Moses kept telling the story. The Lord had said to him, "Cut out two stone tablets like the first ones, and come up to Me on the mountain. Make also a wooden chest, for I will write on these tablets the same words that were on the first ones you broke, and you shall place them inside the chest."
And Moses made the chest out of acacia wood, chiseled two new stone tablets, then went up the mountain with them in his hands. The Lord then wrote on them what He had written before—the Ten Commandments spoken from the fire on the day of assembly—and gave them to Moses. When Moses came down, he placed the tablets inside the chest, just as the Lord commanded, and they remain there.
From the wells of the Jaakanites, the Israelites journeyed to Moserah, where Aaron died and was buried. His son Eleazar took his place as priest. From there they traveled to Gudgodah and then to Jotbathah, a land rich with streams of water.
At that time, the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the Ark of the Covenant, to stand before Him in service, and to pronounce blessings in His name—duties they continue to this day. Because of this, the Levites received no portion of land among their brothers; the Lord Himself is their inheritance.
Moses stayed again on the mountain forty days and forty nights, as before. The Lord listened to him once more and chose not to destroy Israel. Then the Lord said, "Go, and lead the people forward, that they may enter and possess the land I swore to give to their fathers."
After the little recap, Moses said, "And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear Him, to walk in His ways, to love Him, to serve Him with all your heart and soul, and to keep His commands for your own good? To the Lord belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet He set His love upon your fathers and chose their descendants—you—above all nations on earth."
So Moses urged them, "Circumcise your hearts and stop being stubborn. For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, great, mighty, and awesome. He shows no favoritism and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow and loves the stranger, giving them food and clothing. You also must love the stranger, for you were strangers in Egypt.
Fear the Lord your God, serve Him, and hold fast to Him. Swear by His name, for He is your praise and your God, who has done for you those great and awe-inspiring wonders you saw with your own eyes. Your forefathers went down into Egypt as seventy people, but now the Lord your God has made you as countless as the stars in the sky."