Exodus 19:6

A Royal Priesthood

Wording only

Quoted by the apostles in 1 Peter 2:9, in the older Greek wording

Side by Side

The Older Text

Septuagint, translated before Messiah

And ye shall be to me a royal priesthood and a holy nation: these words shalt thou speak to the children of Israel.

The Later Text

Masoretic, finished about 1,000 years after the cross

And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Quoted in 1 Peter 2:9

The apostle’s Old Testament

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

Your KJV reads: the Hebrew “a kingdom of priests” in Exodus, and the Greek “a royal priesthood” in 1 Peter.

See what changed and why ↓

What Your Bible Says

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
1 Peter 2:9 KJV

Peter writes to believers, likely many of them Gentiles, and gives them Israel’s titles.

What Yahuah Said at Sinai

Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.
Exodus 19:5–6 KJV

These are the words Yahuah gave Moses at the mountain, just before the Ten Commandments.

What Changed

The Hebrew says “a kingdom of priests,” a nation of priests under one King. The Greek says “a royal priesthood,” a priesthood that belongs to the King. Peter quoted the Greek. The promise is the same.

Blood First, Then Sinai

Exodus keeps an order. Israel was saved by the blood of the lamb in Egypt (Exodus 12:13), then brought to Sinai and given the covenant. Peter keeps the same order. His readers were “redeemed … with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb without blemish” (1 Peter 1:18–19), and then given the Sinai calling. Deliverance comes first. The walk in the covenant follows. The Law is not the door in. It is the life of the people already brought out.

Purpose of the Change

No motive evident: wording variation only. It matters because Peter quoted the Greek wording, which is why your KJV says “kingdom of priests” in Exodus and “royal priesthood” in 1 Peter.

The Bottom Line

Sinai said a kingdom of priests. Peter quoted the Greek: a royal priesthood. It is one calling for one people.

The calling stands at the opening of Revelation: Messiah “hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father” (Revelation 1:6).

Dig Deeper The evidence, for anyone who wants it

His God and Father

Revelation 1:6 calls the Father Messiah’s “God and his Father.” The Son who makes us priests has a God above Him. He serves as High Priest before Yahuah, and His people serve with Him.

An Honest Note

Many Greek copies of Revelation 1:6 read “a kingdom, priests” instead of “kings and priests.” That is closer to the Hebrew of Exodus 19:6. Peter used the Greek wording of Exodus, and John may have stayed nearer the Hebrew. Both say the same thing.