1 Peter 2:9

But ye (umei de). In contrast with the disobedient ones. An elect race (geno eklekton). From Isaiah 43:20 . The blood relation of the spiritual Israel (not the Jewish race) through the new birth ( Isaiah 1:23 ). A royal priesthood (basileion ierateuma). From Exodus 19:6 (cf. Revelation 1:6 ; Revelation 5:10 ). The official in Christian churches is presbutero=episcopo, not iereu. We are all ierei (priests). Cf. Revelation 2:5 . A holy nation (eqno agion). Also from Exodus 19:6 , but here applied, not to the national Israel, but to the spiritual Israel of believers (both Jews and Gentiles). A people for God's own possession (lao ei peripoihsin). The idea here occurs in Exodus 19:5 ; Deuteronomy 7:6 ; Deuteronomy 14:2 ; Deuteronomy 26:18 , where we have lao periousio as in Titus 2:14 (alone in the N.T.), and in Malachi 3:17 we find ei peripoihsin (for a possession). Periousio lao is a people over and above the others and peripoihsi is a possession in a special sense ( Ephesians 1:14 ). See Paul's use of periepoihsato in Acts 20:28 . The old rendering, "a peculiar people," had this idea of possession, for "peculiar" is from pecus (Latin for flock). That ye may shew forth (opw exaggeilhte). Purpose clause with opw, rather than ina, with the first aorist active subjunctive of exaggellw, old verb, to tell out, here alone in N.T. The excellencies (ta areta). From Isaiah 43:21 . Old word for any preeminence (moral, intellectual, military), often for "virtue," but not in that sense in the O.T. or the N.T. The word has the sense of moral worth in 2 Peter 1:3 2 Peter 1:5 ; Philippians 4:8 ; and the Apocrypha. In Isaiah (here quoted) it means praise and glory to God. So also ( Isaiah 42:12 . See Acts 2:11 ta megaleia tou qeou (the mighty works of God). Darkness (skotou). Heathenism. His marvellous light (to qaumaston autou pw). Christianity. For qaumaston (from qaumazw) see Matthew 21:42 . For the change from heathenism to Christianity see Colossians 1:12 ; Ephesians 5:8-14 .