1 Peterchapter 5
14 verses · Peter · AD 62 to 64 · The general letters
Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Introduction
Peter, The general letters, 1 Peter Overview.
Peter wrote this last chapter as an old man and a fellow elder, and he had once been told by Jesus to shepherd His sheep. The churches he wrote to were led by elders who would be the first to face any trial. The chapter speaks to them, then to younger men, then to everyone. Listen for the shepherd language and for the lion that prowls. Listen also for the names in the closing lines, Silvanus and Mark, who tie the letter to the wider church. Read it as a last charge to churches facing a trial.
Context
- Who
- Congregational leaders taking risk on behalf of people who could not protect them
- What
- The closing charges of Peter's first letter to elders, younger men and the whole church, with a promise, a doxology and final greetings.
- Where
- Written from Babylon, most likely Rome, through Silvanus, to churches in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.
- When
- About AD 62 to 64, shortly before Peter's death under Nero.
- Why
- To prepare the leaders and people of the churches to stand firm under trial, with humility toward one another and watchfulness against the devil.
Historical context
Shepherding was hard, low-status work. A shepherd slept out with the flock, fought off predators, carried injured animals, and was distrusted in town; the picture of a leader as a shepherd was not a compliment about dignity but a description of labor.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The warning against being in it for dishonest gain fits the era. Traveling religious teachers commonly lived off their followers, and a congregation's common fund for widows and the poor sat under the elders' hands.
The crown promised is a wreath, the victor's garland from the games or the honor given a benefactor at a civic ceremony. Everyone had seen one placed on someone's head; this one is described as unfading, which no leaf wreath ever was.
The lion image had bite in Rome. Wild beasts were used in the arena, and the sound of a lion was something residents of a city with games had actually heard. Peter's greeting from 'Babylon' is understood by nearly all readers, ancient and modern, as a coded name for Rome, the great city that had again taken God's people captive.
Significance
Elders standing in front of a threatened congregation were told they were under-shepherds serving a chief Shepherd who would appear. That put a ceiling on their authority and a floor under their courage.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The last words are a set of hands on shoulders: cast your anxiety on him, because he cares for you; your brothers throughout the world are going through the same. Neither line is abstract for people who felt alone in their town.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Shepherd the Flock, Not for Filthy Lucre
1 Peter 5:1-4
As a fellow elder: Peter charges the elders to be shepherds not lording it over those entrusted to you, the verb katakurieuo that Jesus forbade in Mark 10:42. When the Chief Shepherd appears, He gives the crown of glory that will never fade away.
1 Peter 5:1
“His higher dignity as an apostle is herein delicately implied, as eye-witnessing was a necessary qualification for apostleship: compare Peter's own speeches, Ac 1:21, 22; 10:39. also--implying the righteous recompense corresponding to the sufferings. partaker of the glory--according to Christ's promise; an earnest of which was given in the transfiguration.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
1 Peter 5:1
“I who am a fellow-elder - So the first though not the head of the apostles appositely and modestly styles himself. And a witness of the sufferings of Christ - Having seen him suffer, and now suffering for him.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Peter 5:1
“The elders which are among you I exhort - The word “elder” means, properly, “one who is old;” but it is frequently used in the New Testament as applicable to the officers of the church; probably because aged persons were at first commonly appointed to these offices. See Act 11:30, note; Act 14:23, note; Act 15:2, note. There is evidently an allusion here to the fact that such persons were selected on account of their age, because in the following verses (1Pe 5:4) the apostle addresses particularly the younger.”
1 Peter 5:1
“KINDLY notice, dear Friends, the Apostle's great gentleness. Peter was not always thus gentle, but the Spirit of God had rested upon him and now he writes with much tenderness. He does not say, "As an Apostle, I command," but, "As an elder, I exhort." It is always well to combine the suaviter in modo with the fortiter in re, that is, suavity in our method blended with strength in the thing, itself.”
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2610: “A Witness and a Partaker” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
Peter, an elder himself, passes to the elders the charge Christ gave him to shepherd His flock. Jerome traces the word bishop to the verb for watching over. They are to serve willingly and eagerly, as God wills, with no greed for gain.
1 Peter 5:2
“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, but willingness prevents it being felt, both in undertaking and in fulfilling the duty [BENGEL].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 5:2
“Not for filthy gain - Which, if it be the motive of acting, is filthy beyond expression. O consider this, ye that leave one flock and go to another, merely because there is more gain, a large salary! Is it not astonishing that men can see no harm in this? that it is not only practiced, but avowed, all over the nation?”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Peter 5:2
“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 · written before 420 · LETTERS 146patristic
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.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
being examples to the flock: Albert Barnes notes that the word for lording it describes the rule of a civil magistrate over his subjects. Elders are to be examples to the flock entrusted to them. The flock belongs to God.
1 Peter 5:3
“Neither as lording over the heritage - Behaving in a haughty, domineering manner, as though you had dominion over their conscience. The word translated heritage, is, literally, the portions. There is one flock under the one chief Shepherd; but many portions of this, under many pastors.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Peter 5:3
“Neither as being lords - Margin, “overruling.” The word here used (κατακυριεύω katakurieuō) is rendered “exercise dominion over,” in Mat 20:25; exercise lordship over, in Mar 10:42; and overcame, in Act 19:16. It does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament. It refers properly to that kind of jurisdiction which civil rulers or magistrates exercise. This is an exercise of authority, as contradistinguished from the influence of reason, persuasion, and example. The latter pertains to the ministers of religion; the former is forbidden to them.”
the Chief Shepherd appears: Albert Barnes, quoting Benson, notes that Peter first ranked himself with the elders and here ranks Christ as Chief Shepherd over them. The crown He gives is glory that will never fade away. The reward waits for His appearing.
Humble Yourselves; Your Adversary Prowls
1 Peter 5:5-7
clothe yourselves with humility: All are to clothe yourselves with humility, egkomboomai, tying on a servant's apron. The ground is Proverbs 3:34, as in James 4:6, and the humble cast their anxiety on God, because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:5
“There is a mutual opposition between God and the proud, so the word signifies; they war against him, and he scorns them; he resisteth the proud, because they are like the devil, enemies to himself and to his kingdom among men, Prov. iii. Where God giveth grace to be humble, he will give more grace, more wisdom, faith, holiness, and humility.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 5:5
“Clothing was the original badge of man's sin and shame. Pride caused the need of man's clothing, and pride still reigns in dress; the Christian therefore clothes himself in humility (1Pe 3:3, 4). God provides him with the robe of Christ's righteousness, in order to receive which man must be stripped of pride.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Peter 5:5
“And be all - Elder or younger. Subject to each other - Let every one be ready, upon all occasions, to give up his own will. Be clothed with humility-Bind it on, (so the word signifies,) so that no force may be able to tear it from you.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Cross references
1 Peter 5:5
- QuotingProverbs 3:34“He mocks the mockers, but gives grace to the humble.”
'God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble'
mighty hand: God's mighty hand that humbles is the hand that will exalt. Adam Clarke writes that those who humble themselves under it, God lifts up. The time of exaltation is His.
1 Peter 5:6
“Humble yourselves - Those who submit patiently to the dispensations of God’s providence he lifts up; those who lift themselves up, God thrusts down. If we humble not ourselves under God’s grace, he will humble us under his judgments. Those who patiently submit to him, he exalts in due time; if his hand be mighty to depress, it is also mighty to exalt.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Peter 5:6
“PRIDE is so natural to fallen man that it springs up in his heart like weeds in a watered garden, or rushes by a flowing brook. It is an all pervading sin and smothers all things like dust on the roads, or flour in the mill. Its every touch is evil as the breath of the cholera-fiend, or the blast of the Sahara wind. Pride is as hard to get rid of as charlock from the furrows, or the American blight from the apple trees. If killed, it revives; if buried, it bursts the tomb.”
He cares for you: Humility and freedom from care go together. Albert Barnes traces the line to Psalm 55:22, where the burden is cast on the Lord. Charles Spurgeon warns that cares born of greed cannot be handed to God, since He never sent them.
1 Peter 5:7
This cuts off the head at once of many of those anxieties into which Christians sometimes fall. For instance, covetous cares—if I desire to get and grasp more than is absolutely necessary, that I may hastily grow rich, I cannot, on my knees, ask God to carry this care for me, because it is none of His sending. He has taught me to say, "Give us this day our daily bread," and He has given me a blessed example in Agur, that I may pray, "Give me neither poverty nor riches."
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 5:7
Exemption from care goes along with humble submission to God. careth for you--literally "respecting you." Care is a burden which faith casts off the man on his God. 55:22, to which Peter alludes; Php 4:6. careth--not so strong a Greek word as the previous Greek "anxiety."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Peter 5:7
“Casting all your care upon him - Compare Psa 55:22, from whence this passage was probably taken. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee; he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Compare, for a similar sentiment, Mat 6:25-30. The meaning is, that we are to commit our whole cause to him.”
1 Peter 5:8-9
Be sober-minded and alert: Your adversary the devil, antidikos, the opponent at law, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Believers resist him standing firm in your faith, as James 4:7 commands, and suffer alongside your brothers throughout the world.
1 Peter 5:8
“That the devil wanders over all the earth under heaven and ranges about like a mad dog, seeking whom he may devour, we learn from the story of Job.”
Basil of Caesarea · written before 379 · On Renunciation of the World 2patristic
4 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 5:8
“Be sober - Avoid drunkenness of your senses, and drunkenness in your souls; be not overcharged with the concerns of the world. Be vigilant - Awake, and keep awake; be always watchful; never be off your guard; your enemies are alert, they are never off theirs. Your adversary the devil - This is the reason why ye should be sober and vigilant; ye have an ever active, implacable, subtle enemy to contend with.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Peter 5:8
“Be sober, be vigilant,.... The apostle had exhorted to each of these before; see 1Pe 1:13 but thought fit to repeat them; sobriety and watchfulness being exceeding necessary and useful in the Christian life; and the one cannot well be without the other: unless a man is sober in body and mind, he will not be watchful, either over himself or others, or against the snares of sin, Satan, and the world; and if he is not on his watch and guard, he is liable to every sin and temptation.”
1 Peter 5:8
“SATAN, who is called by various names in the Scriptures, all descriptive of his bad qualities, was once an angel of God— perhaps one of the chief among the fiery ones— "Foremost of the sons of light, Midst the bright ones doubly bright." Sin, all-destroying sin, which has made an Aceldama out of Eden, soon found inhabitants for Hell in Heaven itself, plucking one of the brightest stars of the morning from its sphere and quenching it in blackest night.”
1 Peter 5:8
“But in the mean time watch. There is a close connection between this, and the duly casting our care upon him. How deeply had St. Peter himself suffered for want of watching!”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
standing firm in your faith: Albert Barnes calls for resistance to the devil in every form he takes, standing firm in faith in God. Believers suffer in company. The same kinds of suffering fall on the brothers throughout the world, as Bede notes.
1 Peter 5:9
“Whom resist - See the notes at Jas 4:7. You are in no instance to yield to him, but are in all forms to stand up and oppose him. Feeble in yourselves, you are to confide in the arm of God. No matter in what form of terror he approaches, you are to fight manfully the fight of faith. Compare the notes at Eph 6:10-17. Steadfast in the faith - Confiding in God. You are to rely on him alone, and the means of successful resistance are to be found in the resources of faith.”
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 5:9
“Be the more steadfast, as ye know the same kind of afflictions are accomplished in - That is, suffered by, your brethren, till the measure allotted them is filled up.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Peter 5:9
“It is a sign of God's favor rather than displeasure, that Satan is allowed to harass you, as he did Job. Your fellow Christians have the same battle of faith and prayer against Satan. are--are being accomplished according to the appointment of God. in the world--lying in the wicked one, and therefore necessarily the scene of "tribulation" (Joh 16:33).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Peter 5:10-11
suffered for a little while: Suffering lasts a little while, oligon, set against His eternal glory in Christ. Four verbs build up the sufferer, the first katartizo, to mend, the last themelioo, to lay a foundation, and verse 11 answers in praise.
1 Peter 5:10
“If He does so in punishing, much more in grace. The three are fitly conjoined: the call, the glory to which we are called, and the way (suffering); the fourth is the ground of the calling, namely, the grace of God in Christ. by--Greek, "in." Christ is He in virtue of whom, and in union with whom, believers are called to glory.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 5:10
“Now the God of all grace - By which alone the whole work is begun, continued, and finished in your soul. After ye have suffered a while - A very little while compared with eternity.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Peter 5:10
"But the God of all grace," he says. [1 Peter 5:10] "Of all grace," he says, because He is good, and the giver of all good things.
Clement of Alexandria · written before 215 · From the Latin Translation of Cassiodoruspatristic
To Him be the power forever and ever: The prayer of verse 10 ends in praise to the God of all grace. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the power ascribed to Him is the power He shows in the lives of those who suffer. The power is His forever.
1 Peter 5:11
“It is ultimately the role of the Father and of the Son to proclaim the mystery of faith, because the glory and power belong to them, although they condescend to make use of us and of our preaching.”
Andreas of Caesarea · written before 614 · CATENApatristic
1 more voice on this verse
1 Peter 5:11
“To Him and Him alone: not to ourselves. Compare "Himself," see on 1Pe 5:10. glory and--omitted in the oldest manuscripts and versions. dominion--Greek, "the might" shown in so "perfecting," you, 1Pe 5:10.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Silvanus, Babylon, and a Kiss of Love
1 Peter 5:12-14
a faithful brother: Silvanus, the Silas of Acts, brings the letter, whose purpose is testifying that this is the true grace of God. The church in Babylon is read as Rome under a cover name, most since the fathers, or as Babylon on the Euphrates.
1 Peter 5:12
“By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose - To say the least of this translation, it is extremely obscure, and not put together with that elegance which is usual to our translators. I see no reason why the clause may not be thus translated: I have written to you, as I consider, briefly, by Silvanus, the faithful brother.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 5:12
“As I suppose - As I judge, upon good grounds, though not by immediate inspiration. I have written - That is, sent my letter by him. Adding my testimony - To that which ye before heard from Paul, that this is the true gospel of the grace of God.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 Peter 5:12
“Observe, An honourable esteem of the ministers of religion tends much to the success of their labours. When we are convinced they are faithful, we shall profit more by their ministerial services. The prejudices that some of these Jews might have against Silvanus, as a minister of the Gentiles, would soon wear off when they were once convinced that he was a faithful brother.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
The church in Babylon: Theophylact and Oecumenius read Babylon as a name for Rome. John Gill doubts that Peter wrote from Rome, and John Wesley places him near Babylon itself. Mark, whom Peter calls his son, sends greetings with the church.
1 Peter 5:13
“The church that is at Babylon - Near which St. Peter probably was, when he wrote this epistle. Elected together with you - Partaking of the same faith with you.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
1 Peter 5:13
"Marcus, my son, salutes you." Mark, the follower of Peter, while Peter publicly preached the Gospel at Rome before some of Caesar's equites, and adduced many testimonies to Christ, in order that thereby they might be able to commit to memory what was spoken, of what was spoken by Peter, wrote entirely what is called the Gospel according to Mark. As Luke also may be recognised by the style, both to have composed the Acts of the Apostles, and to have translated Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews.
Clement of Alexandria · written before 215 · From the Latin Translation of Cassiodoruspatristic
1 Peter 5:13
“Compare 1Pe 3:7, "heirs together of the grace of life." But why she should be called "elected together with you in Babylon," as if there had been no Christian woman in Babylon besides, is inexplicable on this view.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 Peter 5:13
“The church that is at Babylon,.... The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, supply the word "church", as we do. Some, by "Babylon", understand Rome, which is so called, in a figurative sense, in the book of the Revelations: this is an ancient opinion; so Papias understood it, as (e) Eusebius relates; but that Peter was at Rome, when he wrote this epistle, cannot be proved, nor any reason be given why the proper name of the place should be concealed, and a figurative one expressed.”
a kiss of love: Paul calls the same greeting a holy kiss in Romans 16:16, and Theophylact reads the two greetings as one. The kiss of love marks the love of those in Christ for one another. The letter ends with peace to all of them.
1 Peter 5:14
“Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity - See the notes on Rom 16:16, and on 1Co 16:20 (note). In the above places the kiss is called a holy kiss; here, φιληματι αγαπης, a kiss of Love; i.e. as a mark of their love to each other, in order that misunderstandings might be prevented. But ten or twelve MSS., with the Syriac, Arabic, Armenian, and Vulgate, have ἁγιῳ, holy; salute one another with a Holy kiss. The difference is not great.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Peter 5:14
“But when is peace more to be concluded with brethren than when, at the time of some religious observance, our prayer ascends with more acceptability; that they may themselves participate in our observance, and thereby be mollified for transacting with their brother touching. their own peace? What prayer is complete if divorced from the "holy kiss? " Whom does peace impede when rendering service to his Lord? What kind of sacrifice is that from which men depart without peace?”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On Prayerpatristic
How this psalm is built
The form: Charges to the elders at verses 1 to 4 and to all at verses 5 to 9, a promise and doxology at verses 10 and 11, and the letter's close at verses 12 to 14, as The Berean text's own markers: the appeal to the elders at verse 1, the young men at verse 5, the Amen of verse 11 and the name of Silvanus at verse 12 classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The shepherd and the flock | The shepherd words stand at verse 2, where the elders are told to be shepherds of God's flock, and at verse 4, where Christ is the Chief Shepherd. They pick up 2:25, where Christ is the Shepherd and Overseer of souls. Albert Barnes, quoting Benson, notes that Peter ranks himself with the elders and ranks Christ with the shepherds.Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on 1 Peter 5:4. | 1 Peter 2:25, 1 Peter 5:2, 1 Peter 5:4 |
| The letter's end answers its beginning | Verse 10 speaks of the God of all grace who called the readers to His eternal glory in Christ, as the opening spoke of God's mercy and the new birth. Andreas of Caesarea notes that the beginning and the end of the letter are the same, the Father showing mercy and calling through the Son. Theophylact of Ohrid makes the same observation.Andreas of Caesarea, The Catena on 1 Peter, on 1 Peter 5:10. | 1 Peter 1:3, 1 Peter 5:10 |
| Proverbs 3:34 quoted | Verse 5 quotes the proverb that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble, and verse 6 draws the command from it. Matthew Henry names Proverbs 3 as the source at verse 5.Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 1 Peter 5:5. | 1 Peter 5:5, 1 Peter 5:6 |
The debated reading: Babylon
7 more paragraphs on the patterns
Verse 13 sends greetings from the church in Babylon. Theophylact of Ohrid and Oecumenius read Babylon as a name for Rome (Commentary on 1 Peter, on 1 Peter 5:13), and John Gill reports that Papias read it so, as Eusebius relates. Gill himself doubts that Peter was at Rome when he wrote (Exposition of the New Testament, on 1 Peter 5:13). John Wesley places Peter near Babylon itself (Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 1 Peter 5:13). Albert Barnes records the view that the one chosen together with them is a woman, perhaps Peter's wife (Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on 1 Peter 5:13).
Bishop and elder
The verb for watching over at verse 2 is the root of the word bishop, as Jerome points out (Letters 146). Adam Clarke takes the verse as evidence that bishop and elder were one order in the apostles' time (Commentary on the Bible, on 1 Peter 5:2).
The roaring lion
Verse 8 names the devil as an adversary who prowls like a roaring lion. Basil of Caesarea draws on the story of Job, where the adversary goes to and fro on the earth (On Renunciation of the World 2). John Wesley notes how deeply Peter himself had suffered for want of watching (Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 1 Peter 5:8).
What the chapter hands back
The grace of verse 12 answers the grace and peace of 1:2. The glory to be revealed at verse 1 answers the glories that follow the sufferings of Christ at 1:11.
Keep studying
Studies16
Places1
Words12
Subjects1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The context
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
The form and classifications
The Berean text's own markers: the appeal to the elders at verse 1, the young men at verse 5, the Amen of verse 11 and the name of Silvanus at verse 12, 1 Peter 5:1, 5:5, 5:11 and 5:12.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 428: A Cure For Care; Hilary of Arles, Introductory Commentary on 1 Peter; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Letters 146; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on 1 Peter and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Peter.