Bible Strands
Exodus 18:14
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?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jethro observes Moses’s continuous judicial activity and directly questions him about his solitary role.
The words — The supplied lexicon highlights חֹתֵן (cho.Ten, “father-in-law”) and עֹשֶׂה ('o.Seh, “was doing”) to frame the father-in-law’s observation of Moses’s ongoing work.
The thread — Exodus 18:14 records the operational reality of centralized judgment that Exodus 18:13 describes and Exodus 18:15 explains, establishing the problem before any structural reform is introduced.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that concentrating all judicial authority in one person creates an unsustainable burden, requiring systemic change rather than personal endurance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James 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 by thee from morning unto even?