Deuteronomy 10:10 kjv
And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy thee.
Deuteronomy 10:10 nkjv
"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.
Deuteronomy 10:10 niv
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.
Deuteronomy 10:10 esv
"I myself stayed on the mountain, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights, and the LORD listened to me that time also. The LORD was unwilling to destroy you.
Deuteronomy 10:10 nlt
"As for me, I stayed on the mountain in the LORD's presence for forty days and nights, as I had done the first time. And once again the LORD listened to my pleas and agreed not to destroy you.
Deuteronomy 10 10 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Ex 32:7-14 | Then the LORD said to Moses... now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot... But Moses implored the LORD... the LORD relented. | Golden calf idolatry; Moses' immediate intercession; God relents. |
| Ex 32:30-32 | The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD... Perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” | Moses' return to the mountain to intercede. |
| Ex 34:1-10 | The LORD said to Moses, "Cut for yourself two tablets of stone... and I will write on the tablets the words..." Then he cut two tablets of stone... | Re-giving of the tablets after Moses' intercession. |
| Ex 34:6-7 | The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness... | God's declaration of His merciful and gracious character. |
| Num 11:1-2 | When the people complained... the fire of the LORD burned among them... The people cried to Moses, and Moses prayed to the LORD, and the fire died down. | Moses' consistent role as intercessor for Israel. |
| Num 14:11-20 | And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me... I will strike them... Moses said to the LORD, "Please pardon the iniquity of this people..." And the LORD said, "I have pardoned..." | God's willingness to pardon due to Moses' prayer after rebellion. |
| Dt 9:8-29 | Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath... Then I lay prostrate before the LORD forty days and forty nights... | Moses recounting his intercession directly before Dt 10:10. |
| Ps 106:23 | Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath. | Acknowledges Moses' effective intercession to avert judgment. |
| Neh 9:17 | You are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. | Emphasizes God's unchanging merciful nature. |
| Joel 2:13 | Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. | God's character as One who relents from threatened disaster. |
| Jon 4:2 | For I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. | Jonah's confession of God's relenting character. |
| Rom 9:15-16 | For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. | God's sovereign right to show mercy, as exemplified to Moses. |
| Heb 7:25 | Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. | Christ's perpetual intercession for His people, drawing a parallel to Moses. |
| Jas 5:16 | The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. | The efficacy and power of intercessory prayer. |
| 1 Jn 5:14-15 | And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. | Confidence in God hearing and answering prayers. |
| Gen 7:4 | For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights... | Reference to "forty days and forty nights" as a significant period of judgment. |
| 1 Kgs 19:8 | And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb... | Elijah's similar 40-day journey to Horeb, highlighting prophetic experiences. |
| Matt 4:2 | And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. | Jesus' fasting in the wilderness, signifying testing and preparation. |
| Eph 2:4-5 | But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. | God's mercy as the basis for salvation from spiritual destruction. |
| Tit 3:5 | he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy... | Salvation being attributed to God's mercy, not human merit. |
Deuteronomy 10 verses
Deuteronomy 10 10 Meaning
Deuteronomy 10:10 recounts Moses' fervent intercession during his second prolonged stay on Mount Horeb following Israel's egregious sin with the golden calf. This verse specifically emphasizes that despite the nation's severe disobedience and idolatry, the LORD, in His divine mercy and faithfulness to His covenant, responded favorably to Moses' prayer and chose not to utterly destroy the rebellious people of Israel. It underscores God's patience, His responsiveness to the intercession of His chosen mediator, and His ultimate commitment to His covenant purposes.
Deuteronomy 10 10 Context
Deuteronomy chapter 10 is part of Moses' second major address to the Israelites as they stood on the plains of Moab, poised to enter the Promised Land. This particular section (verses 1-11) serves as a review of critical events that occurred after the golden calf incident, specifically highlighting the re-establishment of God's covenant with Israel. Moses reminds them how, despite their horrific sin of idolatry, God commanded new tablets to be made and placed in the ark, signifying a renewal of the covenant relationship. Verse 10 stands as a crucial interjection, recalling Moses' personal role in averting divine wrath. It is directly preceded by Moses detailing the creation of the Ark of the Covenant for the new tablets (10:1-5) and immediately followed by a recap of Israel's journey from Sinai and the divine provision of a priestly lineage (10:6-9), before Moses shifts to exhortations for obedience based on God's graciousness (10:12ff). Historically, these events took place shortly after the Exodus from Egypt, during the formative period of Israel's wilderness wanderings at Mount Sinai/Horeb, where the Mosaic covenant was initially established and then nearly shattered by their rebellion. The recollection serves to underscore the profound mercy of God and His willingness to restore a rebellious people, even against the backdrop of their extreme provocation.
Deuteronomy 10 10 Word analysis
- And I stayed: Implies Moses' personal, intentional presence and perseverance. It highlights his role as the appointed mediator who continually presented himself before the LORD on behalf of the people.
- on the mountain: Refers to Mount Horeb (Sinai), the sacred mountain where God's presence dwelled, where the law was given, and covenants were made. It signifies a place of intense divine encounter and revelation.
- as at the first time: This refers to Moses' initial 40-day, 40-night period on the mountain when he received the first tablets of the law (Ex 24:18). Its repetition here underscores the intensity, duration, and divine nature of his time there, establishing continuity even after the severe disruption of the golden calf sin.
- forty days and forty nights: This specific timeframe often symbolizes a period of intense revelation, purification, testing, preparation, or judgment in biblical narratives (e.g., the Flood, Elijah's journey, Jesus' temptation). For Moses, it indicates a profound period of fasting, intense prayer, and close communion with God for the sake of his people.
- and the LORD (YHWH) hearkened (šāmaʿ):
- YHWH (יהוה): The Tetragrammaton, the personal covenant name of God, emphasizing His faithfulness to His promises.
- Hearkened (šāmaʿ - שָׁמַע): More than simply "heard," this word implies hearing with attentiveness, understanding, and a willingness to respond or obey. In this context, it means God favorably answered Moses' plea and took action based on it.
- unto me at that time also: "Also" connects God's responsiveness here to previous instances where God listened to Moses' pleas (e.g., at Taberah, Num 11:1-2; at Kadesh-barnea, Num 14:11-20). It signifies God's consistent attentiveness to His chosen intercessor.
- and the LORD (YHWH) would not destroy (šāḥaṯ) thee:
- Destroy (šāḥaṯ - שָׁחַת): Implies utter ruin, corruption, or bringing to desolation. Here, it refers to God's averted wrath that would have completely annihilated the Israelite nation.
- Thee: Refers collectively to the nation of Israel. This phrase is the pivotal outcome of Moses' intercession, demonstrating God's remarkable patience, steadfast love, and willingness to suspend deserved judgment for His people.
Words-group analysis
- "And I stayed on the mountain, as at the first time, forty days and forty nights": This phrase highlights Moses' dedicated, persistent, and arduous spiritual labor. It underscores the profound personal sacrifice and communion with God required for such a critical intercession on behalf of a sinful nation. Moses stands in the breach (Ps 106:23), taking on the people's burden before God.
- "and the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also, and the LORD would not destroy thee": This passage clearly reveals God's divine character—He is not only just and holy, capable of wrath against sin, but also profoundly merciful, gracious, and responsive to faithful intercession. It asserts God's sovereignty over judgment and His profound desire for reconciliation rather than utter destruction, despite immense provocation. The divine "would not destroy" is a profound declaration of God's patience and covenant love, preventing the covenant people's termination due to His faithfulness.
Deuteronomy 10 10 Bonus section
The phrase "forty days and forty nights" often functions as a narrative marker for intense divine encounter, a period of revelation, and/or preparation or purification. This lengthy period of Moses' intercession emphasizes the depth of the national crisis and the severity of God's deserved wrath, highlighting that only prolonged and fervent mediation could prevail. Furthermore, Moses' role as the faithful intercessor who literally stood between a holy God and a rebellious people foreshadows the ultimate mediator, Jesus Christ, who perfectly interceded for humanity by bearing sin and providing reconciliation, securing for His people a perpetual intercession before God (Heb 7:25). The recounting of this event in Deuteronomy, as Moses prepares the people for the Promised Land, serves to embed in their collective memory the foundational truth of God's compassionate forgiveness and the serious consequences of covenant infidelity, encouraging future generations towards faithful obedience out of gratitude rather than obligation. It is a profound demonstration that God’s justice is always tempered by His love and faithfulness to His promises, particularly in His dealing with His chosen people.
Deuteronomy 10 10 Commentary
Deuteronomy 10:10 encapsulates a moment of profound divine grace and human intercession. It reveals the core of God's character as simultaneously righteous and merciful. After Israel’s betrayal at the golden calf, deserving swift and complete destruction, God’s wrath was righteous. However, Moses, acting as a crucial mediator, presented himself repeatedly before God, fasting and praying with desperate sincerity. God, whose very nature is "merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Ex 34:6), chose to respond to Moses' intercession. This verse does not imply that God changed His mind arbitrarily, but that He, in His sovereign will, relented from immediate judgment, consistent with His pre-ordained covenant purposes and His revealed nature of compassion. It demonstrates that while sin brings grave consequences, divine mercy, accessed through persistent intercession, can avert or mitigate them. This act secured the continuity of God's covenant people, emphasizing that their very existence was due to God’s patient grace and not their own merit or obedience. The verse serves as a reminder to Israel, and to us, of the profound power of intercessory prayer and the boundless mercy of the LORD, who always seeks redemption and restoration for His chosen people.