Hebrews 13:17– ‘have confidence in’
Other translations say ‘obey your leaders’, but the word in Greek (πείθεσθε) has a broad meaning: to persuade, to trust, follow, or obey. Therefore the phrase ‘have confidence in’ conveys this broader meaning of the word.
The Aramaic word is ܐܬܛܦܝܣܘ, and means ‘be persuaded by’ or ‘be appeased by’, with the thought of obedience only via voluntary consent.
The words ‘obey your leaders’ would be a mistranslation because (1) it hides the full meaning of the Greek and Aramaic word, and (2) it could be exploited by those wishing to dominate others and set themselves up as leaders in place of Jesus. In contrast, Jesus said that ‘you are all just brothers’ (Matthew 23:8), and ‘don’t even be called leaders, because you only have one Leader, the Anointed One’ (Matthew 23:10).