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)Now, listen to this: I’ll advise you and God will be with you. You be before God for the people, and you shouldbring their disputes to God yourself.
Key: khaki:verbs, blue:Elohim.
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).
BrLXXΝῦν οὖν ἄκουσόν μου, καὶ συμβουλεύσω σοι, καὶ ἔσται ὁ Θεὸς μετὰ σοῦ· γίνου σὺ τῷ λαῷ τὰ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ ἀνοίσεις τοὺς λόγους αὐτῶν πρὸς τὸν Θεόν. (Nun oun akouson mou, kai sumbouleusō soi, kai estai ho Theos meta sou; ginou su tōi laōi ta pros ton Theon, kai anoiseis tous logous autōn pros ton Theon. )
BrTrNow then hearken to me, and I will advise thee, and God shall be with thee: be thou to the people in the things pertaining to God, and thou shalt bring their [fn]matters to God.
ULTNow, listen to my voice. I will advise you, and God will be with you. You be before God for the people, and you should bring their disputes to God yourself.
USTNow listen to what I will tell you to do. If you do what I suggest, God will help you. You should continue to represent the people to God and tell him about the people’s disputes.
BSB § Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their causes to Him.
NETNow listen to me, I will give you advice, and may God be with you: You be a representative for the people to God, and you bring their disputes to God;
LSVNow listen to my voice, I counsel you, and God is with you: be for the people before God, and you have brought in the things to God;
FBVSo please listen to me. I'm going to give you some advice, and God will be with you. Yes, you must continue to be the people's representative before God, and take their cases to him.
T4TNow listen to some good advice [MTY] I will give to you. If you do what I suggest, God will help you. You should continue to speak to God and tell him about the people’s disputes.
LEBNow listen to my voice; I will advise you, and may God be with you. You be for the people before God, and you bring the issues to God.
BBEGive ear now to my suggestion, and may God be with you: you are to be the people's representative before God, taking their causes to him:
JPSHearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God be with thee: be thou for the people before God, and bring thou the causes unto God.
ASVHearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God be with thee: be thou for the people to God-ward, and bring thou the causes unto God:
DRABut hear my words and counsels, and God shall be with thee. Be thou to the people in those things that pertain to God, to bring their words to him:
YLT'Now, hearken to my voice, I counsel thee, and God is with thee: be thou for the people over-against God, and thou hast brought in the things unto God;
DrbyHearken now to my voice: I will give thee counsel, and [fn]God shall be with thee. Be thou for the people with [fn]God, and bring the matters before [fn]God;
RVHearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God be with thee: be thou for the people to God-ward, and bring thou the causes unto God:
WbstrHearken now to my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people toward God, that thou mayest bring the causes to God:
KJB-1769Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to God-ward, that thou mayest bring the causes unto God: (Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee/you counsel, and God shall be with thee/you: Be thou/you for the people to God-ward, that thou/you mayest/may bring the causes unto God: )
KJB-1611Hearken now vnto my voyce, I will giue thee counsell, and God shall be with thee: Be thou for the people to Godward, that thou mayest bring the causes vnto God: (Hearken now unto my voice, I will give thee/you counsell, and God shall be with thee/you: Be thou/you for the people to Godward, that thou/you mayest/may bring the causes unto God:)
BshpsHeare therfore nowe my voyce, and I wyll geue thee councell, and God shalbe with thee: Be thou vnto the people to Godwarde, that thou mayest bring the causes vnto God: (Hear therefore now my voice, and I will give thee/you councell, and God shall be with thee/you: Be thou/you unto the people to Godwarde, that thou/you mayest/may bring the causes unto God:)
GnvaHeare nowe my voyce, (I will giue thee counsell, and God shalbe with thee) be thou for the people to Godwarde, and report thou the causes vnto God, (Hear now my voice, (I will give thee/you counsell, and God shall be with thee/you) be thou/you for the people to Godwarde, and report thou/you the causes unto God, )
CvdlBut herken vnto my voyce, I will geue the councell, and God shall be with the. Be thou vnto the people to God warde, and brynge the causes before God, (But herken unto my voice, I will give the councell, and God shall be with them. Be thou/you unto the people to God warde, and bring the causes before God,)
WyclBut here thou my wordis and counseils, and the Lord schal be with thee; be thou to the puple in these thingis that perteynen to God, that thou telle the thingis that ben seid to the puple; (But here thou/you my words and counseils, and the Lord shall be with thee/you; be thou/you to the people in these things that pertain to God, that thou/you telle the things that been said to the puple;)
LuthAber gehorche meiner Stimme; ich will dir raten, und GOtt wird mit dir sein. Pflege du des Volks vor GOtt und bringe die Geschäfte vor GOtt; (But gehorche my Stimme; I will you/to_you raten, and God becomes with you/to_you sein. Pflege you the peoples before/in_front_of God and bringe the Geschäfte before/in_front_of God;)
ClVgSed audi verba mea atque consilia, et erit Deus tecum. Esto tu populo in his quæ ad Deum pertinent, ut referas quæ dicuntur ad eum:[fn] (But listen words mea atque consilia, and will_be God tecum. Esto you to_the_people in his which to God pertinent, as referas which dicuntur to him: )
18.19Sed audi verba mea, etc. ID., quæst. 68. Prima quæstio est cur Deus famulum suum, etc., usque ad quo fit tanto plenior quanto in superna et æterna liberius extenditur. Esto tu populo, etc. ID., quæst. 69. Quod vero adjungit, etc., usque ad sed unde hoc probari possit ignoro.
18.19But listen words mea, etc. ID., quæst. 68. Prima quæstio it_is cur God famulum his_own, etc., until to quo fit tanto plenior quanto in superna and æterna liberius extenditur. Esto you to_the_people, etc. ID., quæst. 69. That vero adyungit, etc., until to but whence this probari possit ignoro.
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.
Jethro speaks of God helping Moses as if God would be with Moses. If your readers would not understand what this image means in this context, you could use an equivalent metaphor from your culture. Alternatively, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “God will help you” or “God will give you wisdom”
and,bring you(ms) DOM the,cases to/towards the=ʼElohīm
Jethro speaks of Moses telling God about their disputes as if they were something that Moses was bringing to God. If your readers would not understand what this image means in this context, you could use an equivalent metaphor from your culture. Alternatively, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “and you tell God about their disputes” or and “you tell God what they are arguing about”
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.
