Then I said,“ Listen, you leaders of Jacob’s people! Pay attention, you rulers of Israel! You should want to judge others fairly.

我说：雅各的首领，以色列家的官长啊，你们要听！你们不当知道公平吗？

于是我说：雅各的领袖，以色列家的官长啊，你们要听！你们岂不知道公平吗？

于是我说：雅各的领袖，以色列家的官长啊，你们要听！你们岂不知道公平吗？

我说：“雅各的首领，以色列家的统治者啊！你们要听！难道你们不知正义吗？

我说：“雅各的首领，你们要听，以色列家的官长，你们也要听；难道你们不知道公平吗？

我說：雅各的首領，以色列家的官長啊，你們要聽！你們不當知道公平嗎？

於是我說：雅各的領袖，以色列家的官長啊，你們要聽！你們豈不知道公平嗎？

於是我說：雅各的領袖，以色列家的官長啊，你們要聽！你們豈不知道公平嗎？

我說：「雅各的首領，以色列家的統治者啊！你們要聽！難道你們不知正義嗎？

我說：“雅各的首領，你們要聽，以色列家的官長，你們也要聽；難道你們不知道公平嗎？

我說：雅各的首領啊，你們要聽；以色列家的官長啊，你們要留心；你們的本分不是應當明白公平麼？

我曰、雅各之首領、以色列家之有司歟、爾其聽之、公義非爾所當知乎、

我曰、雅各之長者、以色列族之士師、宜聽我言、聽訟之理、非爾所當知乎、

我曰、雅各之諸長者、以色列族之秉權者、秉權者或作侯伯當聽我言、聽訟之理、聽訟之理或作按理以審判非爾所當知乎、

Then I said,“ Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel. Should you not embrace justice,

And I said: Hear, you heads of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel! Is it not for you to know justice?—

I said,“ Listen, you leaders of Israel! You are supposed to know right from wrong,

Then I said,“ Now listen, leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Aren’t you supposed to know what is just?

And I said,“ Hear now, you leaders of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice?

And I said:“ Hear now, O heads of Jacob, And you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice?

And I said, Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: is it not for you to know justice?

Then I said,“ Now listen, leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Aren’t you supposed to know what is just?

And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel;[ Is it] not for you to know judgment?

I said,“ Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the nation of Israel! You ought to know what is just,

I said,“ Please listen, you heads of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel: Isn’t it for you to know justice?

I thought,“ The people of Jerusalem are foolish. They don’t know how the Lord wants them to live. They don’t know what their God requires of them.So I will go to the leaders. I’ll speak to them. They should know how the Lord wants them to live. They must know what their God requires of them.” But all of them had broken off the yoke the Lord had put on them. They had torn off the ropes he had tied them up with.

God takes his place at the head of a large gathering of leaders. He announces his decisions among them.He says,“ How long will you stand up for those who aren’t fair to others? How long will you show mercy to sinful people?Stand up for the weak and for children whose fathers have died. Protect the rights of people who are poor or treated badly.Save those who are weak and needy. Save them from the power of sinful people.“ You leaders don’t know anything. You don’t understand anything. You are in the dark about what is right. Law and order have been destroyed all over the world.

“ Listen to me, you priests! Pay attention, people of Israel! Listen, you members of the royal family! Here is my decision against you. You have been like a trap at Mizpah. You have been like a net spread out on Mount Tabor.

Rulers of Sodom, hear the Lord’ s message. People of Gomorrah, listen to the instruction of our God.

Listen to the Lord’ s message, you women who live on the hill of Samaria. You treat poor people badly. You crush those who are in need. You say to your husbands,“ Bring us some drinks!” But you are already as fat as the cows in Bashan.

I say this to shame you. Is it possible that no one among you is wise enough to judge matters between believers?

People of Judah, listen to me. Pay attention and don’t be proud. The Lord has spoken.Give glory to the Lord your God. Honor him before he sends darkness to cover the land. Do this before you trip and fall on the darkened hills. You hope that light will come. But he will turn it into thick darkness. He will change it to deep shadows.If you don’t listen, I will weep in secret. Because you are so proud, I will weep bitterly. Tears will flow from my eyes. The Lord’ s flock will be taken away as prisoners.Speak to the king and his mother. Tell them,“ Come down from your thrones. Your glorious crowns are about to fall from your heads.”

So choose some wise men from each of your tribes. They must understand how to give good advice. The people must have respect for them. I will appoint those men to have authority over you.”You answered me,“ Your suggestion is good.”So I chose the leading men of your tribes who were wise and respected. I appointed them to have authority over you. I made them commanders of thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. I appointed them to be officials over the tribes.Here is what I commanded your judges at that time. I said,“ Listen to your people’s cases when they argue with one another. Judge them fairly. It doesn’t matter whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and an outsider living among you.When you judge them, treat everyone the same. Listen to those who are important and those who are not. Don’t be afraid of anyone. God is the highest judge. Bring me any case that is too hard for you. I’ll listen to it.”

Do all these people who do evil know nothing? They eat up my people as if they were eating bread. They never call out to the Lord.

‘ King of Judah, listen to the Lord’ s message. You are sitting on David’s throne. You and your officials and your people come through these gates.The Lord says,“ Do what is fair and right. Save those who have been robbed. Set them free from the people who have treated them badly. Do not do anything wrong to outsiders or widows in this place. Do not harm children whose fathers have died. Do not kill those who are not guilty of doing anything wrong.

Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes. Do it in every town the Lord your God is giving you. They must judge the people fairly.

Jehoshaphat appointed judges in the land. He put them in all the cities of Judah that had high walls around them.He told the judges,“ Think carefully about what you do. After all, you aren’t judging for human beings. You are judging for the Lord. He’s with you every time you make a decision.Have respect for the Lord. Judge carefully. He is always right. He treats everyone the same. Our God doesn’t want his judges to take money from people who want special favors.”In Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat chose some Levites and priests. He also chose some leaders of Israelite families. He appointed all of them to apply the law of the Lord fairly. He wanted them to decide cases. He wanted them to settle matters between people. All those judges lived in Jerusalem.Here are the orders Jehoshaphat gave them. He said,“ Have respect for the Lord. Serve him faithfully. Do it with all your heart.Cases will come to you from your people who live in the other cities. The cases might be about murder or other matters dealt with by the law, commands, directions and rules. Warn the people not to sin against the Lord. If you don’t warn them, he will be angry with you and your people. Do what I say. Then you won’t sin.

Listen to me, you leaders of Jacob’s people! Pay attention, you rulers of Israel! You hate to do what is fair. You twist everything that is right.You build up Zion by spilling the blood of others. You build Jerusalem by doing what is evil.