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10 “At that time Yahweh said to me, ‘Carve for yourself two tablets of stone just as the former ones, and come up the mountain to me, and you shall make for yourself an ark of wood. And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you smashed, and you must put them in the ark.’ And so I made an ark of acacia wood,[a] and I carved two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. And he wrote upon the tablets according to the first writing,[b] the ten words that Yahweh spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly, and Yahweh gave them to me. And I turned, and I came down from the mountain, and I put the tablets in the ark that I had made, and they are there, just as Yahweh commanded me.

“And the Israelites[c] journeyed from the wells of Bene-Yaqan to Moserah; there Aaron died and was buried, and Eleazar, his son, served as a priest in place of him. From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land flowing with streams of water. At that time Yahweh set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to stand before[d] Yahweh, to serve him and to bless the people in his name until this day. Therefore there was not[e] for Levi an allotment or an inheritance along with his brothers; rather Yahweh is his inheritance just as Yahweh your God promised[f] to him.

10 And I stayed on the mountain just as during the former forty days[g] and forty nights,[h] and Yahweh listened to me also on that occasion;[i] Yahweh was not willing to destroy you. 11 And Yahweh said to me, ‘Come, continue[j] your journey before the people, [k] so that you may go and take possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors[l] to give to them.’

12 And now, Israel, what is Yahweh your God asking[m] from you, except[n] to revere Yahweh your God, to go[o] in all his ways and to love him and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul,[p] 13 to keep the commandments of Yahweh and his statutes that I am commanding you today for your own good.[q] 14 Look! For to Yahweh your God belong[r] heaven and the highest heavens,[s] the earth and all that is in it. 15 Yet[t] to your ancestors[u] Yahweh was very attached, so as to love them, and so he chose their offspring after them, namely you, from all the peoples, as it is today.[v] 16 So you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn.[w] 17 For Yahweh your God, he is God of the gods and Lord of the lords, the great and mighty God, the awesome one who is not partial,[x] and he does not take bribes. 18 And he executes justice for the orphan and widow, and he is one who loves the alien, to give to them food and clothing. 19 And you shall love the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 20 Yahweh your God, you shall revere him, you shall serve him, and to him you shall cling, and by his name you shall swear. 21 He is your praise, and he is your God, who has done with you these great and awesome things that your eyes have seen. 22 With only seventy persons your ancestors[y] went down to Egypt, but now Yahweh your God has made you as the stars of the heaven with respect to multitude.[z]

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 10:3 Literally “of wood of acacia trees”
  2. Deuteronomy 10:4 Literally “as the writing the first”
  3. Deuteronomy 10:6 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
  4. Deuteronomy 10:8 Literally “the faces of”
  5. Deuteronomy 10:9 Literally “it/he was not”
  6. Deuteronomy 10:9 Literally “spoke”
  7. Deuteronomy 10:10 Hebrew “day”
  8. Deuteronomy 10:10 Hebrew “night”
  9. Deuteronomy 10:10 Or “occurrence” or “that time”
  10. Deuteronomy 10:11 Literally “Arise, go”
  11. Deuteronomy 10:11 Literally “in the faces of the people”
  12. Deuteronomy 10:11 Or “fathers”
  13. Deuteronomy 10:12 Or “requiring”
  14. Deuteronomy 10:12 Or “but only”
  15. Deuteronomy 10:12 Or “to walk”
  16. Deuteronomy 10:12 Or “inner self”
  17. Deuteronomy 10:13 Literally “for good to you”
  18. Deuteronomy 10:14 Literally “is”
  19. Deuteronomy 10:14 Literally “heavens of the heavens”
  20. Deuteronomy 10:15 Literally “Only”
  21. Deuteronomy 10:15 Or “fathers”
  22. Deuteronomy 10:15 Literally “the day the this”
  23. Deuteronomy 10:16 Literally “your neck you shall not make stiff any longer”
  24. Deuteronomy 10:17 Literally “does not lift up faces”
  25. Deuteronomy 10:22 Or “fathers”
  26. Deuteronomy 10:22 Literally “as far as number”

New tablets

10 At that time the Lord told me: Carve two stone tablets, just like the first ones, and hike up the mountain to me. Construct a wooden chest as well. I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets—the ones you smashed—then you will place them in the chest.

So I built a chest out of acacia wood and carved two stone tablets just like the first ones. Then I hiked up the mountain holding the two tablets in my hands. God wrote on the new tablets what had been written on the first set: the Ten Commandments that the Lord spoke to you on the mountain, from the very fire itself, on the day we assembled there. Then the Lord gave them to me.

So I came back down the mountain. I put the tablets in the chest that I’d made, and that’s where they are now, exactly as the Lord commanded me.

(Now, the Israelites had set out from Beeroth-bene-jaakan[a] to Moserah. It was there that Aaron died and was buried. His son Eleazar succeeded him in the priestly role. From there the Israelites traveled to Gudgodah, then from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, which is a land with flowing streams. At that time, the Lord selected the tribe of Levi to carry the chest containing the Lord’s covenant, to minister before the Lord, to serve him, and to offer blessings in his name. That’s the way things are right now. That’s why the Levites don’t have a stake or inheritance with the rest of their relatives. The Lord is the Levites’ inheritance, just as the Lord your God promised them.)

10 Just as the first time, I remained on the mountain forty days and nights. And the Lord listened to me again in this instance. The Lord wasn’t willing to destroy you. 11 Then the Lord told me: Get going. Lead the people so they can enter and take possession of the land that I promised I’d give to their ancestors.

What the Lord requires

12 Now in light of all that, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you? Only this: to revere the Lord your God by walking in all his ways, by loving him, by serving the Lord your God with all your heart and being, 13 and by keeping the Lord’s commandments and his regulations that I’m commanding you right now. It’s for your own good!

14 Clearly, the Lord owns the sky, the highest heavens, the earth, and everything in it. 15 But the Lord adored your ancestors, loving them and choosing the descendants that followed them—you!—from all other people. That’s how things still stand now. 16 So circumcise your hearts[b] and stop being so stubborn, 17 because the Lord your God is the God of all gods and Lord of all lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who doesn’t play favorites and doesn’t take bribes. 18 He enacts justice for orphans and widows, and he loves immigrants, giving them food and clothing. 19 That means you must also love immigrants because you were immigrants in Egypt. 20 Revere the Lord your God, serve him, cling to him, swear by his name alone! 21 He is your praise, and he is your God—the one who performed these great and awesome acts that you witnessed with your very own eyes. 22 Your ancestors went down to Egypt with a total of seventy people, but now look! The Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the nighttime sky!

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 10:6 Or from the wells of the Jaakanites
  2. Deuteronomy 10:16 Or the foreskin of your hearts; cf 30:6