So 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. I 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. You 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.”
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Deuteronomy 1:15-17 sits inside this longer paragraph.
You answered me, and said, “The thing which you have spoken is good to do.” So 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. I 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. You 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.” I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do. We 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. I said to you, “You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which Yahweh our God gives to us. Behold, 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.”
Parallel Translations
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So 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.
I 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.
You 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.”
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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.
And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.
Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.
Show all 3 translations
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So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and full of knowledge, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, tribe by tribe.
And I charged your judges at that time, saying: 'Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him.
Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; ye shall hear the small and the great alike; ye shall not be afraid of the face of any man; for the judgment is God's; and the cause that is too hard for you ye shall bring unto me, and I will hear it.'
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Commandments (2)
The laws of the Torah, each cited and shown as a primary source.
Cross-references (65)
- Deuteronomy 16:19 (v17) You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and…
- Exodus 18:26 (v17) They judged the people at all times. They brought the hard cases to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
- James 2:9 (v17) But if you show partiality, you commit sin, being convicted by the law as transgressors.
- Leviticus 19:15 (vv16–17) “ ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the great; but you shall judge your…
- 2 Chronicles 19:6 (v17) and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, for you don’t judge for man, but for Yahweh; and he is with you in the judgment.
Show all 63 cross-references
- Proverbs 24:23 (v17) These also are sayings of the wise. To show partiality in judgment is not good.
- Exodus 18:22 (v17) Let them judge the people at all times. It shall be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they shall…
- John 7:24 (v16) Don’t judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment.”
- James 2:1-5 (v17) My brothers, don’t hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory with partiality. For if a man with a gold ring, in fine clothing, comes…
- 1 Peter 1:17 (v17) If you call on him as Father, who without respect of persons judges according to each man’s work, pass the time of your living as…
- Exodus 18:25-26 (v15) Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties,…
- Exodus 23:6-7 (v17) “You shall not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. “Keep far from a false charge, and don’t kill the innocent and…
- Deuteronomy 10:17 (v17) For Yahweh your God, he is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the awesome, who doesn’t respect persons or take…
- Deuteronomy 16:18 (v15) You shall make judges and officers in all your gates, which Yahweh your God gives you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the…
- 1 Samuel 16:7 (v17) But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Don’t look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for I don’t see as man…
- 2 Samuel 14:14 (v17) For we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground, which can’t be gathered up again; neither does God take away life, but devises…
- Proverbs 22:22-23 (v17) Don’t exploit the poor, because he is poor; and don’t crush the needy in court; for Yahweh will plead their case, and plunder the life of…
- Proverbs 29:25 (v17) The fear of man proves to be a snare, but whoever puts his trust in Yahweh is kept safe.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:4 (v17) But even as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News, so we speak: not as pleasing men, but God, who tests our…
- Exodus 23:2-3 (vv16–17) “You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. You shall not testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice. You shall not favor a…
- Exodus 22:21 (v16) “You shall not wrong an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 23:7-9 (v16) “Keep far from a false charge, and don’t kill the innocent and righteous; for I will not justify the wicked. “You shall take no bribe, for…
- Leviticus 24:22 (v16) You shall have one kind of law for the foreigner as well as the native-born; for I am Yahweh your God.’ ”
- Deuteronomy 16:18-19 (v16) You shall make judges and officers in all your gates, which Yahweh your God gives you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the…
- 2 Chronicles 19:6-10 (v16) and said to the judges, “Consider what you do, for you don’t judge for man, but for Yahweh; and he is with you in the judgment. Now…
- Matthew 22:16 (v17) They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and teach the way of God in…
- Mark 12:14 (v17) When they had come, they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you are honest, and don’t defer to anyone; for you aren’t partial to anyone, but…
- Luke 20:21 (v17) They asked him, “Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right, and aren’t partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God.
- Romans 2:11 (v17) For there is no partiality with God.
- Ephesians 4:11 (v15) He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers;
- Ephesians 6:9 (v17) You masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and…
- Colossians 3:25 (v17) But he who does wrong will receive again for the wrong that he has done, and there is no partiality.
- 1 Timothy 5:21 (v16) I command you in the sight of God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the chosen angels, that you observe these things without prejudice, doing…
- Exodus 18:18 (v17) You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you; for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to perform it…
- Numbers 27:19 (v16) Set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and commission him in their sight.
- Numbers 31:14 (v15) Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war.
- Deuteronomy 17:8-10 (v17) If there arises a matter too hard for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being…
- Deuteronomy 24:14 (v16) You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the foreigners who are in your…
- Deuteronomy 24:17 (v17) You shall not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, nor take a widow’s clothing in pledge;
- Deuteronomy 27:11 (v16) Moses commanded the people the same day, saying,
- Deuteronomy 31:14 (v16) Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, your days approach that you must die. Call Joshua, and present yourselves in the Tent of Meeting, that I may…
- 1 Samuel 8:12 (v15) He will appoint them to him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and he will assign some to plow his ground, and to reap his…
- 1 Samuel 12:3-4 (v17) Here I am. Witness against me before Yahweh, and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I…
- 1 Samuel 17:18 (v15) and bring these ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers are doing, and bring back news.”
- 1 Samuel 22:7 (v15) Saul said to his servants who stood around him, “Hear now, you Benjamites! Will the son of Jesse give everyone of you fields and vineyards?…
- 2 Samuel 23:3 (v16) The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, ‘One who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God,
- 1 Kings 21:8-14 (v17) So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who were in his…
- Job 22:6-9 (v17) For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing. You haven’t given water to the weary to…
- Job 29:11-17 (v17) For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it commended me: Because I delivered the poor who cried, and the…
- Job 31:13-16 (v17) “If I have despised the cause of my male servant or of my female servant, when they contended with me, what then will I do when God rises…
- Job 31:34 (v17) because I feared the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I kept silence, and didn’t go out of the door—
- Psalms 58:1 (v16) Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones? Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men?
- Psalms 82:3-4 (v17) “Defend the weak, the poor, and the fatherless. Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy. Deliver them out…
- Jeremiah 1:17 (v17) “You therefore put your belt on your waist, arise, and say to them all that I command you. Don’t be dismayed at them, lest I dismay you…
- Jeremiah 5:28-29 (v17) They have grown fat. They shine; yes, they excel in deeds of wickedness. They don’t plead the cause, the cause of the fatherless, that they…
- Amos 5:11-12 (v17) Therefore, because you trample on the poor, and take taxes from him of wheat: You have built houses of cut stone, but you will not dwell in…
- Micah 2:1-3 (v17) Woe to those who devise iniquity and work evil on their beds! When the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of…
- Micah 3:1-4 (v17) I said, “Please listen, you heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: Isn’t it for you to know justice? You who hate the good, and…
- Micah 7:3-4 (v17) Their hands are on that which is evil to do it diligently. The ruler and judge ask for a bribe; and the powerful man dictates the evil…
- Acts 10:34-35 (v17) Peter opened his mouth and said, “Truly I perceive that God doesn’t show favoritism; but in every nation he who fears him and works…
- 1 Timothy 6:17 (v16) Charge those who are rich in this present world that they not be arrogant, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on the…
- Deuteronomy 10:18-19 (v16) He executes justice for the fatherless and widow and loves the foreigner in giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the foreigner, for…
- 1 Thessalonians 2:11 (v16) As you know, we exhorted, comforted, and implored every one of you, as a father does his own children,
63 distinct cross-references across this passage (65 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv15, 17 Declaring what sort of men ought to have a…
Declaring what sort of men ought to have a public charge, read Exod. 18:31.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv15–17 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 vv15–17 The chief, not in authority, which yet they had…
The chief, not in authority, which yet they had not, but in endowments for good government.
And officers; inferior officers, that were to attend upon the superior magistrates, and to execute their decrees.
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 vv15–17 So I took the chief of your tribes, wise…
So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known,.... The principal persons among them, that were remarkable and well known for their wisdom and understanding, whom the people presented to him:
and made them heads over you; rulers of them, as follows:
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captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens; see Exo 18:21.
and officers among your tribes; which Jarchi interprets of such that bind malefactors and scourge them, according to the decree of the judges, even the executioners of justice; and so the Jews commonly understand them to be, though some have thought they were judges also.
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 vv15–17 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 vv15, 17 Verse 15. Captains over thousands, c.] What a curious…
Verse 15. Captains over thousands, c.] What a curious and well-regulated economy was that of the Israelites! See its order and arrangement:
1. GOD, the KING and Supreme Judge
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2. Moses, God's prime minister;
3. The priests, consulting him by Urim and Thummim;
4. The chiefs or princes of the twelve tribes;
5. Chilliarchs, or captains over thousands;
6. Centurions, or captains over hundreds;
7. Tribunes, or captains over fifty men;
8. Decurions, or captains over ten men; and,
9. Officers, persons who might be employed by the different chiefs in executing particular commands. All these held their authority from God, and yet were subject and accountable to each other. See the notes on Num. ii.
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 vv15–17 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).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v17 17. The judgment is God’s — It is to…
17. The judgment is God’s — It is to be administered in the name of God, who is the source of all justice, and who, by implication, is supposed to so aid that the judgment is essentially his.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv15–17 15. the heads of your tribes] LXX, from you,…
15. the heads of your tribes] LXX, from you, either represents the original Heb. reading or is the Gk translator’s emendation of a difficult text. On the ground that the present Heb. reading conflicts with Deu_1:13 and is meaningless in relation to the rest of this verse (it being unlikely that Moses would say, that he took heads of tribes to make them heads over you), some would delete the words. But the verse, though awkward, may mean that Moses took those elected within the various tribes (Deu_1:13) and made them chiefs with judicial functions in the new national organisation which he now instituted: so in E, Exo_18:25, he set them chiefs over the people, as a whole.
captains of thousands, hundreds, fifties, tens] Captains, Heb. sarîm. So E, Exo_18:21; Exo_18:25. But neither there nor here is the meaning clear. Under the monarchy there were military sarîm of thousands, hundreds, and fifties (1Sa_8:12; 1Sa_17:18; 2Sa_18:1; 2Ki_1:9 ff; 2Ki_11:4; Isa_3:3); that no sarîm of tens are mentioned does not imply that they did not exist, for the notices of the others are incidental. Did such military sarîm already exist in the time of Israel’s wanderings, and is it meant, here and in Exodus 18, that the popularly elected heads took such military titles on their appointment? Or were these military ranks first instituted under the monarchy, when an organised national army took the place of the old tribal levies, and have the writers of E and D (cp. P, Num_31:14; Num_31:28) merely reflected this institution of their own times back on the period of the wandering? Or are we to hold with Steuernagel that although Exo_18:13-26 deals throughout with the institution of judges this deuteronomic review, Deu_1:9-15, narrates the appointment not of judges but of military and administrative officers and that we reach the judges only in Deu_1:16, where their title first occurs and where a new paragraph is indicated by the recurrence of the formula, and at that time? In support of his view, Steuernagel alleges that only intellectual qualities are required for the officers dealt with in Deu_1:9-15, while in Exo_18:13 ff., where judges are intended throughout, the requirements are moral. But this point we have already answered above on Deu_1:13. Further Steuernagel’s explanation neither solves the difficulty in Exo_18:13 ff. (E) where the equation of military titles with the judicial posts is certain; nor meets the fact that this deuteronomic review is based on Exo_18:13 ff., and if it had meant to differ from the latter on so substantial a point it would certainly have indicated the difference explicitly. None of the explanations is satisfactory. The evidence that even under Moses the tribal institutions were welded into a national organisation is frequent and probable; and that main fact may be held, even if we allow, as equally probable, that E and D reflected back upon it the military titles of their own day.
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and officers] Heb. shôṭerîm, with the original meaning either of rangers, organisers (so Dri. after Nöldeke, citing Ar. saṭara ‘to rule’ a book, ‘write,’ and saṭr ‘line’ or ‘row,’ cp. Heb. mishṭar, Job_38:33), or of writers (Ass. shatâru ‘write’). Both meanings are attached to the name in the O.T. In Deu_20:5; Deu_20:8 f., as in E, Jos_1:10; Jos_3:2, shôṭerîm are army officers who pass on the general orders through the ranks; cp. J, Exo_5:6, etc., native officers of Israel under Pharaoh’s taskmasters. But here, as in Deu_16:18, they are associated with judges, Deu_29:10, with elders exercising judicial functions: cp. deuteron., Jos_8:33; Jos_23:2; Jos_24:1; and E, Num_11:16; Pro_6:7. Sam. has here scribes; LXX γραμματοεισαγωγεῖς. They were either the secretaries or professional assessors of the lay judges.
according to your tribes] So Heb. and Sam.; LXX τοῖς κριταῖς ὑμῶν, to your judges, which Berth. emends to judge you.
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 vv16–17 (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 v17 Ye shall not respect persons; literally, look at or…
Ye shall not respect persons; literally, look at or regard aces, i.e. ye shall not deal partially, favoring the one party rather than the other (comp. Exo_23:2, Exo_23:3; Lev_19:15) the small as well as the great were to be heard, and neither for favor nor from fear were they to pervert justice. The judgment is God"s; i.e. appointed by God and administered in his name, the judge acting for God and by his authority, and being answerable to him. (comp. 2Ch_19:6) Hence the phrases, "to inquire of God," "to bring before God" (Exo_18:15, 19 21:6 22:8, etc.) phrases still in use among the Arabs for a summoning to judicial trial.
In the case of a matter coming before the judges which they found it beyond their power to decide, they were to bring it before Moses as a superior authority. (see Exo_18:26) "Some think there were certain causes reserved to the cognizance of Moses; but the contrary appears by these words, that all manner of causes were brought before the judges; and they, not the people, brought such causes before Moses as they found too hard for them to determine. So that they, not the person whose cause it was, judged of the difficulty of the cause. See Selden, lib. 1. "De Synedriis, cap. 16." (Bishop Patrick).
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 vv15, 17 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 vv15–16 1:15 thousand . . . hundred . . .…
1:15 thousand . . . hundred . . . fifty . . . ten: This was standard military organization, so some of these officials were probably military officers (see 1 Sam 8:12; 22:7; 2 Sam 18:1).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.