There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.
Parallel translations
- WEB There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put at Horeb, when Yahweh made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.
- KJV There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.
- BSB There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD had made a covenant with the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt.
- NKJV Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they had come out of Egypt.
- NLT Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left Egypt.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Nothing was in the ark except the two stone tablets Moses placed there at Horeb. The ark held the very words of God's covenant with Israel.
Overview
The ark contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the foundation of God's covenant made at Sinai when he delivered Israel from Egypt. The law at the center of the sanctuary showed that fellowship with God rested on his covenant word. Yet the law that condemned sinners would find its fulfillment in Christ, who kept it perfectly and bore its penalty for his people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Heb 9:4having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
- Deut 10:2–5I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke, and you shall put them in the ark.”
- Exod 19:5Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice, and keep my covenant, then you shall be my own possession from among all peoples; for all the earth is mine;
- Exod 24:7–8He took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, “All that Yahweh has spoken will we do, and be obedient.”
- 2 Chr 6:11There I have set the ark, in which is Yahweh’s covenant, which he made with the children of Israel.”
- Heb 8:6–13But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has been given as law.
- Exod 34:1Yahweh said to Moses, “Chisel two stone tablets like the first: and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.
- Exod 32:19As soon as he came near to the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. Then Moses’ anger grew hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands, and broke them beneath the mountain.
- Deut 29:10–14All of you stand today in the presence of Yahweh your God; your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel,
- Exod 40:20He took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the mercy seat above on the ark.
- Exod 31:18He gave to Moses, when he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets, written with God’s finger.
- Deut 29:1These are the words of the covenant which Yahweh commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.
- Jer 31:31–34“Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
- Exod 32:15–16Moses turned, and went down from the mountain, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand; tablets that were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other they were written.
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Christ at the center
Temple, priesthood, and the repeated need for a faithful king who seeks the LORD all point past every imperfect reign to the King and Temple who finally and fully dwell with God's people.
How 2 Chronicles 5:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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