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The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
1 Peter 5:1 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Therefore I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and who will also share in the glory that will be revealed.
  • BSB As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:
  • NKJV The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:
  • NASB Therefore, I urge elders among you, as your fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and one who is also a fellow partaker of the glory that is to be revealed:
  • NLT And now, a word to you who are elders in the churches. I, too, am an elder and a witness to the sufferings of Christ. And I, too, will share in his glory when he is revealed to the whole world. As a fellow elder, I appeal to you:

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Peter, as a fellow elder and witness of Christ's sufferings, exhorts the church's elders. It introduces his pastoral charge to those who lead God's people.

Overview

Peter appeals to the elders not as a distant authority but humbly as 'a fellow elder' who himself witnessed Christ's sufferings. He also shares the hope of the glory yet to be revealed, the same glory promised to all the faithful. This sets a tone of humble partnership for the instructions that follow.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 35

  • Col 3:3–4For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
  • Luke 24:48And ye are witnesses of these things.
  • Rom 8:17–18And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
  • 2 Jn 1:1–15The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;
  • 1 Pet 5:4And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
  • Ps 73:24–25Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
  • Rev 1:9I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
  • Acts 11:30Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
  • Acts 15:22–23Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
  • 1 Pet 1:7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
  • 1 Jn 3:2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
  • Phil 1:21–23For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
  • Acts 14:23And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
  • John 15:26–27But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
  • 2 Tim 4:8Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
  • Titus 1:5For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
  • Acts 15:4And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them.
  • Acts 2:32This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
  • Acts 21:18And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.
  • Acts 20:17And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
  • Phil 1:19For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
  • Acts 15:6And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
  • Acts 20:28Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
  • 1 Pet 1:12Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
  • 1 Tim 5:19Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.
  • Acts 1:22Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
  • Acts 10:39–41And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:
  • Acts 1:8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
  • 1 Tim 5:1Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
  • 2 Cor 5:1For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
  • Phlm 1:9Yet for love’s sake I rather beseech thee, being such an one as Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
  • 1 Pet 1:3–5Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
  • 2 Cor 5:8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
  • Acts 5:30–32The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
  • Acts 3:15And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Peter videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Peter 5:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 PeterMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The lamb without blemish foreknown before the world, who bore our sins in his body on the tree, by whose wounds we are healed — the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.

How 1 Peter 5:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.