9. Straight after the Lord commanded us to leave Mount Sinai, I told you:Israel, being your leader is too big a job for one person.
10. The Lord our God has blessed us, and so now there are as many of us as there are stars in the sky.
11. God has even promised to bless us a thousand times more, and I pray that he will.
12. But I cannot take care of all your problems and settle all your arguments alone.
13. Each tribe must choose some experienced men who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will make those men the official leaders of their tribes.
14. You answered, “That's a good idea!”
15. Then I took these men, who were already wise and respected leaders, and I appointed them as your official leaders. Some of them became military officers in charge of groups of a thousand, or a hundred, or fifty, or ten,
16. and others became judges. I gave these judges the following instructions:When you settle legal cases, your decisions must be fair. It doesn't matter if the case is between two Israelites, or between an Israelite and a foreigner living in your community.
17. And it doesn't matter if one is helpless and the other is powerful. Don't be afraid of anyone! No matter who comes to your court, God will help you make a fair decision.If any case is too hard for you, bring the people to me, and I will make the decision.
18. After I gave these instructions to the judges, I taught you the Lord's commands.
19. The Lord had commanded us to leave Mount Sinai and go to the hill country that belonged to the Amorites, so we started out into the huge desert. You remember how frightening it was, but soon we were at Kadesh-Barnea,
20-21. and I told you, “We have reached the hill country. It belongs to the Amorites now, but the Lord our God is giving it to us. He is the same God our ancestors worshipped, and he has told us to go in and take this land, so don't hesitate and be afraid.”
22. Then all of you came to me and said, “Before we go into the land, let's send some men to explore it. When they come back, they can tell us about the towns we will find and what roads we should take to get there.”