⁷ “The Lord had his heart set on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. ⁸ But because the Lord loved^(A) you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors, he brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed^(B) you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. ⁹ Know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commands.^{(C) 10} But he directly pays back^[a] and destroys those who hate him.^(D) He will not hesitate to pay back directly^[b] the one who hates him. ¹¹ So keep the command—the statutes and ordinances—that I am giving you to follow today.

¹² “If you listen to and are careful to keep these ordinances, the Lord your God will keep his covenant loyalty with you, as he swore to your ancestors.^(E)

⁵ Keep in mind that the Lord your God has been disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. ⁶ So keep the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him.

¹¹ ever since the day I ordered judges to be over my people Israel.^(A) I will give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘The Lord declares to you: The Lord himself will make a house for you. ¹² When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.^{(B) 13} He is the one who will build a house for my name,^(C) and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.^{(D) 14} I will be his father, and he will be my son.^(E) When he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and blows from mortals. ¹⁵ But my faithful love will never leave him^(F) as it did when I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.^{(G) 16} Your house and kingdom will endure before me^[a] forever,^(H) and your throne will be established forever.’”^(I)

Fatherly Discipline

³ For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up.^{(A) 4} In struggling against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons:

⁷ Endure suffering as discipline: God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there that a father does not discipline? ⁸ But if you are without discipline—which all receive^[b]—then you are illegitimate children and not sons.^{(C) 9} Furthermore, we had human fathers discipline us, and we respected them. Shouldn’t we submit even more to the Father of spirits and live?^{(D) 10} For they disciplined us for a short time based on what seemed good to them, but he does it for our benefit, so that we can share his holiness.^{(E) 11} No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit^(F) of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.^(G)