Exodus 18:14
New International Version
When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”

New Living Translation
When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”

English Standard Version
When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?”

Berean Standard Bible
When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone as judge, with all the people standing around you from morning till evening?”

King James Bible
And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?

New King James Version
So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”

New American Standard Bible
Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?”

NASB 1995
Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?”

NASB 1977
Now when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?”

Legacy Standard Bible
And Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, so he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?”

Amplified Bible
When Moses’ father-in-law saw everything that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting alone [as a judge] with all the people standing around you from dawn to dusk?”

Christian Standard Bible
When Moses’s father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, “What is this you’re doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening? ”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When Moses’ father-in-law saw everything he was doing for them he asked, “What is this thing you’re doing for the people? Why are you alone sitting as judge, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”

American Standard Version
And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand about thee from morning unto even?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the Father in Law of Moshe saw everything that he did for the people and he said to him, “What is this matter that you do for the people? Why do you sit alone and all the people stand over from you from dawn and unto evening?”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Jothor having seen all that Moses did to the people, says, What is this that thou doest to the people? wherefore sittest thou alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning till evening?

Contemporary English Version
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?"

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when his kinsman had seen all things that he did among the people, he said: What is it that thou dost among the people? Why sittest thou alone, and all the people wait from morning till night.

English Revised Version
And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand about thee from morning unto even?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
When Moses' father-in-law saw everything Moses was doing for the people, he asked, "Why are you doing this for the people? Why do you sit here alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?"

Good News Translation
When Jethro saw everything that Moses had to do, he asked, "What is all this that you are doing for the people? Why are you doing this all alone, with people standing here from morning till night to consult you?"

International Standard Version
When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, "What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, with all the people standing around you from morning until evening?"

JPS Tanakh 1917
And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said: 'What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand about thee from morning unto even?'

Literal Standard Version
and the father-in-law of Moses sees all that he is doing for the people and says, “What [is] this thing which you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting by yourself, and all the people standing by you from morning until evening?”

Majority Standard Bible
When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone as judge, with all the people standing around you from morning till evening?”

New American Bible
When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he asked, “What is this business that you are conducting for the people? Why do you sit alone while all the people have to stand about you from morning till evening?”

NET Bible
When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, "What is this that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting by yourself, and all the people stand around you from morning until evening?"

New Revised Standard Version
When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”

New Heart English Bible
When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, "What is this thing that you do for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning to evening?"

Webster's Bible Translation
And when Moses's father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? Why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning to evening?

World English Bible
When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, “What is this thing that you do for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning to evening?”

Young's Literal Translation
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?'

Additional Translations ...














(14) Why sittest thou thyself alone?--The emphatic word is "alone." Why dost thou not, Jethro means, devolve a part of the duty upon others?

Verse 14. - Why sittest thou thyself alone etc. A perverse ingenuity has discovered that the emphatic words in this passage are "sittest" and "stand," Jethro having blamed Moses for humiliating the people by requiring them to stand up while he himself sat! But the context makes it abundantly clear that what Jethro really blames, is Moses sitting alone and judging the whole people single-handed.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
When [his]
מֹשֶׁ֔ה (mō·šeh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver

father-in-law
חֹתֵ֣ן (ḥō·ṯên)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2859: To give, away in marriage, to contract affinity by marriage

saw
וַיַּרְא֙ (way·yar)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7200: To see

all
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

that
אֲשֶׁר־ (’ă·šer-)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

[Moses]
ה֥וּא (hū)
Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

was doing
עֹשֶׂ֖ה (‘ō·śeh)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

for the people,
לָעָ֑ם (lā·‘ām)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

he asked,
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“What
מָֽה־ (māh-)
Interrogative
Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what

is this
הַזֶּה֙ (haz·zeh)
Article | Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

that
אֲשֶׁ֨ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

you are
אַתָּ֤ה (’at·tāh)
Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

doing
עֹשֶׂה֙ (‘ō·śeh)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

for the people?
לָעָ֔ם (lā·‘ām)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

Why
מַדּ֗וּעַ (mad·dū·a‘)
Interrogative
Strong's 4069: Why? for what reason?

do you
אַתָּ֤ה (’at·tāh)
Pronoun - second person masculine singular
Strong's 859: Thou and thee, ye and you

sit
יוֹשֵׁב֙ (yō·wō·šêḇ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 3427: To sit down, to dwell, to remain, to settle, to marry

alone [as judge],
לְבַדֶּ֔ךָ (lə·ḇad·de·ḵā)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 910: Isolation, separation

with all
וְכָל־ (wə·ḵāl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the people
הָעָ֛ם (hā·‘ām)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5971: A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock

standing
נִצָּ֥ב (niṣ·ṣāḇ)
Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5324: To take one's stand, stand

around
עָלֶ֖יךָ (‘ā·le·ḵā)
Preposition | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

you from
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

morning
בֹּ֥קֶר (bō·qer)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1242: Dawn, morning

till
עַד־ (‘aḏ-)
Preposition
Strong's 5704: As far as, even to, up to, until, while

evening?�
עָֽרֶב׃ (‘ā·reḇ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 6153: Evening


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OT Law: Exodus 18:14 When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 18:13
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