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March 8, 2025

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Readings for Lent and Easter

Short readings from throughout the Bible that focus on the meaning and events of Easter.

Duration: 47 days

Deuteronomy 7:6-11

⁶For you are a people holy^[a] to the Lord your God. He^[b] has chosen you to be his people, prized^[c] above all others on the face of the earth.

The Basis of Israel’s Election

⁷It is not because you were more numerous than all the other peoples that the Lord favored and chose you—for in fact you were the least numerous of all peoples. ⁸Rather it is because of his^[d] love^[e] for you and his faithfulness to the promise^[f] he solemnly vowed^[g] to your ancestors^[h] that the Lord brought you out with great power,^[i] redeeming^[j] you from the place of slavery, from the power^[k] of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹So realize that the Lord your God is the true God,^[l] the faithful God who keeps covenant faithfully^[m] with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, ¹⁰but who pays back those who hate^[n] him as they deserve and destroys them. He will not ignore^[o] those who hate him but will repay them as they deserve! ¹¹So keep the commandments, statutes, and ordinances that I today am commanding you to do.

Footnotes

Deuteronomy 7:6 tn That is, “set apart.”
Deuteronomy 7:6 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
Deuteronomy 7:6 tn Or “treasured” (so NIV, NRSV); NLT “his own special treasure.” The Hebrew term סְגֻלָּה (s^egullah) describes Israel as God’s choice people, those whom he elected and who are most precious to him (cf. Exod 19:4-6; Deut 14:2; 26:18; 1 Chr 29:3; Ps 135:4; Eccl 2:8 Mal 3:17). See E. Carpenter, NIDOTTE 3:224.
Deuteronomy 7:8 tn Heb “the Lord’s.” See note on “He” in 7:6.
Deuteronomy 7:8 tn For the verb אָהֵב (ʾahev, “to love”) as a term of choice or election, see note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37.
Deuteronomy 7:8 tn Heb “oath.” This is a reference to the promises of the so-called “Abrahamic Covenant” (cf. Gen 15:13-16).
Deuteronomy 7:8 tn Heb “swore on oath.”
Deuteronomy 7:8 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 12, 13).
Deuteronomy 7:8 tn Heb “by a strong hand” (NAB similar); NLT “with such amazing power.”
Deuteronomy 7:8 sn Redeeming you from the place of slavery. The Hebrew verb translated “redeeming” (from the root פָּדָה, padah) has the idea of redemption by the payment of a ransom. The initial symbol of this was the Passover lamb, offered by Israel to the Lord as ransom in exchange for deliverance from bondage and death (Exod 12:1-14). Later, the firstborn sons of Israel, represented by the Levites, became the ransom (Num 3:11-13). These were all types of the redemption effected by the death of Christ who described his atoning work as “a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28; cf. 1 Pet 1:18).
Deuteronomy 7:8 tn Heb “hand” (so KJV, NRSV), a metaphor for power or domination.
Deuteronomy 7:9 tn Heb “the God.” The article here expresses uniqueness; cf. TEV “is the only God”; NLT “is indeed God.”
Deuteronomy 7:9 tn Heb “who keeps covenant and loyalty.” The syndetic construction of בְּרִית (b^erit) and חֶסֶד (khesed) should be understood not as “covenant” plus “loyalty” but as an adverbial construction in which חֶסֶד (“loyalty”) modifies the verb שָׁמַר (shamar, “keeps”).
Deuteronomy 7:10 tn For the term “hate” as synonymous with rejection or disobedience see note on the word “reject” in Deut 5:9 (cf. NRSV “reject”).
Deuteronomy 7:10 tn Heb “he will not hesitate concerning.”

New English Translation (NET)