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1 Peter 2:13

in 1 Peter 2

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Be subject to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether to the king, as supreme;

KJV

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

This verse in 1 Peter 2

Commentary

16 notes on this verse

A commentator

Tertullian

Scorpiace · Written before 220.

Then he goes on also to show how he wishes you to be subject to the powers, bidding you pay "tribute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom," that is, the things which are Caesar's to Caesar, and the things which are God's to God; but man is the property of God alone.

This site's exposition

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake

on 1 Peter 2:13-14

Churches under Nero are told to submit for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, as Paul teaches at Romans 13:1 to 7. The ground is the Lord, and Peter's own stand before the council in Acts 5:29 sets its limit.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers5 voices

A commentator

Tertullian

APOLOGY 1.31 · Written before 220.

proposed

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.

A commentator

Tertullian

On Idolatry · Written before 220.

proposed

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.
Be subject to all royal power and dominion in things which are pleasing to God, as to the ministers of God, and the punishers of the ungodly. Render all the fear that is due to them, all offerings, all customs, all honour, gifts, and taxes. For this is God's command, that you owe nothing to any one but the pledge of love, which God has commanded by Christ.

A commentator

Didymus the Blind

COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER · Written before 398.

proposed

The proclaimers of the truth take all opportunity for wrongdoing away from us by describing how we should behave toward those who are in power in such a way that the gospel and its teaching will not be hindered by us through our unwillingness to …

A commentator

Oecumenius

Commentary on 1 Peter · Written before 550.

proposed

Therefore, be subject to every human creature for the Lord's sake: whether to the king as the supreme authority, or to governors as those sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do well. For it is the will …
9 more voices on this verse

The Medieval Church5 voices

A commentator

Bonaventure

Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4 · Written in the 13th century.

proposed

1 Peter 2: Be subject to every human creature for the sake of God: therefore the more efficaciously one does this, the more perfectly one acts; but he who subjects himself to another by vow does this most efficaciously: therefore such a person acts most …

A commentator

Andreas of Caesarea

CATENA · Written before 614.

proposed

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 …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles · Written before 735.

proposed

Be subject therefore to every human creature for God's sake. He says, to every human creature, to all human dignity, to every person, to every authority, to which divine disposition wished us to be subjected. For this is what he says: For God's sake, because …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles · Written before 735.

proposed

Whether to the king as excelling, etc. Therefore, he speaks only of the king and leaders, but not of masters, because in this place he particularly instructs, as we have said before, those who are masters of slaves. Subsequently, he also admonishes servants how they …

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on 1 Peter · Written before 1107.

proposed

He calls rulers appointed by kings a "human creation," and even the kings themselves, since they too are elected or appointed by people; and Scripture sometimes calls an institution a "creation" as well, as for example in the following passage: "to create in Himself one …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man,....

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man - Greek, “to every creation of man,” (ἀνθρωπίνῃ κτίσει anthrōpinē ktisei The meaning is, to every institution or appointment of man; to wit, of those who are in authority, or who are appointed to administer government. The laws, institutes, and appointments of such a government may be spoken of as the creation of man; that is, as what man makes. Of course, what is here said must be understood with the limitation everywhere implied, that what is ordained by those in authority is not contrary to the law of God.

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

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 representatives.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

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 man, but every human creature; yet κτιζειν signifies sometimes to arrange, order, as well as to create, and therefore our translation may do: but as the apostle is evidently speaking here of magistracy, or legislative authority, and as the appointment of magistrates was termed a creating of them, it is better to understand the words thus, All the constituted authorities. So, Decem tribunos plebis per pontificem creaverunt; Cor. Nep. “They created ten tribunes of the plebeians, by the high priest.” Carthagine quotannis annui bini reges creabantur; Caesar. “They created two kings every year at Carthage.” Consules creantur Caesar et Servilius; Sallust. “Caesar and Servilius are created consuls.” Creare ducem gerendo bello. “To create a general to conduct the war.” The meaning of St. Peter appears to be this: the Jews thought it unlawful to obey any ruler that was not of their own stock; the apostle tells them they should obey the civil magistrate, let him be of what stock he may, whether a Jew or a Gentile, and let him exercise the government in whatsoever form. […]

The words behind it

11 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Titus 3:1

    Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,

    it leads to

    • Romans 13:1–7

      Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Peter 2:13–17

      Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to the king as the supreme authority,

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Proverbs 24:21

      My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Ecclesiastes 10:4

      If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post, for calmness lays great offenses to rest.

    • Galatians 6:9–10

      Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

  • Through

    Proverbs 24:21

    My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not associate with the rebellious.

    it leads to

    • Titus 3:1

      Remind the believers to submit to rulers and authorities, to be obedient and ready for every good work,

    • 1 Kings 12:16

      When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your…

    • Exodus 14:31

      When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.

Where this verse is studied

About 1 Peter

St. Peter in Prison (The Apostle Peter Kneeling), Rembrandt, 1631. Public domain.
St. Peter in Prison (The Apostle Peter Kneeling), Rembrandt, 1631. Public domain.
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Andreas of Caesarea, CATENA; Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions (Book IV), Section 2, XIII; Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles; Bonaventure, Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 4; Didymus the Blind, COMMENTARY ON 1 PETER; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Oecumenius, Commentary on 1 Peter; Tertullian, Scorpiace; Tertullian, APOLOGY 1.31; Tertullian, On Idolatry and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Peter.