8. Look, I am giving you this land. Go and take it. It is the land that I, the Lord, promised to give to your ancestors—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I promised to give this land to them and to their descendants.’
9. “At that time I told you, ‘I can’t take care of you by myself.
10. And now, there are even more of you. The Lord your God has added more and more people, so that today you are as many as the stars in the sky.
11. May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, give you 1000 times more people than you are now! May he bless you as he promised.
12. But I cannot take care of you and solve all your arguments by myself.
13. So choose some men from each tribe, and I will make them leaders over you. Choose wise men with experience who understand people.’
14. “And you said, ‘That is a good thing to do.’
15. “So I took the wise, experienced men you chose from your tribes, and I made them your leaders. In this way I gave you leaders over 1000 people, over 100 people, over 50 people, and over 10 people. I also gave you officers for each of your tribes.
16. “At that time I told these judges, ‘Listen to the arguments between your people. Be fair when you judge each case. It doesn’t matter if the problem is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner. You must judge each case fairly.