Deuteronômio 10

ARC · Chapter 10/34

1N'aquelle mesmo tempo me disse o Senhor: Alisa duas taboas de pedra, como as primeiras, e sobe a mim a este monte, e faze-te uma arca de madeira:

2E n'aquellas taboas escreverei as palavras que estavam nas primeiras taboas que quebraste, e as porás na arca.

3Assim, fiz uma arca de madeira de sittim, e alisei duas taboas de pedra, como as primeiras: e subi ao monte com as duas taboas na minha mão.

4Então escreveu nas taboas, conforme á primeira escriptura, os dez mandamentos, que o Senhor vos fallara no dia da congregação, no monte, do meio do fogo: e o Senhor m'as deu a mim

5E virei-me, e desci do monte, e puz as taboas na arca que fizera: e ali estão, como o Senhor me ordenou.

6E partiram os filhos de Israel de Beeroth-Bene-jaakan a Mosera: ali falleceu Aarão, e ali foi sepultado, e Eleazar, seu filho, administrou o sacerdocio em seu logar.

7D'ali partiram a Gudgod, e de Gudgod a Jotbath, terra de ribeiros de aguas.

8No mesmo tempo o Senhor separou a tribu de Levi, para levar a arca do concerto do Senhor, para estar diante do Senhor, para o servir, e para abençoar em seu nome até ao dia de hoje.

9Pelo que Levi com seus irmãos não tem parte na herança: o Senhor é a sua herança, como o Senhor teu Deus lhe tem dito

10E eu estive no monte, como nos dias primeiros, quarenta dias e quarenta noites: e o Senhor me ouviu ainda por esta vez: não quiz o Senhor destruir-te.

11Porém o Senhor me disse: Levanta-te, põe-te a caminho diante do povo, para que entrem, e possuam a terra que jurei a seus paes dar-lhes.

12Agora, pois, ó Israel, que é o que o Senhor teu Deus pede de ti, senão que temas o Senhor teu Deus, que andes em todos os seus caminhos, e o ames, e sirvas ao Senhor teu Deus com todo o teu coração e com toda a tua alma

13Para guardar os mandamentos do Senhor, e os seus estatutos, que hoje te ordeno, para o teu bem?

14Eis que os céus e os céus dos céus são do Senhor teu Deus, a terra e tudo o que n'ella ha.

15Tão sómente o Senhor tomou prazer em teus paes para os amar: e a vós, semente d'elles, escolheu depois d'elles, de todos os povos, como n'este dia se vê

16Circumcidae pois o prepucio do vosso coração, e não mais endureçaes a vossa cerviz.

17Pois o Senhor vosso Deus é o Deus dos deuses, e o Senhor dos senhores, o Deus grande, poderoso e terrivel, que não faz accepção de pessoas, nem acceita recompensas:

18Que faz justiça ao orphão e á viuva, e ama o estrangeiro, dando-lhe pão e vestido.

19Pelo que amareis o estrangeiro, pois fostes estrangeiros na terra do Egypto.

20Ao Senhor teu Deus temerás, a elle servirás, e a elle te chegarás, e pelo seu nome jurarás.

21Elle é o teu louvor e o teu Deus, que te fez estas grandes e terriveis coisas que os teus olhos teem visto.

22Com setenta almas teus paes desceram ao Egypto; e agora o Senhor teu Deus te poz como as estrellas dos céus em multidão.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Moses recalls the making of the second tablets of the law and the ark, the setting apart of the tribe of Levi for sacred service, and concludes with an emotional call to 'circumcise your heart' and to truly love God, the stranger, and justice.

Explanation

The expression 'circumcise... the foreskin of your heart' is one of the Bible's most powerful images of authentic religion versus mere ritual: just as physical circumcision marked the outward covenant, circumcision of the heart represents a genuine inner transformation, without which the outward ritual becomes empty. The description of God as one who 'regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward... doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger' establishes an ethical standard Israel was meant to imitate in its own social practice, reminding them that they themselves were once strangers in Egypt. This emphasis on social justice as an expression of genuine faith, not something separate from it, is a recurring and powerful theme throughout the book of Deuteronomy.

Fun facts

  • The expression 'circumcise the heart' reappears in almost identical form in Jeremiah 4:4 and is taken up theologically by Paul in Romans 2:29, who uses it to argue that true spiritual identity is inward, not merely an external physical or ethnic marker.
  • The statement that God 'taketh reward' from no one (v. 17, meaning he accepts no bribe) is notable because it uses the same Hebrew word applied to corrupt judges elsewhere in biblical law, suggesting that even the language describing God's character was borrowed from the vocabulary of human justice, to make the concept more understandable.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Deuteronômio 10:1After breaking the first tablets, God tells Moses to prepare two new ones and also to build an ark of wood to keep them in.
  2. Deuteronômio 10:2God promises to rewrite on the new tablets the same content as the first ones, which Moses had broken — the covenant does not change, only its physical container is remade.
  3. Deuteronômio 10:3Moses carries out the instruction: he builds the ark out of acacia wood and goes back up the mountain, this time with blank tablets in his hands.
  4. Deuteronômio 10:4God writes the Ten Commandments on the tablets again, exactly as the first time, and hands them directly to Moses.
  5. Deuteronômio 10:5Moses comes down the mountain and places the tablets inside the newly built ark, carrying out God’s command.
  6. Deuteronômio 10:6Here Aaron’s death is placed at Moserah, while Numbers 20 and 33 locate the same event at Mount Hor. It is one of the differences in detail between books of the Pentateuch that scholars point out without being able to resolve completely — Moserah may simply have been a nearby point within the same region.
  7. Deuteronômio 10:7It continues listing the stages of the people’s journey through the wilderness, including Gudgodah and Jotbathah, a region with springs of water.
  8. Deuteronômio 10:8In that period, God sets apart the tribe of Levi for an exclusive role: to carry the ark of the covenant and to serve before the LORD.
  9. Deuteronômio 10:9Because of that special role, the Levites do not receive land like the other tribes — the LORD Himself is described as their inheritance.
  10. Deuteronômio 10:10Moses recalls the forty days and nights on the mountain interceding for the people, and how God, once again, decided not to destroy them.
  11. Deuteronômio 10:11After that period of intercession, God tells Moses to move on, leading the people toward the promised land.
  12. Deuteronômio 10:12One of the most condensed questions in the book: what does God ask of Israel, but to fear Him, to walk in His ways, to love Him, and to serve Him with the whole heart?
  13. Deuteronômio 10:13It completes the previous question: keeping the commandments and statutes is not an arbitrary burden, it is for the people’s own good.
  14. Deuteronômio 10:14It recalls God’s greatness before speaking of Israel’s election: the heavens and the whole earth already belong to Him.
  15. Deuteronômio 10:15Even owning everything, God specifically chose to love Israel’s ancestors and their descendants, out of all the peoples on earth.
  16. Deuteronômio 10:16The command to circumcise “the foreskin of your heart” uses the physical mark of the covenant as a metaphor: what truly matters is removing stubbornness and opening the heart to God, not just carrying the sign on the body.
  17. Deuteronômio 10:17It describes God as “God of gods,” great and impartial — He favors no one because of status, and He takes no bribe.
  18. Deuteronômio 10:18Right after commanding whole peoples to be destroyed in the previous chapters, the text asks them to love the foreigner and remember that Israel itself was a foreigner in Egypt. The tension between a war of conquest and care for the outsider sits side by side in the same book, with neither verse erasing the other.
  19. Deuteronômio 10:19It concludes the logic: since God loves the foreigner, Israel must love him too, remembering that they themselves were foreigners in Egypt.
  20. Deuteronômio 10:20It sums up the right stance before God: fear, service, attachment, and loyalty, including in oaths made in His name.
  21. Deuteronômio 10:21It calls God the people’s reason for pride, the author of the great and awesome things they themselves witnessed.
  22. Deuteronômio 10:22It closes the chapter with a striking contrast: only seventy people went down into Egypt, and now the people are as numerous as the stars of the sky.

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