_The elders which are among you_ Some of the better MSS. present the reading THE ELDERS THEREFORE AMONG YOU. If we adopt this reading we have the latent sequence of thought in the idea suggested by the word "well-doing" in chap. 1 Peter 4:19, or by the "judgment" of chap. 1 Peter 4:17. The work of t... [ Continue Reading ]
_feed the flock of God_ The word for "feed," here as elsewhere, implies the whole work of the shepherd guiding, directing, protecting, as well as supplying food (comp. Luke 17:7; John 21:16; Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 9:7). The shepherd's work had been from a very early period a parable of that of ru... [ Continue Reading ]
_neither as being lords over God's heritage_ Better, NOT LORDING IT OVER THE HERITAGES. There is no word in the Greek answering to "God's," and it is not wanted to complete the sense. The word for "lording" implies an authority exercised both wrongfully and oppressively. Ambition, the love of power... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when the chief Shepherd shall appear_ The word for "chief Shepherd" is not found elsewhere, and would seem therefore to have been coined by St Peter, to express the thought which had been impressed on his mind by his Lord's words, "I am the good Shepherd" (John 10:14). In his own work, as in th... [ Continue Reading ]
_Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder_ The question meets us, whether the words refer to age only, or to office as connected with age. In either case we have, of course, a perfectly adequate meaning. In favour of the latter view we have the facts (1) that in Luke 22:26, "he that is... [ Continue Reading ]
_Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God_ The parallelism with St James (James 4:10) will again be noticed, but the thought is one which occurs in many forms elsewhere (Job 22:29; Proverbs 29:23; Matthew 23:12; Luke 1:52; Luke 14:11; Luke 18:14). The plural "the mighty hand of God,... [ Continue Reading ]
_casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you_ The English version effaces a distinction in the Greek, the first word for "care" implying "distracting anxiety," as in Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:19; Luke 8:14; Luke 21:34, the latter conveying the idea simply of the care that foresees and provides... [ Continue Reading ]
_Be sober, be vigilant_ The two words are found in a like juxtaposition in 1 Thessalonians 5:6. The tense used here implies an immediate act, as though he said, "Rouse yourselves to sobriety and watchfulness," rather than a continuous state. The first word has the strict meaning of abstinence from t... [ Continue Reading ]
_whom resist stedfast in the faith_ The word for "resist" is the same as that used in the parallel passage of James 4:7. "Faith" is probably used in its subjective rather than its objective sense, for unshaken trust in God rather than unwavering orthodoxy. Comp. the "shield of faith" in Ephesians 6:... [ Continue Reading ]
_But the God of all grace_ Rather, as there is no implied contrast, " AND the God of all grace." The epithet, like "the God of all comfort," in 2 Corinthians 1:3, implies that God is the Author and Giver of all grace that the child of God needs. In connexion with this attribute of God, there follows... [ Continue Reading ]
_To him be glory and dominion_ The doxology is repeated in identical terms from chap. 1 Peter 4:11. Here, as there, it comes as the natural sequel to the thought of what God is and what He has done for His people; and forms the conclusion to the consecutive teaching of the Epistle. It remained only... [ Continue Reading ]
_By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose_ The Greek order of the words leaves it open whether "to you" is to be construed with "faithful" as in the English version, or with "I have written," the former being, on the whole, preferable. If with the Received Text we admit the article bef... [ Continue Reading ]
_The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you_ The Greek MSS. (with the notable exception, however, of the Sinaitic), as the italics shew, have no noun corresponding to "church," and it is, at least, a question whether it ought to be inserted, and the same holds good of the pronoun "you.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity_ Rather, A KISS OF LOVE. The tense of the Greek verb implies that it was to be done, not as a normal practice of the Church, but as a single act, probably when the Epistle had been read publicly, in token of the unity of feeling among all members of the C... [ Continue Reading ]