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1 Peter

About this book
Chapter 5

1 So as your fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings and as one who shares in the glory that will be revealed, I urge the elders among you: 2 Give a shepherd’s care to God’s flock among you, exercising oversight not merely as a duty but willingly under God’s direction, not for shameful profit but eagerly. 3 And do not lord it over those entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock. 4 Then when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away.⁠ 5 In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.⁠ 6 And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand⁠ 7 by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you.⁠ 8 Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.⁠ 9 Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering. 10 And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 11 To him belongs the power forever. Amen. 12 Through Silvanus, whom I know to be a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, in order to encourage you and testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it. 13 The church in Babylon, chosen together with you,⁠ greets you, and so does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with a loving kiss. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Texts in conversation

Compare Ezekiel 22:25 and 1 Peter 5:8

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

1 Peter uses imagery from Ezekiel, where unjust leaders are compared to roaring lions that destroy the people. 1 Peter uses this language to describe the devil as a similar force that threatens the community.

Passages

Ezekiel 22:25

Hebrew Bible
23 The Lord’s message came to me: 24 “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that receives no rain or showers in the day of my anger.’ 25 Her princes within her are like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they have devoured lives. They take away riches and valuable things; they have made many women widows within it. 26 Her priests abuse my law and have desecrated my holy things. They do not distinguish between the holy and the profane or recognize any distinction between the unclean and the clean. They ignore my Sabbaths, and I am profaned in their midst.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

1 Peter 5:8

New Testament
6 And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand 7 by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you. 8 Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering.
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Peter

References

"... Particularly notable, however, is Psalm 22:13, where the psalmist laments concerning his enemies who “open wide their mouth at me, as a ravening and a roaring lion” that arguably resembles most closely the language in 1 Peter 5:8 of the devil “as a roaring lion” (ὡς λέων ὠρυόμενος). Consequently, this psalm has frequently been seen as “the apparent source of Peter’s imagery,” with some such as Peter H. Davids more confidently asserting that “the image is surely drawn from Psalm 22:13,” though not all have been persuaded of this connection. Charles Bigg has suggested that 1 Peter 5:8 is a composite reference, drawing partly from the prowling lion in Psalm 22:13 and the prowling slanderer of Job. If so, the roaming of ὁ διάβολος in 1 Peter 5:8 (περιπατέω) would mirror the roaming of ὁ διάβολος in Job 1:7 (περιέρχομαι; compare διαπορεύομαι in 2:2) and in both texts God’s sovereignty would be upheld even when he permits trials from the devil for the testing of his servants. Alternatively, Craig S. Keener identifies Ezekiel 22:25, 28 as “the passage that most likely provides some of the wording here” wherein the false prophets “were, as here, like a roaring lion devouring lives.” ..."
Tyler Hallstrom, “Like a Lion: Mapping the Leonine Metaphor in 1 Peter 5:8,” JETS 65.3 (2022): 535–552.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Ezekiel 22:25 and 1 Peter 5:8

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