Exodus 19:5
in Exodus 19Now 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine:
KJV
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
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This verse in Exodus 19
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A peculiar treasure - A costly possession acquired with exertion, and carefully guarded. The special relation in which Israel stands, taken out of the pagan world and consecrated to God, as His slaves, subjects, and children, determines their privileges, and is the foundation of their duties. The same principle applies even in a stronger sense to the Church. See Act 20:28; 1Co 6:20; 1Pe 2:9. All the earth is mine - It was a point of great practical importance, to impress upon the Jews that their God was no mere national Deity. Compare Deu 10:14; Psa 24:1.
This site's exposition
if ye will obey my voice indeed
Peculiar treasure occurs here for the first time in Scripture. The Hebrew behind it, segullah, is used of a personal hoard a king keeps apart from the public treasury, so the word carries private ownership rather than rank. The sentence then widens where a reader expects it to narrow, for all the earth is mine, which sets the choice of one nation inside a claim on every nation.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
The reasonableness of this demand is, long after, pleaded with them, that in the day he brought them out of the land of Egypt this was the condition of the covenant, Obey my voice ( Jer. vii. 23 ); and this he is said to protest earnestly to them, Jer. xi. Only obey indeed, not in profession and promise only, not in pretence, but in sincerity.
Now therefore,....
He does not specify any one particular favour, as giving them the land of Canaan, or the like, but expresses it in that which was inclusive of all happiness, that he would be to them a God in covenant, and they should be to him a people. [1.] God here asserts his sovereignty over, and propriety in, the whole visible creation: All the earth is mine.
The reasonableness of this demand is, long after, pleaded with them, that in the day he brought them out of the land of Egypt this was the condition of the covenant, Obey my voice ( Jer. vii. 23 ); and this he is said to protest earnestly to them, Jer. xi. Only obey indeed, not in profession and promise only, not in pretence, but in sincerity.
He does not specify any one particular favour, as giving them the land of Canaan, or the like, but expresses it in that which was inclusive of all happiness, that he would be to them a God in covenant, and they should be to him a people. [1.] God here asserts his sovereignty over, and propriety in, the whole visible creation: All the earth is mine.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
In thus negotiating between God and His people, the highest post of duty which any mortal man was ever called to occupy, Moses was still but a servant. The only Mediator is Jesus Christ [1Ti 2:5;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-brackets
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַתָּ֗ה | veatah | and therefore | H6258 → | 433 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | <if> | H518 → | 1069 times |
| שָׁמ֤וֹעַ | shamoa' | certainly [if] <to listen> | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ | tishmeu | you will listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְּקֹלִ֔י | bekoli | to voice my | H6963 → | 506 times |
| וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֖ם | ushemartem | and you will keep | H8104 → | 468 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּרִיתִ֑י | beriti | covenant my | H1285 → | 284 times |
| וִהְיִ֨יתֶם | vihyitem | and you will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לִ֤י | li | of me | ||
| סְגֻלָּה֙ | segulah | a possession | H5459 → | |
| מִכָּל־ | mikol | from all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים | haamim | the peoples | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לִ֖י | li | [belongs] to <the> me | ||
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָאָֽרֶץ׃ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
וְעַתָּ֗הand therefore
veatahH6258 →433 times
אִם־<if>
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
שָׁמ֤וֹעַcertainly [if] <to listen>
shamoa'H8085 →1159 times
תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙you will listen
tishmeuH8085 →1159 times
בְּקֹלִ֔יto voice my
bekoliH6963 →506 times
וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֖םand you will keep
ushemartemH8104 →468 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּרִיתִ֑יcovenant my
beritiH1285 →284 times
וִהְיִ֨יתֶםand you will be
vihyitemH1961 →3559 times
לִ֤יof me
li
סְגֻלָּה֙a possession
segulahH5459 →
מִכָּל־from all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
הָ֣עַמִּ֔יםthe peoples
haamimH5971 →1873 times
כִּי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
לִ֖י[belongs] to <the> me
li
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָאָֽרֶץ׃the earth
haaretzH776 →2504 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
Exodus 15:26saying, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His eyes, and pay attention to His commands, and keep all His statutes, then…
it leads to
- Psalms 103:3
He who forgives all your iniquities and heals all your diseases,
- Deuteronomy 7:15
And the LORD will remove from you all sickness. He will not lay upon you any of the terrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but He will inflict them on all who hate you.
- Exodus 23:25
So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take away sickness from among you.
- Psalms 41:3–4
The LORD will sustain him on his bed of illness and restore him from his bed of sickness.
- Psalms 103:3
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.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 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.
- 1 Peter 2:9
Through
Deuteronomy 14:2for 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…
it leads to
- 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…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 7:6
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Covenant34 verses
Obedience35 verses
On this page
Studies8
On this verse
On this chapter
About Exodus
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of 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.