1 Peter 2:14 (YLT)

Passage

whether to governors, as to those sent through him, for punishment, indeed, of evil-doers, and a praise of those doing good;

Nearby Context

1 Peter 2:12 having your behaviour among the nations right, that in that which they speak against you as evil-doers, of the good works having beheld, they may glorify God in a day of inspection.

1 Peter 2:13 Be subject, then, to every human creation, because of the Lord, whether to a king, as the highest,

1 Peter 2:14 whether to governors, as to those sent through him, for punishment, indeed, of evil-doers, and a praise of those doing good;

1 Peter 2:15 because, so is the will of God, doing good, to put to silence the ignorance of the foolish men;

1 Peter 2:16 as free, and not having the freedom as the cloak of the evil, but as servants of God;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whether", "governors", "sent", "through", "punishment", "indeed", "evil-doers", and "praise". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whether" and "governors", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Be subject then to every human creation..." into verse 15's "because so is the will of God...", so "whether" and "governors" belong inside that flow. In 1 Peter context, the local focus is hope in suffering, holy conduct, submission, and grace.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "whether" and "governors" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.