The Bible in Basic English BBE
Good News Translation GNT
1 At that time the Lord said to me, Make two other stones, cut like the first two, and come up to me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood.
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"Then the Lord said to me, "Cut two stone tablets like the first ones and make a wooden Box to put them in. Come up to me on the mountain,
2 And I will put on the stones the words which were on the first stones which were broken by you, and you are to put them into the ark.
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and I will write on those tablets what I wrote on the tablets that you broke, and then you are to put them in the Box.'
3 So I made an ark of hard wood, and had two stones cut like the others, and went up the mountain with the stones in my hands.
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"So I made a Box of acacia wood and cut two stone tablets like the first ones and took them up the mountain.
4 And he put on the stones, as in the first writing, the ten rules which the Lord gave you on the mountain out of the fire on the day of the great meeting: and the Lord gave the stones to me.
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Then the Lord wrote on those tablets the same words that he had written the first time, the Ten Commandments that he gave you when he spoke from the fire on the day you were gathered at the mountain. The Lord gave me the tablets,
5 And turning round I came down from the mountain and put the stones in the ark which I had made; and there they are as the Lord gave me orders.
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and I turned and went down the mountain. Then, just as the Lord had commanded, I put them in the Box that I had made - and they have been there ever since."
6 (And the children of Israel went on from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah: there death came to Aaron and he was put to rest in the earth; and Eleazar, his son, took his place as priest.
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(The Israelites set out from the wells that belonged to the people of Jaakan, and went to Moserah. There Aaron died and was buried, and his son Eleazar succeeded him as priest.
7 From there they went on to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of streams of water.
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From there they went to Gudgodah and then on to Jotbathah, a well-watered place.
8 At that time the Lord had the tribe of Levi marked out to take up the ark of the Lord's agreement, to be before the Lord and to do his work and to give blessings in his name, to this day.
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At the mountain the Lord appointed the men of the tribe of Levi to be in charge of the Covenant Box, to serve him as priests, and to pronounce blessings in his name. And these are still their duties.
9 For this reason Levi has no part or heritage for himself among his brothers: the Lord is his heritage, as the Lord your God said to him.)
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That is why the tribe of Levi received no land as the other tribes did; what they received was the privilege of being the Lord's priests, as the Lord your God promised.)
10 And I was in the mountain, as at the first time, for forty days and forty nights; and again the ears of the Lord were open to my prayer, and he did not send destruction on you.
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"I stayed on the mountain forty days and nights, as I did the first time. The Lord listened to me once more and agreed not to destroy you.
11 Then the Lord said to me, Get up and go on your journey before the people, so that they may go in and take the land which I said in my oath to their fathers that I would give them.
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Then he told me to go and lead you, so that you could take possession of the land that he had promised to give to your ancestors.
12 And now, Israel, what would the Lord your God have you do, but to go in the fear of the Lord your God, walking in all his ways and loving him and doing his pleasure with all your heart and all your soul,
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"Now, people of Israel, listen to what the Lord your God demands of you: Worship the Lord and do all that he commands. Love him, serve him with all your heart,
13 Doing the orders of the Lord and keeping his laws which I give you this day for your good?
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and obey all his laws. I am giving them to you today for your benefit.
14 The Lord your God is ruler of heaven, of the heaven of heavens, and of the earth with everything in it.
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To the Lord belong even the highest heavens; the earth is his also, and everything on it.
15 But the Lord had delight in your fathers and love for them, marking out for himself their seed after them, even you, from all peoples, as at this day.
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But the Lord's love for your ancestors was so strong that he chose you instead of any other people, and you are still his chosen people.
16 Let your circumcision be of the heart, and put away your pride.
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So then, from now on be obedient to the Lord and stop being stubborn.
17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, strong in power and greatly to be feared, who has no respect for any man's position and takes no rewards:
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The Lord your God is supreme over all gods and over all powers. He is great and mighty, and he is to be obeyed. He does not show partiality, and he does not accept bribes.
18 Judging uprightly in the cause of the widow and of the child who has no father, and giving food and clothing in his mercy to the man from a strange country.
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He makes sure that orphans and widows are treated fairly; he loves the foreigners who live with our people, and gives them food and clothes.
19 So be kind to the man from a strange country who is living among you, for you yourselves were living in a strange country in the land of Egypt.
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So then, show love for those foreigners, because you were once foreigners in Egypt.
20 Let the fear of the Lord your God be before you, give him worship and be true to him at all times, taking your oaths in his name.
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Have reverence for the Lord your God and worship only him. Be faithful to him and make your promises in his name alone.
21 He is your God, the God of your praise, your God who has done for you all these works of power which your eyes have seen.
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Praise him - he is your God, and you have seen with your own eyes the great and astounding things that he has done for you.
22 Your fathers went down into Egypt with seventy persons; and now the Lord your God has made you like the stars of heaven in number.
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When your ancestors went to Egypt, there were only seventy of them. But now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.