17. Don’t show favoritism in a decision. Hear both sides out, whether the person is important or not. Don’t be afraid of anyone because the ruling belongs to God. Any dispute that is too difficult for you to decide, bring to me and I will take care of it.
18. So at that time, I commanded you concerning everything you were to do.
19. We left Horeb and journeyed through that vast and terrifying desert you saw, on the way to the hills of the Amorites, exactly as the Lord our God commanded us. Then we arrived at Kadesh-barnea.
20. I said to you: You have come to the hills of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving to us.
21. Look! The Lord your God has laid out the land before you. Go up and take it, just as the Lord, your ancestors’ God, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be frightened!
22. Then all of you approached me, saying, "Let’s send spies ahead of us—they can check out the land for us. Then they can return with word about the route we should use and bring a report about the cities that we’ll be entering."