Deuteronomy 1:2-19

2It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by way of Mount Seir.

3In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month, Moses told the Israelites everything the Lord had commanded him to say to them.

4This was after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.

5Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying:

6“The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb: ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.

7Resume your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites and their neighbors in the Arabah, the hill country, the Judean foothills, the Negev and the sea coast — to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon as far as the great river, the Euphrates River.

8See, I have set the land before you. Enter and take possession of the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their future descendants.’

9“I said to you at that time: I can’t bear the responsibility for you on my own.

10The Lord your God has so multiplied you that today you are as numerous as the stars of the sky.

11May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times more, and bless you as he promised you.

12But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes by myself?

13Appoint for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will make them your leaders.

14“You replied to me, ‘What you propose to do is good.’

15“So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and set them over you as leaders: commanders for thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and officers for your tribes.

16I commanded your judges at that time: Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge rightly between a man and his brother or his resident alien.

17Do not show partiality when deciding a case; listen to small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.

18At that time I commanded you about all the things you were to do.

19“We then set out from Horeb and went across all the great and terrible wilderness you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as the Lord our God had commanded us. When we reached Kadesh-barnea,