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Deuteronomy 10

KJV · Chapter 10/34

1At 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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,

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

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

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.

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

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:

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

19Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were 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.

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

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.

📖 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 10:4God writes the Ten Commandments on the tablets again, exactly as the first time, and hands them directly to Moses.
  5. Deuteronomy 10:5Moses comes down the mountain and places the tablets inside the newly built ark, carrying out God’s command.
  6. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 10:11After that period of intercession, God tells Moses to move on, leading the people toward the promised land.
  12. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 10:14It recalls God’s greatness before speaking of Israel’s election: the heavens and the whole earth already belong to Him.
  15. Deuteronomy 10:15Even owning everything, God specifically chose to love Israel’s ancestors and their descendants, out of all the peoples on earth.
  16. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 10:17It describes God as “God of gods,” great and impartial — He favors no one because of status, and He takes no bribe.
  18. Deuteronomy 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. Deuteronomy 10:19It concludes the logic: since God loves the foreigner, Israel must love him too, remembering that they themselves were foreigners in Egypt.
  20. Deuteronomy 10:20It sums up the right stance before God: fear, service, attachment, and loyalty, including in oaths made in His name.
  21. Deuteronomy 10:21It calls God the people’s reason for pride, the author of the great and awesome things they themselves witnessed.
  22. Deuteronomy 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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