Section 2:13–25

God’s people should respect the rulers/chiefs of this world

In this section Peter explained in what way his readers should live good lives among their pagan neighbors. They should respect and obey their rulers, including those who ruled locally in the village or town and those who ruled the country. They should also respect and obey the chief ruler of all, the emperor of Rome. God had given these people authority to punish people who do evil and praise those who do good.

Some other headings for this section are:

Respect the Authority of Others (God’s Word)
-or-
Submission to Rulers and Masters (New International Version)

Paragraph 2:13–17

2:13a

Submit yourselves…to: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Submit yourselves…to means to recognize someone else’s authority. It is to accept their legal position and to act respectfully, as a subordinate. This would normally imply obeying their orders. Other translation suggestions include:

accept the authority of (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
place yourself under the authority of (God’s Word)

for the Lord’s sake: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for the Lord’s sake means “because of the Lord (Jesus Christ).” Peter wanted his readers to act in a way that would both please and honor the Lord. In your translation, you may need to focus on one of these aspects. For example:

the Lord wants you to… (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
to please the Lord (God’s Word)
-or-
to honor the Lord

every human institution: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as every human institution probably means “human authority.” This is the only time this Greek word that literally means “creation” is used in this way in the New Testament. The phrase has also been translated as:

human institution (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
human authority (Good News Translation)

Peter was referring to all people who have authority over others, whether in a single household, locally in a village or town, or in the whole country.

2:13b

the king: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as king here refers to the emperor, the head of the Roman Empire, who had power over all other government officials. Here is another way to translate this noun:

emperor (Revised English Bible)

as the supreme authority: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as as the supreme authority indicates both that the king was the supreme authority and that this was the reason why people should be subject to him.

the supreme authority: The word supreme means “highest in authority or rank.” The emperor had power over all other rulers in the Roman Empire. There was no one with the legal right to oppose him. Some other ways to translate this include:

who rules over everyone (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
who is the highest authority (New Century Version)

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