3AMS

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; (Deuteronomy 26:18)

Promised.

Both parties assumed obligations. The covenant was mutual, and the promise, as at Sinai, was conditional Ex. 19:5-8; 24:3, 7.

Peculiar people.

See on Ex. 19:5; 1 Peter 2:9. The same Hebrew word here translated “peculiar” appears also in Ex. 19:5; Deut. 7:6. In 1 Chron. 29:3 the word is translated “own proper good”; and in Mal. 3:17, “jewels.”

The Lord hath avouched.

This parallels the emphatic expression of v. 17. It reads, literally, “Jehovah hath this day caused thee to say that thou art to Him a people of possession,” that is, His own private possession.