Deuteronomy 19:17

19:17 then both parties to the controversy must stand before the Lord, that is, before the priests and judges ¹  who will be in office in those days.

Deuteronomy 31:12

31:12 Gather the people – men, women, and children, as well as the resident foreigners in your villages – so they may hear and thus learn about and fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the words of this law.

[19:17]  ¹ tn The appositional construction (“before the Lord, that is, before the priests and judges”) indicates that these human agents represented the Lord himself, that is, they stood in his place (cf. Deut 16:18-20; 17:8-9).