⁸ But it was because the Lord loved^(A) you and kept the oath he swore^(B) to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand^(C) and redeemed^(D) you from the land of slavery,^(E) from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

⁴ But because of his great love for us,^(A) God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions^(B)—it is by grace you have been saved.^(C)

³ The Lord appeared to us in the past,^[a] saying:

¹³ Remember^(A) your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, to whom you swore by your own self:^(B) ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars^(C) in the sky and I will give your descendants all this land^(D) I promised them, and it will be their inheritance forever.’”

¹⁵ Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved^(A) them, and he chose you,^(B) their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today.^(C)

¹⁴ “In days to come, when your son^(A) asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.^(B)

The Certainty of God’s Promise

¹³ When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,^{(A) 14} saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.”^{[a](B) 15} And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.^(C)

¹⁶ People swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.^{(D) 17} Because God wanted to make the unchanging^(E) nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised,^(F) he confirmed it with an oath.