6. The Lord our God spoke to us at Mount Sinai. He said, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
7. Get ready. Go to the mountain country of the Amorites. Go to all the places around there—the Jordan Valley, the mountains, the western slopes, the southern area, the seacoast, the land of Canaan and Lebanon. Go as far as the great river, the Euphrates.
8. See, I have given you this land. Go in and take it for yourselves. The Lord promised it to your ancestors—Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their descendants.”
9. At that time I said, “I am not able to take care of you by myself.
10. The Lord your God has made you grow in number. There are as many of you as there are stars in the sky.
11. I pray that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, will give you a thousand times more people. That’s what he promised.
12. But I cannot take care of your problems, your troubles and your arguments by myself.
13. So choose some men from each tribe. Choose wise men who have understanding and experience. I will make them leaders over you.”
14. And you said, “That’s a good thing to do.”
15. So I took the wise and experienced leaders of your tribes. And I made them your leaders. I appointed commanders over 1,000 people, over 100 people, over 50 people and over 10 people. I made them officers over your tribes.
16. Then I told your judges, “Listen to the arguments between your people. Judge fairly between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner.
17. When you judge, be fair to everyone. Don’t act as if one person is more important than another. Don’t be afraid of anyone, because your decision comes from God. Bring the hard cases to me. I will judge them.”