Deuteronomy 16:18
in Deuteronomy 16You 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, according to thy tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 16
Commentary
5 notes on this verseJudges and officers shalt thou make - Judges, שפטים shophetim, among the Hebrews, were probably the same as our magistrates or justices of the peace. Officers, שטרים shoterim, seem to have been the same as our inquest sergeants, beadles, etc., whose office it was to go into the houses, shops, etc., and examine weights, measures, and the civil conduct of the people. When they found any thing amiss, they brought the person offending before the magistrate, and he was punished by the officer on the spot. They seem also to have acted as heralds in the army, Deu 20:
This site's exposition
Judges and officers shalt thou make thee
on Deuteronomy 16:18-19
Exodus 18:25 and Deuteronomy 1:15 set rulers over thousands and hundreds in one camp, and this verse plants judges and officers in all thy gates, which puts a court in every town of a people about to be spread over a land. Adam Clarke reads the officers as the men who carried out the sentence and checked the weights and measures in the markets, so the office covers enforcement as well as judgment. Verse 19 names the three ways a court fails, wresting judgment, respecting persons and taking a gift, and it argues the third rather than merely forbidding it, for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise. Cases too hard for a local bench go up to the place which the LORD shall choose under 17:8-13.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Judges and officers shall thou make thee,.... Judges were fixed in the sanhedrim, or court of judicature, and those that have lawsuits come before them; officers are masters of the staff and whip, and they stand before the judges, and go into markets, streets, and shops, to order the weights and measures, and to smite all that do wrong; and all they do is by order of the judges; so Maimonides (s): the qualifications of judges to be chosen and constituted by the people are thus described by him.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Judges and officers shalt thou make--These last meant heralds or bailiffs, employed in executing the sentence of their superiors. in all thy gates--The gate was the place of public resort among the Israelites and other Eastern people, where business was transacted and causes decided.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
These verses are closely connected in subject with the following chapter, and introduce certain directions for the administration of justice and the carrying on of the civil government of the people in Canaan. During the lifetime of Moses, he himself, especially inspired and guided by God, was sufficient, with the aid of the subordinate judges (compare Exo 18:13 ff), for the duties in question. But now that Moses was to be withdrawn, and the people would soon be scattered up and down the land of Canaan, regular and permanent provision must be made for civil and social order and good government. Deu 16:21 A grove ... - Render, Thou shalt not plant for thee any tree as an idol: literally as an Asherah,” “i. e.” an image of Astarte or Ashtaroth, the Phoenician goddess (compare Deu 7:5 note, Deu 7:13 note). The word is rendered “grove” by the King James Version also in Deu 7:5; Deu 12:3; Exo 34:13; Jdg 6:25, but cannot be maintained, for the word is connected with various verbs which are quite inapplicable to a grove. The wooden idol in question was the stem of a tree, stripped of its boughs, set upright in the ground, and rudely carved with emblems.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שֹׁפְטִ֣ים | shofetim | judges | H8199 → | 202 times |
| וְשֹֽׁטְרִ֗ים | veshoterim | and officials | H7860 → | 25 times |
| תִּֽתֶּן־ | titen- | you will appoint | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְךָ֙ | lekha | for yourself | ||
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ | sheareikha | gates your | H8179 → | 374 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יְהוָ֧ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| נֹתֵ֥ן | noten | [is] about to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | to you | ||
| לִשְׁבָטֶ֑יךָ | lishvateikha | for tribes your | H7626 → | 190 times |
| וְשָׁפְט֥וּ | veshafetu | and they will judge | H8199 → | 202 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעָ֖ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מִשְׁפַּט־ | mishpat- | judgment of | H4941 → | 422 times |
| צֶֽדֶק׃ | tzedek | righteousness | H6664 → | 119 times |
שֹׁפְטִ֣יםjudges
shofetimH8199 →202 times
וְשֹֽׁטְרִ֗יםand officials
veshoterimH7860 →25 times
תִּֽתֶּן־you will appoint
titen-H5414 →2011 times
לְךָ֙for yourself
lekha
בְּכָל־in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָgates your
sheareikhaH8179 →374 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יְהוָ֧הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
נֹתֵ֥ן[is] about to give
notenH5414 →2011 times
לְךָ֖to you
lekha
לִשְׁבָטֶ֑יךָfor tribes your
lishvateikhaH7626 →190 times
וְשָׁפְט֥וּand they will judge
veshafetuH8199 →202 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָעָ֖םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
מִשְׁפַּט־judgment of
mishpat-H4941 →422 times
צֶֽדֶק׃righteousness
tzedekH6664 →119 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 21:6then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 15:17
then take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he will become your servant for life. And treat your maidservant the same way.
- Leviticus 25:40
Let him stay with you as a hired worker or temporary resident; he is to work for you until the Year of Jubilee.
- Deuteronomy 15:17
Through
1 Chronicles 26:29From the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons had the outside duties as officers and judges over Israel.
it leads to
- Nehemiah 11:16
Shabbethai and Jozabad, two leaders of the Levites, who supervised the work outside the house of God;
- 1 Chronicles 23:4
“Of these,” said David, “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the LORD, 6,000 are to be officers and judges,
- Nehemiah 11:16
Through
Deuteronomy 17:9You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 44:24
In any dispute, they shall officiate as judges and judge according to My ordinances. They must keep My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed feasts, and they must keep My Sabbaths holy.
- Haggai 2:11
“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Ask the priests for a ruling.
- Malachi 2:7
For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.
- Ezekiel 44:24
Through
1 Chronicles 23:4“Of these,” said David, “24,000 are to oversee the work of the house of the LORD, 6,000 are to be officers and judges,
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 19:8
Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites, priests, and heads of the Israelite families to judge on behalf of the LORD and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 19:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).