Deuteronomy 10:1-5
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.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Deuteronomy 10:4 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Deuteronomy 10:4 tn Heb “according to the former writing.” See note on the phrase “the same words” in v. 2.
- Deuteronomy 10:4 tn Heb “ten words.” The “Ten Commandments” are known in Hebrew as the “Ten Words,” which in Greek became the “Decalogue.”
- Deuteronomy 10:4 tn Heb “the Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
- Deuteronomy 10:4 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” earlier in this verse.
Deuteronomy 10:1-5
Common English Bible
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. 2 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.
3 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. 4 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.
5 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.
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