Deuteronômio 10

BLIVRE · Chapter 10/34

1Naquele tempo o SENHOR me disse: Lavra para ti duas tábuas de pedra como as primeiras, e sobe a mim ao monte, e faze para ti uma arca de madeira:

2E escreverei naquelas tábuas palavras que estavam nas tábuas primeiras que quebraste; e as porás na arca.

3E fiz uma arca de madeira de acácia, e lavrei duas tábuas de pedra como as primeiras, e subi ao monte com as duas tábuas em minha mão.

4E escreveu nas tábuas conforme a primeira escritura, os dez mandamentos que o SENHOR vos havia falado no monte do meio do fogo, no dia da assembleia; e as deu a mim o SENHOR.

5E voltei e desci do monte, e pus as tábuas na arca que havia feito; e ali estão, como o SENHOR me mandou.

6(Depois partiram os filhos de Israel de Beerote-Bene-Jacacã a Moserá: ali morreu Arão, e ali foi sepultado; e em lugar seu teve o sacerdócio seu filho Eleazar.

7De ali partiram a Gudgodá, e de Gudgodá a Jotbatá, terra de ribeiros de águas.

8Naquele tempo separou o SENHOR a tribo de Levi, para que levasse a arca do pacto do SENHOR, para que estivesse diante do SENHOR para servir-lhe, e para abençoar em seu nome, até hoje.

9Pelo qual Levi não teve parte nem herança com seus irmãos: o SENHOR é sua herança, como o SENHOR teu Deus lhe disse.)

10E eu estive no monte como os primeiros dias, quarenta dias e quarenta noites; e o SENHOR me ouviu também esta vez, e não quis o SENHOR destruir-te.

11E disse-me o SENHOR: Levanta-te, anda, para que partas diante do povo, para que entrem e possuam a terra que jurei a seus pais lhes havia de dar.

12Agora, pois, Israel, que pede o SENHOR teu Deus de ti, a não ser que temas ao SENHOR teu Deus, que andes em todos os seus caminhos, e que o ames, e sirvas ao SENHOR teu Deus contudo teu coração, e com toda tua alma;

13Que guardes os mandamentos do SENHOR e seus estatutos, que eu te prescrevo hoje, para que tenhas bem?

14Eis que, do SENHOR teu Deus são os céus, e os céus dos céus: a terra, e todas as coisas que há nela.

15Somente de teus pais se agradou o SENHOR para amá-los, e escolheu sua descendência depois deles, a vós, dentre todos os povos, como neste dia.

16Circuncidai pois o prepúcio de vosso coração, e não endureçais mais vossa cerviz.

17Porque o SENHOR vosso Deus é Deus de deuses, e Senhor de senhores, Deus grande, poderoso, e terrível, que não faz acepção de pessoas, nem toma suborno;

18Que faz justiça ao órfão e à viúva; que ama também ao estrangeiro dando-lhe pão e roupa.

19Amareis pois ao estrangeiro: porque estrangeiros fostes vós em terra do Egito.

20Ao SENHOR teu Deus temerás, a ele servirás, a ele te achegarás, e por seu nome jurarás.

21Ele é teu louvor, e ele é teu Deus, que fez contigo estas grandes e terríveis coisas que teus olhos viram.

22Com setenta almas desceram teus pais ao Egito; e agora o SENHOR te fez como as estrelas do céu 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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