2 Mosebok 18

1 Jetro, presten i Midian, Moses' svigerfar, fikk høre alt det Gud hadde gjort for Moses og for sitt folk Israel, hvorledes Herren hadde ført Israel ut av Egypten.

And Jithro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, that the Lord had brought forth Israel out of Egypt.

2 Da tok Jetro, Moses' svigerfar, Sippora, Moses' hustru, som Moses før hadde sendt hjem,

Then took Jithro, the father-in-law of Moses, Zipporah, the wife of Moses, after he had sent her back,

3 og hennes to sønner - den ene hette Gersom, for Moses hadde sagt: Jeg er blitt gjest i et fremmed land,

And her two sons; of whom the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been a stranger in a foreign land:

4 og den andre hette Elieser, for han hadde sagt: Min fars Gud var min hjelp og fridde mig fra Faraos sverd.

And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.

5 Da nu Jetro, Moses' svigerfar, kom med hans sønner og hans hustru til ham i ørkenen, der hvor Moses hadde slått leir, ved Guds berg,

And Jithro, the father-in-law of Moses, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses, unto the wilderness, where he was encamped at the mount of God.

6 sendte han bud til Moses og sa: Jeg, din svigerfar Jetro, kommer til dig med din hustru og hennes to sønner.

And he sent word unto Moses, I thy father-in-law Jithro am coming unto thee, with thy wife, and her two sons with her.

7 Da gikk Moses sin svigerfar møte, bøide sig for ham og kysset ham, og de spurte hverandre hvorledes det stod til; så gikk de inn i teltet.

And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and bowed himself, and kissed him; and they asked each other after their welfare; and they went into the tent.

8 Og Moses fortalte sin svigerfar alt det Herren hadde gjort med Farao og egypterne for Israels skyld, og all den møie de hadde hatt på veien, og hvorledes Herren hadde hjulpet dem.

And Moses told his father-in-law all which the Lord had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians on account of Israel, all the hardship which had come upon them by the way, and how the Lord had delivered them.

9 Da blev Jetro glad over alt det gode Herren hadde gjort mot Israel, at han hadde fridd dem av egypternes hånd.

And Jithro rejoiced over all the goodness which the Lord had done to Israel, that he had delivered it out of the hand of the Egyptians.

10 Og Jetro sa: Lovet være Herren, som fridde eder av egypternes hånd Og av Faraos hånd - han som fridde folket av egypternes hånd!

And Jithro said, Blessed be the Lord, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

11 Nu vet jeg at Herren er større enn alle guder; for således viste han sig ved det hvormed egypterne viste sitt overmot mot dette folk.

Now I know that the Eternal is great above all gods; for by the very thing wherein they sinned presumptuously was punishment brought upon them.

12 Og Jetro, Moses' svigerfar, tok og ofret brennoffer og slaktoffer til Gud; og Aron og alle Israels eldste kom og holdt måltid med Moses' svigerfar for Guds åsyn.

And Jithro, the father-in-law of Moses, offered a burnt-offering and sacrifices unto God; and Aaron came, with all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses, before God.

13 Dagen efter satt Moses og skiftet rett mellem folket, og folket stod omkring Moses fra morgen til kveld.

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood around Moses from the morning unto the evening.

14 Da Moses' svigerfar så hvor meget han hadde å gjøre for folket, sa han: Hvad er dette for et arbeid du legger på dig for folket? Hvorfor sitter du alene og dømmer mens hele folket står omkring dig fra morgen til kveld?

And the father-in-law of Moses saw all that he did to the people; and he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people standeth around thee from morning until evening?

15 Moses svarte sin svigerfar: Folket kommer til mig for å få vite Guds vilje;

And Moses said unto his father-in-law, Because the people cometh unto me to inquire of God.

16 når de har en sak, da kommer de til mig, og jeg skifter rett mellem dem og lærer dem Guds bud og lover.

When they have a matter of dispute, they come unto me; and I judge between one and the other, and I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.

17 Da sa Moses' svigerfar til ham: Det er ikke klokt det du her gjør.

And the father-in-law of Moses said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.

18 Du må jo bli altfor trett, både du og dette folk som er med dig; for dette arbeid er for svært for dig, du makter ikke å gjøre det alene.

Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee; for the thing is too heavy for thee; thou wilt not be able to perform it by thyself alone.

19 Men hør nu på mig! Jeg vil gi dig et råd, og Gud skal være med dig. Tred du frem for Gud på folkets vegne og legg deres saker frem for ham,

Now hearken unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and may God be with thee, Be thou for the people a mediator with God, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God.

20 forklar dem budene og lovene, og lær dem den vei de skal vandre, og den gjerning de skal gjøre.

And thou shalt explain to them the statutes and the laws; and thou shalt make them know the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.

21 Velg dig så ut duelige menn av hele folket, menn som frykter Gud, troverdige menn, som hater urettferdig vinning, og sett dem til domsmenn over dem, nogen over tusen, nogen over hundre, nogen over femti og nogen over ti!

Moreover, thou shalt select out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating [their own] gain; and place these over them, as rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

22 Og de skal skifte rett mellem folket til enhver tid; enhver stor sak skal de komme til dig med, men enhver liten sak skal de selv dømme i. Således letter du byrden for dig selv, og de bærer den med dig.

And let them judge the people at all times; and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge themselves: so shall it be easier for thee, when they shall bear with thee.

23 Dersom du gjør dette, og Gud byder dig det, da vil du kunne holde ut, og da vil også alt folket her kunne gå hjem i fred.

If thou wilt do this thing, and God commandeth it thee, then wilt thou be able to endure; and also the whole of this people will come to its place in peace.

24 Moses lød sin svigerfars råd og gjorde alt det han sa.

And Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.

25 Han valgte ut duelige menn av hele Israel og satte dem til høvdinger over folket, til domsmenn, nogen over tusen, nogen over hundre, nogen over femti og nogen over ti.

And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and placed them as heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

26 Og de skiftet rett mellem folket til enhver tid; enhver vanskelig sak kom de til Moses med, men i enhver liten sak dømte de selv.

And they judged the people at all times; any difficult cause they brought unto Moses, but every small cause they judged themselves.

27 Så bad Moses farvel med sin svigerfar, og han drog hjem til sitt eget land.

And Moses dismissed his father-in-law; and he went his way unto his own land.