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Exodus 18:16-18
New English Translation
Exodus 18:16-18
New English Translation
16 When they have a dispute,[a] it comes to me and I decide[b] between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the decrees of God and his laws.”[c]
17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What[d] you are doing is not good! 18 You will surely wear out,[e] both you and these people who are with you, for this is too[f] heavy a burden[g] for you; you are not able to do it by yourself.
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- Exodus 18:16 tn Or “thing,” “matter,” “issue.”
- Exodus 18:16 tn The verb שָׁפַט (shafat) means “to judge”; more specifically, it means to make a decision as an arbiter or umpire. When people brought issues to him, Moses decided between them. In the section of laws in Exodus after the Ten Commandments come the decisions, the מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim).
- Exodus 18:16 tn The “decrees” or “statutes” were definite rules, stereotyped and permanent; the “laws” were directives or pronouncements given when situations arose. S. R. Driver suggests this is another reason why this event might have taken place after Yahweh had given laws on the mountain (Exodus, 165).
- Exodus 18:17 tn Heb “the thing.”
- Exodus 18:18 tn The verb means “to fall and fade” as a leaf (Ps 1:3). In Ps 18:45 it is used figuratively of foes fading away, failing in strength and courage (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 166). Here the infinitive absolute construction heightens the meaning.
- Exodus 18:18 tn Gesenius lists the specialized use of the comparative min (מִן) where with an adjective the thought expressed is that the quality is too difficult for the attainment of a particular aim (GKC 430 §133.c).
- Exodus 18:18 tn Here “a burden” has been supplied.
New English Translation (NET)
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