Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work. ¹  Let them do this ²  with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you.

“Speak to the Israelites, and receive from them a staff from each tribe, ¹  one from every tribal leader, ²  twelve staffs; you must write each man’s name on his staff.

You are standing today, all of you, before the Lord your God – the heads of your tribes, ¹  your elders, your officials, every Israelite man,

I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword will devour flesh – the blood of the slaughtered and captured, the chief ¹  of the enemy’s leaders!’”

He has selected the best part for himself, for the portion of the ruler ¹  is set aside ²  there; he came with the leaders ³  of the people, he obeyed the righteous laws of the Lord and his ordinances with Israel.

His mother’s relatives ¹  spoke on his behalf to ²  all the leaders of Shechem and reported his proposal. ³  The leaders were drawn to Abimelech; ⁴  they said, “He is our close relative.” ⁵ 

The leaders ¹  of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, which numbered ²  four hundred thousand sword-wielding foot soldiers.

All these were the descendants of Asher. They were the leaders of their families, the most capable men, who were warriors and served as head chiefs. There were 26,000 warriors listed in their genealogical records as capable of doing battle. ¹ 

Solomon addressed all Israel, including those who commanded units of a thousand and a hundred, the judges, and all the leaders of all Israel who were heads of families.

All the leaders of the priests and people became more unfaithful and committed the same horrible sins practiced by the nations. ¹  They defiled the Lord’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

(His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders. ¹  For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus ²  to be the Christ ³  would be put out ⁴  of the synagogue. ⁵ 

Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided ¹  to send men chosen from among them, Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, ²  leaders among the brothers, to Antioch ³  with Paul and Barnabas.

After three days ¹  Paul ²  called the local Jewish leaders ³  together. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, ⁴  although I had done ⁵  nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, ⁶  from Jerusalem ⁷  I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans. ⁸ 

Moses chose capable men from all Israel, and he made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

¹ Moses told the leaders ²  of the tribes concerning the Israelites, “This is what ³  the Lord has commanded:

He seized the leaders ¹  of the city, along with some desert thorns and briers; he then “threshed” the men of Succoth with them. ² 

Gaal son of Ebed ¹  came through Shechem with his brothers. The leaders of Shechem transferred their loyalty to him. ² 

After Jehoiada died, the officials of Judah visited the king and declared their loyalty to him. ¹  The king listened to their advice. ² 

Listen to the Lord’s word, you leaders of Sodom! ¹  Pay attention to our God’s rebuke, ²  people of Gomorrah!

I will punish the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, ¹  the priests, and all the other people of the land who passed between the pieces of the calf. ²