Deuteronomy32:9

Translation

For the portion

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of YHVH (read Adonai) is His people; JACOB

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is His inheritance

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measured with a cord.

Paraphrase

For God’s specially chosen part is His chosen people, Israel; the people group that STARTED SECOND BUT BECAME FIRST is the part of his vast possessions that He focuses most of His attention on.

Footnotes

1

Since this was another way to say, “the tract of land one received as an inheritance,” see the footnote in conjuntion with the word “inheritance”.

2

Jacob means “heal grabber, or supplanter”. Here the story of his birth goes with the meaning of his name to give the full picture of what was intended. He came out of the womb grabbing on to his brother’s heal. Thus it is clear that Esau came out first and Jacob came out second. But in the end. Jacob was treated like the first-born.

3

This word means “inheritance”, which makes it challenging to translate when used of God, as in this verse. This is obviously imagery based on the traditions of man, for God already owns all things. He receives no inheritance from anyone. Therefore, I think it is referring to how special this people and this land are to Him. While He owns everything, He focused the majority of His attention in those days on one group of people who occupied one tract of land, Israel.