Amplified Bible
1 Peter 5:8
8Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
- New International Version (NIV)Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Context of 1 Peter 5:8
6Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time, 7casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]. Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. 9But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack—rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.] 10After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace [who imparts His blessing and favor], who called you to His own eternal glory in Christ, will Himself complete, confirm, strengthen, and establish you [making you what you ought to be].
Read all of 1 Peter 51 Peter 5:8 word by word
νήψατε, γρηγορήσατε ὁ ἀντίδικος ὑμῶν διάβολος ὡς λέων ὠρυόμενος περιπατεῖ ζητῶν τινα καταπιεῖν·Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Be soberνήφωnēphō · be soberG3525
- be vigilantγρηγορέωgrēgoreuō · to keep watchG1127
- becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
- yourσύsu · youG4771
- adversaryὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- adversaryἀντίδικοςantidikos · opponentG476
- the devilδιάβολοςdiabolos · devilish/the DevilG1228
- asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
- a roaringὠρύομαιōruomai · to roarG5612
- lionλέωνleōn · lionG3023
- walketh aboutπεριπατέωperipateō · to walkG4043
- seekingζητέωzēteō · to seekG2212
- whomτίςtis · which?G5101
- he may devourκαταπίνωkatapinō · to swallowG2666
Cross-references for 1 Peter 5:8
- 1 Peter 1:13So prepare your minds for action, be completely sober [in spirit—steadfast, self-disciplined, spiritually and morally alert], fix your hope completely on the grace [of God] that is coming to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
- 1 Peter 4:7The end and culmination of all things is near. Therefore, be sound-minded and self-controlled for the purpose of prayer [staying balanced and focused on the things of God so that your communication will be clear, reasonable, specific and pleasing to Him.]
- Matthew 24:48But if that servant is evil and says in his heart, ‘My master is taking his time [he will not return for a long while],’
- Luke 12:45But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is taking his time in coming,’ and begins to beat the servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk,
- Luke 21:34“But be on guard, so that your hearts are not weighed down and depressed with the giddiness of debauchery and the nausea of self-indulgence and the worldly worries of life, and then that day [when the Messiah returns] will not come on you suddenly like a trap;
- Romans 13:11Do this, knowing that this is a critical time. It is already the hour for you to awaken from your sleep [of spiritual complacency]; for our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed [in Christ].
- 1 Thessalonians 5:6So then let us not sleep [in spiritual indifference] as the rest [of the world does], but let us keep wide awake [alert and cautious] and let us be sober [self-controlled, calm, and wise].
- 1 Timothy 2:9Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves modestly and appropriately and discreetly in proper clothing, not with [elaborately] braided hair and gold or pearls or expensive clothes,
- 1 Timothy 3:2Now an overseer must be blameless and beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
- Esther 7:6Esther said, “An adversary and an enemy is Haman, this evil man.” Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.
- Job 1:6Now there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (adversary, accuser) also came among them.
- Job 2:2The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming around on the earth and from walking around on it.”
- Psalms 109:6Appoint a wicked man against him, And let an attacker stand at his right hand [to kill him].
- Isaiah 50:8He who declares Me in the right is near; Who will [dare to] contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; Who is My adversary? Let him approach Me.
- Zechariah 3:1Then the guiding angel showed me Joshua the high priest [representing disobedient, sinful Israel] standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at Joshua’s right hand to be his adversary and to accuse him.
- Luke 22:31“Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has demanded permission to sift [all of] you like grain;
Commentaries on 1 Peter 5:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Be sober - Avoid drunkenness of your senses, and drunkenness in your souls; be not overcharged with the concerns of the world. Be vigilant - Awake, and keep awake; be always watchful; never be off your guard; your enemies are alert, they are never off theirs. Your adversary the devil - This is the reason why ye should be sober and vigilant; ye have an ever active, implacable, subtle enemy to contend with. He walketh about - he has access to you…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8Be sober - While you cast your cares Upon God, and have no anxiety on that score, let your solicitude be directed to another point. Do not doubt that he is able and willing to support and befriend you, but be watchful against your foes. See the word used here fully explained in the notes at 1 Thessalonians 5:6. Be vigilant - This word ( ́ grēgoreō) is everywhere else in the New Testament rendered “watch.” See Matthew 24:42-43; Matthew 25:13; Matthew…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-9Verses 5-9 Humility preserves peace and order in all Christian churches and societies; pride disturbs them. Where God gives grace to be humble, he will give wisdom, faith, and holiness. To be humble, and subject to our reconciled God, will bring greater comfort to the soul than the gratification of pride and ambition. But it is to be in due time; not in thy fancied time, but God's own wisely appointed time. Does he wait, and wilt not thou? What…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-14Peter concludes the letter with directions to: elders (5:1–4), younger people (5:5), and the entire church (5:5–11). He then gives final greetings and ends the letter (5:12–14).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Peter has in mind Christ's warning to himself to watch against Satan, from forgetting which he fell. Be sober ... vigilant--"Care," that is, anxiety, will intoxicate the soul; therefore be sober, that is, self-restrained. Yet, lest this freedom from care should lead any to false security, he adds, "Be vigilant" against "your adversary." Let this be your "care." God provides, therefore do not be anxious. The devil seeks, therefore watch [Bengel]…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Peter 5:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Peter 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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