And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Made us - A B 'Aleph ('), Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, read 'them.' The Hebrew, third person for the first, has a graphic relation to the redeemed, also a more modest sound than us, priests (Bengel).
Unto our God. So B 'Aleph ('); but A omits.
Kings. So B; but A 'Aleph ('), Vulgate, Coptic, Cyprian, 'a kingdom.' 'Aleph (') reads also 'a priesthood' for priests. They who cast their crowns before the throne do not call themselves kings before the great King (Revelation 4:10-11); though their priestly access has such dignity, that their reigning on earth cannot exceed it. So in Revelation 20:6, they are not called "kings" (Bengel).
We shall reign on the earth - a new feature added to Revelation 1:6. 'Aleph ('), Vulgate, Coptic, read, 'they shall reign.' A B read, 'they reign;' which Alford explains of the Church EVEN NOW, in Christ her Head, reigning on the earth: 'all things are being put under her feet, as under His; her kingly office is asserted, even in the midst of persecution.' But even 'they reign' is the prophetic present for the future: the seer being transported into the future when the full number of the redeemed (represented by the four living creatures) shall be complete, and the visible kingdom begins. The saints do spiritually reign now; but certainly not as they shall when the prince of this world shall be bound (notes, Revelation 20:2-6). So far from reigning on the earth now, they are "made as the filth of the world and the off-scouring of all things" (1 Corinthians 4:8-13). In Revelation 11:15; Revelation 11:18, the locality and time of the kingdom are marked. Kelly translates, 'reign over the earth' х epi (G1909) tees (G3588) gees (G1093)]; justified by Septuagint (Judges 9:8; Matthew 2:22). The elders, though ruling over the earth, shall not necessarily remain on the earth. The English version is grammatically possible (Revelation 3:10). 'The elders were meek (Matthew 5:5); but the flock of the meek is much larger' (Bengel).