See in Reader
1.5 KiB
You must always obey me and keep the covenant I am making with you.
This is a direct command from God to all of the Israelites.
keep the covenant I am making with you
This could be translated as: “do what my covenant requires you to do.” Obeying and keeping the covenant are not two different things. One way to make this clear would be to say: “obey me by keeping the covenant I am making with you.” God will soon tell them what his covenant requires.
If you do this
The connecting word If introduces a conditional statement. The blessings are dependent on the Israelites obeying the commandments God had given. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/grammar-connect-condition-hypothetical)
my prized possession
This could be translated as: “You will be my possession that I value most” or “You will be the people that I treasure more than any other group of people” or “You will be my own precious people.”
a kingdom of priests
God speaks of his people as if they were priests. Alternate translation: “a kingdom of people who are like priests” or “a kingdom of people who do what priests do” (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor)
a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation
This could be translated as: “I will be your king and you will be like priests.” The Israelites were supposed to teach the other nations about God and be a mediator between God and the nations just as there were priests in the nation of Israel to go between God and the Israelites.