HEBREWS 13:17 - What Does It Really Say and Mean...
One of the GB's favorite verses is of Hebrews 13:17. The pivotal Greek word Πείθεσθε (peithesthe) literally translates as 'be convinced'. However, the NWT and most other translations render this word as ‘obey’ which is incorrect.
1. What Πείθεσθε (peithesthe) actually means
Πείθεσθε is the present middle/passive imperative of πείθω (peithō).
Core meaning of peithō:
• to persuade
• to convince
• to win over by reason
• to place con... moreHEBREWS 13:17 - What Does It Really Say and Mean...
One of the GB's favorite verses is of Hebrews 13:17. The pivotal Greek word Πείθεσθε (peithesthe) literally translates as 'be convinced'. However, the NWT and most other translations render this word as ‘obey’ which is incorrect.
1. What Πείθεσθε (peithesthe) actually means
Πείθεσθε is the present middle/passive imperative of πείθω (peithō).
Core meaning of peithō:
• to persuade
• to convince
• to win over by reason
• to place confidence in because one is persuaded
Only secondarily—and context-dependently—can it carry the sense of “obey,” and even then it is obedience flowing from persuasion, NOT submission to raw authority.
A very literal rendering of Hebrews 13:17 would be closer to:
“Be persuaded by those taking the lead among you, and yield because you are convinced…”
That is worlds apart from “Obey them whether you agree or not.”
2. So what if you are not convinced?
Here’s the key point that often gets ignored:
You cannot be commanded to be convinced.
Conviction is not an act of the will; it is the result of evidence, integrity, truthfulness, and sound reasoning.
If the writer had meant unquestioning obedience, Greek had much stronger words available:
• ὑπακούω (hypakouō) – to obey under authority
• δουλεύω (douleuō) – to serve as a slave
• ὑποτάσσω (hypotassō) – to submit, often hierarchically
None of those were used.
3. The responsibility cuts both ways
Hebrews 13:17 immediately adds why persuasion matters:
“…for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will render an account.”
This means:
• Leaders are not infallible
• Leaders are accountable
• Leaders must earn trust, not demand it
IMPORTANT NOTE to TAKEAWAY…
If persuasion fails, the text implicitly indicts the leadership, not the conscience of the believer!
4. Early Christian culture too, must be considered…
First-century Christian communities were:
• dialog-driven (Acts 17:2, 17:11)
• conscience-centered (Romans 14)
• suspicious of domineering authority (Matthew 23:8–12; 1 Peter 5:2–3)
The Bereans were praised not for obedience, but for examining and testing what they were taught.
5. Compulsory obedience violates Christian conscience
Paul is explicit on this principle:
• “Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.” (Romans 14:5)
• “Whatever is not from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23)
If you are not convinced:
• Forced compliance becomes hypocrisy
• Silence becomes coerced assent
• “Unity” becomes conformity, not truth
The New Testament never authorizes leaders to override conscience.
6. What Hebrews 13:17 is actually saying
A fair paraphrase would be:
“Allow yourselves to be persuaded by those leading you—WHEN they demonstrate trustworthiness, truth, and care—because they are accountable before God.”
That places moral weight on leadership, NOT blind duty on followers.
7. The uncomfortable implication (and why it matters)
If someone insists Hebrews 13:17 means “obey even when unconvinced”, they are:
• mistranslating the Greek
• contradicting Paul’s teaching on conscience
• importing authoritarian assumptions foreign to the text
And—this matters deeply—they are asking for something Scripture never authorizes: obedience without conviction.
Bottom line
If you are not convinced, Hebrews 13:17 does not condemn you.
Instead, it raises a harder question for leaders:
Why were you unable to persuade?
That distinction—between persuasion and compulsion—is precisely where spiritual integrity lives.
In summary… the Society’s stress on ‘blind’ obedience entirely violates the scriptures!
