1 Peter 2:13

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
yourselves	Ὑποτάγητε Hupotagēte	G5293	to subordinate · verb — second aorist passive imperative, 2nd person plural
every	πάσῃ pasē	G3956	all · adjective — dative singular feminine
ordinance	κτίσει ktisei	G2937	original formation (properly · noun — dative singular feminine
man	ἀνθρωπίνῃ anthrōpinē	G442	human · adjective — dative singular feminine
for	διὰ dia	G1223	through (in very wide applications · preposition
Lord’s sake	κύριον· kurion	G2962	supreme in authority · noun — accusative singular masculine, a title
be	εἴτε eite	G1535	if too · conditional particle
king	βασιλεῖ basilei	G935	a sovereign (abstractly · noun — dative singular masculine
as	ὡς hōs	G5613	which how · particle
supreme	ὑπερέχοντι· huperechonti	G5242	to hold oneself above · verb — present active participle, dative singular masculine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Titus 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
Romans 13:1-7 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
1 Timothy 2:1-2 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
Luke 20:25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which be Cæsar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.
Proverbs 24:21 My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
Jeremiah 29:7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereo…
Matthew 22:21 They say unto him, Cæsar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that…
Mark 12:17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Peter 2:13–end

The general rule of a Christian conversation is this, it must be honest, which it cannot be if there be not a conscientious discharge of all relative duties. The apostle here particularly treats of these distinctly. I. The case of subjects. Christians were not only reputed innovators in religion, but disturbers of the state; it was highly necessary, therefore, that the apostle should settle the rules and measures of obedience to the civil magistrate, which he does here, where, 1. The duty required is submission, which comprises loyalty and reverence to their persons, obedience to their just laws and commands, and subjection to legal penalties. 2. The persons or objects to whom this submissio…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Peter 2:13

every ordinance of man--"every human institution" [ALFORD], literally, "every human creation." For though of divine appointment, yet in the mode of nomination and in the exercise of their authority, earthly governors are but human institutions, being of men, and in relation to men. The apostle speaks as one raised above all human things. But lest they should think themselves so ennobled by faith as to be raised above subordination to human authorities, he tells them to submit themselves for the sake of Christ, who desires you to be subject, and who once was subject to earthly rulers Himself, though having all things subject to Him, and whose honor is at stake in you as His earthly representa…

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Adam Clarke on 1 Peter 2:13

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man - In every settled state, and under every form of political government, where the laws are not in opposition to the laws of God, it may be very soundly and rationally said: "Genuine Christians have nothing to do with the laws but to obey them." Society and civil security are in a most dangerous state when the people take it into their heads that they have a right to remodel and change the laws. See the whole of this subject fully handled in the notes on Rom 13:1, etc., to which I beg every reader, who may wish to know the political sentiments of this work, to have recourse. The words παση ανθρωπινη κτισει literally signify, not every ordinance of m…

The Church Fathers

Pray for kings, because when the kingdom is shaken, all its other members are shaken with it, and even if we stay aloof from tumults we shall have some part in the resulting misfortune.
— Tertullian, APOLOGY 1.31

By "every human authority" Peter means those which have been ordained by rulers. We are called to submit to them for the Lord's sake, because he himself said: "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's," but if they command something which is not God's will we must not obey them.
— Andreas of Caesarea, CATENA

Therefore, as to what relates to the honours due to kings or emperors, we have a prescript sufficient, that it behoves us to be in all obedience, according to the apostle's precept, "subject to magistrates, and princes, and powers; " but within the limits of discipline, so long as we keep ourselves separate from idolatry.
— Tertullian, On Idolatry

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

King — Is in Scripture very generally used to denote one invested with authority, whether extensive or limited. There were thirty-one kings in Canaan (Josh. 12:9, 24), whom Joshua subdued. Adonibezek…
Taxes — First mentioned in the command (Ex. 30:11-16) that every Jew from twenty years and upward should pay an annual tax of “half a shekel for an offering to the Lord.” This enactment was faithfully…
Citizens · DUTIES OF — DUTIES OF
Example · 2:7,8; — 2:7,8;
Kings · Should be: Obeyed — Should be: Obeyed
Magistrates · Should: Subjection to their authority enjoined — Should: Subjection to their authority enjoined
Ordinance · A — A
Rulers · 2:1,2; — 2:1,2;
Self-Denial · 13:13; — 13:13;

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 Peter 2:13

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Peter 2:13–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Peter 2:13

Adam Clarke on 1 Peter 2:13

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Peter 2:13

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Peter 2:13–end

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Peter 2:13

Adam Clarke on 1 Peter 2:13

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 Peter 2:13

John Calvin on 1 Peter 2:13-16

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Peter 2:13–end