Revelation 5:10

Revelation 5:10

Revelation 5:10
(KJV) And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
(1611 KJV) And hast made vs vnto our God Kings and Priests, and we shall reigne on the earth.
(1587 Geneva Bible) And hast made vs vnto our God Kings and Priests, and we shall reigne on the earth.
(1526 Tyndale) and haste made vs vnto oure god kynges and prestes and we shall raygne on the erth.
Counterfeit Versions
(CSB) You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth.
(NIV) You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."
(NASV) "You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."
(THE MESSAGE) Then you made them a Kingdom, Priests for our God, Priest-kings to rule over the earth.
(AMP) And You have made them a kingdom (royal race) and priests to our God, and they shall reign [as kings] over the earth!
(NLT) And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth.”
(ESV) and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."
(CEV) You let them become kings and serve God as priests, and they will rule on earth."
(NCV) You made them to be a kingdom of priests for our God, and they will rule on the earth."
(1901 ASV) and madest them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests; and they reign upon earth.
(HCSB) You made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth.
(RSV) and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth."
(NAB-Roman Catholic) You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign on earth."
(NWT-Jehovah’s Witnesses) and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over the earth.”
Textus Receptus - Traditional Text
kai epoihsaV hmaV tw qew hmwn basileiV kai iereiV kai basileusomen epi thV ghV

kai epoihsaV autouV tw qew hmwn basileian kai iereiV kai basileuousin epi thV ghV
Corrupted Manuscripts
This verse is corrupted in the following manuscripts:
Reads “them” instead of “us”
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century
1 (Minuscule) - Seventh century
Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)
Reads “kingdom” instead of “kings”
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit A 02 - Alexandrinus - Fifth century
Reads “they will reign” instead of “we shall reign”
Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus - Nineteenth Century Counterfeit P 025 - Ninth century
Manuscripts which agree with the Textus Receptus for this verse
Reads “us” instead of “them”
Stephanus (1550 A.D.)
Reads “kings” instead of “kingdom”
Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)
Reads “we shall reign” instead of “they will reign”
Stephanus (1550 A.D.)
Published Critical Greek Texts with Corruptions
Reads “made them” instead of “made us”
Greisbach, Johann - 1805
Lachmann, Karl - 1842
Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869
Tregelles, Samuel - 1857
Alford, Henry - 1849 revised in 1871
Wordsworth, Christopher - 1856 revised in 1870
Westcott and Hort - 1881
Nestle - 1927 as revised in seventeenth edition in 1941
Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition
Nestle-Aland - 1993 - Twenty Seventh Edition
United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition
Hodges and Farstad - Majority Text 1982 as corrected in 1985
Reads “kingdom” instead of “kings”
Lachmann, Karl - 1842
Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869
Tregelles, Samuel - 1857
Alford, Henry - 1849 revised in 1871
Westcott and Hort - 1881
Nestle - 1927 as revised in seventeenth edition in 1941
Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition
Nestle-Aland - 1993 - Twenty Seventh Edition
United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition
Reads “they shall reign” instead of “we shall reign”
Greisbach, Johann - 1805
Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869
Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition
Hodges and Farstad - Majority Text 1982 as corrected in 1985
Reads “they reign” instead of “we shall reign”
Lachmann, Karl - 1842
Tregelles, Samuel - 1857
Alford, Henry - 1849 revised in 1871
Westcott and Hort - 1881
Wordsworth, Christopher - 1856 revised in 1870
Affected Teaching
This is one of those verses which has seen the apostate's knife in three places. “us” is changed to “them” - “kings” is changed to “kingdom” - “we” is changed to “they” To gain the context of this verse we need to back up to verse 9.

(Rev 5:9 KJV) And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
In Revelation 5:9, we read of the Saints in Heaven singing praises to the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation. John is describing the fact that the redeemed are singing a new song and then he goes on to quote the words of that song. The believers are praising Christ for redeeming them to God by His blood. “…thou has redeemed us…” Then the context is picked up in verse 10:
(Rev 5:10 KJV) And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Not only was the believer redeemed unto God, He made us Kings and Priests and we will reign in those positions on the earth. In both verse 9 & 10, we see that they are referring to themselves in the song by the word “us” in both verses and the word “we” in verse 10. In the modern versions, and we will look at the NIV and the ESV as representative.
(NIV) And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
(ESV) And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
If you will notice in just these two versions, the personal nature of salvation by those who are singing the song is removed. The modern versions make it sound like those in Revelation 5:9 & 10 are singing about another group of individuals by using the word “they” and removing the fact that the redeemed are the ones praising Christ. The redeemed are thankful that they are redeemed and are made Kings and Priests. They are not singing this song on behalf of another group because only they are the redeemed from the earth. Not only do the modern versions remove the personal praise aspect of these verses, but they also remove the fact that Christ has made us Kings. (Rev 1:6 KJV) And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1:6 is a confirmation of this fact and vice versa. The modern versions turn our Kingship into a kingdom. They take a plural word “kings” and replace it with a singular word “kingdom.” Now it is true that when we become saved we are in the kingdom of God, but that is not what is in view here. What is in view is that we are made kings and priests within the kingdom of God. The English words “we shall reign” is one word in the Greek and it is in the future tense and probably points to our positions in the New Heaven and New Earth. The fact that God has made us kings and priests along with a rulership position is why these believers are singing and praising Christ. These verses are important because it shows an aspect of salvation which is much more than just being saved from hell. The modern versions divert the believer from the reality which is ours and focus them on some other mythical group which does not exist, except only in the minds of Hort and Westcott.

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