Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, July 31st, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
video advertismenet
advertisement
advertisement
advertisement
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!
Click here to learn more!
Read the Bible
Good News Translation
Exodus 18:17
Then Jethro said, "You are not doing this right.
Jump to:Bible Study Tools • Parallel Bible Verse • Bible Contextual Overview • Bible Cross-References • Gill's Bible Notes
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- CondensedParallel Translations
Hebrew Names Version
Moshe' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you do is not good.
Moshe' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you do is not good.
King James Version
And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
Lexham English Bible
And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good.
And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good.
New Century Version
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "You are not doing this right.
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "You are not doing this right.
New English Translation
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good!
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good!
Amplified Bible
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good.
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good.
New American Standard Bible
Moses' father-in-law then said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good.
Moses' father-in-law then said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good.
Geneva Bible (1587)
But Moses father in law said vnto him, The thing which thou doest, is not well.
But Moses father in law said vnto him, The thing which thou doest, is not well.
Legacy Standard Bible
And Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good.
And Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good.
Contemporary English Version
Jethro replied: That isn't the best way to do it.
Jethro replied: That isn't the best way to do it.
Complete Jewish Bible
Moshe's father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing isn't good.
Moshe's father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing isn't good.
Darby Translation
And Moses' father-in-law said to him, The thing that thou art doing is not good.
And Moses' father-in-law said to him, The thing that thou art doing is not good.
Easy-to-Read Version
But Moses' father-in-law said to him, "This isn't the right way to do this.
But Moses' father-in-law said to him, "This isn't the right way to do this.
English Standard Version
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good.
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good.
George Lamsa Translation
And Moses father-in-law said to him, The thing that you are doing is not good.
And Moses father-in-law said to him, The thing that you are doing is not good.
Christian Standard Bible®
“What you’re doing is not good,” Moses’s father-in-law said to him.
“What you’re doing is not good,” Moses’s father-in-law said to him.
Literal Translation
And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, The thing which you do is not good.
And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, The thing which you do is not good.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
His father in lawe sayde vnto him: It is not well that thou doest.
His father in lawe sayde vnto him: It is not well that thou doest.
American Standard Version
And Moses' father-in-law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
And Moses' father-in-law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
Bible in Basic English
And Moses' father-in-law said to him, What you are doing is not good.
And Moses' father-in-law said to him, What you are doing is not good.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Moyses father in lawe sayde vnto hym: It is not well that thou doest.
And Moyses father in lawe sayde vnto hym: It is not well that thou doest.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Moses' father-in-law said unto him: 'The thing that thou doest is not good.
And Moses' father-in-law said unto him: 'The thing that thou doest is not good.
King James Version (1611)
And Moses father in law saide vnto him, The thing that thou doest, is not good.
And Moses father in law saide vnto him, The thing that thou doest, is not good.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, Thou dost not this thing rightly,
And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, Thou dost not this thing rightly,
English Revised Version
And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good.
Berean Standard Bible
But Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good.
But Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Jetro seide, Thou doist a thing not good,
And Jetro seide, Thou doist a thing not good,
Young's Literal Translation
And the father-in-law of Moses saith unto him, `The thing which thou art doing [is] not good;
And the father-in-law of Moses saith unto him, `The thing which thou art doing [is] not good;
Update Bible Version
And Moses' father-in-law said to him, The thing that you do is not good.
And Moses' father-in-law said to him, The thing that you do is not good.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Moses's father-in-law said to him, The thing that thou doest [is] not good.
And Moses's father-in-law said to him, The thing that thou doest [is] not good.
World English Bible
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you do is not good.
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you do is not good.
New King James Version
So Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you do is not good.
So Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you do is not good.
New Living Translation
"This is not good!" Moses' father-in-law exclaimed.
"This is not good!" Moses' father-in-law exclaimed.
New Life Bible
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good.
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good.
New Revised Standard
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good.
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Moses' father-in-law unto him, - Not good, is the thing that thou art doing.
Then said Moses' father-in-law unto him, - Not good, is the thing that thou art doing.
Douay-Rheims Bible
But he said: The thing thou dost is not good.
But he said: The thing thou dost is not good.
Revised Standard Version
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good.
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good.
THE MESSAGE
Moses' father-in-law said, "This is no way to go about it. You'll burn out, and the people right along with you. This is way too much for you—you can't do this alone. Now listen to me. Let me tell you how to do this so that God will be in this with you. Be there for the people before God, but let the matters of concern be presented to God. Your job is to teach them the rules and instructions, to show them how to live, what to do. And then you need to keep a sharp eye out for competent men—men who fear God, men of integrity, men who are incorruptible—and appoint them as leaders over groups organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten. They'll be responsible for the everyday work of judging among the people. They'll bring the hard cases to you, but in the routine cases they'll be the judges. They will share your load and that will make it easier for you. If you handle the work this way, you'll have the strength to carry out whatever God commands you, and the people in their settings will flourish also."
Moses' father-in-law said, "This is no way to go about it. You'll burn out, and the people right along with you. This is way too much for you—you can't do this alone. Now listen to me. Let me tell you how to do this so that God will be in this with you. Be there for the people before God, but let the matters of concern be presented to God. Your job is to teach them the rules and instructions, to show them how to live, what to do. And then you need to keep a sharp eye out for competent men—men who fear God, men of integrity, men who are incorruptible—and appoint them as leaders over groups organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten. They'll be responsible for the everyday work of judging among the people. They'll bring the hard cases to you, but in the routine cases they'll be the judges. They will share your load and that will make it easier for you. If you handle the work this way, you'll have the strength to carry out whatever God commands you, and the people in their settings will flourish also."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good.
Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you are doing is not good.
Contextual Overview
13 The next day Moses was settling disputes among the people, and he was kept busy from morning till night. 14 When Jethro saw everything that Moses had to do, he asked, "What is all this that you are doing for the people? Why are you doing this all alone, with people standing here from morning till night to consult you?" 15 Moses answered, "I must do this because the people come to me to learn God's will. 16 When two people have a dispute, they come to me, and I decide which one of them is right, and I tell them God's commands and laws." 17 Then Jethro said, "You are not doing this right. 18 You will wear yourself out and these people as well. This is too much for you to do alone. 19 Now let me give you some good advice, and God will be with you. It is right for you to represent the people before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 You should teach them God's commands and explain to them how they should live and what they should do. 21 But in addition, you should choose some capable men and appoint them as leaders of the people: leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They must be God-fearing men who can be trusted and who cannot be bribed. 22 Let them serve as judges for the people on a permanent basis. They can bring all the difficult cases to you, but they themselves can decide all the smaller disputes. That will make it easier for you, as they share your burden.
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
not good: Exodus 18:14, Deuteronomy 1:12, 1 Kings 3:8, 1 Kings 3:9, 1 Kings 13:18, 2 Chronicles 19:6, Matthew 17:4, John 13:6-10
Reciprocal: Genesis 20:7 - a prophet Proverbs 27:9 - so Acts 6:2 - we should
Cross-References
Genesis 19:24
Suddenly the Lord rained burning sulfur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
Suddenly the Lord rained burning sulfur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
2 Kings 4:27
but when she came to Elisha, she bowed down before him and took hold of his feet. Gehazi was about to push her away, but Elisha said, "Leave her alone. Can't you see she's deeply distressed? And the Lord has not told me a thing about it."
but when she came to Elisha, she bowed down before him and took hold of his feet. Gehazi was about to push her away, but Elisha said, "Leave her alone. Can't you see she's deeply distressed? And the Lord has not told me a thing about it."
2 Chronicles 20:7
You are our God. When your people Israel moved into this land, you drove out the people who were living here and gave the land to the descendants of Abraham, your friend, to be theirs forever.
You are our God. When your people Israel moved into this land, you drove out the people who were living here and gave the land to the descendants of Abraham, your friend, to be theirs forever.
Psalms 25:14
The Lord is the friend of those who obey him and he affirms his covenant with them.
The Lord is the friend of those who obey him and he affirms his covenant with them.
John 15:15
I do not call you servants any longer, because servants do not know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have told you everything I heard from my Father.
I do not call you servants any longer, because servants do not know what their master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have told you everything I heard from my Father.
James 2:23
And the scripture came true that said, "Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous." And so Abraham was called God's friend.
And the scripture came true that said, "Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous." And so Abraham was called God's friend.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And Moses's father in law said unto him,.... Having observed what he did, and heard his answer to the question he put to him:
the thing that thou doest is not good; not meaning that it was not morally good, or that it was morally evil; for it was certainly a good thing to inquire of the mind and will of God for the people, and to hear and decide matters in controversy between them, and do justice to both parties; but it was not good for the health of Moses; it was not commodious and convenient for him; it was not for his bodily welfare; it was too much for him, as he explains himself in the next verse.
