And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
And hath made, [B, poieesanti (G4160); A C 'Aleph ('), Kai (G2532) epoieesen (G4160)] - 'And (He) made.'
Us kings. 'Aleph (') A C, Vulgate, read, 'a kingdom;' A, 'for us;' B 'Aleph ('), Vulgate, Syriac, and Coptic, 'us,' accusative: 'He made us (to be) a kingdom, (namely) priests,' etc. Omit "and" before 'priests,' with all oldest authorities. So Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9, "a royal priesthood." The saints shall constitute a kingdom of God (Revelation 5:10); sharing His King-Priest throne in the millennial kingdom (Revelation 3:21). The emphasis thus falls on kingdom. This book lays prominent stress on the saints' kingdom. They are kings because they are priests: the priesthood is the continuous ground of their kingship; kings in relation to man, priests in relation to God, serving day and night in His temple (Revelation 5:10; Revelation 7:15). The priest-kings shall rule, not in mechanical externalism, but in virtue of what they are, by the power of attraction and conviction overcoming the heart (Auberlen). Priests - having pre-eminently near access to the king. David's sons were priests х Kohªniym (H3548)] (2 Samuel 8:18). The distinction of priests and people, nearer and more remote from God, shall cease; all shall have nearest access. All persons and things shall be holy to the Lord.
God and his Father. There is one article to both; 'unto Him who is at once God and His Father.'
Glory and dominion - `the glory and the might' х to (G3588) kratos (G2904)]. The threefold doxology occurs, Revelation 4:9; Revelation 4:11: fourfold, Jude 1:25; Revelation 5:13: sevenfold, 1 Chronicles 29:11; Revelation 7:12. Doxology occupies the prominent place above; prayer, below. If we thought of God's glory first (as in the Lord's prayer), and the secondary place to our needs, we should please God and gain our petitions better.
Forever and ever, х eis (G1519) tous (G3588) aioonas (G165) toon (G3588) aioonas (G165); 'Aleph (') C, Vulgate: toon (G3588) aioonon (G165) A omits] - 'unto the ages.'