Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
1 Peter 5:14 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 14. 14Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
This verse commands a kiss of love and pronounces peace to everyone in Christ Jesus.
Read It With
- 1 Peter 5:12–14
Read 1 Peter 5:14 with 5:12–14. This verse commands a kiss of love and pronounces peace to everyone in Christ Jesus. The complete unit establishes this movement: Through Silvanus the writer briefly exhorts and testifies that this is God's true grace in which the readers should stand; a co-chosen community in Babylon and Mark greet them, love is embodied in greeting, and peace closes the letter.
Why This Verse Appears Here
The close summarizes the entire writing as grace to stand in and places pressured communities in reciprocal relationship rather than isolation. Within that movement, this verse commands a kiss of love and pronounces peace to everyone in Christ Jesus.
Follow the Context
- The writer says he has written briefly through Silvanus, regarded as a faithful brother.
- The purpose is exhortation and testimony to God's true grace.
- Readers are commanded to stand in that grace.
- The co-chosen one in Babylon sends greetings, as does Mark the writer's son.
- Readers greet one another with a kiss of love.
- Peace is pronounced to all in Christ.
Phrase-by-Phrase Explanation
“kiss of charity”
In plain language: Charity means love; the greeting's physical form must remain consensual.
Commands a kiss of love and pronounces peace to everyone in Christ Jesus. Embodied solidarity and peace close a letter about pressure and suffering.
Why it matters: The wording carries interpretive or ethical risk that requires the full unit and its stated limits.
How certain? probableWhat This Verse Is Not Saying
A kiss of love does not override consent, trauma, health precautions, cultural boundaries, or safeguarding, and peace does not require forced reconciliation.
What Remains True
Embodied solidarity and peace close a letter about pressure and suffering.
How It Can Shape Life
- Use culturally fitting, consent-based greetings and preserve peace through truth and care.
Teach It Back
Explain 1 Peter 5:14's contribution to 1 Peter 5:12–14: Commands a kiss of love and pronounces peace to everyone in Christ Jesus. Include what the surrounding verses add, the stated uncertainty, and what this verse does not authorize.
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Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read 1 Peter 5:12–14 — Silvanus Carries a Brief Witness to True Grace and PeaceSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
Where care is needed
The final Amen is absent from some witnesses, while love and peace securely close the letter.
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: 1 Peter 5:12–14, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, clause relationships, repeated terms, and original-language discussion.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file 1Pet.txt, 5:12–14
Open the 1 Peter Greek text file ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — 1 Peter with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level Greek, syntax, older-English wording, textual variants, and interpretive alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible 1 Peter PDF, 5:12–14 translation with attached translator, study, and textual notes
Open the official NET 1 Peter PDF ↗