ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Passage

1 Peter 5.13

Book: 1 Peter · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

There are ads on our codex that pay for hosting and keep the codex free. If you can, please consider whitelisting ris3n.com or allowing scripts to support the work.

Sponsored

Brands, events, influencers advertise here

ASV

11. To him be the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 12. By Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I account him, I have written unto you briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand ye fast therein.

13. She that is in Babylon, elect together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Mark my son.

  1. Salute one another with a kiss of love. Peace be unto you all that are in Christ. (1 Peter 5:11-14, ASV)
WEB

11. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. 12. Through Silvanus, our faithful brother, as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.

13. She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, greets you; and so does Mark, my son.

  1. Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen. (1 Peter 5:11-14, WEB)
KJV

11. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 12. By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.

13. The church that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Marcus my son.

  1. Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen. (1 Peter 5:11-14, KJV)
YLT

11. to Him [is] the glory, and the power, to the ages and the ages! Amen. 12. Through Silvanus, to you the faithful brother, as I reckon, through few [words] I did write, exhorting and testifying this to be the true grace of God in which ye have stood.

13. Salute you doth the [assembly] in Babylon jointly elected, and Markus my son.

  1. Salute ye one another in a kiss of love; peace to you all who [are] in Christ Jesus! Amen. (1 Peter 5:11-14, YLT)

See this page's graph and discover linked topics

Setting

  • Speaker: Peter, writing through Silvanus (5:12)
  • Audience: scattered believers across five Roman provinces of Asia Minor, described as sojourners and exiles and facing social hostility rather than state persecution
  • Location: written from "Babylon" (5:13), most likely a designation for Rome
  • Time period: c. AD 62 to 64, before the Neronian persecution

Theological reading

She that is in Babylon, elect together with you, saluteth you; and so doth Mark my son.

A short greeting carrying two significant historical claims.

Babylon almost certainly means Rome. The literal Babylon in Mesopotamia was largely deserted by the first century, and there is no tradition of a Petrine mission there. Rome as Babylon is standard in Jewish and Christian usage after AD 70, running through Revelation 17 and 18 and the Sibylline Oracles, where the city that destroyed the temple takes the name of the empire that destroyed the first one. Reading it literally would leave the letter with no known destination and no supporting tradition. This verse is therefore one of the main textual supports for Peter having been in Rome. See Papacy and Petrine Primacy for what does and does not follow from that.

She that is is feminine and most likely means the church in that city, with elect together with you echoing the letter's opening address to the elect sojourners. A minority read it as Peter's wife, mentioned at 1 Corinthians 9:5.

Mark my son is the standard identification of John Mark. Papias, as preserved in Eusebius, reports that Mark was Peter's interpreter and wrote down what Peter recounted. This greeting is the New Testament's own corroboration of the association Papias describes, and it bears on the traditional account of the Second Gospel's origin. See Anonymous Gospels Objection Defeater.

Silvanus in verse 12 accounts for the letter's polished Greek.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

Quoted in

Concepts:

People:

Passages:

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.