Now, if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own people. The whole earth is mine, but you will be my chosen people,

a people dedicated to me alone, and you will serve me as priests."

Do this because you belong to the LORD your God. From all the peoples on earth he chose you to be his own special people.

But the LORD loved you and wanted to keep the promise that he made to your ancestors. That is why he saved you by his great might and set you free from slavery to the king of Egypt.

You belong to the LORD your God; he has chosen you to be his own people from among all the peoples who live on earth.

Today the LORD has accepted you as his own people, as he promised you; and he commands you to obey all his laws.

but Jacob's descendants he chose for himself.

Like an eagle teaching its young to fly, catching them safely on its spreading wings, the LORD kept Israel from falling.

"He let them rule the highlands, and they ate what grew in the fields. They found wild honey among the rocks; their olive trees flourished in stony ground.

He chose Jacob for himself, the people of Israel for his own.

"They will be my people," says the LORD Almighty. "On the day when I act, they will be my very own. I will be merciful to them as parents are merciful to the children who serve them.

He gave himself for us, to rescue us from all wickedness and to make us a pure people who belong to him alone and are eager to do good.

But you are the chosen race, the King's priests, the holy nation, God's own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light.

I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will bless you and make your name famous, so that you will be a blessing.

He gives generously to the needy, and his kindness never fails; he will be powerful and respected.

You like to receive praise from one another, but you do not try to win praise from the one who alone is God; how, then, can you believe me?

Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed.

I appeared to them from far away. People of Israel, I have always loved you, so I continue to show you my constant love.

The LORD says, "When Israel was a child, I loved him and called him out of Egypt as my son.

The LORD says to his people, "I have always loved you." But they reply, "How have you shown your love for us?" The LORD answers, "Esau and Jacob were brothers, but I have loved Jacob and his descendants,

for the Father himself loves you. He loves you because you love me and have believed that I came from God.

I in them and you in me, so that they may be completely one, in order that the world may know that you sent me and that you love them as you love me.

I made you known to them, and I will continue to do so, in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and so that I also may be in them."

Listen! As for that group that belongs to Satan, those liars who claim that they are Jews but are not, I will make them come and bow down at your feet. They will all know that I love you.