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Deuteronomy 10
Living Bible

10 “At that time the Lord told me to cut two more stone tablets like the first ones, and to make a wooden Ark to keep them in, and to return to God on the mountain. 2 He said he would rewrite on the tablets the same commandments that were on the tablets I had smashed, and that I should place them in the Ark. 3 So I made an Ark of acacia wood and hewed out two stone tablets like the first two, and took the tablets up on the mountain to God. 4 He again wrote the Ten Commandments on them and gave them to me. (They were the same commandments he had given you from the heart of the fire on the mountain as you all watched below.) 5 Then I came down and placed the tablets in the Ark I had made, where they are to this day, just as the Lord commanded me.

6 “The people of Israel then journeyed from Beeroth of Bene-jaakan to Moserah, where Aaron died and was buried. His son Eleazar became the next priest.

7 “Then they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from there to Jotbathah, a land of brooks and water. 8 It was there that Jehovah set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the Ark containing the Ten Commandments of Jehovah, and to stand before the Lord and to do his work and to bless his name, just as is done today. 9 (That is why the tribe of Levi does not have a portion of land reserved for it in the Promised Land, as their brother tribes do; for as the Lord told them, he himself is their inheritance.)

10 “As I said before, I stayed on the mountain before the Lord for forty days and nights the second time, just as I had the first, and the Lord again yielded to my pleas and didn’t destroy you.

11 “But he said to me, ‘Arise and lead the people to the land I promised their fathers. It is time to go in and possess it.’

12-13 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you except to listen carefully to all he says to you, and to obey for your own good the commandments I am giving you today, and to love him, and to worship him with all your hearts and souls? 14 Earth and highest heaven belong to the Lord your God. 15 And yet he rejoiced in your fathers and loved them so much that he chose you, their children, to be above every other nation, as is evident today. 16 Therefore, cleanse your sinful hearts and stop your stubbornness.

17 “Jehovah your God is God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great and mighty God, the God of terror who shows no partiality and takes no bribes. 18 He gives justice to the fatherless and widows. He loves foreigners and gives them food and clothing. 19 (You too must love foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.) 20 You must fear the Lord your God and worship him and cling to him, and take oaths by his name alone. 21 He is your praise and he is your God, the one who has done mighty miracles you yourselves have seen. 22 When your ancestors went down into Egypt there were only seventy of them, but now the Lord your God has made you as many as the stars in the sky!

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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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