Exodus 18:19-20

18:19 Now listen to me, ¹  I will give you advice, and may God be with you: You be a representative for the people to God, ²  and you bring ³  their disputes ⁴  to God; 18:20 warn ⁵  them of the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they must walk ⁶  and the work they must do. ⁷ 

[18:19]  ¹ tn Heb “hear my voice.”

[18:19]  ² tn The line reads “Be you to the people before God.” He is to be their representative before God. This is introducing the aspect of the work that only Moses could do, what he has been doing. He is to be before God for the people, to pray for them, to appeal on their behalf. Jethro is essentially saying, I understand that you cannot delegate this to anyone else, so continue doing it (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 219-20).

[18:19]  ³ tn The form is the perfect tense with the vav (ו) consecutive; following the imperative it will be instruction as well. Since the imperative preceding this had the idea of “continue to be” as you are, this too has that force.

[18:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “words”; KJV, ASV “the causes”; NRSV “cases”; NLT “questions.”

[18:20]  ⁵ tn The perfect tense with the vav (ו) continues the sequence of instruction for Moses. He alone was to be the mediator, to guide them in the religious and moral instruction.

[18:20]  ⁶ tn The verb and its following prepositional phrase form a relative clause, modifying “the way.” The imperfect tense should be given the nuance of obligatory imperfect – it is the way they must walk.

[18:20]  ⁷ tn This last part is parallel to the preceding: “work” is also a direct object of the verb “make known,” and the relative clause that qualifies it also uses an obligatory imperfect.