Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed for doing comparisons of different translations. Click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible. Please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.
Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clearImportance=normal (All still tentative.)
OET (OET-RV)When hisfather-in-law noticed everything that he personally did for the people, he asked, “What’s this that you’re doing with the people? Why do you sit there alone, and all the people position themselves around you from morninguntilevening?”
Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).
BrLXXΚαὶ ἰδὼν Ἰοθὸρ πάντα ὅσα ποιεῖ τῷ λαῷ, λέγει, τί τοῦτο ὃ σὺ ποιεῖς τῷ λαῷ; διατί σὺ κάθησαι μόνος, πᾶς δὲ ὁ λαὸς παρέστηκέ σοι ἀπὸ πρωΐθεν ἕως δείλης; (Kai idōn Yothor panta hosa poiei tōi laōi, legei, ti touto ho su poieis tōi laōi; diati su kathaʸsai monos, pas de ho laos parestaʸke soi apo prōithen heōs deilaʸs; )
BrTrAnd Jothor having seen all that Moses[fn]did to the people, says, What is this that thou doest to the people? wherefore sittest thou alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning till evening?
ULTAnd the father-in-law of Moses was watching all that he did for the people, and he said, “What is this thing that you are doing with the people? For what purpose do you sit alone, and all the people position themselves next to you from morning until evening?”
USTWhen Jethro saw everything that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “Do not lead the people this way. You should not sit here alone letting everyone demand that you judge for them all day!”
BSBWhen his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone as judge, with all the people standing around you from morning till evening?”
WEBBEWhen 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?”
NETWhen Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting by yourself, and all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”
LSVand the father-in-law of Moses sees all that he is doing for the people and says, “What [is] this thing which you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting by yourself, and all the people standing by you from morning until evening?”
FBVWhen his father-in-law saw everything that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What's all this you're doing for the people? Why are you sitting alone as judge, with everyone presenting their cases to you from morning to evening?”
T4TWhen Jethro saw everything that Moses/I was doing for the people, he said, “◄Why are you doing all this for the people?/You should not be doing all this for the people!► [RHQ] Why are you doing this by yourself, and all the people are crowding around you, from morning until evening, asking you to make decisions for them[RHQ]?”
LEBAnd the father-in-law of Moses saw all that he was doing for the people, and he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting alone and all the people are standing by you from morning until evening?”
BBEAnd when Moses' father-in-law saw all he was doing, he said, What is this you are doing for the people? why are you seated here by yourself, with all the people waiting before you from morning till evening?
JPSAnd 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?'
ASVAnd 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?
DRAAnd when his kinsman had seen all things that he did among the people, he said: What is it that thou dost among the people? Why sittest thou alone, and all the people wait from morning till night.
YLTand the father-in-law of Moses seeth all that he is doing to the people, and saith, 'What [is] this thing which thou art doing to the people? wherefore art thou sitting by thyself, and all the people standing by thee from morning till evening?'
DrbyAnd Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did with the people, and said, What is this thing which thou art doing with the people? why dost thou sit alone, and all the people are standing by thee from morning to evening?
RVAnd 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?
WbstrAnd when Moses's 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 by thee from morning to evening?
KJB-1769And 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 by thee from morning unto even? (And when Moses’ father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou/you doest to the people? why sittest thou/you thyself/yourself alone, and all the people stand by thee/you from morning unto even? )
KJB-1611And 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 thy selfe alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning vnto euen? (And when Moses father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou/you doest to the people? Why sittest thou/you thyself/yourself alone, and all the people stand by thee/you from morning unto euen?)
BshpsAnd when Moyses father in lawe sawe all that he dyd vnto the people, he sayd: what is this that thou doest vnto the people? Why sittest thou thy selfe alone, and all the people stande about thee from morning vnto euen? (And when Moses father in law saw all that he did unto the people, he said: what is this that thou/you doest unto the people? Why sittest thou/you thyself/yourself alone, and all the people stand about thee/you from morning unto euen?)
GnvaAnd when Moses father in law saw all that he did to the people, he sayde, What is this that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thy selfe alone, and all the people stande about thee from morning vnto euen? (And when Moses father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this that thou/you doest to the people? why sittest thou/you thyself/yourself alone, and all the people stand about thee/you from morning unto euen? )
CvdlBut whan his father in lawe sawe all that he dyd with the people, he sayde: What is this, that thou doest with the people? Wherfore syttest thou alone, and all ye people stonde rounde aboute from the morninge vntyll the euen? (But when his father in law saw all that he did with the people, he said: What is this, that thou/you doest with the people? Wherefore syttest thou/you alone, and all ye/you_all people stand round about from the morning until the euen?)
WyclAnd whanne `his alie hadde seyn this, that is, alle thingis `whiche he dide in the puple, he seide, What is this that thou doist in the puple? whi sittist thou aloone, and al the puple abidith fro the morewtid til to euentid? (And when `his alie had seen this, that is, all things `whiche he did in the people, he said, What is this that thou/you doest in the puple? why sittist thou/you alone, and all the people abidith from the morning till to euentid?)
LuthDa aber sein Schwäher sah alles, was er mit dem Volk tat, sprach er: Was ist, das du tust mit dem Volk? Warum sitzest du allein, und alles Volk stehet um dich her von Morgen an bis zu Abend? (So but his Schwäher saw all/everything, what/which he with to_him people did, spoke er: What is, the you tust with to_him people? Warum sitzest you allein, and all/everything people stands around/by/for you/yourself her from Morgen at until to Abend?)
ClVgQuod cum vidisset cognatus ejus, omnia scilicet quæ agebat in populo, ait: Quid est hoc quod facis in plebe? cur solus sedes, et omnis populus præstolatur de mane usque ad vesperam? (That when/with had_seen cognatus his, everything scilicet which agebat in to_the_people, he_said: What it_is this that facis in plebe? cur solus sedes, and everyone populus præstolatur about mane until to vesperam? )
18:13-27 Jethro’s wise advice is a further example of God’s providence, although it was not given in a miraculous way. Jethro introduced Moses to a style of leadership that involved delegation of authority. It appears that Moses had been following an Egyptian style of leadership that was heavily hierarchical and based on circumstances. No Egyptian law code has yet been discovered. It appears that all authority flowed downward from the pharaoh, who ruled by fiat. Jethro proposed a structure of delegation that would make Moses’ life easier.
what the,thing the=this which/who you(ms) producing for_the,people
Jethro uses this question to show Moses that what he was doing was not good. If you would not use a rhetorical question for this purpose in your language, you could translate his words as a statement or an exclamation and communicate the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: “You should not be doing all of this for the people!”
why you(ms) sit by,yourself, and=all the,people stand around,you from/more_than morning until evening
Jethro used this question to show Moses that he was doing too much. If you would not use a rhetorical question for this purpose in your language, you could translate his words as a statement or an exclamation and communicate the emphasis in another way. Alternate translation: “Why are you doing all this for the people? Why are you doing this by yourself, and why are all the people standing around you from morning until evening, asking you to make decisions for them?”
The word sit here is a metonym for “judge.” Judges would sit while they listened to people’s complaints. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression or plain language. Alternate translation: “do you judge alone” or “are you the only one who judges the people”
The people came to be near Moses so that they could get a chance for him to hear their petitions. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could express that explicitly. Alternate translation: “petition you”
Like several other events recorded in Scripture, the Bible’s account of the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai includes an abundance of geographical references, yet it remains one of the most hotly debated topics among scholars, and numerous theories have been offered. The vast majority of geographical references provided in the story are disputed, including the place where the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, the location of Mount Sinai (see Proposed Locations for Mount Sinai map), and the various stops along the Israelites’ journey. A few locations have been established with some degree of scholarly consensus, but even these are not without opposing viewpoints. Amidst this incredible diversity of opinion, however, a single verse provides one of the most helpful clues for weighing the merits of one viewpoint over another: “By the way of Mount Seir it takes eleven days to reach Kadesh-barnea from Horeb” (Deuteronomy 1:2). For those who assume the Bible’s account to be trustworthy, this verse appears to require the following for any theory to be considered viable: 1) Kadesh-barnea and Mount Sinai must have been located at a distance from each other that could reasonably have been expected to take eleven days for an entire nation of people with small children, flocks, equipment, and perhaps even elderly members to travel on foot; and 2) the pace established by this distance over eleven days should most likely be considered the typical pace for the Israelites as they traveled from place to place along the other parts of the journey. This two-pronged test clearly strains many of the theories put forth to this point, especially when one factors in the time references given for the start of the journey (Exodus 12:6; Numbers 33:3), the middle of the journey (Exodus 16:1; Numbers 33:8), and the end of the journey (Exodus 19:1). In short, the journey from Rameses to the Wilderness of Sin took 31 days, since it included the 15th day of the second month, and the rest of the journey took another 16 days, assuming they arrived at Mount Sinai on the 15th day (not the first day, etc.) of the third month. Along with these criteria, a theory’s overall congruence with other established geographical and archeological data should bolster its credibility over other proposals. Another consideration is the extreme similarity between the events at Rephidim (Exodus 17) and the events at Kadesh-barnea (Numbers 20:1-13; 27:12-14; Deuteronomy 32:51; Ezekiel 47:19; 48:28), raising the question of whether Rephidim (meaning “resting places”) is in fact Kadesh-barnea. With these things in mind, the map below proposes a route for the exodus that meets virtually all of these criteria. A careful analysis and explanation of all the elements of the map is far beyond the scope of this article, but a few key points should be noted. The term Red Sea, in addition to referring to what we now regard it, must have also applied to the interconnected lakes and marshlands that lay along what is now the Suez Canal. Also, the portion of the journey that passed through the wilderness for three days without water (Exodus 15:22; Numbers 33:8) may have been comprised of a partial first day, a full second day, and a partial third day, much like Jesus’ time in the tomb is reckoned as three days in Matthew 12:40. Most notably, Mount Sinai is placed on this map at Gebel Khashm et-Tarif, which is appropriately located near, but not in, Midian (Exodus 3:1; 18:5; Numbers 10:29-30). It is also located 89 miles from Kadesh-barnea (assuming Kadesh is at Tall al-Quderat), which establishes a reasonable pace of 7.6 miles (12.2 km) per day to travel between them in 11 days. This lines up well with several known sources of water along that route (e.g., `Ain Qedeis [Hazar-addar?], Tamilat Suwelima [Hor-haggiggad?], and the spring at Kuntillet al-Girafi [unknown ancient identification]). This general pace then synchronizes very well with the timetable and distances required by this map for the other parts of the journey. The distance from Rameses to the Wilderness of Sin (where it is located here) could be completed in under 26 days, leaving an acceptable buffer of about 5 days for the parting of the Red Sea and perhaps a slower pace through the Wilderness of Shur/Etham. The entire journey took about 60 days, and the journey from the Wilderness of Sin to Mount Sinai took about 29 days. This leaves an acceptable buffer of time to complete the rest of the journey (about 16 days of travel) with a very adequate two weeks of extra time for Jethro to visit Moses and the Israelites to do battle with the Amalekites (Exodus 17-18). It should be noted that this timetable generally assumes (but does not necessarily require) that travel continued on sabbath days, but Scripture does not make clear whether travel was prohibited as work prior to the giving of the law at Mount Sinai.
