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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》