You chose Israel to be your very own people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God.

你使以色列人作你的子民，直到永远；你耶和华也作他们的神。

你使你的百姓以色列作你的子民，直到永远；你—耶和华也作他们的上帝。

你使你的百姓以色列作你的子民，直到永远；你—耶和华也作他们的神。

你让以色列人永远做你的子民，你耶和华做他们的上帝。

你使你的子民以色列永远作你的子民；耶和华啊，你也作了他们的神。

你使以色列人作你的子民，直到永遠；你－耶和華也作他們的神。

你使你的百姓以色列作你的子民，直到永遠；你－耶和華也作他們的上帝。

你使你的百姓以色列作你的子民，直到永遠；你－耶和華也作他們的神。

你讓以色列人永遠做你的子民，你耶和華做他們的上帝。

你使你的子民以色列永遠作你的子民；耶和華啊，你也作了他們的神。

而你卻使你人民以色列做你自己的子民到永遠；而且你、永恆主啊、你又作了他們的上帝。

爾立以色列民永為爾民、爾耶和華為其上帝、

耶和華歟、爾簡以色列族、以為爾民、爾為其上帝、恆久不已。

主使主之民以色列、為主之民至於永遠、主亦為其天主、

You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.

You made Israel your very own people forever. Lord, you have become our God.

And you made your people Israel to be your people forever, and you, O Lord, became their God.

You made your people Israel your own people forever, and you, LORD, have become their God.

For You have made Your people Israel Your own people forever, and You, Lord, became their God.

For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, Lord, have become their God.

For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, Jehovah, becamest their God.

You made Your people Israel Your own people forever, and You, Lord, have become their God.

For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, LORD, becamest their God.

You made Israel your very own nation for all time. You, O LORD, became their God.

For you made your people Israel your own people forever; and you, Yahweh, became their God.

Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me.And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

The Lord will not abandon his people, because that would dishonor his great name. For it has pleased the Lord to make you his very own people.

“ The day is coming,” says the Lord,“ when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.“ But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord.“ I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying,‘ You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord.“ And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said,“ Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”And do you remember God’s reply? He said,“ No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace— his undeserved kindness in choosing them.And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is— free and undeserved.So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have— the ones God has chosen— but the hearts of the rest were hardened.As the Scriptures say,“ God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear.”Likewise, David said,“ Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, and let them get what they deserve.Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs be bent forever.”Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves.Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.

Concerning the Gentiles, God says in the prophecy of Hosea,“ Those who were not my people, I will now call my people. And I will love those whom I did not love before.”And,“ Then, at the place where they were told,‘ You are not my people,’ there they will be called‘ children of the living God.’”

I will bring that group through the fire and make them pure. I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say,‘ These are my people,’ and they will say,‘ The Lord is our God.’”

“ I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you.

The Lord has declared today that you are his people, his own special treasure, just as he promised, and that you must obey all his commands.And if you do, he will set you high above all the other nations he has made. Then you will receive praise, honor, and renown. You will be a nation that is holy to the Lord your God, just as he promised.”

For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.“ The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations!Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the Lord rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises.Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God’s people!