Moses speaks about the new stones

10 At that time, the Lord said to me, ‘Cut out two new flat stones that are like the first stones. Then bring them up to me, on the mountain. You must also use some wood to make a big box. ² I will write on the new stones the same words that I wrote on the first stones. You broke those stones. But you must put the new stones into the wooden box.’

³ So I used acacia wood to make a box. I also cut two new flat stones that were like the first stones. Then I carried the two new stones up the mountain in my hands. ⁴ The Lord wrote on the stones the same words that he had written before. Those were the ten special commands that he had told you before. He spoke those commands from the middle of the fire on the mountain, when you came together there. Then the Lord gave the stones to me. ⁵ I came down from the mountain. I put the stones into the box that I had made, as the Lord had told me to do. The stones are still there now.

⁶ (At that time, the Israelites travelled to Moserah from the wells that belonged to Jaakan's descendants. Aaron died there and they buried him. His son Eleazar became priest instead. ⁷ Then they travelled to Gudgodah. From there they travelled to Jotbathah, a place where there are many streams of water. ⁸ At that time, the Lord chose the tribe of Levi to carry the Lord's Covenant Box. He chose them to be his special servants. They had to pray for the Lord to bless his people. They still do these things today. ⁹ That is why the Levites did not receive any land for themselves, as the other tribes did. The Lord himself would give them everything that they needed, as he had promised.)

¹⁰ I stayed on the mountain for 40 days and nights, as I did the first time. The Lord listened to my prayer. He decided that he would not destroy you. ¹¹ Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go now! Lead the people on their journey. Then they can go into the land and take it for themselves. It is the land that I promised to their ancestors that I would give to them.’

Love the Lord and serve him

¹² So, people of Israel, this is what the Lord your God wants you to do: You should respect him with fear. You should live in a way that pleases him. Love him and serve him in everything that you think and in everything that you do. ¹³ Obey the Lord's commands and rules that I am giving to you today. If you do these things, you will have a happy life.

¹⁴ The whole sky and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God. The earth and everything that is in it also belong to him. ¹⁵ But the Lord chose to love your ancestors with a faithful love. You are their descendants. He has chosen you from among all the people of the world. You can see that this is true today!

¹⁶ So remember that you belong to the Lord. Live to please him! Do not refuse to obey him. ¹⁷ For the Lord your God rules all other gods. He is the Lord over all other lords. He is great and powerful. We should respect him and obey him. He is fair to everyone. He will not accept any bribes! ¹⁸ He brings justice to widows and to children who have no family. He loves the foreign people who live among you. He gives them food to eat and clothes to wear. ¹⁹ You too must love the foreign people who live among you. Remember that you also lived as foreigners in Egypt at one time.

²⁰ Respect and obey the Lord your God. Serve him faithfully. If you make a promise, only use his name to do that. ²¹ He is the one that you should praise. He is the God that you worship. He has done great and powerful things to help you, and you saw him do them. ²² When your ancestors went to Egypt, they were only 70 people. Now the Lord your God has caused you to become very many people. You are as many as the stars in the sky!^[a]