For you are a holy people to the Lord your God: marked out by the Lord your God to be his special people out of all the nations on the face of the earth.

And because of his love for your fathers, he took their seed and made it his, and he himself, present among you, took you out of Egypt by his great power;

And your servant has round him the people of your selection, a people so great that they may not be numbered, and no account of them may be given.

But as for you, Israel, my servant, and you, Jacob, whom I have taken for myself, the seed of Abraham my friend: You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and sent for from its farthest parts, saying to you, You are my servant, whom I have taken for myself, and whom I have not given up:

But now, says the Lord your Maker, O Jacob, and your life-giver, O Israel: have no fear, for I have taken up your cause; naming you by your name, I have made you mine.

And now, give ear, O Jacob my servant, and Israel whom I have taken for myself: The Lord who made you, forming you in your mother's body, the Lord, your helper, says, Have no fear, O Jacob my servant, and you, Jeshurun, whom I have taken for myself.

And say to them, This is what the Lord has said: In the day when I took Israel for myself, when I made an oath to the seed of the family of Jacob, and I gave them knowledge of myself in the land of Egypt, saying to them with an oath, I am the Lord your God;

The Lord did not give you his love or take you for himself because you were more in number than any other people; for you were the smallest of the nations: But because of his love for you, and in order to keep his oath to your fathers, the Lord took you out with the strength of his hand, making you free from the prison-house and from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

But the Lord your God would not give ear to Balaam, but let the curse be changed into a blessing to you, because of his love for you.

May the Lord your God be praised, whose pleasure it was to put you on the seat of the kingdom of Israel; because the Lord's love for Israel is eternal, he has made you king, to be their judge in righteousness.

For they did not make the land theirs by their swords, and it was not their arms which kept them safe; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your face, because you had pleasure in them.

The Lord will keep you as a people holy to himself, as he has said to you in his oath, if you keep the orders of the Lord your God and go on walking in his ways.

And you will be a kingdom of priests to me, and a holy nation. These are the words which you are to say to the children of Israel.

You are to be holy men to me: the flesh of no animal whose death has been caused by the beasts of the field may be used for your food; it is to be given to the dogs.

For I am the Lord your God: for this reason, make and keep yourselves holy, for I am holy; you are not to make yourselves unclean with any sort of thing which goes about flat on the earth. For I am the Lord, who took you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; so be you holy, for I am holy.

For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has taken you to be his special people out of all the nations on the face of the earth.

And they will be named, The holy people, Those whose cause has been taken up by the Lord: and you will be named, Desired, A town not given up.

If now you will truly give ear to my voice and keep my agreement, you will be my special property out of all the peoples: for all the earth is mine:

And the Lord has made it clear this day that you are a special people to him, as he gave you his word; and that you are to keep all his orders;

For the Lord has taken Jacob for himself, and Israel for his property.

And they will be mine, says the Lord, in the day when I make them my special property; and I will have mercy on them as a man has mercy on his son who is his servant.

But the Lord has taken you out of the flaming fire, out of Egypt, to be to him the people of his heritage, as you are today.

And I made prayer to the Lord and said, O Lord God, do not send destruction on your people and your heritage, to whom, by your great power, you have given salvation, whom you have taken out of Egypt by the strength of your hand.

Be a saviour to your people, and send a blessing on your heritage: be their guide, and let them be lifted up for ever.

Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he has taken for his heritage.

You, O God, did freely send the rain, giving strength to the weariness of your heritage.

Keep in mind your band of worshippers, for whom you gave payment in the days which are past, whom you took for yourself as the people of your heritage; even this mountain of Zion, which has been your resting-place.

The heritage of Jacob is not like these; for the maker of all things is his heritage: the Lord of armies is his name.

I will get together all the nations, and make them come down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and there I will take up with them the cause of my people and of my heritage Israel, whom they have sent wandering among the nations, and of my land which has been parted by them.

Keep your people safe with your rod, the flock of your heritage, living by themselves in the woods in the middle of Carmel: let them get their food in Bashan and Gilead as in the past.

For the Lord will be judge of his people, he will have pity for his servants; when he sees that their power is gone, there is no one, shut up or free.

Let your ear now take note and let your eyes be open, so that you may give ear to the prayer of your servant, which I make before you at this time, day and night, for the children of Israel, your servants, while I put before you the sins of the children of Israel, which we have done against you: truly, I and my father's people are sinners.

For the Lord will be judge of his people's cause; his feelings will be changed to his servants.

And you are to say to Pharaoh, The Lord says, Israel is the first of my sons:

Is this your answer to the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? Is he not your father who has given you life? He has made you and given you your place.

For you are our father, though Abraham has no knowledge of us, and Israel gives no thought to us: you, O Lord, are our father; from the earliest days you have taken up our cause.

But now, O Lord, you are our father; we are the earth, and you are our maker; and we are all the work of your hand.

But I said, How am I to put you among the children, and give you a desired land, a heritage of glory among the armies of the nations? and I said, You are to say to me, My father; and not be turned away from me.

They will come with weeping, and going before them I will be their guide: guiding them by streams of water in a straight way where there is no falling: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is the first of my sons.

When Israel was a child he was dear to me; and I took my son out of Egypt.

O come, let us give worship, falling down on our knees before the Lord our Maker. For he is our God; and we are the people to whom he gives food, and the sheep of his flock. Today, if you would only give ear to his voice!

For this is what the Lord has said: Truly, I, even I, will go searching and looking for my sheep. As the keeper goes looking for his flock when he is among his wandering sheep, so I will go looking for my sheep, and will get them safely out of all the places where they have been sent wandering in the day of clouds and black night. And I will take them out from among the peoples, and get them together from the countries, and will take them into their land; and I will give them food on the mountains of Israel by the water-streams and wherever men are living in the country.read more.
I will give them good grass-land for their food, and their safe place will be the mountains of the high place of Israel: there they will take their rest in a good place, and on fat grass-land they will take their food on the mountains of Israel. I myself will give food to my flock, and I will give them rest, says the Lord. I will go in search of that which had gone wandering from the way, and will get back that which had been sent in flight, and will put bands on that which was broken, and give strength to that which was ill: but the fat and the strong I will give up to destruction; I will give them for their food the punishment which is theirs by right.

Of God, why have you put us away from you for ever? why is the fire of your wrath smoking against the sheep who are your care?

Give ear, O Keeper of Israel, guiding Joseph like a flock; you who have your seat on the winged ones, let your glory be seen.

He will give food to his flock like a keeper of sheep; with his arm he will get it together, and will take up the lambs on his breast, gently guiding those which are with young.

A curse is on the keepers who are causing the destruction and loss of the sheep of my field, says the Lord.

Give ear to the word of the Lord, O you nations, and give news of it in the sea-lands far away, and say, He who has sent Israel wandering will get him together and will keep him as a keeper does his flock.