⁵ But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the Lord your God turned ^(A)the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loved you.

⁷ It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, ⁸ but ^(A)it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping ^(B)the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

God's Everlasting Love

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? ^(A)If God is for us, who can be^[a] against us?

⁴ But^[a] God, being ^(A)rich in mercy, ^(B)because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵ even ^(C)when we were dead in our trespasses, ^(D)made us alive together with Christ—^(E)by grace you have been saved—

¹⁷ For ^(A)this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

²⁸ As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are ^(A)beloved for the sake of their forefathers.

¹⁶ And the Lord met Balaam and ^(A)put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” ¹⁷ And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” ¹⁸ And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

²⁵ And Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.” ²⁶ But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ^(L)‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?”