Revelation 5:10

5:10 You have appointed ¹  them ²  as a kingdom and priests ³  to serve ⁴  our God, and they will reign ⁵  on the earth.”

Revelation 20:6

20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who takes part ⁶  in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, ⁷  but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Exodus 19:6

19:6 and you will be to me ⁸  a kingdom of priests ⁹  and a holy nation.’ ¹⁰  These are the words that you will speak to the Israelites.”

Isaiah 61:6

61:6 You will be called, ‘the Lord’s priests,

servants of our God.’ ¹¹ 

You will enjoy ¹²  the wealth of nations

and boast about ¹³  the riches you receive from them. ¹⁴ 

Romans 12:1

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ¹⁵  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ¹⁶  – which is your reasonable service.

Romans 12:1

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

12:1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, ¹⁷  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God ¹⁸  – which is your reasonable service.

Romans 2:5-9

2:5 But because of your stubbornness ¹⁹  and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! ²⁰  2:6 He ²¹  will reward ²²  each one according to his works: ²³  2:7 eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, 2:8 but ²⁴  wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition ²⁵  and do not obey the truth but follow ²⁶  unrighteousness. 2:9 There will be ²⁷  affliction and distress on everyone ²⁸  who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek, ²⁹ 

[5:10]  ¹ tn The verb ἐποίησας (epoihsas) is understood to mean “appointed” here. For an example of this use, see Mark 3:14.

[5:10]  ² tc The vast majority of witnesses have αὐτούς (autous, “them”) here, while the Textus Receptus reads ἡμᾶς (Jhmas, “us”) with insignificant support (pc gig vg^cl sa Prim Bea). There is no question that the original text read αὐτούς here.

[5:10]  ³ tn The reference to “kingdom and priests” may be a hendiadys: “priestly kingdom.”

[5:10]  ⁴ tn The words “to serve” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the word “priests.”

[5:10]  ⁵ tc The textual problem here between the present tense βασιλεύουσιν (basileuousin, “they are reigning”; so A 1006 1611 Ï^K pc) and the future βασιλεύσουσιν (basileusousin, “they will reign”; so א 1854 2053 Ï^A pc lat co) is a difficult one. Both readings have excellent support. On the one hand, the present tense seems to be the harder reading in this context. On the other hand, codex A elsewhere mistakes the future for the present (20:6). Further, the lunar sigma in uncial script could have been overlooked by some scribes, resulting in the present tense. All things considered, there is a slight preference for the future.

[20:6]  ⁶ tn Grk “who has a share.”

[20:6]  ⁷ tn The shift from the singular pronoun (“the one”) to the plural (“them”) in the passage reflects the Greek text: The singular participle ὁ ἔχων (Jo ecwn) is followed by the plural pronoun τούτων (toutwn). In the interests of English style, this is obscured in most modern translations except the NASB.

[19:6]  ⁸ tn Or “for me” (NIV, NRSV), or, if the lamed (ל) preposition has a possessive use, “my kingdom” (so NCV).

[19:6]  ⁹ tn The construction “a kingdom of priests” means that the kingdom is made up of priests. W. C. Kaiser (“Exodus,” EBC 2:417) offers four possible renderings of the expression: 1) apposition, viz., “kings, that is, priests; 2) as a construct with a genitive of specification, “royal priesthood”; 3) as a construct with the genitive being the attribute, “priestly kingdom”; and 4) reading with an unexpressed “and” – “kings and priests.” He takes the latter view that they were to be kings and priests. (Other references are R. B. Y. Scott, “A Kingdom of Priests (Exodus xix. 6),” OTS 8 [1950]: 213-19; William L. Moran, “A Kingdom of Priests,” The Bible in Current Catholic Thought, 7-20). However, due to the parallelism of the next description which uses an adjective, this is probably a construct relationship. This kingdom of God will be composed of a priestly people. All the Israelites would be living wholly in God’s service and enjoying the right of access to him. And, as priests, they would have the duty of representing God to the nations, following what they perceived to be the duties of priests – proclaiming God’s word, interceding for people, and making provision for people to find God through atonement (see Deut 33:9,10).

[19:6]  ¹⁰ tn They are also to be “a holy nation.” They are to be a nation separate and distinct from the rest of the nations. Here is another aspect of their duty. It was one thing to be God’s special possession, but to be that they had to be priestly and holy. The duties of the covenant will specify what it would mean to be a holy nation. In short, they had to keep themselves free from everything that characterized pagan people (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 171). So it is a bilateral covenant: they received special privileges but they must provide special services by the special discipline. See also H. Kruse, “Exodus 19:5 and the Mission of Israel,” North East Asian Journal of Theology 24/25 (1980): 239-42.

[61:6]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew text adds, “it will be said concerning you.”

[61:6]  ¹² tn Heb “eat” (KJV, NAB, NASB); NIV “feed on”; NLT “be fed with.”

[61:6]  ¹³ tc The form in the Hebrew text is probably a corruption of יִתְאַמְּרוּ (yit’ammÿru), a Hitpael from אָמַר (’amar), meaning “boast about” (see HALOT 67 s.v. II אמר, HALOT 416 s.v. ימר, and BDB 56 s.v. אָמַר).

[61:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “their glory” (i.e., riches).

[12:1]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[12:1]  ¹⁶ tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

[12:1]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

[12:1]  ¹⁸ tn The participle and two adjectives “alive, holy, and pleasing to God” are taken as predicates in relation to “sacrifice,” making the exhortation more emphatic. See ExSyn 618-19.

[2:5]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “hardness.” Concerning this imagery, see Jer 4:4; Ezek 3:7; 1 En. 16:3.

[2:5]  ²⁰ tn Grk “in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.”

[2:6]  ²¹ tn Grk “who.” The relative pronoun was converted to a personal pronoun and, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[2:6]  ²² tn Or “will render,” “will recompense.” In this context Paul is setting up a hypothetical situation, not stating that salvation is by works.

[2:6]  ²³ sn A quotation from Ps 62:12; Prov 24:12; a close approximation to Matt 16:27.

[2:8]  ²⁴ tn This contrast is clearer and stronger in Greek than can be easily expressed in English.

[2:8]  ²⁵ tn Grk “those who [are] from selfish ambition.”

[2:8]  ²⁶ tn Grk “are persuaded by, obey.”

[2:9]  ²⁷ tn No verb is expressed in this verse, but the verb “to be” is implied by the Greek construction. Literally “suffering and distress on everyone…”

[2:9]  ²⁸ tn Grk “every soul of man.”

[2:9]  ²⁹ sn Paul uses the term Greek here and in v. 10 to refer to non-Jews, i.e., Gentiles.