Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 26:18
And today the LORD has proclaimed that you are His people and treasured possession as He promised, that you are to keep all His commandments,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the assembled Israelites at the conclusion of the covenant renewal ceremony, marking the moment they formally acknowledge Yahweh’s claim over them. The declaration occurs on a specific day as the people prepare to enter the land.
The words — סְגֻלָּ֔ה (se.gu.Lah) translates literally to “treasured possession,” indicating exclusive ownership. הֶאֱמִֽירְ/ךָ֣ (he.'e.mi.re./Kha) means “He has commanded/declared to you,” marking a formal, binding proclamation.
The thread — This covenantal status recurs in Deuteronomy 7:6, Deuteronomy 14:2, and Deuteronomy 28:9, where Israel is consistently identified as Yahweh’s chosen and holy people. The motif ties their election directly to their obligation to maintain covenant fidelity.
Why it lands — The text requires immediate compliance with every commandment as the defined response to Yahweh’s covenantal claim. It frames obedience as the necessary condition for maintaining their recognized status.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 7:6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of the earth.
- Deuteronomy 14:2 for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
- Deuteronomy 28:9 The LORD will establish you as His holy people, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.
- Exodus 6:7 I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.
- Titus 2:14 He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
- Exodus 19:5 Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- Ezekiel 36:25 I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
- Romans 16:26 but now revealed and made known through the writings of the prophets by the command of the eternal God, in order to lead all nations to the obedience that comes from faith—
- Psalms 119:6 Then I would not be ashamed when I consider all Your commandments.
- Jeremiah 31:32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.