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Deuteronomy Chapter
Ten
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 10
In
this chapter an account is given of an order to Moses to hew two tables of
stone, on which the Lord would write the words that were on the first, and to
make an ark and put them into it, all which was accordingly done, Deuteronomy 10:1
and of some of the journeys of the children of Israel, Deuteronomy 10:6
and of the separation of the tribe of Levi to the service of the sanctuary, Deuteronomy 10:8
and of Moses's stay in the mount forty days and nights, and his success there,
and the direction he had to lead on the people of Israel towards Canaan's land,
Deuteronomy 10:10
and who by various arguments are exhorted to fear the Lord, and serve him, and
keep his commands, Deuteronomy 10:12.
Deuteronomy 10:1 “At that time the Lord
said to me, ‘Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up
to Me on the mountain and make yourself an ark of wood.
YLT
1`At that time hath Jehovah
said unto me, Grave for thee two tables of stone, like the first, and come up
unto Me, into the mount, and thou hast made for thee an ark of wood,
At that time the Lord said unto me,.... On the fortieth day,
mentioned in the preceding chapter, as Aben Ezra, or at the end of forty days,
as Jarchi; not of the first forty, for then were given him the first two tables
of stone, with the law written on them, which he broke when he came down; but
at the end of the second forty days, as some think, when he had fallen before
the Lord, and entreated him for the people, and, as a token of his
reconciliation to them, gave the following order:
hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, &c. Of
the same sort of stone, of the same size and form with those God gave him in
the mount the first time he was there, and which he broke in his descent from
thence; they were the work of God, but these were to be hewed by Moses: the
order seems to be given between the request Moses made to see the glory of the
Lord, and the proclamation made of it, see Exodus 34:1, and
come up unto me into the mount; Mount Sinai; this was certainly the third time
of his going up there, and where he continued forty days and nights; but
whether he continued there so long the second time may be a matter of question,
though he certainly did the third time; see Exodus 32:30.
and make thee an ark of wood; Jarchi thinks this was
not the ark Bezaleel made, but made after, and is that which went out to
battle; and some take it to be a temporary ark, made for the present purpose
till that was finished; but Aben Ezra is of opinion it is the same that
Bezaleel made: and it may be said to be made by Moses, because he was not only
ordered to make it, but it was by his orders and the direction he gave to
Bezaleel that it was made; and this seems the more probable, because there the
tables remained, Deuteronomy 10:5.
Deuteronomy 10:2 2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the
first tablets, which you broke; and you shall put them in the ark.’
YLT
2and I write on the tables
the words which were on the first tables, which thou hast broken, and thou hast
placed them in the ark;
And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first
tables, which thou brakest,....F1See a Sermon of mine on
this text, called, "The Law in the Hand of Christ." Though they were
hewn by Moses, the writing on them was the Lord's; and the very same laws, in
the same words, without any alteration or variation, were written by him on
these as on the former; partly to show the authenticity of them, that they were
of God and not Moses, of a divine original and not human; and partly to show
the invariableness of them, that no change had been made in them, though they
had been broken by the people; of which Moses's breaking the tables was a
representation:
and thou shall put them in the ark; which being a type of
Christ may signify the fulfilment of the law by him, who is the end, the
fulfilling end of the law for righteousness to every believer; and that as this
was in his heart to fulfil it, so it is in his hand as a rule of faith and
conversation to his people.
Deuteronomy 10:3 3 “So I made an ark of acacia wood, hewed two tablets of
stone like the first, and went up the mountain, having the two tablets in my
hand.
YLT
3and I make an ark of
shittim wood, and grave two tables of stone like the first, and go up to the
mount, and the two tables in my hand.
And I made an ark of shittim wood,.... That is, ordered it
to be made, and it was made by Bezaleel, and that of shittim wood: so the ark
that was put into the holy of holies was made of this wood; see See Gill on Exodus 25:10; see
Gill on Exodus 37:1,
and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; two marble
ones, as the Targum of Jonathan; that is, he ordered them to be hewed, and took
care that they should be exactly made as the former were, of which he had
perfect knowledge, having received them of the Lord, and brought them with him
down the mount:
and went up into the mount, having the two tables in my hand; in order to
have the words of the law, the ten commands, written on them, these being only
hewn stones, without anything on them: they were very probably marble, of which
great quantities were near at hand.
Deuteronomy 10:4 4 And He wrote on the tablets according to the first
writing, the Ten Commandments, which the Lord had spoken
to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly;
and the Lord gave them to me.
YLT
4`And He writeth on the
tables, according to the first writing, the Ten Matters, which Jehovah hath
spoken unto you in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, in the day of the
assembly, and Jehovah giveth them unto me,
And he wrote on the tables according to the first writing,.... The same
laws, in the same letters:
the ten commandments which the Lord spake unto you in the mount; in Mount
Sinai, on which he descended, and from whence he delivered the decalogue by
word of mouth in an audible manner, that all the people could hear it:
out of the midst of the fire; in which he descended,
and where he continued, and from whence he spake, so that it was indeed a fiery
law:
in the day of the assembly; when all the people of
Israel were assembled together at the bottom of the mount to hear it:
and the Lord gave them unto me; the two tables, when he
had wrote upon them the ten commands.
Deuteronomy 10:5 5 Then I turned and came down from the mountain, and put
the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, just as the Lord commanded me.”
YLT
5and I turn and come down
from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made, and they are
there, as Jehovah commanded me.
And I turned myself,.... From the Lord, out
of whose hands he had received the tables:
and came down from the mount; with the two tables in
his hand as before, one in one hand, and the other in the other hand:
and put the tables in the ark which I had made; or ordered to
be made:
and there they be, as the Lord commanded me; there they
were when Moses rehearsed what is contained in this book, on the plains of
Moab, about thirty eight years after the putting them, into it; and there they
continued to be when the ark was brought into Solomon's temple, 1 Kings 8:9 and
there they were as long as the ark was in being; which may denote the
continuance of the law in the hands of Christ under the Gospel dispensation as
a rule of walk and conversation to his people.
Deuteronomy 10:6 6 (Now the children of Israel journeyed from the wells of
Bene Jaakan to Moserah, where Aaron died, and where he was buried; and Eleazar
his son ministered as priest in his stead.
YLT
6`And the sons of Israel
have journeyed from Beeroth of the sons of Jaakan to Mosera, there Aaron died,
and he is buried there, and Eleazar his son doth act as priest in his stead;
And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the
children of Jaakan,.... Not when or soon after they removed from Sinai; for if this
place is the same with Benejaakan, as is generally supposed, they had a great
many journeys, mansions, and stations before they came to it; see Numbers 33:31 and
besides, since Aaron, according to this account, died at their next station from
hence, that was thirty eight years after their departure from Mount Sinai; and
it is hard to say what should be the reason of making mention of these two or
three journeys here; and whereas they are here said to journey front the place
here mentioned
to Mosera; on the contrary in Numbers 33:31 they
are said to depart from Mosera, and pitch in Benejaakan; which is accounted for
by their going backwards and forwards, and so both may be true. Aben Ezra is of
opinion, that Beeroth Benejaakan, or the wells of the children of Jaakan, is
not the same with Bene Jaakan, nor Mosera the same with Moseroth; but Beeroth
is Kadesh, and Mosera is the name of the desert of Mount Hor; and it is certain
that Moseroth was the twenty seventh station, and Mosera, or the desert of
Mount Hor, where Aaron died, was the thirty fourth, and therefore must be
distant; see Numbers 33:30,
which seems to agree with what follows:
there Aaron died, and there he was buried; it is certain
that Aaron died on Mount Hor, Numbers 20:23, or
there died and was buried when in the desert of Mosera:
and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead; so that
though the high priest died, the office continued, and the law of it remained
in force, and the tribe of Levi was separated for the service of the sanctuary,
as afterwards expressed.
Deuteronomy 10:7 7 From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from
Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of rivers of water.
YLT
7thence they journeyed to
Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of brooks of water.
From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah,.... Which
Jarchi takes to be the same with Horhagidgad, and so do most; see Numbers 33:32, but
Aben Ezra says it is not, but is a general name, including Zalmonah, Punon, and
Oboth, places the Israelites came to after they removed from Mount Hor, where
Aaron died; see Numbers 33:41.
and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters; which the
above writer takes to be the same with Beer, the well, Numbers 21:16 and
by this description of it, it was a place where there was much water.
Deuteronomy 10:8 8 At 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 to Him and to bless in His name, to this day.
YLT
8`At that time hath Jehovah
separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, to
stand before Jehovah, to serve Him, and to bless in His name, unto this day,
At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi,.... Not at
the time that Moses came down from the mount with the tables of the law, but
some considerable time after, even after the tabernacle was erected; nor at the
time that Aaron died, and Eleazar succeeded him, but many years before that;
unless there was a fresh separation of them, or a renewal of it when Eleazar
became high priest in his father's stead; and so that being mentioned is the
reason of its being repeated here:
to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord; even that
into which the law, sometimes called the covenant, was put, and therefore here
called the ark of the covenant: when this was carried from place to place, as
it was especially in the wilderness, it was the business of the Levites to bear
it, particularly the Kohathites; Numbers 3:31,
to stand before the Lord to minister unto him; that is, to
his priests, in the tabernacle, and to keep and guard that:
and to bless in his name unto this day; not to bless
the people, which was the work of the priest, but to sing praise in the name of
the Lord, to give thanks unto him, and bless and praise him.
Deuteronomy 10:9 9 Therefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his
brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, just as the Lord your God promised him.)
YLT
9therefore there hath not
been to Levi a portion and inheritance with his brethren; Jehovah Himself [is]
his inheritance, as Jehovah thy God hath spoken to him.
Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren,.... In the
division of the land of Canaan, because being separated to the service of the
sanctuary, he had no leisure to plough and sow, as Jarchi observes:
the Lord is his inheritance, as the Lord thy God
promised him; not in a spiritual sense, for so the Lord was an inheritance and
portion of other Israelites; though these being taken off of worldly
employments, and devoted to sanctuary service, might have more communion with
God than others; but in a temporal sense, provision being made particularly by
tithes, which were the Lord's, for their maintenance; and so the Targums of
Onkelos and Jonathan paraphrase the words;"gifts which the Lord gave him
are his inheritance;'see Numbers 18:20.
Deuteronomy 10:10 10 “As at the first time, I stayed in the mountain forty
days and forty nights; the Lord also heard
me at that time, and the Lord chose not
to destroy you.
YLT
10`And I -- I have stood in
the mount, as the former days, forty days and forty nights, and Jehovah
hearkeneth unto me also at that time; Jehovah hath not willed to destroy thee.
And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days
and forty nights,.... Which is to be connected with Deuteronomy 10:6
and relates what passed before he came down from the mount with the two tables;
as that he stayed there as long as he did when he received the first tables,
and fasted also as long as he did then; see Exodus 34:28.
and the Lord hearkened unto me at that time also; to his prayer
on the behalf of the people:
and the Lord would not destroy thee; though he had threatened
it, and their sin had deserved it.
Deuteronomy 10:11 11 Then the Lord said to
me, ‘Arise, begin your journey before the people, that they may go in
and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.’
YLT
11`And Jehovah saith unto me,
Rise, go to journey before the people, and they go in and possess the land
which I have sworn to their fathers to give to them.
And the Lord said unto me, arise, take thy journey before the
people,.... Here Moses goes on with his relation of things at Mount
Sinai, how that upon his supplication for the people, on account of the
destruction they were threatened with for their idolatry, the Lord was
graciously pleased not only to hear him and forgive the people, but ordered him
to go before them, and lead them on towards the land of Canaan he had promised
them, Exodus 32:34,
that they may go in and possess the land, which I sware
unto their fathers to give unto them; and which had it not been for their later
murmurings and rebellions, they had been in the possession of it in a little
time, especially after their departure from Sinai.
Deuteronomy 10:12 12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
YLT
12`And now, Israel, what is
Jehovah thy God asking from thee, except to fear Jehovah thy God, to walk in
all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve Jehovah thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul,
And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee,.... For all
these favours bestowed upon them, the forgiveness of their sins, and a fresh
intimation of their possession of the land of Canaan, and the renewal of the
promise of it made to their fathers:
but to fear the Lord thy God; to fear him with a
filial fear, to fear him and his goodness, and him for his goodness sake, and
particularly for his pardoning grace and mercy vouchsafed to them; see Psalm 130:4,
to walk in all his ways; prescribed and directed
to by him, every path of duty, whether moral, ceremonial, or judicial:
and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul; for that is the best service which springs from love, and love
constrains unto, and which is hearty and sincere, as that is, and is performed
in the best manner such are capable of.
Deuteronomy 10:13 13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?
YLT
13to keep the commands of
Jehovah, and His statutes which I am commanding thee to-day, for good to thee?
To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes,.... Both the
ten commands and all others:
which I command thee this day for thy good; promises of
temporal good things, introduction into the land of Canaan, possession of it,
and continuance in it, being made to obedience to them.
Deuteronomy 10:14 14 Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it.
YLT
14`Lo, to Jehovah thy God
[are] the heavens and the heavens of the heavens, the earth and all that [is]
in it;
Behold, the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, are the Lord's thy
God,.... Made and possessed by him; the airy and starry heaven, the
third heaven, which is the heaven of heavens, the seat of the divine Majesty,
the habitation of angels and glorified saints:
the earth also, with all that therein is; that is his
property, and at his disposal, being made by him, and all that is upon it, or
contained in it, even whatsoever is on or in the whole terraqueous globe; see Psalm 115:15.
Deuteronomy 10:15 15 The Lord delighted
only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them,
you above all peoples, as it is this day.
YLT
15only in thy fathers hath
Jehovah delighted -- to love them, and He doth fix on their seed after them --
on you, out of all the peoples as [at] this day;
Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them,.... Though
the heavens and the earth, and all the inhabitants of them are the Lord's by
creation, yet he had a special regard unto, and a peculiar complacency in, the
fathers of the Israelites, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; from whence arose some
particular expressions of love to them, signified by various acts of kindness
done them, and promises made unto them:
and he chose their seed after them, even you above all the people,
as it is this day; to be a special people to him, to enjoy civil and religious
privileges greater than any other; and particularly to have his law given to
them, his tabernacle and worship set up among them, which were at this time,
and which gave them the preference to all other nations; see Deuteronomy 4:7.
Deuteronomy 10:16 16 Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and
be stiff-necked no longer.
YLT
16and ye have circumcised the
foreskin of your heart, and your neck ye do not harden any more;
Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart,.... Content
not yourselves with, nor put your confidence in outward circumcision of the
flesh, but be concerned for the circumcision of the heart; for removing from
that whatever is disagreeable to the Lord, even all carnality, sensuality,
hypocrisy, and superfluity of naughtiness, and for having that put there which
is well pleasing in his sight; and which though it is the work of God, and he
only can do it and has promised it, yet such an exhortation is made to bring
men to a sense of their need of it, and of the importance of it, and to show
how agreeable it is to the Lord, and so to stir them up to seek unto him for
it; see Deuteronomy 30:6.
and be no more stiffnecked; froward, obstinate, and
disobedient, as they had been hitherto; Deuteronomy 9:6.
Deuteronomy 10:17 17 For the Lord your God is
God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no
partiality nor takes a bribe.
YLT
17for Jehovah your God -- He
[is] God of the gods, and Lord of the lords; God, the great, the mighty, and
the fearful; who accepteth not persons, nor taketh a bribe;
For the Lord your God is God of gods,.... Of angels
and civil magistrates, who are sometimes so called: these are his creatures,
act for him and under him, and are accountable to him:
the Lord of lords; of the kings and princes of the earth, who
have their crowns, sceptres, and kingdoms from him, and hold them of him, by
and under whom they reign and decree judgment, and who are subject to his
authority and control:
a great God; as the perfections of his nature, the works of his hands, the
blessings of his providence and grace, and the extensiveness of his dominion in
heaven, earth, and hell, show him to be:
a mighty and a terrible; mighty and powerful to
help, protect, and defend his people; terrible to his and their enemies, even
to the kings of the earth:
which regardeth not persons; but bestows his favours,
whether in a way of providence or grace, according to his sovereign will and
pleasure, without regard to the works and merits of men, their characters or
circumstances:
nor taketh reward; or bribes, to avert threatened and deserved
judgments; see Job 36:18.
Deuteronomy 10:18 18 He administers justice for the fatherless and the
widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing.
YLT
18He is doing the judgment of
fatherless and widow, and loving the sojourner, to give to him bread and
raiment.
He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow,.... Who have
none to help them, and whose patron and defender he is, and will do them
justice himself, and take care that it is done them by others, or avenge their
injuries, for he is a Father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widow, in
his holy habitation; Psalm 68:5.
and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment; one that is
in a foreign country, at a distance from his native land, and destitute of
friends; such God in his providence takes care of, and expresses his love and
kindness to, by giving them the necessaries of life, food, and raiment.
Deuteronomy 10:19 19 Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in
the land of Egypt.
YLT
19`And ye have loved the
sojourner, for sojourners ye were in the land of Egypt.
Love ye therefore the stranger,.... Because the Lord
loves him; and another reason follows, particularly binding on the Israelites:
for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt; and therefore
should sympathize with such, and show them compassion, relieve them in
distress, and afford them whatever they want, and is in the power of their
hands to communicate to them; remembering their own condition in Egypt, and how
welcome such a treatment would have been to them then, as well as the kind and
careful providence of God towards them at that time.
Deuteronomy 10:20 20 You shall fear the Lord your God;
you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His
name.
YLT
20`Jehovah thy God thou dost
fear, Him thou dost serve, and to Him thou dost cleave, and by His name thou
dost swear.
Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God,.... Which includes the
whole worship of him, external and internal:
him shalt thou serve; heartily and sincerely,
according to his revealed will, and him only:
and to him shall thou cleave; and not turn aside to
follow other gods, and worship them:
and swear by his name; and his only, whenever
it is necessary to take an oath, which should not be done rashly or on trivial
accounts; and never by any creature, but by the living God; see Deuteronomy 6:13.
Deuteronomy 10:21 21 He is your praise, and He is your God,
who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen.
YLT
21He [is] thy praise, and He
[is] thy God, who hath done with thee these great and fearful [things] which
thine eyes have seen:
He is thy praise,.... The object and matter of it, who
deserves the praises of all his creatures, because of his perfections, works,
and blessings of goodness; for all mercies temporal and spiritual come from
him, and therefore he is greatly to be praised for them: praise is his due, and
it is comely in his people to give it to him; see Jeremiah 17:14.
and he is thy God which hath done for thee these great and
terrible things which thine eyes have seen; which were done upon the
Egyptians for their sakes, both in the land of Egypt and at the Red sea; and
also what he had done for them in the wilderness, to Sihon and Og, kings of the
Amorites, Psalm 106:22.
Deuteronomy 10:22 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons,
and now the Lord your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude.
YLT
22with seventy persons did
thy fathers go down to Egypt, and now hath Jehovah thy God made thee as stars
of the heavens for multitude.
Thy fathers went down into Egypt with seventy persons,.... That is,
in all; for there were not seventy besides Jacob and the patriarchs his sons,
but with them; see Genesis 46:26 and
now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude; as he
promised they should be, Genesis 15:5.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》