Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, how that Jehovah had brought Israel out of Egypt.
And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her away,
and her two sons; of whom the name of the one was Gershom; for he said, I have been {Hebrew: ger.}a sojourner in a foreign land:
and the name of the other was {Hebrew: El, God, and ezer, help.}Eliezer; for he said, The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.
And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife unto Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped, at the mount of God:
and he said unto Moses, I, thy father-in-law Jethro, am come unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance, and kissed him: and they asked each other of their welfare; and they came into the tent.
And Moses told his father-in-law all that Jehovah had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how Jehovah delivered them.
And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which Jehovah had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
And Jethro said, Blessed be Jehovah, 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.
Now I know that Jehovah is greater than all gods; yea, in the thing wherein they dealt proudly against them.
And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God: and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood about Moses from the morning unto the evening.
And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand about thee from morning unto even?
And Moses said unto his father-in-law, Because the people come unto me to inquire of God:
when they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
And Moses' father-in-law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for the thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God be with thee: be thou for the people to God-ward, and bring thou the causes unto God:
and thou shalt teach them the statutes and the laws, and shalt show them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.
Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:
and let them judge the people at all seasons: 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 thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people also shall go to their place in peace.
So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.
And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
And Moses let his father-in-law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
Querverweise zu 2. Mose 18,21 2Mo 18,21
Take you wise men, and understanding, and known, according to your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.
And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do.
So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes.
And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the sojourner that is with him.
Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; ye shall hear the small and the great alike; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you ye shall bring unto me, and I will hear it.
And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou {Or, bear witness}speak in a cause to turn aside after a multitude to wrest justice:
neither shalt thou favor a poor man in his cause.
If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, {Or, and wouldest forbear to release it for him, thou shall surely release it with him}thou shalt forbear to leave him, thou shalt surely release it with him.
Thou shalt not wrest the justice due to thy poor in his cause.
Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.
And thou shalt take no bribe: for a bribe blindeth them that have sight, and perverteth the {Or, cause}words of the righteous.
And a sojourner shalt thou not oppress: for ye know the heart of a sojourner, seeing ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
I was a father to the needy:And {Or, the cause which i knew not}the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.
And thou shalt take no bribe: for a bribe blindeth them that have sight, and perverteth the {Or, cause}words of the righteous.
And if they blow but one, then the princes, the heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee.
{Some ancient authorities read But, brethren, look ye out from among you.}Look ye out therefore, brethren, from among you seven men of good report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, according to thy tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.
If I have despised the cause of my man-servant or of my maid-servant,When they contended with me;
Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, according to thy tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes.
Give thy servant therefore an {Hebrew: hearing.}understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this thy {Hebrew: heavy.}great people?
And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.
And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself {Hebrew: many days.}long life, neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding to {Hebrew: hear.}discern justice;
behold, I have done according to thy word: lo, I have given thee a wise and an {Hebrew: hearing.}understanding heart; so that there hath been none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.
And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live: for I fear God:
And a throne shall be established in lovingkindness; and one shall sit thereon in truth, in the tent of David, judging, and seeking justice, and swift to do righteousness.
Thou shalt not wrest justice: thou shalt not respect persons; neither shalt thou take a bribe; for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the {Or, cause}words of the righteous.
and with him ten princes, one prince of a fathers' house for each of the tribes of Israel; and they were every one of them head of their fathers' houses among the {Or, families}thousands of Israel.
For the transgression of a land many are the princes thereof;But by {Or, a man}men of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged.
The God of Israel said,The Rock of Israel spake to me: {Or, There shall be one…and it shall be as &c.}One that ruleth over men {Hebrew: a righteous one.}righteously,That ruleth in the fear of God,
None {Hebrew: called.}sueth in righteousness, and none pleadeth in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice.
and he will appoint them unto him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and he will set some to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.
And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared Jehovah greatly:
And justice is turned away backward, and righteousness standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and uprightness cannot enter.
Here I am: witness against me before Jehovah, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I taken a {Or, bribe}ransom {Or, that I should hide mine eyes at him}to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.
And it will come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of Jehovah will carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he will slay me: but I thy servant fear Jehovah from my youth.
Yea, truth is lacking; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey.And Jehovah saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice.
And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man's hand.
And he set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city,
and said to the judges, Consider what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for Jehovah; and he is with you {Or, in giving judgement Hebrew: in the matter of judgement.}in the judgment.
Now therefore let the fear of Jehovah be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with Jehovah our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes.
Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites and the priests, and of the heads of the fathers' houses of Israel, for the judgment of Jehovah, and for controversies. And they returned to Jerusalem.
And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of Jehovah, faithfully, and with a perfect heart.
And whensoever any controversy shall come to you from your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and ordinances, ye shall warn them, that they be not guilty towards Jehovah, and so wrath come upon you and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not be guilty.
Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that doeth justly, that seeketh {Or, faithfulness}truth; and I will pardon her.
{Or, Take not away}Gather not my soul with sinners,Nor my life with men of blood;
Also I said, The thing that ye do is not good: ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God, because of the reproach of the nations our enemies?
he that hath not given forth upon interest, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true justice between man and man,
In whose hands is wickedness,And their right hand is full of bribes.
that I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the governor of the castle, charge over Jerusalem; for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.
Thus hath Jehovah of hosts spoken, saying, Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother;
He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of {Or, fraud}oppressions, that shaketh his hands from taking a bribe, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from looking upon evil:
{Or, Let us hear the conclusion of the whole master}This is the end of the matter; all hath been heard: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for {Or, this is the duty of all men}this is the whole duty of man.
These are the things that ye shall do: Speak ye every man the truth with his neighbor; {Hebrew: judge truth and the judgment of peace.}execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates;
In thee have they taken bribes to shed blood; thou hast taken interest and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by oppression, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord Jehovah.
saying, There was in a city a judge, who feared not God, and regarded not man:
I coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
{Or, not quarrelsome over wine}no brawler, no striker; but gentle, not contentious, no lover of money;
But they that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is a root of all {Or, evils.}kinds of evil: which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, {Or, stedfastness}patience, meekness.
having eyes full of {Greek: an adulteress.}adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing unstedfast souls; having a heart exercised in covetousness; children of cursing;
forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of {Many ancient authorities read Bosor.}Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing;