8
See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to your fathers--to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob--to give to them and their descendants after them.'
9
"And I spoke to you at that time, saying: 'I alone am not able to bear you.
10
The Lord your God has multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude.
11
May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you as He has promised you!
12
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 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 the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and 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 judge righteously between a man and his brother or the stranger who is with him.
17
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 the judgment is God's. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.'
18
And I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.