1 Peter 5:8

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

6So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. 10In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.

1 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 and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
• 1 Peter 4:7The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.
• Matthew 24:48But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’
• Luke 12:45But what if the servant thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk?
• Luke 21:34“Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware,
• Romans 13:11This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:6So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.
• 1 Timothy 2:9And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes.
• 1 Timothy 3:2So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach.
• Esther 7:6Esther replied, “This wicked Haman is our adversary and our enemy.” Haman grew pale with fright before the king and queen.
• Job 1:6One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them.
• Job 2:2“Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan. Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”
• Psalms 109:6They say, “Get an evil person to turn against him. Send an accuser to bring him to trial.
• Isaiah 50:8He who gives me justice is near. Who will dare to bring charges against me now? Where are my accusers? Let them appear!
• Zechariah 3:1Then the angel showed me Jeshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Jeshua.
• Luke 22:31“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat.

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

• Commandments
• Decision
• Lion
• Perseverance
• Satan
• Sobriety
• War
• Watchfulness

In the dictionaries

• Adversary
• Constraint
• Devour
• Ensample
• Heritage
• Oversight
• Satan
• Stedfast
• Vigilant
• Witness

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