Deuteronomy 14:2

An holy people. Repeated from chapter 7:6, by way of explanation as to why Israel should destroy the monuments of idolatry they would find in the land. Here the appeal is different, being that of the dignity of a child of God.

A peculiar people. Literally, “a people of possession.” The Hebrew word translated “peculiar” is the noun “possession,” “valued property,” from the verb “to acquire property.” This noun is elsewhere translated “peculiar treasure” (Exodus 19:5; Psalm 135:4; Ecclesiastes 2:8; Malachi 3:17, margin). The KJV rendering “peculiar” has sometimes been misunderstood as meaning “queer.” In the time of the translators of the KJV a man who fished “in a peculiar river” (Shakespeare) was trespassing on private property. Even yet the primary meaning of “peculiar” is “belonging especially or exclusively to an individual,” although it now refers primarily to his “peculiar” or “distinctive” characteristics rather than to his private possessions. Accordingly, it now means “different,” “odd,” “queer.” But this, its common usage today, is colloquial.

Nations. Literally, “peoples,” suggesting the commonwealth of Israel and its institutions, in contrast with other organized states and their institutions.