10TH CHAPTER

1 At that time the Lord said to me, “Cut two ⸤more⸥ stone tablets like the first ones, and come up to me on the mountain. Also make an ark out of wood. 2 I will write on the tablets the same words that were on the first tablets, which you smashed. Then you will put them in the ark.” 

3 I made an ark out of acacia wood. I cut two ⸤more⸥ stone tablets like the first ones. I carried the two tablets up the mountain. 4 The Lord wrote on these tablets the same words as before, the ten commandments. He had spoken these words to you from the fire on the mountain on the day of the assembly. Then the Lord gave them to me. 5 I came back down the mountain and put the tablets in the ark I had made. They are still there, where the Lord commanded me to put them. 

6 The Israelites moved from the wells of the Jaakanites to Moserah. Aaron died there and was buried, and his son Eleazar succeeded him as priest. 7 They moved from there to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with rivers that don’t dry up. 8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the Lord’s promise, to stand in the Lord’s presence when they serve him as priests, and to praise his name, as they still do today. 9 This is why the tribe of Levi has no land of their own as the other tribes have. The Lord your God is their only possession, as he promised them. 

10 I stayed on the mountain 40 days and 40 nights as I did the first time. Once again the Lord listened to me and agreed not to destroy you. 11 The Lord said to me, “Lead the people on their journey. They will enter and take possession of the land I will give them, as I swore to their ancestors.” 

Israel Encouraged to Follow God’s Guidance

12 Israel, what does the Lord your God want you to do? He wants you to fear him, follow all his directions, love him, and worship him with all your heart and with all your soul. 13 The Lord wants you to obey his commands and laws that I’m giving you today for your own good. 14 Remember that the sky, the highest heaven, the earth and everything it contains belong to the Lord your God. 15 The Lord set his heart on your ancestors and loved them. Because of this, today he chooses you, their descendants, out of all the people of the world. 

16 So circumcise your uncircumcised hearts, and don’t be impossible to deal with any longer. 17 The Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, powerful, and awe-inspiring God. He never plays favorites and never takes a bribe. 18 He makes sure orphans and widows receive justice. He loves foreigners and gives them food and clothes. 19 So you should love foreigners, because you were foreigners living in Egypt. 20 Fear the Lord your God, worship him, be loyal to him, and take your oaths in his name. 21 He is your glory. He is your God, who did for you these spectacular and awe-inspiring deeds you saw with your own eyes. 22 When your ancestors went to Egypt, there were 70 of them. Now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.