Deuteronomy 14:2
in Deuteronomy 14for 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God, and Jehovah hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.
KJV
For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 14
Commentary
5 notes on this verseNot for their own merit, nor for any good works foreseen, but because he would magnify the riches of his power and grace among them. He did not choose them because they were by their own dedication and subjection a peculiar people to him above other nations, but he chose them that they might be so by his grace; and thus were believers chosen, Eph. i.
This site's exposition
You are sons of the LORD your God
on Deuteronomy 14:1-3
The ban on cutting the flesh and shaving the forehead for the dead is grounded in sonship. Here the whole nation is addressed as sons before it is told to keep it.
This site's exposition
a people holy to the LORD
Verse 2 repeats 7:6 almost word for word and makes it the ground of the food laws. Matthew Henry says God chose Israel so that it might become holy by His grace. Ephesians 1:4 says the same of believers.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): " Thou art a holy people, separated and set apart for God, devoted to his service, designed for his praise, governed by a holy law, graced by a holy tabernacle, and the holy ordinances relating to it." God's people are under the strongest obligations to be holy, and, if they are holy, are indebted to the grace of God that makes them so.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God,....
The words behind it
19 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עַ֤ם | ʾam | [are] a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| קָדוֹשׁ֙ | kadovosh | holy | H6918 → | 116 times |
| אַתָּ֔ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| לַיהוָ֖ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וּבְךָ֞ | uvekha | and <in> <the> you | ||
| בָּחַ֣ר | bachar | he has chosen | H977 → | 171 times |
| יְהוָ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לִֽהְי֥וֹת | lihyot | to become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | for <the> him | ||
| לְעַ֣ם | leam | <into> a people of | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| סְגֻלָּ֔ה | segulah | possession | H5459 → | 8 times |
| מִכֹּל֙ | mikol | from all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָֽעַמִּ֔ים | haamim | the peoples | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [are] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֥י | penei | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ ס | haadamah | the ground | H127 → | 225 times |
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
עַ֤ם[are] a people
ʾamH5971 →1873 times
קָדוֹשׁ֙holy
kadovoshH6918 →116 times
אַתָּ֔הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
לַיהוָ֖הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
וּבְךָ֞and <in> <the> you
uvekha
בָּחַ֣רhe has chosen
bacharH977 →171 times
יְהוָ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לִֽהְי֥וֹתto become
lihyotH1961 →3559 times
לוֹ֙for <the> him
lo
לְעַ֣ם<into> a people of
leamH5971 →1873 times
סְגֻלָּ֔הpossession
segulahH5459 →8 times
מִכֹּל֙from all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
הָֽעַמִּ֔יםthe peoples
haamimH5971 →1873 times
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עַל־[are] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֥י[the] surface of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ סthe ground
haadamahH127 →225 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Peter 2:9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
it leads to
- Exodus 19:5–6
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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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…
- Revelation 1:6
who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
- Revelation 5:10
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”
- Isaiah 61:6
But you will be called the priests of the LORD; they will speak of you as ministers of our God; you will feed on the wealth of nations, and you will boast in their…
- Exodus 19:5–6
Through
Deuteronomy 7:6For 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…
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Malachi 3:17
“They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.
- 1 Peter 2:9
Through
Leviticus 20:26You are to be holy to Me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be My own.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 1:15–16
But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do,
- 1 Peter 1:15–16
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.