Jeturo ekumba Mushe
1 Jeturo mpirisiti we Midiyana, nkalabgwa wa Mushe kahwa kose Ndzimu kwawakathamila Mushe ne bakanyi kwabo Baiziraela. Kahwa sekwa Yahwe bakadusa Baiziraela mu Egipiti. 2 Jeturo nkalabgwa wa Mushe wakabe aamutjila Ziphora nkadzi wa Mushe, paakabe abgwiliziwa kanyi kwabo, 3 ne bakololo babe babili. Mmwe wabo zina lile lakabe liyi Geshomu lidwa kuti, “Ndakabe nkumbi mu shango ye butaya.” 4 Zina le mmwe liyi Elieza, lidwa kuti, “Ndzimu wa tate bangu wakabe mbhatshi wangu, kakale wakandiangula mu thumo la Faro.” 5 Ngono Jeturo kazha ne bakololo ba Mushe ne nkadzi wa Mushe mu tjilambanyika Mushe paakabe athibelela pa Dombo le Ndzimu. 6 Jeturo wakabe alayilila kuna Mushe eti, “Imi nkalabgwa uwo Jeturo, ndaswika ku kuli ndina nkadzi uwo ne bakololo benyu babili.” 7 Mushe kabhuda kayenda kunoshanganidza nkalabgwa uwe, kathigama kabutjila, bakabhuzwana mamuko, bakabe bengina mu nshasha. 8 Ndizo Mushe kabudza nkalabgwa uwe kose Yahwe kwabakathama muna Faro ne Baegipiti ngekwe Baiziraela, kambudza mang'oni wose abakawilana nawo mu zila nenge sekwa bakagwigwa ndi Yahwe. 9 Ngono Jeturo kashatha kwazo eshathila kose kwakanaka kwakathamigwa Baiziraela ndi Yahwe, kubaangula mu maboko e Baegipiti. 10 Kalebeleka kakale eti, “Ngakukudziwe Yahwe, ibo bakamuangula mu maboko e Baegipiti ne mu luboko gwa Faro! 11 Ngwenu ndoziba kuti Yahwe bankulu pa midzimu yose, ngoti bakaangula Baiziraela mu maboko e Baegipiti pabakabe bebalengudza.” 12 Ngono Jeturo nkalabgwa wa Mushe kadusila Ndzimu tjibhayilo tjinopisiwa ne zwipo; Aroni kazha ne bakulu be Baiziraela kuwoja zojiwa ne nkalabgwa wa Mushe mbeli kwe Ndzimu.
Kushalugwa kwe basumikilisi
(Matama 1:9-18)13 Tjimuka Mushe kamukila kusumikilisa bathu, ngono bathu bakama bakakubunganila Mushe kudwa mangwanana kudzina zhuba lingina. 14 Nkalabgwa wa Mushe kati ebona kose Mushe kwaakabe ethamila bathu, kambhuzwa kati, “Apa ini ikoku kwaunothamila bathu kene? Ini ugala uli woga bathu bose bema bakakubunganila kudwa mangwanana kunoti madekwana?”
15 Mushe kadabila nkalabgwa uwe eti, “Hwuti bathu banozha kundili kuwobhuzwa ngekwe kuda kwe Ndzimu. 16 Ha basahwanana ngekwe tjimwe banozha kundili imi ndibe ndilinga pakati kwe nthu ne ikamu tjitje, ndibuya ndibazibisa ndaulo dze Ndzimu ne milayo yawo.”
17 Nkalabgwa wa Mushe kandwa kati, “Tjaunothama atjizolulwama. 18 Iwe ne bathu baunabo mowozwipaula, ngoti ikoku kokulemela kwazo, aungakutubule uli woga. 19 Tjindihwilila ngwenu, ndowokupa mano, Ndzimu ube nawe! Iwe unowomila bathu mbeli kwe Ndzimu ubuya uyisa ndebo dzabo ku Ndzimu 20 ne kubadiya ndaulo ne ndongoloso, ubalakidze zila yabakafanila tjila ndiyo ne zwabakafanila shinga. 21 Pezhugwi kwa ikoku, shalula balume banotubula pakati kwe bathu ibaba bose, bali balume banotja Ndzimu, begalikabgwe kakale bebenga tjizwimba nlomo. Balume ibaba ubathame batungamili be bathu, bamwe bali babusi be zwiwulu, bamwe be mazana, bamwe be makumi mashanu, bamwe bali babusi be makumi. 22 Ngabasumikilise bathu misi yose, koga ndebo dzinolema badzizhise ku kuli. Ndebo dzisingaleme badzipedzise ibo, kowokulelusila ngoti banowobe bakasengesana ntolo nawe. 23 Sekwa unolauligwa ne Ndzimu, nge zila yakajali, unowotubula dzikitadzila tjimo, bathu ibaba bose banoyenda ku mizi yabo bagutshika.” 24 Ndizo Mushe kateedza dama le nkalabgwa uwe, ngono kashinga kose kwabakaleba. 25 Mushe kashalula balume banotubula mu Baiziraela bose kabathama batungamili be bathu, bamwe bali babusi be zwiwulu, bamwe be mazana, bamwe be makumi mashanu ne be makumi. 26 Ngono bakasumikilisa bathu misi yose, koga ndebo dzinolema be dziyisa kuna Mushe, ndebo ndelundelu bedzipedzisa ibo. 27 Ndizo Mushe kawonekana ne nkalabgwa uwe kayenda, kabgwilila ku shango ya kanyi kwabo.
Jethro Visits Moses
1 Moses' father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about everything that God had done for Moses and the people of Israel when he led them out of Egypt. 2 So he came to Moses, bringing with him Moses' wife Zipporah, who had been left behind, 3 and Gershom and Eliezer, her two sons. (Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a strange land”; so he had named one son Gershom. 4 He had also said, “The God of my father helped me and saved me from being killed by the king of Egypt”; so he had named the other son Eliezer. ) 5 Jethro came with Moses' wife and her two sons into the desert where Moses was camped at the holy mountain. 6 He had sent word to Moses that they were coming, 7 so Moses went out to meet him, bowed before him, and kissed him. They asked about each other's health and then went into Moses' tent. 8 Moses told Jethro everything that the Lord had done to the king and the people of Egypt in order to rescue the Israelites. He also told him about the hardships the people had faced on the way and how the Lord had saved them. 9 When Jethro heard all this, he was happy 10 and said, “Praise the Lord, who saved you from the king and the people of Egypt! Praise the Lord, who saved his people from slavery! 11 Now I know that the Lord is greater than all the gods, because he did this when the Egyptians treated the Israelites with such contempt.” 12 Then Jethro brought an offering to be burned whole and other sacrifices to be offered to God; and Aaron and all the leaders of Israel went with him to eat the sacred meal as an act of worship.
The Appointment of Judges
(Deuteronomy 1.9-18)13 The next day Moses was settling disputes among the people, and he was kept busy from morning till night. 14 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?”
15 Moses answered, “I must do this because the people come to me to learn God's will. 16 When two people have a dispute, they come to me, and I decide which one of them is right, and I tell them God's commands and laws.”
17 Then Jethro said, “You are not doing this right. 18 You will wear yourself out and these people as well. This is too much for you to do alone. 19 Now let me give you some good advice, and God will be with you. It is right for you to represent the people before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 You should teach them God's commands and explain to them how they should live and what they should do. 21 But in addition, you should choose some capable men and appoint them as leaders of the people: leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They must be God-fearing men who can be trusted and who cannot be bribed. 22 Let them serve as judges for the people on a permanent basis. They can bring all the difficult cases to you, but they themselves can decide all the smaller disputes. That will make it easier for you, as they share your burden. 23 If you do this, as God commands, you will not wear yourself out, and all these people can go home with their disputes settled.”
24 Moses took Jethro's advice 25 and chose capable men from among all the Israelites. He appointed them as leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people on a permanent basis, bringing the difficult cases to Moses but deciding the smaller disputes themselves.
27 Then Moses said good-bye to Jethro, and Jethro went back home.