Psalms 33:12

33:12 How blessed ¹  is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession. ² 

Deuteronomy 7:6-7

7:6 For you are a people holy ³  to the Lord your God. He ⁴  has chosen you to be his people, prized ⁵  above all others on the face of the earth.

The Basis of Israel’s Election

7:7 It 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.

Deuteronomy 10:15

10:15 However, only to your ancestors did he ⁶  show his loving favor, ⁷  and he chose you, their descendants, ⁸  from all peoples – as is apparent today.

Deuteronomy 10:1

The Opportunity to Begin Again

10:1 At that same time the Lord said to me, “Carve out for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones and come up the mountain to me; also make for yourself a wooden ark. ⁹ 

Deuteronomy 12:22

12:22 Like you eat the gazelle or ibex, so you may eat these; the ritually impure and pure alike may eat them.

Isaiah 41:8

The Lord Encourages His People

41:8 “You, my servant Israel,

Jacob whom I have chosen,

offspring of Abraham my friend, ¹⁰ 

Isaiah 43:20-21

43:20 The wild animals of the desert honor me,

the jackals and ostriches,

because I put water in the desert

and streams in the wilderness,

to quench the thirst of my chosen people,

43:21 the people whom I formed for myself,

so they might praise me.” ¹¹ 

Zechariah 2:10-12

2:10 “Sing out and be happy, Zion my daughter! ¹²  For look, I have come; I will settle in your midst,” says the Lord. 2:11 “Many nations will join themselves to the Lord on the day of salvation, ¹³  and they will also be my ¹⁴  people. Indeed, I will settle in the midst of you all.” Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me to you. 2:12 The Lord will take possession of ¹⁵  Judah as his portion in the holy land and he will choose Jerusalem once again.

Zechariah 2:1

Vision Three: The Surveyor

2:1 (2:5) I looked again, and there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.

Zechariah 2:9

2:9 “I am about to punish them ¹⁶  in such a way,” he says, “that they will be looted by their own slaves.” Then you will know that the Lord who rules over all has sent me.

[33:12]  ¹ tn The Hebrew noun is an abstract plural. The word often refers metonymically to the happiness that God-given security and prosperity produce (see Pss 1:1; 2:12; 34:9; 41:1; 65:4; 84:12; 89:15; 106:3; 112:1; 127:5; 128:1; 144:15).

[33:12]  ² tn Heb “inheritance.”

[7:6]  ³ tn That is, “set apart.”

[7:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[7:6]  ⁵ tn Or “treasured” (so NIV, NRSV); NLT “his own special treasure.” The Hebrew term סְגֻלָּה (sÿgullah) 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.

[10:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 10:4.

[10:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “take delight to love.” Here again the verb אָהַב (’ahav, “love”), juxtaposed with בָחַר (bakhar, “choose”), is a term in covenant contexts that describes the Lord’s initiative in calling the patriarchal ancestors to be the founders of a people special to him (cf. the note on the word “loved” in Deut 4:37).

[10:15]  ⁸ tn The Hebrew text includes “after them,” but it is redundant in English style and has not been included in the translation.

[10:1]  ⁹ tn Or “chest” (so NIV, CEV); NLT “sacred chest”; TEV “wooden box.” This chest was made of acacia wood; it is later known as the ark of the covenant.

[41:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps, “covenantal partner” (see 1 Kgs 5:15 HT [5:1 ET]; 2 Chr 20:7).

[43:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “[so] they might declare my praise.”

[2:10]  ¹² sn This individualizing of Zion as a daughter draws attention to the corporate nature of the covenant community and also to the tenderness with which the Lord regards his chosen people.

[2:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “on that day.” The descriptive phrase “of salvation” has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[2:11]  ¹⁴ tc The LXX and Syriac have the 3rd person masculine singular suffix in both places (“his people” and “he will settle”; cf. NAB, TEV) in order to avoid the Lord’s speaking of himself in the third person. Such resort is unnecessary, however, in light of the common shifting of person in Hebrew narrative (cf. 3:2).

[2:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “will inherit” (so NIV, NRSV).

[2:9]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “I will wave my hand over them” (so NASB); NIV, NRSV “raise my hand against them.”