1 Peter 5:5

Likewise ye younger,.... Not in office, as if inferior officers to bishops were here intended, who ought to be subject to them; for elders and pastors are the same with them, nor is there any other

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. Ye younger.

Ye younger; either he means those that were inferior to the church officers, and then he here prescribes the people their duty, as he had done the ministers; or rather, those that were younger in years, and then he passeth from the more special to the general. Submit yourselves: under subjection, he comprehends all those offices which the younger owe to the elder; as, to reverence them, take their advice, be guided by them, &c. Or, if younger be taken in the former sense, this precept falls in with that of the apostle, . To the elder: either elders by office, who were likewise usually elders in years, the younger sort being more rarely chosen to be officers; or rather, elder in age. Yea, all of you be subject one to another; viz. in those mutual duties which they owe to each other, as husbands to wives, parents to children, &c. Those that are superior to others, yet are not so exempt from subjection as not to owe some duty: see . And be clothed with humility; or, wrapt up, or covered, with humility, as with a garment which is put on over other garments; q.d. Adorn yourselves with humility as with a beautiful garment or robe. The metaphor of putting on is frequent, where mention is made of any grace or virtue, ,12.

5 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. Ver. 5. Yea, all of you be subject] In regard of love and modesty, not of change and confusion of offices. Be clothed with humility] The Greek word εγκομβωσασθε imports that humility is the riband or string that ties together all those precious pearls, the rest of the graces; if this string break, they are all scattered. Humility, as charity, is the band of perfection; yea, the word κομβος here used signifies not only alligare, to bind, but innodare, say some; to tie knots as delicate and curious women used to do of ribbons to adorn their heads or bodies, as if humility were the knot of every virtue and the grace of every grace. Contrariwise, how ugly and unseemly is pride on the back of honour and head of learning, face of beauty, &c. Chrysostom calleth humility the root, mother, nurse, foundation, and band of all virtues. Basil, the storehouse, treasury of all good, θησαυροφυλακιον. God resisteth] As pride resisteth God in a special manner, so God in a special manner resisteth it. And giveth grace] i.e. Honour and respect; as appears by the opposition, and by Proverbs 3:34-35.

(5) Likewise, ye younger.—Self-submission has been, at least tacitly, inculcated upon the pastors in 1 Peter 5:3; so the writer can say “likewise” in turning to the rest. In comparison with the presbyters or elders, the lay people are styled “younger,” or “juniors;” although in point of natural age, or of baptismal seniority, they might be the older. So our Lord addresses His disciples (according to the rabbinical fashion) as “children,” though there is good reason to suppose that several were older than Himself; and St. Paul, in the same way, called all the Corinthian Christians his “sons.” This seems to be the most natural interpretation of the word; for it was undoubtedly in respect of the supposed juniority of the whole of the lay people that their rulers received the name of “presbyters.” Otherwise there is nothing against the interpretation which makes “ye younger to be an address to those who held inferior offices in the Church, such as deacons, catechists, readers, and the like (Acts 5:6; Acts 5:10). The danger of any insubordination of the laity or inferior clergy against the priesthood at such a crisis was very obvious. Yea, all of you.—Here the true text strikes out the words “be subject and,” so that the clause will run, Yea, all of you be clothed with humility one to another. Not only mutual complaisance between rulers on the one hand and ruled on the other, but clergy to clergy and laity to laity are to behave with the same self-suppression. Be clothed with humility.—The Greek verb is a rare and curious one. It means properly, “tie yourselves up in humility.” Humility is to be gathered tight round about us like a cloak, and tied up so that the wind may not blow it back, nor the rain beat inside it. But there is a still further and more delicate shade of meaning in the word. There was a peculiar kind of cape, well known by a name taken from this verb (we might call it a “tie-up”), and this kind of cape was worn by slaves, and by no others. It was a badge of servitude. Thus St. Peter bids them all gird themselves for one another in a slave’s “tie-up” of humility. None are to be masters in the Church of Christ. And the humility is to be the very first thing noticed about them, their outward mark and sign. For God resisteth the proud.—The exhortation to mutual self-submission is reinforced by a quotation of a well-known proverb. The proverb is based on the LXX. translation of Pro 3:34; but as it differs somewhat from both the Hebrew and the Greek of that passage, and is found word for word in James 4:6, we may probably give the same account of it as of the other proverb quoted in 1 Peter 4:8, where see Note. A sad calamity for Christians under persecution, suddenly to find God Himself in array on the enemy’s side!

Verse 5. Likewise, ye younger] νεωτεροι probably means here inferiors, or those not in sacred offices; and may be understood as referring to the people at large who are called to obey them that have the rule over them in the Lord. In this sense our Lord, it appears, uses the word, Lu 22:26. Be subject one to another] Strive all to serve each other; let the pastors strive to serve the people, and the people the pastors; and let there be no contention, but who shall do most to oblige and profit all the rest. Be clothed with humility] To be clothed with a thing or person is a Greek mode of speech for being that thing or person with which a man is said to be clothed. Be ye truly humble; and let your outward garb and conduct be a proof of the humility of your hearts. εγκομβωμα, from the original word εγκομβωσασθε, signifies often an outward ornamental garment, tied in different places with knots or bows, probably ornamented all over with bows or knots of different coloured ribands, silk twist, c. But it also signifies the outward garment worn by servants, slaves, girls, and shepherds, which was rather intended to be the guard of the other garments than an ornament to those thus dressed: and I am rather inclined to take it in this sense than in the former for as the apostle calls upon them to be subject to each other, he desires them to put on humility, as the encomboma or servant's dress, that they may appear to be such as were ready to serve; and that he cannot refer to this article of clothing as an ornament the next words sufficiently prove: God resisteth the PROUD, and giveth grace to the HUMBLE-the proud, with all their ornaments, God resists; while those who are clothed with the humble garment he adorns.

5. Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder] The question meets us, whether the words refer to age only, or to office as connected with age. In either case we have, of course, a perfectly adequate meaning. In favour of the latter view we have the facts (1) that in Luke 22:26, “he that is younger” in the first clause corresponds to “he that serveth” or “ministereth” in the second; (2) that in Acts 5:6 the term is obviously used of those who were discharging duties like those of the later deacons, sub-deacons or acolytes; (3) that it is hardly likely that the same writer would have used the word “elder” in two different senses in such close juxtaposition. On the whole, therefore, there seems sufficient reason for adopting this view. St Paul’s use of the term, however, in the precepts of 1 Timothy 5:1, Titus 2:6 is, perhaps, in favour of the other.Yea, all of you be subject one to another] The words which answer to “be subject” are wanting in some of the best MSS. and have the character of an insertion made to complete the sense. If we omit the participle, the words “all of you, one to another” may be taken either with the clause that precedes or with that which follows.be clothed with humility] The Greek verb (ἐγκομβώσασθε) for “clothe yourselves” has a somewhat interesting history. The noun from which it is derived (κόμβος) signifies a “knot.” Hence the verb means “to tie on with a knot,” and from the verb another noun is formed (ἐγκομβῶμα), denoting a garment so tied on. This, according to its quality, might be the outer “over-all” cloak of slaves, or the costly mantle of princes. The word may have well been chosen for the sake of some of the associations which this its history suggests. Men were to clothe themselves with lowliness of mind, to fasten it tight round them like a garment, so that it might never fall away (comp. the same thought as applied to hatred in Psalms 109:17-18), and this was to be worn, as it were, over all other virtues, half-concealing, half-sheltering them. It might present, from one point of view, the aspect of servitude. It was, in reality, a raiment more glorious than that of kings (Acts 12:21), or those who live in kings’ houses (Matthew 11:8). In the case of slaves, probably in all cases, the garment so named was white. (Poll. Onomast. 4:119.) This also probably was not without a suggestive significance. In Colossians 3:12 we have, though not the word, a thought very closely parallel.for God resisteth the proud] We have here another passage quoted from the Old Testament (Proverbs 3:34, from the LXX. version with “God” substituted for “the Lord”) without the formula of quotation. It is interesting (1) as taking its place in the list of passages from the Book of Proverbs, which St Peter quotes both in the First and Second Epistles; and (2) as being quoted also by St James (James 4:6).

Likewise, ye younger - All younger persons of either sex. Submit yourselves unto the elder - That is, with the respect due to their age, and to the offices which they sustain.

5. Ye younger—Not simply younger in years, as opposed to elder, which must here mean, as in 1 Peter 5:1, elders in office.