Exodus 17:8-19:15

Contemporary English Version

Israel Defeats the Amalekites

⁸ When the Israelites were at Rephidim, they were attacked by the Amalekites. ⁹ So Moses told Joshua, “Have some men ready to attack the Amalekites tomorrow. I will stand on a hilltop, holding this walking stick that has the power of God.”

¹⁰ Joshua led the attack as Moses had commanded, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur stood on the hilltop. ¹¹ The Israelites out-fought the Amalekites as long as Moses held up his arms, but they started losing whenever he lowered them. ¹² After a while, his arms were so tired that Aaron and Hur got a rock for him to sit on. Then they stood beside him and supported his arms in the same position until sunset. ¹³ That's how Joshua defeated the Amalekites.

^14 (A) Afterwards, the Lord said to Moses, “Write an account of this victory and read it to Joshua. I want the Amalekites to be forgotten forever.”

¹⁵ Moses built an altar and named it “The Lord Gives Me Victory.” ¹⁶ Then Moses explained, “This is because I depended on the Lord.^[a] But in future generations, the Lord will fight the Amalekites again and again.”

Jethro Visits Moses

18 Jethro was the priest of Midian and the father-in-law of Moses. He heard what the Lord God had done for Moses and his people, after rescuing them from Egypt.

^2-4 (B) In the meantime, Moses had sent his wife Zipporah and her two sons to stay with Jethro, and he had welcomed them. Moses was still a foreigner in Midian when his first son was born, and so Moses said, “I'll name him Gershom.”^[b]

When his second son was born, Moses said, “I'll name him Eliezer,^[c] because the God my father worshiped has saved me from the king of Egypt.”^[d]

^5-6 While Israel was camped in the desert near Mount Sinai,^[e] Jethro sent Moses this message: “I am coming to visit you, and I am bringing your wife and two sons.”

⁷ When they arrived, Moses went out and bowed down in front of Jethro, then kissed him. After they had greeted each other, they went into the tent, ⁸ where Moses told him everything the Lord had done to protect Israel against the Egyptians and their king. He also told him how the Lord had helped them in all of their troubles.

⁹ Jethro was so pleased to hear this good news about what the Lord had done, ¹⁰ that he shouted, “Praise the Lord! He rescued you and the Israelites from the Egyptians and their king. ^11 (C) Now I know that the Lord is the greatest God, because he has rescued Israel from their arrogant enemies.” ¹² Jethro offered sacrifices to God. Then Aaron and Israel's leaders came to eat with Jethro there at the place of worship.

Judges Are Appointed

(Deuteronomy 1.9-18)

¹³ The next morning Moses sat down at the place where he decided legal cases for the people, and everyone crowded around him until evening. ¹⁴ Jethro saw how much Moses had to do for the people, and he asked, “Why are you the only judge? Why do you let these people crowd around you from morning till evening?”

¹⁵ Moses answered, “Because they come here to find out what God wants them to do. ¹⁶ They bring their complaints to me, and I make decisions on the basis of God's laws.”

¹⁷ Jethro replied:

That isn't the best way to do it. ¹⁸ You and the people who come to you will soon be worn out. The job is too much for one person; you can't do it alone. ¹⁹ God will help you if you follow my advice. You should be the one to speak to God for the people, ²⁰ and you should teach them God's laws and show them what they must do to live right.

²¹ You will need to appoint some competent leaders who respect God and are trustworthy and honest. Then put them over groups of 10, 50, 100, and 1,000. ²² These judges can handle the ordinary cases and bring the more difficult ones to you. Having them to share the load will make your work easier. ²³ This is the way God wants it done. You won't be under nearly as much stress, and everyone else will return home feeling satisfied.

²⁴ Moses followed Jethro's advice. ²⁵ He chose some competent leaders from every tribe in Israel and put them over groups of 10, 50, 100, and 1,000. ²⁶ They served as judges, deciding the easy cases themselves, but bringing the more difficult ones to Moses.

²⁷ After Moses and his father-in-law Jethro had said goodbye to each other, Jethro returned home.

At Mount Sinai

19 ^1-2 The Israelites left Rephidim^[f] and arrived at the desert. Then two months after leaving Egypt, they arrived at the desert near Mount Sinai, where they set up camp at the foot of the mountain. This was two months after they had left Egypt.

³ Moses went up the mountain to meet with the Lord God, who told him to say to the people:

⁴ You saw what I did in Egypt, and you know how I brought you here to me, just as a mighty eagle carries its young. ^5 (D)(E) Now if you will faithfully obey me, you will be my very own people. The whole world is mine, ^6 (F) but you will be my holy nation and serve me as priests.

Moses, that is what you must tell the Israelites.

⁷ After Moses went back, he reported to the leaders what the Lord had said, ⁸ and they all promised, “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.” So Moses told the Lord about this.

⁹ The Lord said to Moses, “I will come to you in a thick cloud and let the people hear me speak to you. Then they will always trust you.” Again Moses reported to the Lord what the people had said.

¹⁰ Once more the Lord spoke to Moses:

Go back and tell the people that today and tomorrow they must get themselves ready to meet me. They must wash their clothes ¹¹ and be ready by the day after tomorrow, when I will come down to Mount Sinai, where all of them can see me.

^12 (G) Warn the people that they are forbidden to touch any part of the mountain. Anyone who does will be put to death, ¹³ either with stones or arrows, and no one must touch the body of the person being put to death in this way. Even an animal that touches this mountain must be put to death. You may go up the mountain only after a signal is given on the trumpet.

¹⁴ After Moses went down the mountain, he gave orders for the people to wash their clothes and make themselves acceptable to worship God. ¹⁵ He told them to be ready in three days and not to have sex in the meantime.