Deuteronomy 1:13-16 sits inside this longer paragraph.
9I spoke to you at that time, saying, “I am not able to bear you myself alone. 10Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as the stars of the sky for multitude. 11Yahweh, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you! 12How can I myself alone bear your problems, your burdens, and your strife? 13Take wise men of understanding who are respected among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.”
14You answered me, and said, “The thing which you have spoken is good to do.” 15So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and respected men, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds, captains of fifties, captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes. 16I commanded your judges at that time, saying, “Hear cases between your brothers and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the foreigner who is living with him. 17You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.” 18I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do. 19We traveled from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, by the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as Yahweh our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh Barnea. 20I said to you, “You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which Yahweh our God gives to us. 21Behold, Yahweh your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as Yahweh the God of your fathers has spoken to you. Don’t be afraid, neither be dismayed.”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv13, 15 Whose godliness and uprightness is known.
Whose godliness and uprightness is known.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv15–16 Deu 1:15 So I took the chief of your…
Deu 1:15 So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.
Ver. 15. And officers among your tribes.] That might put the laws in execution; which is the same to the law that the clapper is to the bell. There were in good Josiah’s days’ horrible abominations. And why? By the slackness of under offices. {Zep 3:3}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv13, 15, 16 Persons of knowledge, wisdom, and experience, men famous, and…
Persons of knowledge, wisdom, and experience, men famous, and had in reputation, for ability and integrity; for to such they would more readily submit.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv14–16 And ye answered me and said,.... As the speech…
And ye answered me and said,.... As the speech of Moses to the people is not expressed before, so neither this answer of theirs to him:
the thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do; to look out for and present persons to him as before described; this they saw was for their own good and profit, as well as for the ease of Moses, and therefore readily agreed to it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv15–16 Officers - Inferior officers, that were to attend upon…
Officers - Inferior officers, that were to attend upon the superior magistrates, and to execute their decrees.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv13, 15 Verse 13. Take you wise men] חכמים chachamim, such…
Verse 13. Take you wise men] חכמים chachamim, such as had gained knowledge by great labour and study. Understanding נבנים nebonim, persons of discernment, judicious men. Known, ידעים yeduim, persons practised in the operations of nature, capable of performing curious and important works.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv15–16 Deu 1:15. So I took the chief — Not…
Deu 1:15. So I took the chief — Not in authority, but in endowments for governing. And officers — Inferior officers, that were to attend upon the superior magistrates, and to execute their decrees.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v15 Who, &c. Hebrew, "and shoterim (officers like our serjeants,…
Who, &c. Hebrew, "and shoterim (officers like our serjeants, designed to publish and execute the sentence of the judges) over or among your tribes." The Persians still call such officers chaters. The Rabbins say, that the shoterim were generally selected from among the Cinites, the descendants of Jethro, 1 Paralipomenon ii. 55. But we find that the Levites were also chosen, 2 Paralipomenon xix. 11. They seem to have had sometimes the authority of judges, princes, or doctors for the instruction of the people, as the Vulgate here expresses it. (Calmet)
Ver 17. Respect. Hebrew, "fear." (Menochius) --- Those who judge ought to be quite impartial, and never suffer their sentence to be dictated either by love or by fear. (Haydock) (Ecclesiasticus vii. 6.) --- Of God, to whom you must give an account of your conduct, Wisdom vi. 4. Speak therefore in his name, and imitate his justice and other perfections. See Psalm lxxxi 1. (Calmet) --- If any one absolve an oppressor because he is rich, that judge is guilty of partiality. (Du Hamel) (Isaias i. 23.) --- Hear it, as the supreme judge. (Menochius) --- The people selected such as might be most proper, out of whom Moses made his choice. (Salien) --- An appeal might be made to himself. (Abulensis, q. 11.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv13, 15, 16 13. Take you] Heb. Give yourselves: Jos_18:4. The people…
13. Take you] Heb. Give yourselves: Jos_18:4. The people themselves are to elect as in Deu_16:18, consistently with the emphasis, so frequent in D, on the judicial responsibilities of the whole people. In E, Exo_18:25 (cp. Num_11:16), Moses chooses.
wise men, and understanding, and known] With the LXX some take the last term as synonymous with the others; either reading as in the Heb. the pass. part. experienced, or the act. Part. knowing. The pass. part. is perhaps the better, but as meaning known: men reputed for their judicial gifts, as among the Arabs to-day. While here the emphasis is laid on intellectual gifts, which, however, in D always include the moral; E, Exo_18:21, more definitely expresses the latter: men of power (Dri. capable, worthy), fearing God, men of troth, hating unjust gain.
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according to your tribes] E, Exo_18:21; Exo_18:25 : out of, all the people, all Israel. E and D use shebet for tribe, but P’s usual term is maṭṭah.
make them heads over you] Rather, set them as your chiefs.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v16 (16) And I charged your judges . . .…
(16) And I charged your judges . . . saying.—These instructions given by Moses are an admirable expansion, but only an expansion, of those of Jethro(Exo_18:21), that the judges must be “able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness”—a sentence older than the Decalogue itself.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv13–14 Take you; literally, give to you or for you,…
Take you; literally, give to you or for you, i.e. yourselves. The selection was to be made by the people themselves. Jethro, in giving Moses the advice on which he thus acted, described the men who were to be selected as "such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness". (Exo_18:21) Moses here describes them rather by qualities, indicating ability and fitness for such a post as that to which they were to be called; they were to be wise (which, indeed, may be regarded as comprehending all good moral qualities); understanding men, men of discernment and sagacity, as well as intelligence; and known among their tribes, men of good repute in the community. ("quorum conversatio sit probata," Vulgate; comp. Act_6:3; 1Ti_3:7) And I will make them rulers over you; literally, will set them for your heads, i.e. will appoint them to act as superintendents, managers, and judges over you.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v15 General Information:
General Information:
Moses continues to speak to the people of Israel.
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men of good repute
"men whom your people respected." See how this is translated in Deuteronomy 1:13.
of thousands ... of hundreds ... of fifties ... of tens
"of groups of 1,000 ... of groups of 100 ... of groups of 50 ... and groups of 10" (See: Numbers)
captains ... officers
These are titles for different leaders in Israel's government.
tribe by tribe
"from each of your tribes"
judge righteously between a man and his brother
"make right and fair decisions about the disputes Israelites have with each other"
translationWords
head
tribe
wise
command
judge, judges
brother
righteous
alien
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv13, 15, 16 1:13 Those who were well-respected had lives and reputations…
1:13 Those who were well-respected had lives and reputations that were above reproach, even on close scrutiny.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.