What Does 1 Peter 5:5 Mean?
Likewise, you younger ones, place yourselves under the elders. And all of you, tie on lowliness toward one another, for God sets himself against those who lift themselves above, and gives favor to the low ones.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.THE KEY
The same Greek root underlies mutual submission and God’s resistance: people place themselves under one another, while God sets himself against the proud.
THE MEANING
Mutual deference is the shared garment here: everyone takes a humble place with the others. God gives favor to the lowly and sets himself against pride, so the verse presents humility as a posture met by favor and pride as a posture met by opposition.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The belief that self-exaltation secures your standing is undone here: pride meets God’s opposition, while lowliness receives favor.
THE ROOT
ὑποτασσόμενοι
hypotassomenoi
GROWS FROM
τάσσ-
tass-
set, arrange, place in order
“be subject / resisteth” in this verse is hypotassomenoi. Both “be subject” and “resisteth” grow from τάσσω (tassō, to set or arrange): one verb places people under one another, while the other sets God against the proud. Their shared root makes the verse’s central contrast relational: reciprocal yielding meets active opposition to pride.
ALSO GROWS
tassō: set, arrange, appoint
τάσσω
This is the shared root behind the two relational postures in the verse.
hypotassō: place under, submit
ὑποτάσσω
Its “under” prefix gives the mutual submission its image of taking a place beneath one another.
antitassomai: set oneself against, oppose
ἀντιτάσσομαι
Its “against” prefix describes God’s active opposition to the proud.
ταπεινοφροσύνη
tapeinophrosynē
GROWS FROM
ταπειν-
tapein-
low, lowly
Humility (ταπεινοφροσύνη, tapeinophrosynē, lowliness of mind) and the humble (ταπεινοῖς, tapeinois, lowly ones) belong to one word family. The quality people wear and the people who receive favor share the same lowly core.
ALSO GROWS
tapeinos: lowly, humble
ταπεινός
This adjective names the lowly posture at the heart of the verse.
tapeinoō: humble, bring low
ταπεινόω
This verb shows the same root describing a movement into lowliness.
tapeinophrosynē: humility, lowliness of mind
ταπεινοφροσύνη
This is the quality the verse pictures as something worn in relationships.
χάρις
charis
GROWS FROM
χαρι-
chari-
favor, goodwill freely shown
The “grace” given here is χάρις (charis, favor), a word for goodwill bestowed. This keeps the outcome concrete: God gives favor to the lowly.
ALSO GROWS
charizomai: show favor, give freely
χαρίζομαι
This related verb makes favor an active gift, as it is in the verse.
charitoō: bestow favor, favor
χαριτόω
This branch likewise describes someone receiving favor.
THE PATTERN
Pride meets opposition, while lowliness opens into favor and honor.
Surely he scoffs at the scoffers, but he gives favor to the bowed.And whoever lifts themselves high will be brought low, and whoever makes themselves low will be lifted high.Let nothing be done through strife or through empty weight; but in a mind brought low, let each hold the other higher than themselves.THE THREAD
But he gives greater favor. Therefore it says, God sets himself against those who lift themselves high, and gives favor to those made low.James repeats the same opposition verb, ἀντιτάσσεται (antitassetai, sets himself against), and favor word, χάριν (charin, favor), in the same pairing of pride and humility. That shared language connects Peter’s call to mutual submission with the account of God’s opposition and favor.
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