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)They became the ones who settled most disputes for the people. They brought the difficultcases to Mosheh, but they judged each minor situation themselves.
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 ἐκρίνοσαν τὸν λαὸν πᾶσαν ὥραν· πᾶν δὲ ῥῆμα ὑπέρογκον ἀνεφέροσαν ἐπὶ Μωυσῆν· πᾶν δὲ ῥῆμα ἐλαφρὸν ἐκρίνοσαν αὐτοί. (Kai ekrinosan ton laon pasan hōran; pan de ɽaʸma huperogkon aneferosan epi Mōusaʸn; pan de ɽaʸma elafron ekrinosan autoi. )
BrTrAnd they judged the people at all times; and every too burdensome matter they brought to Moses, but every light matter they judged themselves.
ULTAnd they judged the people at all times. They brought the difficult situations to Moses, and they judged each small situation themselves.
USTThey usually settled disputes for the people. They brought the difficult cases to Moses, but they decided the simple cases by themselves.
BSBAnd they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves.
NETThey judged the people under normal circumstances; the difficult cases they would bring to Moses, but every small case they would judge themselves.
LSVand they have judged the people at all times; they bring the hard matter to Moses, and they judge every small matter themselves.
FBVThey acted as judges for the people on a continuing basis. They brought the difficult cases to Moses, but they would judge the small matters themselves.
T4TThey were appointed permanently to make decisions about the people’s disputes. They brought the difficult cases to Moses/me, but they decided the matters that were not difficult by themselves.
LEBAnd they judged the people all the time; the difficult issues[fn] they would bring to Moses, and every minor issue they would judge themselves.
BBEAnd they were judges in the causes of the people at all times: the hard questions they put before Moses; but on every small point they gave decisions themselves.
JPSAnd they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
ASVAnd they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
DRAAnd they judged the people at all times: and whatsoever was of greater difficulty they referred to him, and they judged the easier cases only.
YLTand they have judged the people at all times; the hard matter they bring in unto Moses, and every small matter they judge themselves.
DrbyAnd they judged the people at all times: the hard matters they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged.
RVAnd they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
WbstrAnd they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
KJB-1769And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
KJB-1611And they iudged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought vnto Moses, but euery small matter they iudged themselues. (Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)
BshpsAnd they iudged the people at all seasons: but brought the harde causes vnto Moyses, and iudged all small matters them selues. (And they judged the people at all seasons: but brought the hard causes unto Moses, and judged all small matters themselves.)
GnvaAnd they iudged the people at all seasons, but they brought the hard causes vnto Moses: for they iudged all small matters themselues. (And they judged the people at all seasons, but they brought the hard causes unto Moses: for they judged all small matters themselves. )
Cvdlthat they might allwaye iudge the people. As for soch causes as were herde, they brought them vnto Moses, and iudged the small matters them selues. (that they might allwaye judge the people. As for such causes as were heard, they brought them unto Moses, and judged the small matters themselves.)
Wyclwhiche demeden the puple in al tyme; forsothe, whateuer thing was hardere, thei telden to Moises, and thei demeden esiere thingis oneli. (whiche demeden the people in all time; forsothe, whateuer thing was hardere, they told to Moses, and they demeden esiere things oneli.)
Luthdaß sie das Volk allezeit richteten, was aber schwere Sachen wären, zu Mose brächten, und die kleinen Sachen sie richteten. (daß they/she/them the people allezeit richteten, what/which but schwere Sachen wären, to Mose brächten, and the kleinen Sachen they/she/them richteten.)
ClVgQui judicabant plebem omni tempore: quidquid autem gravius erat, referebant ad eum, faciliora tantummodo judicantes.[fn] (Who yudicabant plebem all tempore: quidquid however gravius was, referebant to him, faciliora tantummodo yudicantes. )
18.26Quidquid autem gravius erat, etc. AUG., loc. 88. Alii: Verbum autem grave referebant super Moysen: sic enim habet Græcus sermo, quod Latini interpretati sunt, ad Moysen. Illa sane locutione ipsa etiam cura figuratur, qua dictum est super Moysen, velut onus significatur ei impositum. Verbum autem grave dictum est pro quæstione gravi.
18.26Quidquid however gravius was, etc. AUG., loc. 88. Alii: Verbum however grave referebant over Moysen: so because habet Græcus sermo, that Latini interpretati are, ad Moysen. Illa sane locutione herself also cura figuratur, which dictum it_is super Moysen, velut onus significatur to_him impositum. Verbum however grave dictum it_is for quæstione gravi.
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.
The author writes of telling Moses about the difficult cases as bringing him the difficult cases. 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: “They told Moses about the difficult cases” or “When there were difficult cases, they told Moses about them so that he would judge them”
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.
