¹ And Jethro priest of Midian, father-in-law of Moses, heareth all that God hath done for Moses, and for Israel his people, that Jehovah hath brought out Israel from Egypt,

² and Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, taketh Zipporah, wife of Moses, besides her parents,

³ and her two sons, of whom the name of the one [is] Gershom, for he said, `a sojourner I have been in a strange land:'

⁴ and the name of the other [is] Eliezer, for, `the God of my father [is] for my help, and doth deliver me from the sword of Pharaoh.'

⁵ And Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, cometh, and his sons, and his wife, unto Moses, unto the wilderness where he is encamping -- the mount of God;

⁶ and he saith unto Moses, `I, thy father-in-law, Jethro, am coming unto thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.'

⁷ And Moses goeth out to meet his father-in-law, and boweth himself, and kisseth him, and they ask one at another of welfare, and come into the tent;

⁸ and Moses recounteth to his father-in-law all that Jehovah hath done to Pharaoh, and to the Egyptians, on account of Israel, all the travail which hath found them in the way, and Jehovah doth deliver them.

⁹ And Jethro rejoiceth for all the good which Jehovah hath done to Israel, whom He hath delivered from the hand of the Egyptians;

¹⁰ and Jethro saith, `Blessed [is] Jehovah, who hath delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of Pharaoh -- who hath delivered this people from under the hand of the Egyptians;

¹¹ now I have known that Jehovah [is] greater than all the gods, for in the thing they have acted proudly -- [He is] above them!'

¹² And Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, taketh a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron cometh in, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses, before God.

¹³ And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that Moses sitteth to judge the people, and the people stand before Moses, from the morning unto the evening;

¹⁴ and 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?'

¹⁵ And Moses saith to his father-in-law, `Because the people come unto me to seek God;

¹⁶ when they have a matter, it hath come unto me, and I have judged between a man and his neighbour, and made known the statutes of God, and His laws.'

¹⁷ And the father-in-law of Moses saith unto him, `The thing which thou art doing [is] not good;

¹⁸ thou dost surely wear away, both thou, and this people which [is] with thee, for the thing is too heavy for thee, thou art not able to do it by thyself.

¹⁹ `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;

²⁰ and thou hast warned them [concerning] the statutes and the laws, and hast made known to them the way in which they go, and the work which they do.

²¹ `And thou -- thou dost provide out of all the people men of ability, fearing God, men of truth, hating dishonest gain, and hast placed [these] over them, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens,

²² and they have judged the people at all times; and it hath come to pass, every great matter they bring in unto thee, and every small matter they judge themselves; and lighten it from off thyself, and they have borne with thee.

²³ If thou dost this thing, and God hath commanded thee, then thou hast been able to stand, and all this people also goeth in unto its place in peace.'

²⁴ And Moses hearkeneth to the voice of his father-in-law, and doth all that he said,

²⁵ and Moses chooseth men of ability out of all Israel, and maketh them chiefs over the people, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens,

²⁶ and they have judged the people at all times; the hard matter they bring in unto Moses, and every small matter they judge themselves.

²⁷ And Moses sendeth his father-in-law away, and he goeth away unto his own land.

¹ And Moses hath been feeding the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, priest of Midian, and he leadeth the flock behind the wilderness, and cometh in unto the mount of God, to Horeb;

² and there appeareth unto him a messenger of Jehovah in a flame of fire, out of the midst of the bush, and he seeth, and lo, the bush is burning with fire, and the bush is not consumed.

³ And Moses saith, `Let me turn aside, I pray thee, and I see this great appearance; wherefore is the bush not burned?'

⁴ and Jehovah seeth that he hath turned aside to see, and God calleth unto him out of the midst of the bush, and saith, `Moses, Moses;' and he saith, `Here [am] I.'

⁵ And He saith, `Come not near hither: cast thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place on which thou art standing is holy ground.'

⁶ He saith also, `I [am] the God of thy father, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob;' and Moses hideth his face, for he is afraid to look towards God.

⁷ And Jehovah saith, `I have certainly seen the affliction of My people who [are] in Egypt, and their cry I have heard, because of its exactors, for I have known its pains;

⁸ and I go down to deliver it out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to cause it to go up out of the land, unto a land good and broad, unto a land flowing with milk and honey -- unto the place of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.

⁹ `And now, lo, the cry of the sons of Israel hath come in unto Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them,

¹⁰ and now, come, and I send thee unto Pharaoh, and bring thou out My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.'

¹¹ And Moses saith unto God, `Who [am] I, that I go unto Pharaoh, and that I bring out the sons of Israel from Egypt?'

¹² and He saith, `Because I am with thee, and this [is] to thee the sign that I have sent thee: in thy bringing out the people from Egypt -- ye do serve God on this mount.'

¹³ And Moses saith unto God, `Lo, I am coming unto the sons of Israel, and have said to them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, and they have said to me, What [is] His name? what do I say unto them?'

¹⁴ And God saith unto Moses, `I AM THAT WHICH I AM;' He saith also, `Thus dost thou say to the sons of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.'

¹⁵ And God saith again unto Moses, `Thus dost thou say unto the sons of Israel, Jehovah, God of your fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this [is] My name -- to the age, and this My memorial, to generation -- generation.

¹⁶ `Go, and thou hast gathered the elders of Israel, and hast said unto them: Jehovah, God of your fathers, hath appeareth unto me, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, I have certainly inspected you, and that which is done to you in Egypt;

¹⁷ and I say, I bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, unto the land of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, unto a land flowing [with] milk and honey.

¹⁸ `And they have hearkened to thy voice, and thou hast entered, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye have said unto him, Jehovah, God of the Hebrews, hath met with us; and now, let us go, we pray thee, a journey of three days into the wilderness, and we sacrifice to Jehovah our God.

¹⁹ `And I -- I have known that the king of Egypt doth not permit you to go, unless by a strong hand,

²⁰ and I have put forth My hand, and have smitten Egypt with all My wonders, which I do in its midst -- and afterwards he doth send you away.

²¹ `And I have given the grace of this people in the eyes of the Egyptians, and it hath come to pass, when ye go, ye go not empty;

²² and [every] woman hath asked from her neighbour, and from her who is sojourning in her house, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and ye have put [them] on your sons and on your daughters, and have spoiled the Egyptians.'