And I will prepare an agreement between you and me. This agreement will also be for all your descendants. This agreement will continue forever. I will be your God and the God of all your descendants.
People of Israel, listen to this message! The Lord said these things about you, Israel. This message is about all the families (Israel) that I brought from the land of Egypt.
The Lord loved your ancestors [61] very much. He loved them so much that he chose you, their descendants, [62] to be his people. He chose you instead of any other nation. And you are still his chosen people today.
Why? Because you are the Lord’s own people. From all the people on earth, the Lord your God chose you to be his special people—people that belong only to him.
But you are chosen people. You are the King’s priests. You are a holy {\cf2\super [20]} nation of people. You are people who belong to God. God chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He called (brought) you out of darkness (sin) into his wonderful light.