1 Peter 5:2

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Feed	ποιμάνατε poimanate	G4165	to tend as a shepherd of (figuratively · verb — aorist active imperative, 2nd person plural
flock	ποίμνιον poimnion	G4168	a flock · noun — accusative singular neuter
God	θεοῦ theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
among	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
you	ὑμῖν hymîn	G5213	to (with or by) you
oversight	ἐπισκοποῦντες episkopountes	G1983	to oversee · verb — present active participle, nominative plural masculine
not	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
constraint	ἀναγκαστῶς anagkastōs	G317	compulsorily · adverb
but	ἀλλ᾽ all᾽	G235	properly · conjunction
willingly	ἑκουσίως hekousiōs	G1596	voluntarily · adverb
not	μηδὲ mēde	G3366	but not · conjunction — negative
lucre	αἰσχροκερδῶς aischrokerdōs	G147	sordidly · adverb
but	ἀλλὰ alla	G235	properly · conjunction
mind	προθύμως· prothumōs	G4290	with alacrity · adverb

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 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lu…
1 Timothy 3:8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre;
Acts 20:26-28 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
Titus 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
1 Timothy 3:3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
Ezekiel 34:2-3 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the…
1 Corinthians 9:7 Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and e…
Ezekiel 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Peter 5:1-4

Here we may observe, I. The persons to whom this exhortation is given - to the presbyters, pastors, and spiritual guides of the church, elders by office, rather than by age, ministers of those churches to whom he wrote this epistle. II. The person who gives this exhortation - the apostle Peter: I exhort; and, to give force to this exhortation, he tells them he was their brother-presbyter or fellow-elder, and so puts nothing upon them but what he was ready to perform himself. He was also a witness of the sufferings of Christ, being with him in the garden, attending him to the palace of the high-priest, and very likely being a spectator of his suffering upon the cross, at a distance among the…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Peter 5:2

Feed--Greek, "Tend as a shepherd," by discipline and doctrine. Lead, feed, heed: by prayer, exhortation, government, and example. The dignity is marked by the term "elder"; the duties of the office, to tend or oversee, by "bishop." Peter has in mind Christ's injunction to him, "Feed (tend) My sheep . . . Feed (pasture) My lambs" (Joh 21:16). He invites the elders to share with him the same duty (compare Act 20:28). The flock is Christ's. which is among you--While having a concern for all the Church, your special duty is to feed that portion of it "which is among you." oversight--Greek, "bishopric," or duty of bishops, that is, overseer. not by constraint--Necessity is laid upon them, b…

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Adam Clarke on 1 Peter 5:2

Feed the flock - Do not fleece the flock. Taking the oversight - Επισκοπουντες· Discharging the office of bishops or superintendents. This is another proof that bishop and presbyter were the same order in the apostolic times, though afterwards they were made distinct. Not by constraint - The office was laborious and dangerous, especially in these times of persecution; it is no wonder then that even those who were best qualified for the office should strive to excuse themselves with a genuine Nolo episcopari, "I am unwilling to be a bishop." Not for filthy lucre - Could the office of a bishop, in those early days, and in the time of persecution, be a lucrative office? Does not the Spirit of G…

The Church Fathers

Here Peter is telling the leaders of the church exactly what the Lord told him: "Feed my sheep."
— Hilary of Arles, INTRODUCTORY COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER

In the Greek the meaning is still plainer, for the word used is episkopeuontes, that is to say, "overseeing," and this is the origin of the word bishop.
— Jerome, LETTERS 146

Feed the flock of God that is among you. Just as the Lord commanded Blessed Peter to have care for His entire flock, that is, the Church, so Peter rightly commands the subsequent pastors of the Church to protect with diligent governance the flock of God that is among them.
— Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

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

Bishop — An overseer. In apostolic times, it is quite manifest that there was no difference as to order between bishops and elders or presbyters (Acts 20:17-28; 1 Pet. 5:1, 2; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3). The term…
Covetousness · 6:13;8:10;17:11;22:17;51:13; — 6:13;8:10;17:11;22:17;51:13;
Elder · IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH — IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Ministers · Should be: Willing — Should be: Willing
Sacrilege · Forbid — Forbid
Sheep · Illustrative: Of the people of Christ — Illustrative: Of the people of Christ
Titles And Names Of The Church · Flock of God — Flock of God

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 5:2

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Peter 5:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Peter 5:2

Adam Clarke on 1 Peter 5:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Peter 5:2

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Peter 5:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Peter 5:2

Adam Clarke on 1 Peter 5:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 Peter 5:2

John Calvin on 1 Peter 5:1-4

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Peter 5:2