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. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-imperative)
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/writing-connectingwords)
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.