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Deuteronomy 9-10
The Message
Deuteronomy 9-10
The Message
9 1-2 Attention, Israel!
This very day you are crossing the Jordan to enter the land and oust nations that are much bigger and stronger than you are. You’re going to find huge cities with sky-high fortress-walls and gigantic people, descendants of the Anakites—you’ve heard all about them; you’ve heard the saying, “No one can stand up to an Anakite.”
3 Today know this: God, your God, is crossing the river ahead of you—he’s a consuming fire. He will destroy the nations, he will put them under your power. You will oust them and very quickly wipe them out, just as God promised you would.
4-5 But when God pushes them out ahead of you, don’t start thinking to yourselves, “It’s because of all the good I’ve done that God has brought me in here to dispossess these nations.” Actually it’s because of all the evil these nations have done. No, it’s nothing good that you’ve done, no record for decency that you’ve built up, that got you here; it’s because of the vile wickedness of these nations that God, your God, is dispossessing them before you so that he can keep his promised word to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
6-10 Know this and don’t ever forget it: It’s not because of any good that you’ve done that God is giving you this good land to own. Anything but! You’re stubborn as mules. Keep in mind and don’t ever forget how angry you made God, your God, in the wilderness. You’ve kicked and screamed against God from the day you left Egypt until you got to this place, rebels all the way. You made God angry at Horeb, made him so angry that he wanted to destroy you. When I climbed the mountain to receive the slabs of stone, the tablets of the covenant that God made with you, I stayed there on the mountain forty days and nights: I ate no food; I drank no water. Then God gave me the two slabs of stone, engraved with the finger of God. They contained word for word everything that God spoke to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.
11-12 It was at the end of the forty days and nights that God gave me the two slabs of stone, the tablets of the covenant. God said to me, “Get going, and quickly. Get down there, because your people whom you led out of Egypt have ruined everything. In almost no time at all they have left the road that I laid out for them and gone off and made for themselves a cast god.”
13-14 God said, “I look at this people and all I see are hardheaded, hardhearted rebels. Get out of my way now so I can destroy them. I’m going to wipe them off the face of the map. Then I’ll start over with you to make a nation far better and bigger than they could ever be.”
15-17 I turned around and started down the mountain—by now the mountain was blazing with fire—carrying the two tablets of the covenant in my two arms. That’s when I saw it: There you were, sinning against God, your God—you had made yourselves a cast god in the shape of a calf! So soon you had left the road that God had commanded you to walk on. I held the two stone slabs high and threw them down, smashing them to bits as you watched.
18-20 Then I flung myself down before God, just as I had at the beginning of the forty days and nights. I ate no food; I drank no water. I did this because of you, all your sins, sinning against God, doing what is evil in God’s eyes and making him angry. I was terrified of God’s furious anger, his blazing anger. I was sure he would destroy you. But once again God listened to me. And Aaron! How furious he was with Aaron—ready to destroy him. But I prayed also for Aaron at that same time.
21 But that sin-thing that you made, that calf-god, I took and burned in the fire, pounded and ground it until it was crushed into a fine powder, then threw it into the stream that comes down the mountain.
22 And then there was Camp Taberah (Blaze), Massah (Testing-Place), and Camp Kibroth Hattaavah (Graves-of-the-Craving)—more occasions when you made God furious with you.
23-24 The most recent was when God sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, ordering you: “Go. Possess the land that I’m giving you.” And what did you do? You rebelled. Rebelled against the clear orders of God, your God. Refused to trust him. Wouldn’t obey him. You’ve been rebels against God from the first day I knew you.
25-26 When I was on my face, stretched out before God those forty days and nights after God said he would destroy you, I prayed to God for you, “My Master, God, don’t destroy your people, your inheritance whom, in your immense generosity, you redeemed, using your enormous strength to get them out of Egypt.
27-28 “Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; don’t make too much of the stubbornness of this people, their evil and their sin, lest the Egyptians from whom you rescued them say, ‘God couldn’t do it; he got tired and wasn’t able to take them to the land he promised them. He ended up hating them and dumped them in the wilderness to die.’
29 “They are your people still, your inheritance whom you powerfully and sovereignly rescued.”
10 1-2 God responded. He said, “Shape two slabs of stone similar to the first ones. Climb the mountain and meet me. Also make yourself a wooden chest. I will engrave the stone slabs with the words that were on the first ones, the ones you smashed. Then you will put them in the Chest.”
3-5 So I made a chest out of acacia wood, shaped two slabs of stone, just like the first ones, and climbed the mountain with the two slabs in my arms. He engraved the stone slabs the same as he had the first ones, the Ten Words that he addressed to you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the assembly. Then God gave them to me. I turned around and came down the mountain. I put the stone slabs in the Chest that I made and they’ve been there ever since, just as God commanded me.
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6-7 The People of Israel went from the wells of the Jaakanites to Moserah. Aaron died there and was buried. His son Eleazar succeeded him as priest. From there they went to Gudgodah, and then to Jotbathah, a land of streams of water.
8-9 That’s when God set apart the tribe of Levi to carry God’s Covenant Chest, to be on duty in the Presence of God, to serve him, and to bless in his name, as they continue to do today. And that’s why Levites don’t have a piece of inherited land as their kinsmen do. God is their inheritance, as God, your God, promised them.
10 I stayed there on the mountain forty days and nights, just as I did the first time. And God listened to me, just as he did the first time: God decided not to destroy you.
11 God told me, “Now get going. Lead your people as they resume the journey to take possession of the land that I promised their ancestors that I’d give to them.”
12-13 So now Israel, what do you think God expects from you? Just this: Live in his presence in holy reverence, follow the road he sets out for you, love him, serve God, your God, with everything you have in you, obey the commandments and regulations of God that I’m commanding you today—live a good life.
14-18 Look around you: Everything you see is God’s—the heavens above and beyond, the Earth, and everything on it. But it was your ancestors who God fell in love with; he picked their children—that’s you!—out of all the other peoples. That’s where we are right now. So cut away the thick calluses from your heart and stop being so willfully hardheaded. God, your God, is the God of all gods, he’s the Master of all masters, a God immense and powerful and awesome. He doesn’t play favorites, takes no bribes, makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing.
19-21 You must treat foreigners with the same loving care—
remember, you were once foreigners in Egypt.
Reverently respect God, your God, serve him, hold tight to him,
back up your promises with the authority of his name.
He’s your praise! He’s your God!
He did all these tremendous, these staggering things
that you saw with your own eyes.
22 When your ancestors entered Egypt, they numbered a mere seventy souls. And now look at you—you look more like the stars in the night skies in number. And your God did it.
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Deuteronomy 9-10
New International Version
Deuteronomy 9-10
New International Version
Not Because of Israel’s Righteousness
9 Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan(A) to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you,(B) with large cities(C) that have walls up to the sky.(D) 2 The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?”(E) 3 But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you(F) like a devouring fire.(G) He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly,(H) as the Lord has promised you.
4 After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself,(I) “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness(J) of these nations(K) that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. 5 It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity(L) that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness(M) of these nations,(N) the Lord your God will drive them out(O) before you, to accomplish what he swore(P) to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.(Q) 6 Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.(R)
The Golden Calf
7 Remember this and never forget how you aroused the anger(S) of the Lord your God in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious(T) against the Lord.(U) 8 At Horeb you aroused the Lord’s wrath(V) so that he was angry enough to destroy you.(W) 9 When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant(X) that the Lord had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days(Y) and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water.(Z) 10 The Lord gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God.(AA) On them were all the commandments the Lord proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.(AB)
11 At the end of the forty days and forty nights,(AC) the Lord gave me the two stone tablets,(AD) the tablets of the covenant. 12 Then the Lord told me, “Go down from here at once, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt.(AE) They have turned away quickly(AF) from what I commanded them and have made an idol for themselves.”
13 And the Lord said to me, “I have seen this people(AG), and they are a stiff-necked people indeed! 14 Let me alone,(AH) so that I may destroy them and blot out(AI) their name from under heaven.(AJ) And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.”
15 So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.(AK) 16 When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf.(AL) You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you. 17 So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes.
18 Then once again I fell(AM) prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water,(AN) because of all the sin you had committed,(AO) doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight and so arousing his anger. 19 I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you.(AP) But again the Lord listened to me.(AQ) 20 And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too. 21 Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust(AR) and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain.(AS)
22 You also made the Lord angry(AT) at Taberah,(AU) at Massah(AV) and at Kibroth Hattaavah.(AW)
23 And when the Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea,(AX) he said, “Go up and take possession(AY) of the land I have given you.” But you rebelled(AZ) against the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust(BA) him or obey him. 24 You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you.(BB)
25 I lay prostrate before the Lord those forty days and forty nights(BC) because the Lord had said he would destroy you.(BD) 26 I prayed to the Lord and said, “Sovereign Lord, do not destroy your people,(BE) your own inheritance(BF) that you redeemed(BG) by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.(BH) 27 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness(BI) of this people, their wickedness and their sin. 28 Otherwise, the country(BJ) from which you brought us will say, ‘Because the Lord was not able to take them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them,(BK) he brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.’(BL) 29 But they are your people,(BM) your inheritance(BN) that you brought out by your great power and your outstretched arm.(BO)”
Tablets Like the First Ones
10 At that time the Lord said to me, “Chisel out two stone tablets(BP) like the first ones and come up to me on the mountain. Also make a wooden ark.[a] 2 I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Then you are to put them in the ark.”(BQ)
3 So I made the ark out of acacia wood(BR) and chiseled(BS) out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hands. 4 The Lord wrote on these tablets what he had written before, the Ten Commandments(BT) he had proclaimed(BU) to you on the mountain, out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.(BV) And the Lord gave them to me. 5 Then I came back down the mountain(BW) and put the tablets in the ark(BX) I had made,(BY) as the Lord commanded me, and they are there now.(BZ)
6 (The Israelites traveled from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah.(CA) There Aaron died(CB) and was buried, and Eleazar(CC) his son succeeded him as priest.(CD) 7 From there they traveled to Gudgodah and on to Jotbathah, a land with streams of water.(CE) 8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi(CF) to carry the ark of the covenant(CG) of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister(CH) and to pronounce blessings(CI) in his name, as they still do today.(CJ) 9 That is why the Levites have no share or inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance,(CK) as the Lord your God told them.)
10 Now I had stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, as I did the first time, and the Lord listened to me at this time also. It was not his will to destroy you.(CL) 11 “Go,” the Lord said to me, “and lead the people on their way, so that they may enter and possess the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.”
Fear the Lord
12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you(CM) but to fear(CN) the Lord your God, to walk(CO) in obedience to him, to love him,(CP) to serve the Lord(CQ) your God with all your heart(CR) and with all your soul,(CS) 13 and to observe the Lord’s commands(CT) and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?(CU)
14 To the Lord your God belong the heavens,(CV) even the highest heavens,(CW) the earth and everything in it.(CX) 15 Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved(CY) them, and he chose you,(CZ) their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today.(DA) 16 Circumcise(DB) your hearts,(DC) therefore, and do not be stiff-necked(DD) any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods(DE) and Lord of lords,(DF) the great God, mighty and awesome,(DG) who shows no partiality(DH) and accepts no bribes.(DI) 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow,(DJ) and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.(DK) 19 And you are to love(DL) those who are foreigners,(DM) for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.(DN) 20 Fear the Lord your God and serve him.(DO) Hold fast(DP) to him and take your oaths in his name.(DQ) 21 He is the one you praise;(DR) he is your God, who performed for you those great(DS) and awesome wonders(DT) you saw with your own eyes. 22 Your ancestors who went down into Egypt were seventy in all,(DU) and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.(DV)
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 10:1 That is, a chest
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
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