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. 1 2 I will write on the tablets the same words 2 that were on the first tablets you broke, and you must put them into the ark.” 3 So I made an ark of acacia 3 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 4 then wrote on the tablets the same words, 5 the ten commandments, 6 which he 7 had spoken to you at the mountain from the middle of the fire at the time of that assembly, and he 8 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.
6 “During those days the Israelites traveled from Beeroth Bene-Yaaqan 9 to Moserah. 10 There Aaron died and was buried, and his son Eleazar became priest in his place. 7 From there they traveled to Gudgodah, 11 and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, 12 a place of flowing streams. 8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi 13 to carry the ark of the Lord’s covenant, to stand before the Lord to serve him, and to formulate blessings 14 in his name, as they do to this very day. 9 Therefore Levi has no allotment or inheritance 15 among his brothers; 16 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 17 said to me, “Get up, set out leading 18 the people so they may go and possess 19 the land I promised to give to their ancestors.” 20
12 Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you except to revere him, 21 to obey all his commandments, 22 to love him, to serve him 23 with all your mind and being, 24 13 and to keep the Lord’s commandments and statutes that I am giving 25 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 26 show his loving favor, 27 and he chose you, their descendants, 28 from all peoples – as is apparent today. 16 Therefore, cleanse 29 your heart and stop being so stubborn! 30 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 31 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; 32 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. 33
11 You must love the Lord your God and do what he requires; keep his statutes, ordinances, and commandments 1 at all times. 2 Bear in mind today that I am not speaking 2 to your children who have not personally experienced the judgments 3 of the Lord your God, which revealed 4 his greatness, strength, and power. 5 3 They did not see 6 the awesome deeds he performed 7 in the midst of Egypt against Pharaoh king of Egypt and his whole land, 4 or what he did to the army of Egypt, including their horses and chariots, when he made the waters of the Red Sea 8 overwhelm them while they were pursuing you and he 9 annihilated them. 10 5 They did not see 11 what he did to you in the desert before you reached this place, 6 or what he did to Dathan and Abiram, 12 sons of Eliab the Reubenite, 13 when the earth opened its mouth in the middle of the Israelite camp 14 and swallowed them, their families, 15 their tents, and all the property they brought with them. 16 7 I am speaking to you 17 because you are the ones who saw all the great deeds of the Lord!
8 Now pay attention to all the commandments 18 I am giving 19 you today, so that you may be strong enough to enter and possess the land where you are headed, 20 9 and that you may enjoy long life in the land the Lord promised to give to your ancestors 21 and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land where you are headed 22 is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, a land where you planted seed and which you irrigated by hand 23 like a vegetable garden. 11 Instead, the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy 24 is one of hills and valleys, a land that drinks in water from the rains, 25 12 a land the Lord your God looks after. 26 He is constantly attentive to it 27 from the beginning to the end of the year. 28 13 Now, if you pay close attention 29 to my commandments that I am giving you today and love 30 the Lord your God and serve him with all your mind and being, 31 14 then he promises, 32 “I will send rain for your land 33 in its season, the autumn and the spring rains, 34 so that you may gather in your grain, new wine, and olive oil. 15 I will provide pasture 35 for your livestock and you will eat your fill.”
16 Make sure you do not turn away to serve and worship other gods! 36 17 Then the anger of the Lord will erupt 37 against you and he will close up the sky 38 so that it does not rain. The land will not yield its produce, and you will soon be removed 39 from the good land that the Lord 40 is about to give you. 18 Fix these words of mine into your mind and being, 41 and tie them as a reminder on your hands and let them be symbols 42 on your forehead. 19 Teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, 43 as you lie down, and as you get up. 20 Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates 21 so that your days and those of your descendants may be extended in the land which the Lord promised to give to your ancestors, like the days of heaven itself. 44 22 For if you carefully observe all of these commandments 45 I am giving you 46 and love the Lord your God, live according to his standards, 47 and remain loyal to him, 23 then he 48 will drive out all these nations ahead of you, and you will dispossess nations greater and stronger than you. 24 Every place you set your foot 49 will be yours; your border will extend from the desert to Lebanon and from the River (that is, the Euphrates) as far as the Mediterranean Sea. 50 25 Nobody will be able to resist you; the Lord your God will spread the fear and terror of you over the whole land on which you walk, just as he promised you.
26 Take note – I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 51 27 the blessing if you take to heart 52 the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, 28 and the curse if you pay no attention 53 to his 54 commandments and turn from the way I am setting before 55 you today to pursue 56 other gods you have not known. 29 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are to possess, you must pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 57 30 Are they not across the Jordan River, 58 toward the west, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah opposite Gilgal 59 near the oak 60 of Moreh? 31 For you are about to cross the Jordan to possess the land the Lord your God is giving you, and you will possess and inhabit it. 32 Be certain to keep all the statutes and ordinances that I am presenting to you today.
