Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
Parallel translations
- WEB 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 people with righteous judgment.
- BSB You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
- NKJV “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
- NASB “You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your towns which the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
- NLT “Appoint judges and officials for yourselves from each of your tribes in all the towns the Lord your God is giving you. They must judge the people fairly.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Israel was to appoint judges and officers in every town to judge the people righteously. God's people were to have just, ordered governance.
Overview
This begins a section on civil leadership, mandating local judges and officials charged with righteous judgment. Justice was a covenant responsibility woven into the life of God's people. A society reflecting God's character must uphold fair and impartial justice, a calling fully embodied in Christ, the righteous Judge of all.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 1 Chr 23:4Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the LORD; and six thousand were officers and judges:
- Deut 1:15–17So 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.
- Deut 19:17–18Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days;
- Deut 17:9And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment:
- 2 Chr 19:5–11And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city,
- Exod 18:25–26And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
- Deut 21:2Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:
- 1 Chr 26:29Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were for the outward business over Israel, for officers and judges.
- Rom 13:1–6Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
- Deut 17:12And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.
- Exod 21:6Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.
- Ps 82:2–3How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 16:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.