²⁵ And ^(A)Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. ²⁶ So they judged the people at all times; the ^(B)hard^[a] cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves.

The Seventy Elders

¹⁶ So the Lord said to Moses: “Gather to Me ^(A)seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and ^(B)officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. ¹⁷ Then I will come down and talk with you there. ^(C)I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone.

Tribal Leaders Appointed^(A)

⁹ “And ^(B)I spoke to you at that time, saying: ‘I ^[a]alone am not able to bear you. ¹⁰ The Lord your God has multiplied you, ^(C)and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude. ^11 (D)May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you ^(E)as He has promised you! ^12 (F)How can I alone bear your problems and your burdens and your complaints? ¹³ Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them ^[b]heads over you.’ ¹⁴ And you answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have told us to do is good.’ ¹⁵ So I took ^(G)the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and ^[c]made them heads over you, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, leaders of tens, and officers for your tribes.

¹⁶ “Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and ^(H)judge righteously between a man and his ^(I)brother or the stranger who is with him. ^17 (J)You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man’s presence, for ^(K)the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, ^(L)bring to me, and I will hear it.’