Moses’ father-in-law said to him is again repeating more than is necessary, so Good News Translation simply has “Then Jethro said.” What you are doing is not good is literally “not good the davar [thing, deed] that you are doing.” Durham translates “It is not good, the procedure you are following.” The word for good has a broad meaning that needs to be narrowed by the context. So Good News Translation has “You are not doing this right.” Revised English Bible has “This is not the best way to do it,” Translator’s Old Testament has “You are not acting wisely,” and Contemporary English Version has “That isn’t the best way to do it.”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .