The powers that be

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"The powers that be" is a phrase originating in William Tyndale's 1526 translation[wp] of the Bible, where it is used in Romans 13 to describe the secular authorities (i.e., at that time, the monarchs and the aristocracy):

  1. Let every soule submit him selfe vnto the auctorite of ye hyer powers. For there is no power but of God.
  2. The powers that be are ordeyned of God. Whosoever therfore resysteth power resisteth the ordinaunce of God. And they that resist shall receave to the selfe damnacio.
—Romans 13:1-2, Tyndale's Bible

The phrase was carried over to the King James Version, but modern translations prefer a less archaic wording: it's "the authorities that exist have been established by God" in the NIV.

In modern English vernacular, the phrase is used with the same meaning ("the government"), usually in a satirical way. In the jargon of conspiracy theorists though, it is used as a placeholder name for whatever sinister forces CTs imagine to be actually ruling the world. (Partially because they can't reach an agreement whether it's ruled by the Freemasons, the Illuminati or the Jews reptilian aliens.) The phrase is usually abbreviated to TPTB, and it's often used by the rank-and-file inhabitants of forums like Above Top Secret and Godlike Productions.

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