Verse Lens · Context pointer
Exodus 18:16 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 16. 16When they have a matter, they come unto me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
The 18:16 clause “When they have a matter, they come to me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know…” moves “Jethro Counsels Shared Judgment” from its opening condition toward the unit's outcome.
Read It With
- Exodus 18:13–27
Read Exodus 18:16 with 18:13–27. The 18:16 clause “When they have a matter, they come to me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know…” moves “Jethro Counsels Shared Judgment” from its opening condition toward the unit's outcome. The whole unit shows: Moses' solitary judging exhausts leader and people; Jethro proposes taught standards, qualified judges, layered cases, and a shared load that Moses accepts.
Why It Needs Context
The 18:16 clause “When they have a matter, they come to me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know…” moves “Jethro Counsels Shared Judgment” from its opening condition toward the unit's outcome. Its force depends on 18:13–27; detached from “Jethro Counsels Shared Judgment,” the words “When they have a matter, they come to me; and I judge between one and another, and I do make them know…” could be mistaken for a complete command, promise, judgment, explanation, or doctrine.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Exodus 18:13–27 — Jethro Counsels Shared JudgmentSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: Exodus 18:13–27, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Exodus
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, names, speech, law, ritual vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Exod.xml, words and morphology for 18:13–27
Open source ↗