1 Peter 2:23

Contextual Overview

¹³Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, ¹³ Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, ¹³ Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, ¹³If you want to honor the Lord, do what those in authority on earth tell you to do. I don't care if he is a king, a governor, ¹³ Keep all the laws of men because of the Lord; those of the king, who is over all, ¹³ Be in subjection [therefore] to every human institution for the Lord's sake; whether to [the] king as supreme, ¹³ Therefore subject yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether to the king, as supreme; ¹³ Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme, Or to governors, ¹³ Submit, for the Lord's sake, to every authority set up by man, whether it be to the Emperor as supreme ruler, ¹³ Submit your selues to euery ordinance of man for the Lordes sake, whether it be to the King, as supreme,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

when he was: Psalms 38:12-14, Isaiah 53:7, Matthew 27:39-44, Mark 14:60, Mark 14:61, Mark 15:29-32, Luke 22:64, Luke 22:65, Luke 23:9, Luke 23:34-39, John 8:48, John 8:49, John 19:9-11, Acts 8:32-35, Hebrews 12:3

threatened: Acts 4:29, Acts 9:1, Ephesians 6:9

but: 1 Peter 4:19, Psalms 10:14, Psalms 31:5, Psalms 37:5, Luke 23:46, Acts 7:59, 2 Timothy 1:12

himself: or, his cause

judgeth: Genesis 18:25, Psalms 7:11, Psalms 96:13, Acts 17:31, Romans 2:5, 2 Thessalonians 1:5, 2 Timothy 4:8, Revelation 19:11

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 24:12 - Lord judge 2 Samuel 16:10 - What have 1 Chronicles 12:17 - God Job 5:8 - unto God Job 9:15 - my judge Job 31:30 - have Psalms 9:4 - right Psalms 35:20 - quiet Psalms 38:13 - General Psalms 40:17 - the Lord Psalms 43:1 - Judge Psalms 64:4 - the perfect Psalms 69:13 - my prayer Psalms 69:19 - my reproach Psalms 119:43 - for I have Proverbs 11:12 - a man Proverbs 20:22 - wait Isaiah 42:2 - General Jeremiah 11:20 - revealed Jeremiah 20:12 - for Lamentations 3:59 - judge Matthew 5:11 - when Matthew 5:22 - Whosoever Matthew 5:44 - General Matthew 26:63 - Jesus Matthew 27:12 - General Luke 22:63 - mocked John 9:28 - they John 18:38 - I find Acts 28:19 - not 1 Corinthians 4:12 - being reviled 2 Corinthians 10:1 - by 1 Thessalonians 5:15 - none Hebrews 12:2 - despising Hebrews 12:23 - God James 5:6 - and he

Cross-References

Genesis 2:8
Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

Genesis 2:8
Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

Genesis 2:8
And Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden, toward the east; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.

Genesis 2:8
The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.

Genesis 2:8
And the Lord God planted a garden eastwarde in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had shapen.

Genesis 2:8
Then the Lord God planted a garden in the East, in a place named Eden. He put the man he made in that garden.

Genesis 2:8
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:8
Forsothe the Lord God plauntide at the bigynnyng paradis of likyng, wherynne he settide man whom he hadde formed.

Genesis 2:8
And the LORD God planted a garden Eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:8
And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Who when he was reviled, reviled not again,.... When he was reproached as a glutton, a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners, all the reply he made was, that Wisdom is justified of her children; and when he was charged with casting out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of devils, he defended himself, not with bad language, but with strong reasonings; and when he was said to be a Samaritan, and had a devil, his only answer was, that he had not, that he honoured his Father, and they dishonoured him; and when he was reviled on the cross, by those that passed by, by the chief priests, and Scribes, and the thieves that were crucified with him, he made no return, he opened not his mouth, and much less in a recriminating way.

When he suffered he threatened not; when he endured buffetings, and scourgings in his body, when the officers in the palace of the high priests spit in his face, buffeted him, and smote him with the palms of their hands, and bid him prophesy who smote him, all which were very provoking; yet he said not one word to them, much less threatened them with what he would do to them for such usage another day, when he would let them know, with vengeance, who it was that smote him; no, he took all patiently from them, and from Pilate, and the Roman soldiers, when scourged by them; he gave his back to the smiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; and when he suffered crucifixion, and was put to such distressing pains and agonies, he did not threaten his crucifiers with a future judgment, when he would take vengeance, and execute his wrath upon them, but prays to his Father for the forgiveness of their sins: and, as it follows;

but committed [himself] to him that judgeth righteously; he commended his Spirit, or soul, to God his Father, and committed his cause to him, to vindicate it in what way he should think fit, who he knew was the Judge of all the earth, that would do right; and so the Syriac version supplies it with דיניה, "his judgment": which he left with God, the righteous Judge, to whom vengeance belongs; and which is an example, and an instruction to the saints to do so likewise; not to render railing for railing, or to seek revenge, but to leave their cause with their God, who will, in his own time, avenge the wrongs and injuries done them. The Vulgate Latin version reads, contrary to all the Greek copies, and other versions, "but delivered himself to him that judgeth unjustly"; the sense of which is, that Christ delivered himself into the hands of Pilate, who unjustly condemned him to death; but is neither the reading, nor sense of the text.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again - He did not use harsh and opprobrious words in return for those which he received:

(1) He was reviled. He was accused of being a seditious man; spoken of as a deceiver; charged with being in league with Beelzebub, the “prince of the devils” and condemned as a blasphemer against God. This was done:

(a)By the great and the influential of the land;

(b)In the most public manner;

(c)With a design to alienate his friends from him;

(d)With most cutting and severe sarcasm and irony; and,

(e)In reference to everything that would most affect a man of delicate and tender sensibility.

(2) He did not revile those who had reproached him. He asked that justice might be done. He demanded that if he had spoken evil, they should bear witness of the evil; but beyond that he did not go. He used no harsh language. He showed no anger. He called for no revenge. He prayed that they might robe forgiven. He calmly stood and bore it all, for he came to endure all kinds of suffering in order that he might set us an example, and make an atonement for our sins.

When he suffered, he threatened not - That is, when he suffered injustice from others, in his trial and in his death, he did not threaten punishment. He did not call down the wrath of heaven. He did not even predict that they would be punished; he expressed no wish that they should be.

But committed himself to him that judgeth righteously - Margin, his cause. The sense is much the same. The meaning is, that he committed his cause, his name, his interests, the whole case, to God. The meaning of the phrase “that judgeth righteously” here is, that God would do him exact justice. Though wronged by people, he felt assured that he would do right. He would rescue his name from these reproaches; he would give him the honor in the world which he deserved; and he would bring upon those who had wronged him all that was necessary in order to show his disapprobation of what they had done, and all that would be necessary to give the highest support to the cause of virtue. Compare Luke 23:46. This is the example which is set before us when we are wronged. The whole example embraces these points:

(1) We should see to it that we ourselves are guiltless in the matter for which we are reproached or accused. Before we fancy that we are suffering as Christ did, we should be sure that our lives are such as not to deserve reproach. We cannot indeed hope to be as pure in all things as he was; but we may so live that if we are reproached and reviled we may be certain that it is not for any wrong that we have done to others, or that we do not deserve it from our fellow-men.

(2) When we are reproached and reviled, we should feel that we were called to this by our profession; that it was one of the things which we were taught to expect when we became Christians; that it is what the prophets and apostles endured, and what the Master himself suffered in an eminent degree; and that if we meet with the scorn of the great, the frivilous, the rich, the powerful, it is no more than the Saviour did, and no more than we have been taught to expect will be our portion. It may be well, too, to remember our unworthiness; and to reflect, that though we have done no wrong to the individual who reviles us yet that we are sinners, and that such reproaches may not be a useless admonisher of our being guilty before God. So David felt when reproached by Shimei: “So let him curse, because the Lord hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?” 2 Samuel 16:10.

(3) When this occurs, we should calmly and confidently commit our cause to God. Our name, our character, our influence, our reputation, while living and after we are dead, we should leave entirely with him. We should not seek nor desire revenge. We should not call down the wrath of God on our persecutors and slanderers. We should calmly feel that God will give us the measure of reputation which we ought to have in the world, and that he will suffer no ultimate injustice to be done us. “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass; and he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day,” Psalms 37:5-6. The Latin Vulgate has here, “But he committed himself to him who judged him unjustly,” judicanti se injuste; that is, to Pontius Pilate, meaning that he left himself in his hands, though he knew that the sentence was unjust. But there is no authority for this in the Greek, and this is one of the instances in which that version departs from the original.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 23. But committed himself] Though he could have inflicted any kind of punishment on his persecutors, yet to give us, in this respect also, an example that we should follow his steps, he committed his cause to him who is the righteous Judge. To avoid evil tempers, and the uneasiness and danger of avenging ourselves, it is a great advantage in all such cases to be able to refer our cause to God, and to be assured that the Judge of all the earth will do right.

The Vulgate, one copy of the Itala, St. Cyprian, and Fulgentius, read, Tradebat autem judicanti se injuste; "He delivered himself to him who judged unrighteously;" meaning Pontius Pilate. Some critics approve of this reading, but it has not sufficient evidence to recommend it as genuine.