Deuteronomy 10
New American Standard Bible
The Tablets Rewritten
10 “At that time the Lord said to me, ‘(A)Cut out for yourself two tablets of stone like the first two, and come up to Me on the mountain, and (B)make an [a]ark of wood for yourself. 2 Then (C)I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you smashed to pieces, and (D)you shall put them in the ark.’ 3 So (E)I made an ark of acacia wood and (F)cut out two tablets of stone like the first two, and I went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4 Then He wrote on the tablets, like the first writing, (G)the Ten [b]Commandments (H)which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire (I)on the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them to me. 5 Then I turned and (J)came down from the mountain, and I (K)put the tablets in the ark which I had made; (L)and they are there, just as the Lord commanded me.”
6 (Now the sons of Israel set out from [c]Beeroth (M)Bene-jaakan to Moserah. (N)There Aaron died and there he was buried, and his son Eleazar served as priest in his place. 7 (O)From there they set out to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of streams of water. 8 (P)At that time the Lord singled out the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord (Q)to serve Him and to bless in His name, until this day. 9 (R)Therefore, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance with his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance, just as the Lord your God spoke to him.)
10 “(S)I, moreover, stayed on the mountain for forty days and forty nights like the first time, and the Lord listened to me that time also; the Lord was not willing to destroy you. 11 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, proceed on your journey ahead of the people, so that they may go in and take possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.’
12 “(T)And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to [d]fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and (U)love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with (V)all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? 14 Behold, (W)to the Lord your God belong heaven and the [e]highest heavens, (X)the earth and all that is in it. 15 (Y)Yet the Lord set His affection on your fathers, to love them, and He chose their [f]descendants after them, you over all the other peoples, as it is this day. 16 (Z)So circumcise [g]your heart, and do not (AA)stiffen your neck any longer. 17 (AB)For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the (AC)Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, (AD)who does not show partiality, nor (AE)take a bribe. 18 He executes justice for (AF)the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the stranger by giving him food and clothing. 19 (AG)So show your love for the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and (AH)cling to Him, and (AI)you shall swear by His name. 21 He is (AJ)your glory and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen. 22 (AK)Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, (AL)and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 10:1 I.e., sacred chest
- Deuteronomy 10:4 Lit Words
- Deuteronomy 10:6 Or the wells of the sons of Jaakan
- Deuteronomy 10:12 Or revere
- Deuteronomy 10:14 Lit heaven of heavens
- Deuteronomy 10:15 Lit seed
- Deuteronomy 10:16 Lit the foreskin of your heart,
Deuteronomy 10
Amplified Bible
The Tablets Rewritten
10 “At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Cut out for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark (chest) of wood for yourself. 2 I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you shattered, and you shall put them in the ark.’ 3 So I made an ark of acacia wood and cut out two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain [a]with the two tablets in my hand. 4 The Lord wrote on the tablets, like the first writing, the Ten [b]Commandments which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly; then the Lord gave them to me. 5 Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and they are there, just as the Lord commanded me.”
6 (Now the sons of Israel traveled from the wells of the sons of Jaakan to Moserah. There Aaron died and there he was buried and Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his place. 7 From there they traveled to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of brooks of water. 8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to serve Him and to bless in His name until this day. 9 Therefore, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance [of tribal land] with his brothers; [c]the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God [d]has promised him.)
10 “And I stayed on the mountain, like the first time, forty days and nights, and the Lord listened to me at that time also; the Lord was not willing to destroy you. 11 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go on your journey ahead of the people, so that they may go in and take possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give to them.’
12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear [and worship] the Lord your God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], to walk [that is, to live each and every day] in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul [your choices, your thoughts, your whole being], 13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? 14 Behold, the heavens and the highest of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth and all that is in it. 15 Yet the Lord [e]had a delight in loving your fathers and set His affection on them, and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day. 16 So circumcise [that is, remove sin from] your heart, and be stiff-necked (stubborn, obstinate) no longer. 17 For the Lord your [f]God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, the awesome God who does not show [g]partiality nor take a bribe. 18 He [h]executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and [i]shows His love for the stranger (resident alien, foreigner) by giving him food and clothing. 19 Therefore, show your love for the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear [and worship] the Lord your God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect]; you shall serve Him and cling to Him [hold tightly to Him, be united with Him], and you shall swear [oaths] by His name. 21 He is your praise and glory; He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which you have seen with your own eyes. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy persons [in all], and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 10:3 The size of the two tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written is uncertain. They probably were not great tombstone-sized slabs like those depicted in works of art, but were likely smaller rectangular plates, two of which could be carried by one man.
- Deuteronomy 10:4 Lit Words.
- Deuteronomy 10:9 Serving as priests, the Levites were to live off the various offerings presented by the people (Num 18:21; Deut 18:1; Josh 13:14). In addition, each of the other tribes set aside cities within their respective territories for the Levites (Num 35:1-8).
- Deuteronomy 10:9 Lit has spoken to.
- Deuteronomy 10:15 Lit strengthened His heart.
- Deuteronomy 10:17 Heb Elohim. The primary word translated “God” in the O.T.; the mighty God, the Creator; the great triune God manifested as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
- Deuteronomy 10:17 Lit lift up faces.
- Deuteronomy 10:18 Lit is doing.
- Deuteronomy 10:18 Lit is loving.
Deuteronomy 10
The Message
10 1-2 God responded. He said, “Shape two slabs of stone similar to the first ones. Climb the mountain and meet me. Also make yourself a wooden chest. I will engrave the stone slabs with the words that were on the first ones, the ones you smashed. Then you will put them in the Chest.”
3-5 So I made a chest out of acacia wood, shaped two slabs of stone, just like the first ones, and climbed the mountain with the two slabs in my arms. He engraved the stone slabs the same as he had the first ones, the Ten Words that he addressed to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly. Then God gave them to me. I turned around and came down the mountain. I put the stone slabs in the Chest that I made and they’ve been there ever since, just as God commanded me.
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6-7 The People of Israel went from the wells of the Jaakanites to Moserah. Aaron died there and was buried. His son Eleazar succeeded him as priest. From there they went to Gudgodah, and then to Jotbathah, a land of streams of water.
8-9 That’s when God set apart the tribe of Levi to carry God’s Covenant Chest, to be on duty in the Presence of God, to serve him, and to bless in his name, as they continue to do today. And that’s why Levites don’t have a piece of inherited land as their kinsmen do. God is their inheritance, as God, your God, promised them.
10 I stayed there on the mountain forty days and nights, just as I did the first time. And God listened to me, just as he did the first time: God decided not to destroy you.
11 God told me, “Now get going. Lead your people as they resume the journey to take possession of the land that I promised their ancestors that I’d give to them.”
12-13 So now Israel, what do you think God expects from you? Just this: Live in his presence in holy reverence, follow the road he sets out for you, love him, serve God, your God, with everything you have in you, obey the commandments and regulations of God that I’m commanding you today—live a good life.
14-18 Look around you: Everything you see is God’s—the heavens above and beyond, the Earth, and everything on it. But it was your ancestors who God fell in love with; he picked their children—that’s you!—out of all the other peoples. That’s where we are right now. So cut away the thick calluses from your heart and stop being so willfully hardheaded. God, your God, is the God of all gods, he’s the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn’t play favorites, takes no bribes, makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing.
19-21 You must treat foreigners with the same loving care—
remember, you were once foreigners in Egypt.
Reverently respect God, your God, serve him, hold tight to him,
back up your promises with the authority of his name.
He’s your praise! He’s your God!
He did all these tremendous, these staggering things
that you saw with your own eyes.
22 When your ancestors entered Egypt, they numbered a mere seventy souls. And now look at you—you look more like the stars in the night skies in number. And your God did it.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson