< Deuteronomy 10 >
1 “Then Yahweh said to me, ‘Cut two stone tablets like the first ones. And make a wooden chest to put them in. Then [bring the tablets] up to me on this mountain.
At that time the Lord said to me, Make two other stones, cut like the first two, and come up to me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood.
2 I will write on those tablets the same words that I wrote on the first tablets, the ones that you broke. Then you can put them in the chest.’
And I will put on the stones the words which were on the first stones which were broken by you, and you are to put them into the ark.
3 “So I made a chest. I used wood from an acacia tree to make it. Then I cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I went up the mountain carrying the tablets.
So I made an ark of hard wood, and had two stones cut like the others, and went up the mountain with the stones in my hands.
4 There Yahweh wrote on the tablets the [same] Ten Commandments [that he had written on the first tablet]. They are the commandments that he told to your ancestors from the middle of the fire on the mountain, when they were gathered [at the bottom of the mountain]. Then Yahweh gave the tablets to me,
And he put on the stones, as in the first writing, the ten rules which the Lord gave you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the great meeting: and the Lord gave the stones to me.
5 and I turned and went down the mountain. Then, just as he had commanded, I put them in the chest that I had made. And they are still there.”
And turning round I came down from the mountain and put the stones in the ark which I had made; and there they are as the Lord gave me orders.
6 (Then, from the wells that belonged to the people of Jaakan, the Israeli people traveled to Moserah. There Aaron died and was buried, and his son Eleazar took his place and became the Supreme Priest.
(And the children of Israel went on from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah: there death came to Aaron and he was put to rest in the earth; and Eleazar, his son, took his place as priest.
7 From there, the Israelis traveled to Gudgodah, and from there to Jotbathah, which was a place that had many streams.
From there they went on to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of streams of water.
8 At that time, Yahweh (set apart/appointed) the tribe of Levi to carry the chest that contained [the tablets on which were written] the Ten Commandments, and to stand in Yahweh’s presence [in the sacred tent], to offer sacrifices, and to pray for Yahweh to bless [the people. They are still doing those things] at the present time.
At that time the Lord had the tribe of Levi marked out to take up the ark of the Lord's agreement, to be before the Lord and to do his work and to give blessings in his name, to this day.
9 That is the reason that the tribe of Levi did not receive any land like the other tribes did. What they received was the work/privilege of being Yahweh’s [priests], which is what he said that they should do.)
For this reason Levi has no part or heritage for himself among his brothers: the Lord is his heritage, as the Lord your God said to him.)
10 “I stayed on the mountain 40 days and nights, just like I did the first time. [I prayed to] Yahweh, and he (answered my prayers/did what I requested) again and said that he would not destroy your ancestors.
And I was in the mountain, as at the first time, for forty days and forty nights; and again the ears of the Lord were open to my prayer, and he did not send destruction on you.
11 Then Yahweh said to me, ‘Continue your journey, going in front of the people, to occupy the land that I vowed your ancestors that I would give to you.’”
Then the Lord said to me, Get up and go on your journey before the people, so that they may go in and take the land which I said in my oath to their fathers that I would give them.
12 “Now, you Israeli people, [I will tell you] [RHQ] what Yahweh our God requires/demands that you do. He requires you to revere him, to conduct your lives as he wants you to, to love him, and to serve him wholeheartedly [DOU],
And now, Israel, what would the Lord your God have you do, but to go in the fear of the Lord your God, walking in all his ways and loving him and doing his pleasure with all your heart and all your soul,
13 and to obey all of his commandments [DOU] which I am giving to you today for your benefit.
Doing the orders of the Lord and keeping his laws which I give you this day for your good?
14 “Do not forget that Yahweh our God owns even the sky and everything that is in it. He also owns the earth and everything that is on it.
The Lord your God is ruler of heaven, of the heaven of heavens, and of the earth with everything in it.
15 But [in spite of owning all those things], Yahweh loved your ancestors, and from all the people-groups [on the earth] he chose us, their descendants, and we are still his people.
But the Lord had delight in your fathers and love for them, marking out for himself their seed after them, even you, from all peoples, as at this day.
16 So you must stop sinning [MET] and stop being stubborn [IDM]!
Let your circumcision be of the heart, and put away your pride.
17 Yahweh our God is greater than all gods, and he is greater than all rulers. He is very powerful [DOU] and awesome. He (is impartial/does not do things that favor one (group/person) more than others), and he does not accept bribes.
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, strong in power and greatly to be feared, who has no respect for any man's position and takes no rewards:
18 He makes sure that orphans and widows are treated fairly. He loves even (foreigners/people from other countries) who live among us Israeli people, and he gives them food and clothes.
Judging uprightly in the cause of the widow and of the child who has no father, and giving food and clothing in his mercy to the man from a strange country.
19 So you must love those foreigners too, because you were once foreigners when you were living in Egypt.
So be kind to the man from a strange country who is living among you, for you yourselves were living in a strange country in the land of Egypt.
20 Revere Yahweh our God and worship only him. (Be faithful to/Have a close relationship with) him, and say that he should punish you if you do not do what you promise.
Let the fear of the Lord your God be before you, give him worship and be true to him at all times, taking your oaths in his name.
21 He is the one whom you must praise. He is our God, and we have seen the great and amazing things that he has done for us.
He is your God, the God of your praise, your God who has done for you all these works of power which your eyes have seen.
22 When our ancestors, [Jacob and his family], went down to Egypt, there were only seventy of them. But now Yahweh our God has caused us to be as numerous as the stars in the sky.”
Your fathers went down into Egypt with seventy persons; and now the Lord your God has made you like the stars of heaven in number.