"A PECULIAR PEOPLE"
1 Peter 2:9 - “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”
Stupid Reasons a Pastor changes from the King James Bible to the ESV
A pastor by the name of Chuck Bonadies of the Suber Road Baptist Church located in Greer South Carolina has recently notified his congregation that he has now decided to change the church Bible from the King James Holy Bible to the ESV.
One of the reasons he lists is because of what he calls “the doctrine of perspicuity”, and further tells us that the English word “peculiar” as in the phrase “but ye are... a peculiar people” (1 Peter 2:9) “communicates the idea of being strange, unique or odd” and “Unfortunately, to this day some Christians continue to justify unusual behavior through the reading of this verse.”
How ironic. The man talks about the doctrine of “perspicuity” when most people have no idea at all about what this word means, (it means clarity) and is then ready to throw out the only Bible believed and defended by thousands as being the complete, inspired and 100% true words of God and replace it with the ever changing English Standard Versions.
The ESVs follow very different Greek texts in the New Testament which omit some 18 entire verses and hundreds of other inspired words and often reject the clear Hebrew readings. The ESV is nothing more than the old liberal RSV but in new clothing. Same garbage, new bag.
See what the ESV (s) are really like here -
http://brandplucked.webs.com/theesv.htm
You also may be interested in the article I wrote about “the Archaic Language of the King James Bible” See it here:
http://brandplucked.webs.com/archaickjbship.htm
Now, let’s take a look at that little word “peculiar”.
Many a perceived "error" can easily be cleared up by simply looking at any good English dictionary and learning a bit more about our own language. The word peculiar has a couple of meanings and many Bible translations have correctly used this word to mean: “something belonging to only one person”.
The implicit meaning of “different from others” also arises from the basic meaning of the word itself. So when we read phrases like “the peculiar treasure of kings” or “a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people” or “a peculiar people unto Himself above all nations”, we see that BOTH meanings apply.
We belong exclusively to God our Father and Redeemer and we are different from others who do not belong to this group. The “peculiar treasure of kings” is both special in that it belongs exclusively to the king and it is different from what others may possess.
Even in the secular world we speak of the peculiar properties of a certain drug or molecule. We mean that these characteristics belong exclusively to this particular element and they are different from all others.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language -
Peculiar - adjective:
1. Unusual or eccentric; odd.
2. Distinct from all others.
3. Belonging distinctively or primarily to one person, group, or kind; special or unique: rights peculiar to the rich; a species peculiar to this area.
Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary 11th edition
Definition of PECULIAR
1: characteristic of only one person, group, or thing : distinctive
2: different from the usual or normal
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary 1913 -
1. One's own; belonging solely or especially to an individual; not possessed by others; of private, personal, or characteristic possession and use; not owned in common or in participation.
And purify unto himself a peculiar people. Titus ii. 14.
Hymns . . . that Christianity hath peculiar unto itself. Hooker.
2. Particular; individual; special; appropriate.
While each peculiar power forgoes his wonted seat. Milton.
My fate is Juno's most peculiar care. Dryden.
3. Unusual; singular; rare; strange; as, the sky had a peculiar appearance. Syn. -- Peculiar, Special, Especial. Peculiar is from the Roman peculium, which was a thing emphatically and distinctively one's own, and hence was dear. The former sense always belongs to peculiar (as, a peculiar style, peculiar manners, etc.), and usually so much of the latter as to involve feelings of interest; as, peculiar care, watchfulness, satisfaction, etc. Nothing of this kind belongs to special and especial. They mark simply the relation of species to genus, and denote that there is something in this case more than ordinary; as, a special act of Congress; especial pains, etc.
Beauty, which, either walking or asleep, Shot forth peculiar graces. Milton. (end of Webster’s Dictionary entry)
The English word ‘peculiar’ is found seven times in the King James Bible, 5 times in the Old Testament and 2 times in the New. It always has the same meaning of “belonging to one individual” and thus “different from the others”. Here are the verses:
Exodus 19:5 - 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:
Deuteronomy 14:2 - For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a PECULIAR people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
Deuteronomy 26:18 - And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his PECULIAR people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;
Psalm 135:4 - For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his PECULIAR treasure.
Ecclesiastes 2:8 - I gathered me also silver and gold, and the PECULIAR treasure of kings and of the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts.
Titus 2:14 - Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a PECULIAR people, zealous of good works.
1Peter 2:9 - 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:
A PECULIAR PEOPLE by Joseph Philpot, 1841
"A peculiar people." 1 Peter 2:9
http://www.gracegems.org/SERMONS2/peculiar_people.htm
Here you can read a sermon preached by Joseph Philpot in 1841 where he expounds upon this verse and, especially in the first part of the sermon, he points out that the world may think that Christians are peculiar in that they seem different from other people, and they are right. We read and believe a particular Book. We have different values and laws we try to follow and we have a different view of what follows this eartly life than most people of the world do. We are God’s peculiar people and are different from (or at least should be) the unbelievers of the world. He says that when the world refers to us a being “peculiar” they are unwittingly confirming the truth of Scripture.
The People’s New Testament commentary states: “A PECULIAR people. Differing from the world in life.” and Barnes’ Notes on the New Testament comments: “ a people, therefore, which belong to him, and to no other. In this sense they are peculiar as being his; and, being such, it may be inferred that they should be peculiar in the sense of being unlike others in their manner of life.”
The unique English word “peculiar” has altogether disappeared from such modern versions as the NKJV, RSV, NASB, NIV, ESV and Holman Standard.
In 1 Peter 2:9 we see a change in wording found in these modern versions.
NKJV 1982 - But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people
NASB 1995 - But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION
NIV 1984 edition - But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,
NIV 2011 edition - But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession
ESV 2001 - But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession
It is a bit hypocritical to hear the new versionists complain about the KJB “adding” the word ‘God’ to such expressions as “God forbid”, and then turn around and add the word ‘God’ themselves when it most definitley is not in any Greek text at all. (By the way, the expression ‘God forbid’ IS correct - See
http://brandplucked.webs.com/godforbid.htm )
However the use of the English word ‘peculiar’ has a long history and it is still used today in several Bible translations.
The word ‘peculiar’ as in the phrase ‘a peculiar people’ or ‘the peculiar treasure of kings’ is found in the following Bible translations: Wycliffe bible 1395, Tyndale 1525, Coverdale 1535, Matthew’s Bible 1549, the Bishops’ Bible 1568 - “But ye are a chosen generation, a royall priesthood, an holy nation, a PECULIER people”, the Geneva Bible 1587, 1599, 1602, the King James Bible 1611, Mace’s N.T. 1729, Whiston’s Primitive N.T. 1745, Wesley’s translation 1755, the Worsley Version 1770, The Revised Translation 1815, Webster’s translation 1833, The Pickering N.T. 1840, The Longman Version 1841 (Deuteronomy 14:2 and 26:18), The Commonly Received Version 1851, The Boothroyd Bible 1853 (Dt. 14:2 & 26:18), the Calvin Bible 1855, The Sawyer N.T. 1858, Alford’s N.T. 1868, The Sharpe Bible 1883, the English Revised Version of 1885 (7 times), Darby’s translation 1890, Young’s 1898 translation (9 times), the Douay-Rheims 1899, Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible 1902, The Clarke N.T. 1913, the 1987 Amplified Bible (8 times! - see Ex. 19:5; Deut. 14:2 - “For you are a holy people [set apart] to the Lord your God; and the Lord has chosen you to be a PECULIAR PEOPLE to Himself, above all the nations on the earth.”, 26:18; Psalm 135:4; Malachi 3:17 for examples - ), the KJV 21st Century 1994 and the Third Millennium Bible 1998.
Other Bibles that have the phrase "A PECULIAR PEOPLE" in them are The Ancient Hebrew Bible 1907 - "The LORD hath chosen thee to be A PECULIAR PEOPLE unto himself" (Deuteronomy 14:2 and 26:18), The Word of Yah 1993, The Third Millennium Bible 1998, God's First Truth 1999, The Evidence Bible 2003, The Revised Geneva Bible 2005, the Bond Slave Version 2009, the Hebraic Transliteration Scripture 2010, the Jubilee Bible 2010 - “I gathered unto myself also silver and gold and the PECULIAR treasure of kings” (Ecclesiastes 2:8), The Orthodox Jewish Bible 2011 - “For Hashem hath chosen Ya’akov unto Himself, and Yisroel for His segullah (PECULIAR treasure).” (Psalm 135:4), the Interlinear Hebrew-Greek Scriptures 2012 (Mebust) - "you are a chosen generation...A PECULIAR PEOPLE", the BRG Bible 2012, and the Modern English Version 2014 - “the Lord has chosen you to be a A PECULIAR PEOPLE to Himself, treasured above all the nations that are on the earth.” (Deut. 14:2)
The word ‘peculiar’ as in ‘a peculiar people unto Himself’ and ‘the peculiar treasure of kings’ is not at all archaic and the King James Bible is right, as always.
Why exchange the infallible Bible which clearly has the blessing and the hand of God upon it like no other, for an inferior bible version like the ESV, NASB, NIV or NKJV that nobody believes is the 100% true words of God? I and thousands of other Bible believing Christians will stick to the King James Holy Bible, thank you very much.
Will Kinney
Return to Articles in Defense of the King James Holy Bible -
http://brandplucked.webs.com/kjbarticles.htm
