Deuteronomy 16 · Verse 18

Deuteronomy 16:18

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.
Deuteronomy 16:18, King James Version

Deuteronomy 16:18 in other translations

BSBYou 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.
WEBYou shall make 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 righteous judgment.
ASVJudges 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.
YLT‘Judges and authorities thou dost make to thee within all thy gates which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, for thy tribes; and they have judged the people--a righteous judgment.
DARBYJudges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes, that they may judge the people with just judgment.
BBEYou are to make judges and overseers in all your towns which the Lord your God gives you, for every tribe: and they are to be upright men, judging the people in righteousness.
WebsterJudges 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.

What does Deuteronomy 16:18 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 16:18-20
18-20. 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. The Ottoman Porte derived its name from the administration of justice at its gates.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 18 Judges 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 20:5. See also Rab. Maimon in Sanhedrin. In China, for all minor offenses, the person when found guilty is punished on the spot, in the presence of the magistrate or mandarin of justice.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy 16:18-22
Care is taken for the due administration of justice. All personal regards must be laid aside, so that right is done to all, and wrong to none. Care is taken to prevent following the idolatrous customs of the heathen. Nothing belies God more, or tends more to corrupt the minds of men, than representing and worshipping, by an image, that God, who is an almighty and eternal Spirit, present every where. Alas! even in gospel days, and under a better dispensation, established upon better promises, there is a tendency to set up idols, under one form or another, in the human heart.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Deuteronomy 16:18 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

שֹׁפְטִ֣יםsho.fe.TimjudgesH8199
וְשֹֽׁטְרִ֗יםve.sho.te.Rimand officialsH7860
תִּֽתֶּן\־ti.ten-you will appointH5414
לְךָ֙le.Khafor yourself
בְּכָל\־be.kholin allH3605
שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָshe.'a.Rei.khagates yourH8179
אֲשֶׁ֨ר'a.SherwhichH834
יְהוָ֧הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ'e.lo.Hei.khaGod yourH430
נֹתֵ֥ןno.Ten[is] about to giveH5414
לְךָ֖le.Khato you
לִשְׁבָטֶ֑יךָlish.va.Tei.khafor tribes yourH7626
וְשָׁפְט֥וּve.sha.fe.Tuand they will judgeH8199
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָעָ֖םha.'Amthe peopleH5971
מִשְׁפַּט\־mish.pat-judgment ofH4941
צֶֽדֶק\׃Tze.dekrighteousnessH6664

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Deuteronomy 16:18

  • 1 Chronicles 23:4

    Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the Lord; and six thousand were officers and judges:

  • Deuteronomy 1:15-17

    So 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. And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God’s: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it.

  • Romans 13:1-6

    Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. …

  • 1 Chronicles 26:29

    Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons were for the outward business over Israel, for officers and judges.

  • Deuteronomy 21:2

    Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:

  • Exodus 18:25-26

    And 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. And they judged the people at all seasons: the hard causes they brought unto Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.

  • Deuteronomy 17:12

    And 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.

  • 2 Chronicles 19:5-11

    And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city, And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you in the judgment. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts. Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment of the Lord, and for controversies, when they returned to Jerusalem. …

  • Deuteronomy 17:9

    And 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:

  • Exodus 21:6

    Then 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.

  • Deuteronomy 19:17-18

    Then 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; And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;

  • Psalms 82:2-3

    How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah. Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Judges.
1:15-17; 17:9,12; 19:17,18; 21:2; Ex 18:25,26; 21:6; 1Ch 23:4; 26:29
2Ch 19:5-11; Ps 82:2,3; Ro 13:1-6
in all thy gates.This expression may refer to the gate of the city, as the forum or place of public concourse among the Israelites, where a court of judicature was held, to try all causes and decide all affairs. The same practice obtained among other Eastern nations. The Ottoman court, it is well known, derived its appellation of the {Porte,} from the distribution of justice and the dispatch of public business at its gates. And the square tower which forms the principal entrance to the Alhamra, or red palace of the Moorish kings of Grenada, retains to this day the appellation of the Gate of judgment, from its having been the place where justice was at one period summarily administered.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Deuteronomy 16:17

    Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee.

  • Deuteronomy 16:18

    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.

  • Deuteronomy 16:19

    Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.

Read all of Deuteronomy 16

Deuteronomy 16:18 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Jueces y alcaldes te pondrás en todas tus ciudades que Jehová tu Dios te dará en tus tribus, los cuales juzgarán al pueblo con justo juicio.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Tu t’établiras des juges et des magistrats, selon tes tribus, dans toutes tes portes que l’ Éternel, ton Dieu, te donnera, pour qu’ils jugent le peuple par un jugement juste.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Richter und Vorsteher sollst du dir einsetzen, nach deinen Stämmen, in allen deinen Toren, die Jehova, dein Gott, dir gibt, damit sie das Volk richten mit gerechtem Gericht.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Judices et magistros constitues in omnibus portis tuis, quas Dominus Deus tuus dederit tibi, per singulas tribus tuas: ut judicent populum justo judicio,