the powers that be
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Short description|Phrase referring to those who hold authority}}
{{Other uses|The powers that be (disambiguation){{!}}The Powers That Be}}
In idiomatic English, "the powers that be" is a phrase used to refer to those individuals or groups who collectively hold authority over a particular domain.{{cite web|url=https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/powers+that+be|title=powers that be|work=The Free Dictionary|publisher=Farlex|date=2011|accessdate=June 5, 2016}} Within this phrase, the word be is an archaic variant of are rather than a subjunctive be.
Origin
The phrase first appeared in the Tyndale Bible, William Tyndale's 1526 translation of Romans Chapter 13 verse 1 in the New Testament, as: "Let every soul submit himself unto the authority of the higher powers. There is no power but of God. The powers that be, are ordained of God".{{cite book|first=William|last=Tyndale|author-link=William Tyndale|title=Tyndale Bible|year=1526|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10553/10553-h/10553-h.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927164124/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10553/10553-h/10553-h.htm|archive-date=September 27, 2013}} In the 1611 King James Version it became, "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: The powers that be are ordained of God." ({{bibleverse|Rom|13:1|kjv}}),[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10/10-h/10-h.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218203840/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/10/10-h/10-h.htm|date=December 18, 2014}} whence it eventually passed into popular language.{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-powers-that-be.html |title=The powers that be - meaning and origin |publisher=Phrases.org.uk |date= |accessdate=June 2, 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/powers+that+be |title=powers that be - definition of powers that be by The Free Dictionary |publisher=Thefreedictionary.com |date=March 1, 1987 |accessdate=June 2, 2015}}
The phrase comes from a translation of the {{langx|el|αἱ ... οὖσαι [ἐξουσίαι]|hai ... oûsai [exousíai]|lit=the ... existing [powers]}}; {{lang|grc|ἐξουσίαι}} is also translated as "authorities" in some other translations.Biblos.com. Chain Link Bible. [http://scripturetext.com/romans/13-1.htm Romans 13:1].
Examples
"The powers that be" can refer to a variety of entities that depend on the domain, including
- Governments, both central and local, and the accompanying civil service
- The upper management of a business
- Those who control the dissemination of information
- Controlling bodies in any organization i.e corporation or activity
- Secret societies and cabals
See also
- {{annotated link|Elite}}
- {{annotated link|Omnipotence}}
- {{annotated link|Romans 13}}
- {{annotated link|Supreme deity (disambiguation)}}
- {{annotated link|The Establishment}}
- {{annotated link|Young Wizards#The Powers That Be}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Wiktionary-inline|powers that be}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powers That Be}}
Category:English-language idioms
Category:New Testament words and phrases
Category:16th-century neologisms