A New Copy of the Covenant

10 “At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. Also make a wooden Ark—a sacred chest to store them in. Come up to me on the mountain, ² and I will write on the tablets the same words that were on the ones you smashed. Then place the tablets in the Ark.’

³ “So I made an Ark of acacia wood and cut two stone tablets like the first two. Then I went up the mountain with the tablets in my hand. ⁴ Once again the Lord wrote the Ten Commandments^[a] on the tablets and gave them to me. They were the same words the Lord had spoken to you from the heart of the fire on the day you were assembled at the foot of the mountain. ⁵ Then I turned and came down the mountain and placed the tablets in the Ark of the Covenant, which I had made, just as the Lord commanded me. And the tablets are still there in the Ark.”

⁶ (The people of Israel set out from the wells of the people of Jaakan^[b] and traveled to Moserah, where Aaron died and was buried. His son Eleazar ministered as high priest in his place. ⁷ Then they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from there to Jotbathah, a land with many brooks and streams. ⁸ At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, and to stand before the Lord as his ministers, and to pronounce blessings in his name. These are their duties to this day. ⁹ That is why the Levites have no share of property or possession of land among the other Israelite tribes. The Lord himself is their special possession, as the Lord your God told them.)

¹⁰ “As for me, I stayed on the mountain in the Lord’s presence for forty days and nights, as I had done the first time. And once again the Lord listened to my pleas and agreed not to destroy you. ¹¹ Then the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and resume the journey, and lead the people to the land I swore to give to their ancestors, so they may take possession of it.’

A Call to Love and Obedience

¹² “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. ¹³ And you must always obey the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.

¹⁴ “Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God. ¹⁵ Yet the Lord chose your ancestors as the objects of his love. And he chose you, their descendants, above all other nations, as is evident today. ¹⁶ Therefore, change your hearts^[c] and stop being stubborn.

¹⁷ “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. ¹⁸ He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing. ¹⁹ So you, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. ²⁰ You must fear the Lord your God and worship him and cling to him. Your oaths must be in his name alone. ²¹ He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise, the one who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your own eyes. ²² When your ancestors went down into Egypt, there were only seventy of them. But now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky!