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powers that be

The holders of power or the authorities in a given situation, especially as seen as being faceless or unreasonably bureaucratic.

Etymology:

  • After Romans 13:1 in the Tyndale Bible and the King James Version.
  • This “be” was not an English subjunctive but translated the Ancient Greek αἱ οὖσαι ἐξουσίαι using the now-archaic alternative third-person plural indicative form, equivalent to the modern “are”.
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Submitted on September 01, 2009

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δυνάμεις που είναι

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