Deuteronomy 10

₁Moses said: ‘At that time the Lord said to me: “You must cut out 2 flat stones like the first 2 stones that I gave you and then you must come up to Me on the mountain. You must make a box from wood like a coffin. ₂I will write the same words on these stones that I wrote on the first 2 stones that you broke. You must put these 2 flat stones into the box.”

₃I then made a box from acacia wood and I cut 2 flat stones like the first 2 stones and I went up the mountain with the 2 flat stones in my hands. ₄The Lord wrote the same words on the 2 flat stones. They were the 10 commandments that the Lord gave you when He spoke from the fire on the mountain where all of you were together. The Lord gave me the 2 flat stones ₅and I went down the mountain. I went back and put the stones in the box that I had made, like the Lord told me to. The stones are still there.’

₆‘The Israelites went from the water-wells of Bene-Jaakan to Moserah. Aaron died there and we buried him. His son, Eleazar, became the priest after him. ₇They went further to Gudgodah and later to Jotbathah where there was a lot of water.

₈At that time the Lord took the Levi tribe for Himself to carry the covenant box of the Lord. They had to serve Him there and work for Him and pray that the Lord would bless the people. It is still the same today. ₉That is why the Levi tribe did not get their own land among the other Israelites. The Lord, Himself, helps them and takes care of the Levites, as He promised.’

₁₀‘I stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights as before and again the Lord did what I asked of Him. He decided not to kill you. ₁₁He told me: “You must get ready and go before the people so that they can take the land that I have promised to give their forefathers.” ’

_12-13‘People of Israel, what does the Lord your God want you to do? He asks that you must respect Him and you must live as He wants, that you must love Him and serve the Lord your God every day with all your heart, and that you must do what his laws that I give you today say. The Lord your God does not ask anything more from you. If you do this, everything will be well with you. ₁₄You must know this: Heaven, yes, the highest heaven and the earth with everything on it belong to the Lord your God. ₁₅But the Lord loved your forefathers and He wanted them to belong to Him. You are their descendants and the Lord has chosen you from all the nations to be his own and today you are still his people.

₁₆You must give your whole heart to Him and you must not be stubborn. ₁₇The Lord your God is the God above all idols and gods, He is the King of all kings, He is the great and powerful God, and everyone is afraid of Him. He does not think that one person is more important than another person. He does not take bribe money or judge wrongly. ₁₈The Lord helps orphans and widows and gives them what is right. He loves strangers and gives them food and clothes. ₁₉You must also love strangers because you were also strangers in the land of Egypt. ₂₀You must respect the Lord your God and serve Him and do everything that He says, and when you promise something, say that the Lord is your Witness. ₂₁You must praise the Lord. He is your God who has done these great and wonderful things for you, things that you can see. ₂₂Your forefather Jacob had only 70 people with him when he went to Egypt, but the Lord has made you a big nation. You are now as many as the stars in the sky.’