Deuteronomy 10

At that time the LORD said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood.

1Moses said: Then the LORD told me, "Cut two flat stones like the first two. Come up the mountain to me. Also make a wooden box called an ark."

2And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.

2"I will write on the stones the same words that were on the first ones. You broke those. Put the new stones inside the box."

3And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand.

3So I made a box out of acacia wood. I cut two flat stones like the first two. Then I went up the mountain holding the stones.

NoteThe KJV says "shittim wood." That is acacia, a hard wood from a desert tree.

4And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me.

4The LORD wrote the same words as before. They were the Ten Commandments. He had spoken them to you from the fire on the mountain, on the day you all gathered there. Then he gave the stones to me.

5And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me.

5I turned around and came down the mountain. I put the stones in the box I had made. They are still there, just as the LORD told me.

6And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest’s office in his stead.

6The people of Israel traveled from Beeroth of the sons of Jaakan to Mosera. Aaron died there, and they buried him there. His son Eleazar took his place as priest, the man who served God for the people.

7From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters.

7From there they traveled to Gudgodah. From Gudgodah they went to Jotbath, a land with streams of water.

8At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.

8At that time the LORD chose one family group, the tribe of Levi, for special work. They carry the ark, the box that holds God's agreement with his people. They stand before the LORD to serve him. They also bless people in his name. They still do this today.

9Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised him.

9That is why the Levites get no land of their own like their brothers do. The LORD himself is what they receive. The LORD your God promised them this.

10And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy thee.

10I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, like the first time. The LORD listened to me that time too. He agreed not to destroy you.

11And the LORD said unto me, Arise, take thy journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them.

11Then the LORD said to me, "Get up. Go ahead of the people on the journey. Let them go in and take the land. I promised their fathers I would give it to them."

12And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

12Now, Israel, here is what the LORD your God asks of you. Respect him. Live the way he says. Love him. Serve him with your whole heart and your whole self.

13To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

13Also keep the commands and rules the LORD gives you today. They are for your own good.

14Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.

14Look: the sky and the highest heavens belong to the LORD your God. So does the earth and everything on it.

15Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.

15Even so, the LORD chose to love your fathers. And he chose you, their children, out of all the people on earth. That is still true today.

16Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.

16So change your hearts and be truly his. Stop being stubborn.

NoteThe KJV says "circumcise the foreskin of your heart." Circumcision was a mark on the body that showed a man belonged to God's people. Here Moses uses it as a word picture for changing what is inside a person.

17For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward:

17The LORD your God is greater than any other god or ruler. He is great, strong, and awesome. He does not favor important people. He never takes a bribe.

NoteThe KJV calls God "terrible." In 1611 that meant awesome, someone who fills you with wonder. It did not mean bad.

18He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.

18He makes sure children without fathers get fair treatment. He does the same for widows, women whose husbands have died. He loves people from other lands and gives them food and clothes.

19Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

19So you must love people from other lands too. You were once strangers in the land of Egypt.

20Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.

20Respect the LORD your God. Serve him. Stay close to him. When you make a promise, make it in his name.

21He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.

21He is the one you praise. He is your God. He did great and awesome things for you. You saw them with your own eyes.

22Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.

22Your fathers went down to Egypt. There were only seventy of them. Now the LORD your God has made you as many as the stars in the sky.