The powers that be

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".^[2] 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." (Rom 13:1),^[3] whence it eventually passed into popular language.^[4][5]

The phrase comes from a translation of the Greek: αἱ ... οὖσαι [ἐξουσίαι], romanized: hai ... oûsai [exousíai], lit. 'the ... existing [powers]'; ἐξουσίαι is also translated as "authorities" in some other translations.^[6]

"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

• Elite – Group or class of persons enjoying superior status
• Omnipotence – Property of possessing maximal power
• Romans 13
• Supreme deity (disambiguation) – Only or paramount deity of a religionPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• The Establishment – Visible dominant group that holds power or authority in a nation or organization
• Young Wizards#The Powers That Be – Novel series by Diane Duane