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Deuteronomy 10

Deuteronomy 10 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

Deuteronomy 10 follows Israel's failure with a renewed call from God. Moses describes the new tablets, the ark, Levi's role, and God's mercy. The chapter then turns to a simple but searching call: fear the LORD, love Him, serve Him, and walk in His ways.

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What happens in Deuteronomy 10?

God tells Moses to make new stone tablets and an ark, then writes again the words of the covenant. The tablets are placed in the ark, and Levi is set apart to carry the ark, minister before the LORD, and bless in His name. Moses recalls his long intercession on the mountain and God's decision not to destroy the people. The chapter then shifts to Israel's response: they are to fear, love, and serve the LORD, keep His commands, and live with hearts changed. The LORD is presented as sovereign, just, and attentive to the vulnerable, and Israel is called to show the same care, especially toward foreigners.

This chapter comes after Moses has reminded Israel of the golden calf and God's mercy in not destroying them. Deuteronomy 10 moves from warning to renewal, showing that covenant life continues because of God's patience and faithfulness. It also prepares the way for the longer call to choose obedience and remember the LORD when entering the land.

Themes to notice

  • Renewed covenantGod replaces the broken tablets and restores the covenant sign after Israel's failure.
  • Heart-level obedienceThe call is not only to outward rule-keeping but to love, fear, and serve God fully.
  • Justice and compassionBecause God defends the vulnerable, His people are told to reflect that same concern.

Questions for Deuteronomy 10

  • Why does God have Moses make new tablets, and what does that show about His mercy?
  • What stands out about the way Deuteronomy 10 describes true obedience to the LORD?
  • How should Israel's treatment of foreigners reflect God's character in this chapter?

Read the full text of Deuteronomy 10 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Deuteronomy 10

New Stone Tablets

1At that time the LORD said to me, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood.2And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you are to place them in the ark.”3So I made an ark of acacia wood, chiseled out two stone tablets like the originals, and went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hands.4And the LORD wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Commandments that He had spoken to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly. The LORD gave them to me,5and I went back down the mountain and placed the tablets in the ark I had made, as the LORD had commanded me; and there they have remained.

6The Israelites traveled from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah, where Aaron died and was buried, and Eleazar his son succeeded him as priest.7From there they traveled to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with streams of water.8At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in His name, as they do to this day.9That is why Levi has no portion or inheritance among his brothers; the LORD is his inheritance, as the LORD your God promised him.

10I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, like the first time, and that time the LORD again listened to me and agreed not to destroy you.11Then the LORD said to me, “Get up. Continue your journey ahead of the people, that they may enter and possess the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.”

A Call to Obedience

12And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,13and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD that I am giving you this day for your own good?14Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, and the earth and everything in it.15Yet the LORD has set His affection on your fathers and loved them. And He has chosen you, their descendants after them, above all the peoples, even to this day.16Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.17For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.18He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and He loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing.19So you also must love the foreigner, since you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.20You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.21He is your praise and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome wonders that your eyes have seen.22Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

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