Exodus 18:19–26

¹⁹Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and God be with you. You be the one to represent the people before God and bring their cases to him. ²⁰Instruct them about the statutes and laws, and teach them the way to live and what they must do.^{c 21}But you should select from all the people able men, God-fearing, trustworthy, and hating dishonest profit.^d Place them over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.^{e 22}They should judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you every major case but judge every minor case themselves. In this way you will lighten your load,^A and they will bear it with you.^{f 23}If you do this, and God so directs you, you will be able to endure, and also all these people will be able to go home satisfied.”^B

²⁴Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. ²⁵So Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them leaders over the people as commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. ²⁶They judged the people at all times; they would bring the hard cases to Moses, but they would judge every minor case themselves.