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Deuteronomy 10
Christian Standard Bible

The Covenant Renewed

10 “The Lord said to me at that time, ‘Cut two stone tablets like the first ones and come to me on the mountain and make a wooden ark. 2 I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets you broke, and you are to place them in the ark.’ 3 So I made an ark of acacia wood,(A) cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and climbed the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4 Then on the day of the assembly, the Lord wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Commandments that he had spoken to you on the mountain from the fire. The Lord gave them to me, 5 and I went back down the mountain and placed the tablets in the ark I had made. And they have remained there, as the Lord commanded me.”(B)

6 The Israelites traveled from Beeroth Bene-jaakan[a] to Moserah. Aaron died and was buried there, and Eleazar his son became priest in his place.(C) 7 They traveled from there to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with flowing streams.(D)

8 “At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi(E) to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to pronounce blessings in his name, as it is today. 9 For this reason, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance like his brothers; the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord your God told him.(F)

10 “I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights like the first time. The Lord also listened to me on this occasion;(G) he agreed not to annihilate you. 11 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Get up. Continue your journey ahead of the people, so that they may enter and possess the land I swore to give their ancestors.’(H)

What God Requires

12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear(I) the Lord your God by walking in all his ways, to love him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul?(J) 13 Keep the Lord’s commands and statutes I am giving you today, for your own good.(K) 14 The heavens, indeed the highest heavens, belong to the Lord your God, as does the earth and everything in it.(L) 15 Yet the Lord had his heart set on your ancestors and loved them.(M) He chose their descendants after them—he chose you out of all the peoples, as it is today.(N) 16 Therefore, circumcise your hearts(O) and don’t be stiff-necked any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is the God of gods(P) and Lord of lords,(Q) the great, mighty, and awe-inspiring God, showing no partiality and taking no bribe.(R) 18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the resident alien, giving him food and clothing.(S) 19 You are also to love the resident alien, since you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt.(T) 20 You are to fear the Lord your God and worship him. Remain faithful[b] to him and take oaths in his name.(U) 21 He is your praise and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awe-inspiring works your eyes have seen. 22 Your ancestors went down to Egypt, seventy people in all,(V) and now the Lord your God has made you numerous, like the stars of the sky.(W)

Footnotes

  1. 10:6 Or from the wells of Bene-jaakan, or from the wells of the Jaakanites
  2. 10:20 Lit Hold on
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Deuteronomy 10
New English Translation

The Opportunity to Begin Again

10 At that same time the Lord said to me, “Carve out for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up the mountain to me; also make for yourself a wooden ark.[a] 2 I will write on the tablets the same words[b] that were on the first tablets you broke, and you must put them into the ark.” 3 So I made an ark of acacia[c] wood and carved out two stone tablets just like the first ones. Then I went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hands. 4 The Lord[d] then wrote on the tablets the same words,[e] the Ten Commandments,[f] which he[g] had spoken to you at the mountain from the middle of the fire at the time of that assembly, and he[h] gave them to me. 5 Then I turned, went down the mountain, and placed the tablets into the ark I had made—they are still there, just as the Lord commanded me.

Conclusion of the Historical Résumé

6 During those days the Israelites traveled from Beeroth Bene Jaakan[i] to Moserah.[j] There Aaron died and was buried, and his son Eleazar became priest in his place. 7 From there they traveled to Gudgodah,[k] and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah,[l] a place of flowing streams. 8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi[m] to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to formulate blessings[n] in his name, as they do to this very day. 9 Therefore Levi has no allotment or inheritance[o] among his brothers;[p] the Lord is his inheritance just as the Lord your God told him. 10 As for me, I stayed at the mountain as I did the first time, forty days and nights. The Lord listened to me that time as well and decided not to destroy you. 11 Then he[q] said to me, “Get up, set out leading[r] the people so they may go and possess[s] the land I promised to give to their ancestors.”[t]

An Exhortation to Love Both God and People

12 Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you except to revere him,[u] to obey all his commandments,[v] to love him, to serve him[w] with all your mind and being,[x] 13 and to keep the Lord’s commandments and statutes that I am giving[y] you today for your own good? 14 The heavens—indeed the highest heavens—belong to the Lord your God, as does the earth and everything in it. 15 However, only to your ancestors did he[z] show his loving favor,[aa] and he chose you, their descendants,[ab] from all peoples—as is apparent today. 16 Therefore, cleanse[ac] your hearts and stop being so stubborn![ad] 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe, 18 who justly treats[ae] the orphan and widow, and who loves resident foreigners, giving them food and clothing. 19 So you must love the resident foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. 20 Revere the Lord your God, serve him, be loyal to him, and take oaths only in his name. 21 He is the one you should praise;[af] he is your God, the one who has done these great and awesome things for you that you have seen. 22 When your ancestors went down to Egypt, they numbered only seventy, but now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky.[ag]

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 10:1 tn Or “chest” (so NIV, CEV); NLT “sacred chest”; TEV “wooden box.” This chest was made of acacia wood; it is later known as the ark of the covenant.
  2. Deuteronomy 10:2 sn The same words. The care with which the replacement copy must be made underscores the importance of verbal precision in relaying the Lord’s commandments.
  3. Deuteronomy 10:3 sn Acacia wood (Heb “shittim wood”). This is wood from the acacia, the most common timber tree of the Sinai region. Most likely it is the species Acacia raddiana because this has the largest trunk. See F. N. Hepper, Illustrated Encyclopedia of Bible Plants, 63.
  4. Deuteronomy 10:4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  5. Deuteronomy 10:4 tn Heb “according to the former writing.” See note on the phrase “the same words” in v. 2.
  6. Deuteronomy 10:4 tn Heb “ten words.” The “Ten Commandments” are known in Hebrew as the “Ten Words,” which in Greek became the “Decalogue.”
  7. Deuteronomy 10:4 tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
  8. Deuteronomy 10:4 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” earlier in this verse.
  9. Deuteronomy 10:6 sn Beeroth Bene Jaakan. This Hebrew name could be translated “the wells of Bene Jaakan” or “the wells of the sons of Jaakan,” a site whose location cannot be determined (cf. Num 33:31-32; 1 Chr 1:42).
  10. Deuteronomy 10:6 sn Moserah. Since Aaron in other texts (Num 20:28; 33:38) is said to have died on Mount Hor, this must be the Arabah region in which Hor was located.
  11. Deuteronomy 10:7 sn Gudgodah. This is probably the same as Haggidgad, which is also associated with Jotbathah (Num 33:33).
  12. Deuteronomy 10:7 sn Jotbathah. This place, whose Hebrew name can be translated “place of wadis,” is possibly modern Ain Tabah, just north of Eilat, or Tabah, 6.5 mi (11 km) south of Eilat on the west shore of the Gulf of Aqaba.
  13. Deuteronomy 10:8 sn The Lord set apart the tribe of Levi. This was not the initial commissioning of the tribe of Levi to this ministry (cf. Num 3:11-13; 8:12-26), but with Aaron’s death it seemed appropriate to Moses to reiterate Levi’s responsibilities. There is no reference in the Book of Numbers to this having been done, but the account of Eleazar’s succession to the priesthood there (Num 20:25-28) would provide a setting for this to have occurred.
  14. Deuteronomy 10:8 sn To formulate blessings. The most famous example of this is the priestly “blessing formula” of Num 6:24-26.
  15. Deuteronomy 10:9 sn Levi has no allotment or inheritance. As the priestly tribe, Levi would have no land allotment except for forty-eight towns set apart for their use (Num 35:1-8; Josh 21:1-42). But theirs was a far greater inheritance, for the Lord himself was their apportionment, that is, service to him would be their full-time and lifelong privilege (Num 18:20-24; Deut 18:2; Josh 13:33).
  16. Deuteronomy 10:9 tn That is, among the other Israelite tribes.
  17. Deuteronomy 10:11 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 10:4.
  18. Deuteronomy 10:11 tn Heb “before” (so KJV, ASV); NAB, NRSV “at the head of.”
  19. Deuteronomy 10:11 tn After the imperative these subordinated jussive forms (with prefixed vav) indicate purpose or result.
  20. Deuteronomy 10:11 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 15, 22).
  21. Deuteronomy 10:12 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 10:4.
  22. Deuteronomy 10:12 tn Heb “to walk in all his ways” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV); NAB “follow his ways exactly”; NLT “to live according to his will.”
  23. Deuteronomy 10:12 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 10:4.
  24. Deuteronomy 10:12 tn Heb “heart and soul” or “heart and being”; NCV “with your whole being.” See note on the word “being” in Deut 6:5.
  25. Deuteronomy 10:13 tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB, NRSV). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation.
  26. Deuteronomy 10:15 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 10:4.
  27. Deuteronomy 10:15 tn Heb “take delight to love.” Here again the verb אָהֵב (ʾahev, “love”), juxtaposed with בָחַר (bakhar, “choose”), is a term in covenant contexts that describes the Lord’s initiative in calling the patriarchal ancestors to be the founders of a people special to him (cf. the note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37).
  28. Deuteronomy 10:15 tn The Hebrew text includes “after them,” but it is redundant in English style and has not been included in the translation.
  29. Deuteronomy 10:16 tn Heb “circumcise the foreskin of” (cf. KJV, ASV, NRSV). Reference to the Abrahamic covenant prompts Moses to recall the sign of that covenant, namely, physical circumcision (Gen 17:9-14). Just as that act signified total covenant obedience, so spiritual circumcision (cleansing of the heart) signifies more internally a commitment to be pliable and obedient to the will of God (cf. Deut 30:6; Jer 4:4; 9:26).
  30. Deuteronomy 10:16 tn Heb “your neck do not harden again.” See note on the word “stubborn” in Deut 9:6.
  31. Deuteronomy 10:18 tn Or “who executes justice for” (so NAB, NRSV); NLT “gives justice to.” Cf. Exod 22:21; Lev 19:33-34; Deut 24:14, 17; 27:19.
  32. Deuteronomy 10:21 tn Heb “your praise.” The pronoun is subjective and the noun “praise” is used here metonymically for the object of their praise (the Lord).
  33. Deuteronomy 10:22 tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
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