Deuteronomy 1:9-18

New King James Version

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.’ ¹⁸ And I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.