The Father Renews His Covenant
10 1 At that time our Father said to me, "Carve out two tablets of stone like the first ones, and come up to me on the mountain, and make a wooden ark. 2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke, and place them in the ark."
3 So I made an ark of acacia wood, carved two tablets of stone like the first ones, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4 And he wrote on the tablets, as before, the ten commandments that our Father had spoken to you on the mountain from within the fire on the day of the assembly. And our Father gave them to me. 5 Then I turned and came down from the mountain and placed the tablets in the ark I had made; and there they have remained, as our Father commanded me.
6 The people of Israel journeyed from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah. Aaron died and was buried there, and his son Eleazar served as priest in his place. 7 From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of flowing streams. 8 At that time our Father set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant, to stand before him to minister to him, and to bless in his name, as they do to this day. 9 That is why Levi has no portion or inheritance with his brothers; our Father is his inheritance, just as our Father promised him.
10 I myself stayed on the mountain, as I had the first time, forty days and forty nights, and our Father listened to me that time as well; our Father was unwilling to destroy you.
11 And our Father said to me, "Get up and lead the people on their journey, so they may go in and take possession of the land I swore to their fathers to give them."
What Our Father Asks of You
12 And now, Israel, what does our Father ask of you, but to fear him, to walk in all his ways, to love him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of our Father and his statutes that I am commanding you today, for your own good? 14 Look — to our Father belong the heavens and the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. 15 Yet our Father set his love on your fathers and chose their descendants after them — you, above all peoples — as it is today. 16 So circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stubborn no longer. 1 1 v16 "Circumcise the foreskin of your heart" pictures cutting away whatever makes the heart resistant and closed — opening it fully to our Father. 17 For our Father is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome One, who shows no partiality and takes no bribe. 2 2 v17 Where other translations read "Lord of lords," this Bible says "Sovereign of sovereigns": the title "Lord" is kept for Jesus, while our Father's supreme authority is named "Sovereign." 18 He secures justice for the orphan and the widow, and he loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing. 19 So you too must love the foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. 20 Fear our Father, serve him, hold fast to him, and swear by his name. 21 He is your praise; he is your Father, who has done for you these great and awesome things that you have seen with your own eyes. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy in all, and now our Father has made you as numerous as the stars of the heavens.