As with previous new sections, Moses should be reintroduced as the speaker.
Appoint judges and officers: it is not clear how these officials were to be chosen. In English the verb appoint assumes that there is a higher authority who selects and installs such officers. The Hebrew verb is the one normally translated “give.” Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje “Choose” may be easier for many translators to imitate.
Judges: perhaps the word is used here in a more general sense of “governors” or “leaders” (see 1.16).
Officers: see 1.16. Here the officers are probably administrative assistants to the judges. Good News Translation has “other officials,” and Contemporary English Version has “other officers.” The first part of the verse may be alternatively expressed as “You must choose governors [or, leaders] and other officers [or, officials] in every town that Yahweh your God gives you.”
All your towns which the LORD your God gives you: see verse 5.
According to your tribes: there was to be an even distribution of local judges and officers, so that every one of the twelve tribes had its fair share. New Revised Standard Version restructures this part of the verse: “You shall appoint judges and officials throughout your tribes, in all your towns.” Translators should keep the phrase according to your tribes, even though Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version omit it. For tribes see 1.13.
They shall judge the people: perhaps not just in the limited sense of settling legal disputes, but of administering all matters in the local communities; so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “they shall govern the people.”
Righteous judgment: Good News Translation “impartially” expresses the meaning well, as the following instructions make clear; New International Version has “fairly.” See also 1.17 for a similar expression, “perfect in judgment.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .