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18 And today the Lord has accepted your agreement: you will be a people specially his own, as he promised you, you will keep all his commandments, 19 and he will set you high in praise and renown and glory above all nations he has made, and you will be a people holy to the Lord, your God, as he promised.

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18 And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession(A) as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. 19 He has declared that he will set you in praise,(B) fame and honor high above all the nations(C) he has made and that you will be a people holy(D) to the Lord your God, as he promised.

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Now, if you obey me completely and keep my covenant,[a] you will be my treasured possession among all peoples,(A) though all the earth is mine. You will be to me a kingdom of priests,[b] a holy nation.(B) That is what you must tell the Israelites.

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Footnotes

  1. 19:5 Covenant: while covenants between individuals and between nations are ubiquitous in the ancient Near East, the adaptation of this concept to express the relationship that will henceforth characterize God’s relationship to Israel represents an important innovation of biblical faith. Other gods might “choose” nations to fulfill a special destiny or role in the world; but only Israel’s God is bound to a people by covenant. Thereby Israel’s identity as a people is put upon a foundation that does not depend upon the vicissitudes of Israelite statehood or the normal trappings of national existence. Israel will be a covenant people.
  2. 19:6 Kingdom of priests: inasmuch as this phrase is parallel to “holy nation,” it most likely means that the whole Israelite nation is set apart from other nations and so consecrated to God, or holy, in the way priests are among the people (cf. Is 61:6; 1 Pt 2:5, 9).

Now if you obey me fully(A) and keep my covenant,(B) then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.(C) Although the whole earth(D) is mine, you[a] will be for me a kingdom of priests(E) and a holy nation.’(F) These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 19:6 Or possession, for the whole earth is mine. You