At that time I said to you, “I cannot carry the burden for you alone.
Parallel translations
- WEB I spoke to you at that time, saying, “I am not able to bear you myself alone.
- KJV And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone:
- NKJV “And I spoke to you at that time, saying: ‘I alone am not able to bear you.
- NASB “And I spoke to you at that time, saying, ‘I am not able to endure you alone.
- NLT Moses continued, “At that time I told you, ‘You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Moses recalls telling Israel he could not bear the burden of leadership alone. This sets up the appointment of shared leaders to help govern the people.
Overview
Moses recounts the moment, recorded in Exodus 18 and Numbers 11, when the weight of leading a vast people exceeded what one man could carry. His honest admission of limitation models humble, shared leadership rather than self-reliance. It foreshadows the New Testament pattern of plural elders and ultimately points to Christ, the one shepherd whose strength is sufficient where every human leader's is not.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Exod 18:18Surely you and these people with you will wear yourselves out, because the task is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone.
- Num 11:17And I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put that Spirit on them. They will help you bear the burden of the people, so that you do not have to bear it by yourself.
- Num 11:11–14So Moses asked the LORD, “Why have You brought this trouble on Your servant? Why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid upon me the burden of all these people?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 1:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.