2 Mose 18

1 Und da Jethro, der Priester in Midian, Moses Schwiegervater, hörete alles, was Gott getan hatte mit Mose und seinem Volk Israel, daß der HERR Israel hätte aus Ägypten geführet,

Now news came to Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, of all God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, and how the Lord had taken Israel out of Egypt.

2 nahm er Zipora, Moses Weib, die er hatte zurückgesandt,

And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her away,

3 samt ihren zween Söhnen, der eine hieß Gersom; denn er sprach: Ich bin ein Gast worden in fremdem Lande;

And her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom, for he said, I have been living in a strange land:

4 und der andere Elieser; denn er sprach: Der Gott meines Vaters ist meine Hilfe gewesen und hat mich errettet von dem Schwert Pharaos.

And the name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, The God of my father was my help, and kept me safe from the sword of Pharaoh:

5 Da nun Jethro, Moses Schwäher, und seine Söhne und sein Weib zu ihm kamen in die Wüste, an den Berg Gottes, da er sich gelagert hatte,

And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to where Moses had put up his tent in the waste land, by the mountain of God.

6 ließ er Mose sagen: Ich, Jethro, dein Schwäher, bin zu dir kommen, und dein Weib und ihre beiden Söhne mit ihr.

And he said to Moses, I, your father-in-law, have come to you, with your wife and your two sons.

7 Da ging ihm Mose entgegen hinaus und neigte sich vor ihm und küssete ihn. Und da sie sich untereinander gegrüßet hatten, gingen sie in die Hütte.

And Moses went out to his father-in-law, and went down on his face before him and gave him a kiss; and they said to one another, Are you well? and they came into the tent.

8 Da erzählete Mose seinem Schwäher alles, was der HERR Pharao und den Ägyptern getan hatte Israels halben, und alle die Mühe, die ihnen auf dem Wege begegnet war, und daß sie der HERR errettet hätte.

And Moses gave his father-in-law an account of all the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians because of Israel, and of all the troubles which had come on them by the way, and how the Lord had given them salvation.

9 Jethro aber freuete sich all des Guten, das der HERR Israel getan hatte, daß er sie errettet hatte von der Ägypter Hand.

And Jethro was glad because the Lord had been good to Israel, freeing them from the power of the Egyptians.

10 Und Jethro sprach: Gelobet sei der HERR, der euch errettet hat von der Ägypter und Pharaos Hand, der weiß sein Volk von der Ägypter Hand zu erretten.

And Jethro said, Praise be to the Lord, who has taken you out of the hand of Pharaoh and out of the hand of the Egyptians; freeing the people from the yoke of the Egyptians.

11 Nun weiß ich, daß der HERR größer ist denn alle Götter, darum daß sie Hochmut an ihnen geübet haben.

Now I am certain that the Lord is greater than all gods, for he has overcome them in their pride.

12 Und Jethro, Moses Schwäher, nahm Brandopfer und opferte Gott. Da kam Aaron und alle Ältesten in Israel, mit Moses Schwäher das Brot zu essen vor Gott.

Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, made a burned offering to God: and Aaron came, with the chiefs of Israel, and had a meal with Moses' father-in-law, before God.

13 Des andern Morgens setzte sich Mose, das Volk zu richten; und das Volk stund um Mose her von Morgen an bis zu Abend.

Now on the day after, Moses took his seat to give decisions for the people: and the people were waiting before Moses from morning till evening.

14 Da aber sein Schwäher sah alles, was er mit dem Volk tat, sprach er: Was ist, das du tust mit dem Volk? Warum sitzest du allein, und alles Volk stehet um dich her von Morgen an bis zu Abend?

And when Moses' father-in-law saw all he was doing, he said, What is this you are doing for the people? why are you seated here by yourself, with all the people waiting before you from morning till evening?

15 Mose antwortete ihm: Das Volk kommt zu mir und fragen Gott um Rat.

And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to get directions from God:

16 Denn wo sie was zu schaffen haben, kommen sie zu mir, daß ich richte zwischen einem jeglichen und seinem Nächsten und zeige ihnen Gottes Rechte und seine Gesetze.

And if they have any question between themselves, they come to me, and I am judge between a man and his neighbour, and I give them the orders and laws of God.

17 Sein Schwäher sprach zu ihm: Es ist nicht gut, das du tust.

And Moses' father-in-law said to him, What you are doing is not good.

18 Du machest dich zu müde, dazu das Volk auch, das mit dir ist. Das Geschäft ist dir zu schwer, du kannst es allein nicht ausrichten.

Your strength and that of the people will be completely used up: this work is more than you are able to do by yourself.

19 Aber gehorche meiner Stimme; ich will dir raten, und Gott wird mit dir sein. Pflege du des Volks vor Gott und bringe die Geschäfte vor Gott;

Give ear now to my suggestion, and may God be with you: you are to be the people's representative before God, taking their causes to him:

20 und stelle ihnen Rechte und Gesetze, daß du sie lehrest den Weg, darin sie wandeln, und die Werke, die sie tun sollen.

Teaching them his rules and his laws, guiding them in the way they have to go, and making clear to them the work they have to do.

21 Sieh dich aber um unter allem Volk nach redlichen Leuten, die Gott fürchten, wahrhaftig und dem Geiz feind sind; die setze über sie, etliche über tausend, über hundert, über fünfzig und über zehn,

But for the rest, take from among the people able men, such as have the fear of God, true men hating profits wrongly made; and put such men over them, to be captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens;

22 daß sie das Volk allezeit richten; wo aber eine große Sache ist, daß sie dieselbe an dich bringen, und sie alle geringen Sachen richten. So wird dir's leichter werden, und sie mit dir tragen.

And let them be judges in the causes of the people at all times: and let them put before you all important questions, but in small things let them give decisions themselves: in this way, it will be less hard for you, and they will take the weight off you.

23 Wirst du das tun, so kannst du ausrichten, was dir Gott gebeut, und all dies Volk kann mit Frieden an seinen Ort kommen.

If you do this, and God gives approval, then you will be able to go on without weariness, and all this people will go to their tents in peace.

24 Mose gehorchte seines Schwähers Wort und tat alles, was er sagte,

So Moses took note of the words of his father-in-law, and did as he had said.

25 und redliche Leute aus dem ganzen Israel und machte sie zu Häuptern über das Volk, etliche über tausend, über hundert, über fünfzig und über zehn

And he made selection of able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens.

26 daß sie das Volk allezeit richteten, was aber schwere Sachen wären, zu Mose brächten, und die kleinen Sachen sie richteten.

And they were judges in the causes of the people at all times: the hard questions they put before Moses; but on every small point they gave decisions themselves.

27 Also ließ Mose seinen Schwäher in sein Land ziehen.

And Moses let his father-in-law go away, and he went back to his land.