvis du forsøger at gøre alting selv. 19Lyt til mit råd—så vil Gud være med dig. Du skal fortsat selv træde frem for Gud på folkets vegne og spørge ham til råds i de vanskelige sager. 20Og du skal også undervise folket om hans forordninger og instruktioner og lære dem principperne for gudsfrygt, og hvordan de bør leve. 21Men du bliver nødt til at finde nogle kvalificerede, ærlige og gudfrygtige mænd, der ikke vil tage imod bestikkelse.
Dem skal du indsætte som dommere og rådgivere, nogle med ansvar for 1000 mennesker, nogle med ansvar for 100 mennesker, og andre med ansvar for 50 eller ti personer. 22Overlad så ansvaret for lov og orden til dem. Hvis en sag er kompliceret eller særlig betydningsfuld, kan de henvende sig til dig. Men alle mindre sager kan de selv tage sig af. Det vil betyde en stor aflastning for dig, hvis du på den måde uddelegerer nogle af dine ansvarsfulde opgaver til andre. 23Hvis du følger mit råd, og hvis det er i overensstemmelse med Guds vilje, vil du undgå stress, og folket kan hurtigere få deres sager behandlet og derfor gå tilfredse hjem.”
24Moses fulgte sin svigerfars råd. 25Han udvalgte kvalificerede mænd fra alle de 12 stammer og udnævnte dem til dommere og ledere for henholdsvis 1000, 100, 50 og 10 personer. 26Disse mænd stod altid til rådighed, så retfærdigheden kunne ske fyldest. Alle mindre sager tog de sig af, og kun de mere komplicerede blev overladt til Moses.
27Kort efter tog Moses afsked med sin svigerfar, som vendte tilbage til sit land.
Jethro Visits Moses
1Moses’ father-in-law Jethro was the priest of Midian. He heard about everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel. Jethro heard how the Lord had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2Moses had sent his wife Zipporah to his father-in-law. So Jethro welcomed her 3and her two sons. One son was named Gershom. That’s because Moses had said, “I’m an outsider in a strange land.” 4The other was named Eliezer. That’s because Moses had said, “My father’s God helped me. He saved me from Pharaoh’s sword.”
5Moses’ father-in-law Jethro came to Moses in the desert. Moses’ sons and wife came with Jethro. Moses was camped near the mountain of God. 6Jethro had sent a message to him. It said, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you. I’m bringing your wife and her two sons.”
7So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law. Moses bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other. Then they went into the tent. 8Moses told Jethro everything the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. The Lord did all of this because of how much he loved Israel. Moses told Jethro about all their hard times along the way. He told him about how the Lord had saved them.
9Jethro was delighted to hear about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel. He heard about how God had saved them from the power of the Egyptians. 10He said, “I praise the Lord. He saved you and your people from the power of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh. 11Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods. See what he did to those who looked down on Israel.” 12Then Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God. Aaron came with all the elders of Israel. They ate a meal with Moses’ father-in-law in the sight of God.
13The next day Moses took his seat to serve the people as their judge. They stood around him from morning until evening. 14His father-in-law saw everything Moses was doing for the people. So he said, “Aren’t you trying to do too much for the people? You are the only judge. And all these people are standing around you from morning until evening.”
15Moses answered, “The people come to me to find out what God wants them to do. 16Anytime they don’t agree with one another, they come to me. I decide between them. I tell them about God’s rules and instructions.”
17Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing isn’t good. 18You will just get worn out. And so will these people who come to you. There’s too much work for you. You can’t possibly handle it by yourself. 19Listen to me. I’ll give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must speak to God for the people. Take their problems to him. 20Teach them his rules and instructions. Show them how to live and what to do. 21But choose men of ability from all the people. They must have respect for God. You must be able to trust them. They must not try to get money by cheating others. Appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22Let them serve the people as judges. But have them bring every hard case to you. They can decide the easy ones themselves. That will make your load lighter. They will share it with you. 23If this is what God wants and if you do it, then you will be able to carry the load. And all these people will go home satisfied.”
24Moses listened to his father-in-law. He did everything Jethro said. 25He chose men of ability from the whole community of Israel. He made them leaders of the people. They became officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 26They judged the people at all times. They brought the hard cases to Moses. But they decided the easy ones themselves.
27Moses sent his father-in-law on his way. So Jethro returned to his own country.
