A Chosen People

7 “When the ^(A)Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, ^(B)the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations ^(C)more numerous and mightier than you, ^2 (D)and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must ^(E)devote them to complete destruction.^{[a] (F)}You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. ^3 (G)You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, ⁴ for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. ^(H)Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you ^(I)quickly. ⁵ But thus shall you deal with them: ^(J)you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their ^(K)pillars and chop down their ^(L)Asherim and ^(M)burn their carved images with fire.

⁶ “For ^(N)you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be ^(O)a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 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 ^(P)it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping ^(Q)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 Sovereign Choice

9 ^(A)I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— ² that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³ For ^(B)I could wish that I myself were ^(C)accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,^[a] my kinsmen ^(D)according to the flesh. ⁴ They are ^(E)Israelites, and to them belong ^(F)the adoption, ^(G)the glory, ^(H)the covenants, ^(I)the giving of the law, ^(J)the worship, and ^(K)the promises. ⁵ To them belong ^(L)the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, ^(M)who is God over all, ^(N)blessed forever. Amen.

⁶ But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, ⁷ and not all are children of Abraham ^(O)because they are his offspring, but ^(P)“Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ⁸ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but ^(Q)the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

^21 (A)And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And behold, ^(B)a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ^(C)“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” ²³ But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ^(D)“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” ²⁴ He answered, ^(E)“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and ^(F)knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶ And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and ^(G)throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat ^(H)the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, ^(I)great is your faith! ^(J)Let it be done for you as you desire.” ^(K)And her daughter was ^(L)healed instantly.^[a]