They judged the people at all times. They brought the hard causes to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
Parallel translations
- KJV And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
- BSB And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves.
- NKJV So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.
- NASB Then they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult matter to Moses, but they would judge every minor matter themselves.
- NLT These men were always available to solve the people’s common disputes. They brought the major cases to Moses, but they took care of the smaller matters themselves.
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 appointed judges handled ordinary cases while bringing the hardest matters to Moses. A wise system distinguishes routine decisions from those needing higher authority.
Overview
The new arrangement worked: continual justice for the people, with difficult cases escalated to Moses. This balanced load-sharing protected both Moses and the nation from breakdown. It illustrates a biblical principle of orderly, layered authority that serves the whole community rather than centralizing all burdens on one person.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Exod 18:22Let them judge the people at all times. It shall be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they shall judge themselves. So shall it be easier for you, and they shall share the load with you.
- 1 Kgs 10:1When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning Yahweh’s name, she came to test him with hard questions.
- Job 29:16I was a father to the needy. The cause of him who I didn’t know, I searched out.
- 1 Kgs 3:16–28Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king, and stood before him.
- Deut 17:8If there arises a matter too hard for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within your gates; then you shall arise, and go up to the place which Yahweh your God chooses.
- Exod 18:14–15When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, “What is this thing that you do for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning to evening?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 18:26 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.