¹⁶ When the Ark is finished, place inside it the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant,^[a] which I will give to you.

⁹ Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai,^[a] where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt.

²⁶ “Take this Book of Instruction and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, so it may remain there as a witness against the people of Israel.

⁴ In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant.

³⁴ Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded Moses. He eventually placed it in the Ark of the Covenant—in front of the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant.^[a]

² Yes, there are great benefits! First of all, the Jews were entrusted with the whole revelation of God.^[a]

⁴⁴ “Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle^[a] with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan God had shown to Moses.

Hilkiah Discovers God’s Law

¹⁴ While they were bringing out the money collected at the Lord’s Temple, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that was written by Moses. ¹⁵ Hilkiah said to Shaphan the court secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the Lord’s Temple!” Then Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan.

¹² Then Jehoiada brought out Joash, the king’s son, placed the crown on his head, and presented him with a copy of God’s laws.^[a] They anointed him and proclaimed him king, and everyone clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!”

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.”