¹⁹Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you.^j You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes^k to him. ²⁰Teach them his decrees and instructions,^l and show them the way they are to live^m and how they are to behave.ⁿ ²¹But select capable men^o from all the people—men who fear^p God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain^q—and appoint them as officials^r over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. ²²Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case^s to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share^t it with you. ²³If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.”

²⁴Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said. ²⁵He chose capable men from all Israel and made them leaders^u of the people, officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.^v ²⁶They served as judges^w for the people at all times. The difficult cases^x they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.^y

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Cross references

j Ex 3:12
kver 15; Nu 27:5
l Dt 4:1, 5; 5:1; Ps 119:12, 26, 68
m Ps 143:8
nSee Ge 39:11
oSee Ge 47:6; Ac 6:3
pSee Ge 22:12
q Ex 23:8; Dt 16:19; 1 Sa 12:3; Ps 15:5; Pr 17:23; 28:8; Ecc 7:7; Eze 18:8; 22:12
r Nu 1:16; 7:2; 10:4; Dt 16:18; Ezr 7:25
s Lev 24:11; Dt 1:17–18
t Nu 11:17; Dt 1:9
u Nu 1:16; 7:2; 11:16; Dt 16:18
v Dt 1:13–15
w Dt 16:18; 2 Ch 19:5; Ezr 7:25
x Dt 1:17
yver 22