Readings for Lent and Easter

⁶ You are holy people who belong to the Lord your God. He has chosen you from all the people on earth ·to be his very own [as his treasured/special possession; Ex. 19:5].

⁷ The Lord did not ·care [have affection] for you and choose you because there were many of you—you are the smallest nation of all. ⁸ But the Lord chose you because he loved you, and he kept his promise to your ·ancestors [fathers; Gen. 12:1–3; 15:17–20]. So he brought you out of Egypt by his ·great power [^Lstrong hand] and ·freed [ransomed; redeemed] you from the ·land of slavery [^Lhouse of bondage], from the ·power [^Lhand] of the king of Egypt. ⁹ So know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God. He will ·keep [guard] his ·agreement [covenant; treaty] of love for a thousand ·lifetimes for people [generations] who love him and obey his commands. ¹⁰ But he will pay back those people who hate him. He will destroy them, and he will not be slow to pay back those who hate him. ¹¹ So be careful to obey the commands, ·rules [statutes; ordinances; requirements], and laws I give you today.