1After that the Lord told me, “Cut out two stone tablets just like the first ones, make an Ark out of wood, and come up to me on the mountain.

2I will write the same words on the tablets that were on the first ones, which you broke. Then put them in the Ark.”

3I made an Ark out of acacia wood, cut out two stone tablets like the first ones, and went up the mountain carrying them.

4The Lord wrote what he had before on the tablets, the Ten Commandments that he'd told you when he spoke from the fire on the mountain when we were all assembled there. The Lord gave them to me,

5and I went back down the mountain and put them in the Ark I'd made following the Lord's instructions. They have been there ever since.

6The Israelites went from the wells of the people of Jaakan to Moserah. Aaron died there and was buried, and Eleazar his son took over as priest.

7From there they moved on to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land that had many streams.

8At this time the Lord put the tribe of Levi in charge of carrying the Ark of the Lord's Agreement, as well as serving the Lord by standing in his presence, and of pronouncing blessings in his name, as they continue to do to this day.

9That's why the tribe of Levi has no land allowance or share among the other tribes. The Lord provides what they need, just as the Lord your God promised.

10I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights as before, and during that time the Lord listened to my prayers once more and agreed not to destroy you.

11Then the Lord told me, “Get ready and continue your journey leading the people so they may enter and take over the land that I promised their forefathers to give them.”

12People of Israel, what does the Lord your God want from you? He wants you to respect the Lord your God by following all his ways. He wants you to love him. He wants you to worship the Lord your God with all your mind and with all your being,

13He wants you to keep the commandments and regulations of the Lord that I am giving you today for your own good.

14Look! Everything belongs to the Lord your God: the heavens, the highest heavens, and the earth and all that is there.

15Yet the Lord was attracted to your forefathers and he loved them. He has also chosen you, their descendants, above any other people, even until now.

16Dedicate yourselves to God. ²⁵Don't be stubborn and hard-hearted anymore.

17For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great, powerful, and awesome God. He shows no favoritism and accepts no bribes.

18He makes sure that orphans and widows receive justice, and he loves the foreigners, providing them with food and clothing.

19You too must love the foreigner because you yourselves were once foreigners in Egypt.

20You must respect the Lord your God and worship him. Hold onto him and make your promises in his name.

21He is the one you should praise and he is your God, who has carried out for you these incredible and awesome miracles that you've seen with your own eyes.

22When your forefathers went to Egypt there were only seventy of them in total, but now God has increased your numbers so much that there are as many of you as there are stars in the sky.