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Sunday, August 24th, 2025
the Week of Proper 16 / Ordinary 21
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Read the Bible

Good News Translation

Deuteronomy 1:12

But how can I alone bear the heavy responsibility for settling your disputes?

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Government;   Israel;   Judge;   Moses;   Reproof;   Strife;   Thompson Chain Reference - Unity-Strife;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Courts of Justice;   Desert, Journey of Israel through the;   Strife;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Blessing;   Burden;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Judge (Office);   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Talmud;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Burden;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Burden;   Cumber;   Judge;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
How can I myself alone bear your encumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
King James Version
How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
Lexham English Bible
How can I bear you by myself, your burden and your load and your strife?
English Standard Version
How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife?
New Century Version
But I cannot take care of your problems, your troubles, and your arguments by myself.
New English Translation
But how can I alone bear up under the burden of your hardship and strife?
Amplified Bible
'How can I alone bear the weight and pressure and burden of you and your strife (contention) and complaining?
New American Standard Bible
'How can I alone endure the burden and weight of you and your strife?
Geneva Bible (1587)
Howe can I alone beare your combrance and your charge, and your strife?
Legacy Standard Bible
How can I alone bear the load and burden of you and your strife?
Contemporary English Version
But I cannot take care of all your problems and settle all your arguments alone.
Complete Jewish Bible
(ii) But you are burdensome, bothersome and quarrelsome! How can I bear it by myself alone?
Darby Translation
How can I myself alone sustain your wear, and your burden, and your strife?
Easy-to-Read Version
But I cannot take care of you and solve all your arguments by myself.
George Lamsa Translation
How can I myself bear alone your encumbrance and your burden and your strife?
Christian Standard Bible®
But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes by myself?
Literal Translation
How can I by myself bear your pressure and your burden, and your strife?
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
How can I alone beare soche cobraunce, & charge, & stryfe amoge you?
American Standard Version
How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
Bible in Basic English
How is it possible for me by myself to be responsible for you, and undertake the weight of all your troubles and your arguments?
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Howe can I my selfe alone, beare your cumbraunce, your charge, & your stryfe that is among you?
JPS Old Testament (1917)
How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
King James Version (1611)
How can I my selfe alone beare your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
How shall I alone be able to bear your labour, and your burden, and your gainsayings?
English Revised Version
How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
Berean Standard Bible
But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes all by myself?
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Y may not aloone susteyne youre causis, and birthun, and stryues; yyue ye of you men wise `in dyuyn thingis,
Young's Literal Translation
`How do I bear by myself your pressure, and your burden, and your strife?
Update Bible Version
How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
Webster's Bible Translation
How can I alone bear your encumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
World English Bible
How can I myself alone bear your encumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
New King James Version
How can I alone bear your problems and your burdens and your complaints?
New Living Translation
But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering?
New Life Bible
How can I alone carry the weight of your troubles?
New Revised Standard
But how can I bear the heavy burden of your disputes all by myself?
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
How should I carry by myself the fatigue of you and the burden of you and your controversies?
Douay-Rheims Bible
I alone am not able to bear your business, and the charge of you and your differences.
Revised Standard Version
How can I bear alone the weight and burden of you and your strife?
New American Standard Bible (1995)
'How can I alone bear the load and burden of you and your strife?

Contextual Overview

9 Moses said to the people, "While we were still at Mount Sinai, I told you, ‘The responsibility for leading you is too much for me. I can't do it alone. 10 The Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky. 11 May the Lord , the God of your ancestors, make you increase a thousand times more and make you prosperous, as he promised! 12 But how can I alone bear the heavy responsibility for settling your disputes? 13 Choose some wise, understanding, and experienced men from each tribe, and I will put them in charge of you.' 14 And you agreed that this was a good thing to do. 15 So I took the wise and experienced leaders you chose from your tribes, and I placed them in charge of you. Some were responsible for a thousand people, some for a hundred, some for fifty, and some for ten. I also appointed other officials throughout the tribes. 16 "At that time I instructed them, ‘Listen to the disputes that come up among your people. Judge every dispute fairly, whether it concerns only your own people or involves foreigners who live among you. 17 Show no partiality in your decisions; judge everyone on the same basis, no matter who they are. Do not be afraid of anyone, for the decisions you make come from God. If any case is too difficult for you, bring it to me, and I will decide it.' 18 At the same time I gave you instructions for everything else you were to do.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Deuteronomy 1:9, Exodus 18:13-16, Numbers 11:11-15, 1 Kings 3:7-9, Psalms 89:19, 2 Corinthians 2:16, 2 Corinthians 3:5

Reciprocal: Exodus 18:17 - not good 1 Kings 11:28 - charge Galatians 6:2 - Bear

Cross-References

Genesis 1:10
He named the land "Earth," and the water which had come together he named "Sea." And God was pleased with what he saw.
Genesis 1:11
Then he commanded, "Let the earth produce all kinds of plants, those that bear grain and those that bear fruit"—and it was done.
Genesis 1:24
Then God commanded, "Let the earth produce all kinds of animal life: domestic and wild, large and small"—and it was done.
Genesis 1:26
Then God said, "And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small."
Isaiah 61:11
As surely as seeds sprout and grow, The Sovereign Lord will save his people, And all the nations will praise him.
Mark 4:28
The soil itself makes the plants grow and bear fruit; first the tender stalk appears, then the head, and finally the head full of grain.
Luke 6:44
Every tree is known by the fruit it bears; you do not pick figs from thorn bushes or gather grapes from bramble bushes.
2 Corinthians 9:10
And God, who supplies seed for the sower and bread to eat, will also supply you with all the seed you need and will make it grow and produce a rich harvest from your generosity.
Galatians 6:7
Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. You will reap exactly what you plant.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?] His meaning is, that he could not hear and try all their causes, and determine all their law suits, and decide the strifes and controversies which arose between them; it was too heavy for him, and brought too much trouble and incumbrance upon him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

This appointment of the “captains” (compare Exodus 18:21 ff) must not be confounded with that of the elders in Numbers 11:16 ff. The former would number 78,600; the latter were 70 only.

A comparison between this passage and that in Exodus makes it obvious that Moses is only touching on certain parts of the whole history, without regard to order of time, but with a special purpose. This important arrangement for the good government of the people took place before they left Horeb to march direct to the promised land. This fact sets more clearly before us the perverseness and ingratitude of the people, to which the orator next passes; and shows, what he was anxious to impress, that the fault of the 40 years’ delay rested only with themselves!


 
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