Exodus 18:19–26

¹⁹Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall ^drepresent the people before God and ^ebring their cases to God, ²⁰and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know ^fthe way in which they must walk and ^gwhat they must do. ²¹Moreover, look for ^hable men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²²And ⁱlet them judge the people at all times. ^jEvery great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will ^kbear the burden with you. ²³If you do this, God will direct you, you will be ^lable to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”

²⁴So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. ^25mMoses chose able men out of all Israel and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. ²⁶And ⁿthey judged the people at all times. Any hard case they brought to Moses, but any small matter they decided themselves.