The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other. They waited before him from morning till evening.
Parallel translations
- WEB On the next day, Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from the morning to the evening.
- KJV And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening.
- BSB The next day Moses took his seat to judge the people, and they stood around him from morning until evening.
- NKJV And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening.
- NASB And it came about the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood before Moses from the morning until the evening.
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
The next day Moses sat alone to judge the people from morning to evening. The burden of leadership fell heavily on Moses.
Overview
Moses bears the full weight of settling Israel's disputes single-handedly, occupying the entire day. This unsustainable arrangement sets up Jethro's coming counsel about shared leadership. The scene shows Moses' devotion but also the limits of one leader carrying responsibilities God intends to be distributed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Matt 23:2saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sat on Moses’ seat.
- Isa 16:5A throne will be established in loving kindness. One will sit on it in truth, in the tent of David, judging, seeking justice, and swift to do righteousness.
- Rom 13:6For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God’s service, attending continually on this very thing.
- Judg 5:10“Speak, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets, and you who walk by the way.
- Rom 12:8or he who exhorts, to his exhorting: he who gives, let him do it with liberality; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
- Job 29:7when I went out to the city gate, when I prepared my seat in the street.
- Joel 3:12“Let the nations arouse themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 18:13 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.