Leaders Appointed

“At that time (A)I said to you, ‘I am not able to bear you by myself. 10 The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, (B)you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. 11 (C)May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, (D)as he has promised you! 12 (E)How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife? 13 (F)Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ 14 And you answered me, ‘The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.’ 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, (G)and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes. 16 And I charged your judges at that time, ‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and (H)judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him. 17 (I)You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for (J)the judgment is God's. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall (K)bring to me, and I will hear it.’ 18 And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

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Moses Reviews the Selected Officials

“I also told you at that time that I won’t be able to sustain you on my own. 10 The Lord your God greatly multiplied your numbers, and today you are like the stars in the sky. 11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase your numbers a thousand times more, and may he bless you, as he promised you. 12 How can I bear the burden of you and your bickering all by myself? 13 Choose for yourselves wise and discerning men, known to your tribes, and appoint them as your leaders. 14 You answered by saying that this plan is a good thing. 15 So I chose leaders from your tribes, wise and respected men, and I appointed them over you—commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 16 I charged your judges at that time, ‘When you hold a hearing between brothers, judge fairly between a man and his brother or between foreigners. 17 When you hold a hearing, don’t be partial[a] in judgment toward the least important or toward the great. Never fear men, because judgment belongs to God. If the matter is difficult for you, bring it to me for a hearing.’ 18 I charged you at that time that you must do all of these things.”

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 1:17 Lit. don’t recognize faces