Inidiomatic English, "the powers that be" is a phrase used to refer to those individuals or groups who collectively hold authority over a particular domain.[1] Within this phrase, the wordbe is an archaic variant ofare rather than a subjunctivebe.
The phrase first appeared in theTyndale Bible,William Tyndale's 1526 translation of Romans Chapter 13 verse 1 in theNew Testament, as: "Let every soul submit himself unto the authority of thehigher powers. There is no power but of God. The powers that be, are ordained of God".[2] In the 1611King 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 theGreek: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
The dictionary definition ofpowers that be at Wiktionary