²¹ Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God: men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

³ Therefore select from among you, brothers, seven men of good report, full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.

⁵ He set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city,

⁶ 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.

⁷ Now therefore let the fear of Yahweh be on you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with Yahweh our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes.

⁸ Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites and the priests, and of the heads of the fathers' [houses] of Israel, for the judgment of Yahweh, and for controversies. They returned to Jerusalem.

⁹ He charged them, saying, Thus shall you do in the fear of Yahweh, faithfully, and with a perfect heart.

¹⁰ Whenever any controversy shall come to you from your brothers who dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and ordinances, you shall warn them, that they not be guilty towards Yahweh, and so wrath come on you and on your brothers: this do, and you shall not be guilty.

¹⁸ Judges and officers shall you make you in all your gates, which Yahweh your God gives you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.

¹⁹ You shall not wrest justice: you shall not respect persons; neither shall you take a bribe; for a bribe does blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.

¹⁸ Joseph said to them the third day, "Do this, and live, for I fear God.

²⁵ 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.

³ 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,

⁸ he who has not given forth on interest, neither has taken any increase, who has withdrawn his hand from iniquity, has executed true justice between man and man,

⁴ None sues in righteousness, and none pleads in truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.

¹⁴ Justice is turned away backward, and righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and uprightness can't enter.

¹⁵ Yes, truth is lacking; and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Yahweh saw it, and it displeased him who there was no justice.

¹ Run you back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places of it, if you can find a man, if there are any who does justly, who seeks truth; and I will pardon her.

¹² In you have they taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest and increase, and you have greedily gained of your neighbors by oppression, and have forgotten me, says the Lord Yahweh.

⁹ "Thus has Yahweh of Hosts spoken, saying, 'Execute true judgment, and show kindness and compassion every man to his brother.

¹⁶ These are the things that you shall do: speak every man the truth with his neighbor. Execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates,

² saying, "There was a judge in a certain city who didn't fear God, and didn't respect man.

⁴ He wouldn't for a while, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God, nor respect man,

³³ I coveted no one's silver, or gold, or clothing.

³ not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;

⁹ But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction.

¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

¹¹ But you, man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.

¹⁴ having eyes full of adultery, and who can't cease from sin; enticing unsettled souls; having a heart trained in greed; children of cursing;

¹⁵ forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of wrong-doing;

¹⁵ He who walks righteously, and speaks blamelessly; he who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands from taking a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from looking on evil:

⁵ A throne shall be established in loving kindness; and one shall sit thereon in truth, in the tent of David, judging, and seeking justice, and swift to do righteousness.

⁹ Give your servant therefore an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this your great people?

¹⁰ The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing.

¹¹ God said to him, Because you have asked this thing, and have not asked for yourself long life, neither have asked riches for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern justice;

¹² behold, I have done according to your word: behold, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart; so that there has been none like you before you, neither after you shall any arise like you.

³ Here I am: witness against me before Yahweh, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose donkey have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I taken a ransom to blind my eyes therewith? and I will restore it you.

⁴ They said, You have not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither have you taken anything of any man's hand.

¹² and he will appoint them to him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and [he will set some] to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.

³ His sons didn't walk in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted justice.

¹⁴ and with him ten princes, one prince of a fathers' house for each of the tribes of Israel; and they were everyone of them head of their fathers' houses among the thousands of Israel.

¹³ Take wise men of understanding and well known according to your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.

¹⁴ You answered me, and said, The thing which you have spoken is good [for us] to do.

¹⁵ So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes.

¹⁶ I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear [the causes] between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the foreigner who is living with him.

¹⁷ 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: and the cause that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.

⁴ If they blow but one, then the princes, the heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves to you.

² You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; neither shall you testify in court to side with a multitude to pervert justice;

³ neither shall you favor a poor man in his cause.

⁴ "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.

⁵ If you see the donkey of him who hates you fallen down under his burden, don't leave him, you shall surely help him with it.

⁶ "You shall not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits.

⁷ "Keep far from a false charge, and don't kill the innocent and righteous: for I will not justify the wicked.

⁸ You shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds those who have sight and perverts the words of the righteous.

⁹ "You shall not oppress an alien, for you know the heart of an alien, seeing you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

³ Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared Yahweh greatly:

¹² It will happen, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of Yahweh will carry you I don't know where; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he can't find you, he will kill me: but I your servant fear Yahweh from my youth.

¹³ This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man.

² In rebellion, a land has many rulers, But order is maintained by a man of understanding and knowledge.

⁹ Don't gather my soul with sinners, Nor my life with bloodthirsty men;

¹⁰ In whose hands is wickedness, Their right hand is full of bribes.

⁵ He who doesn't lend out his money for usury, Nor take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be shaken.

¹³ "If I have despised the cause of my man-servant Or of my maid-servant, When they contended with me;

¹⁶ I was a father to the needy. The cause of him who I didn't know, I searched out.

² that I gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the governor of the castle, charge over Jerusalem; for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.

⁹ Also I said, The thing that you do is not good: ought you not to walk in the fear of our God, because of the reproach of the nations our enemies?

¹² He said, "Don't lay your hand on the boy, neither do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."