The Letter
of Barnabas
(c. 100)
 

 St. Luke and St. Barnabas .
Wall painting, Deir el-Suryan (Wadi Natrun), c. 900.

Not so much a letter as a paranetic treatise,
like the New Testament Letter of James

The Office of Readings,18^th Sunday of O.T. The Liturgy of the Hours,

vol.4, pp. 56-58

1. GREETINGS, sons and daughters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us in peace.

Seeing that the divine fruits of righteousness abound among you, I rejoice exceedingly and above measure in your happy and honoured spirits, because you have with such effect received the engrafted spiritual gift.

Therefore I also rejoice inwardly all the more, hoping to be saved, because I truly perceive in you the Spirit poured forth from the rich Lord of love. Your greatly desired appearance has thus filled me with astonishment over you.

I am therefore pursuaded of this, and fully convinced in my own mind, that since I began to speak among you I understand many things, because the Lord has accompanied me in the way of righteousness. I am also on this account bound by the strictest obligation to love you above my own soul, because great are the faith and love dwelling in you, while you hope for the life which He has promised.

Considering this, therefore, that if I should take the trouble to communicate to you some portion of what I have myself received, it will prove to me a sufficient reward that I minister to such spirits, I have hastened briefly to write to you, in order that, along with your faith, you might have perfect knowledge.

The doctrines of the Lord, then, are three:

[1] hope for life, the beginning and end of our faith;

[2] justice, the beginning and end of judgement;

[3] and love, which bears cheerful and joyous witness to the works of righteousness}.

^1.6 Τρία οὖν δόγματά ἐστιν κυρίου·

    ζωῆς ἐλπίς, ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος πίστεως ἡμῶν,

    καὶ δικαιοσύνη, κρίσεως ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος,

    ἀγάπη, εὐφροσύνης καὶ ἀγαλλιάσεως ἔργων ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ μαρτυρία.

For the Lord has made known to us by the prophets both the things that are past and present, giving us also the {ability to taste the} things {yet} to come:

 - which things as we see accomplished, one by one, we ought with the greater richness of faith¹¹ and elevation of spirit to draw near to Him with reverence.¹² I then, not as your teacher, but as one of yourselves, will set forth a few things by which in present circumstances you may be rendered the more joyful.

CHAPTER 2
[The Jewish Sacrifices are Now Abolished]

2) Since, therefore, the days are evil, and Satan¹³ possesses the power of this world, we ought to give heed to ourselves, and diligently inquire into the ordinances of the Lord.

NOUS / LOGOS
 VIRTUES: Prudence; Understanding; Wisdom; Justice; (humility)
VICES: Pride; Vainglory; (wilful-) Ignorance

EPITHUMIA
VIRTUES: Abstinence Temperance Almsgiving
 VICES:     Gluttony Lust Avarice

         THUMOS
      VIRTUES: (Patient-) Endurance; Courage; Zeal
      VICES: Anger; Sadness; Acedia

Virtues of the Pathetikon
and Logistikon:

THE helpers of our faith, are thus

⁽¹⁾ fear and

⁽²⁾ patience

while our fellow-warriors are

⁽³⁾ patient endurance and

⁽⁴⁾ continence

2.2 Τῆς οὖν πίστεως ἡμῶν εἰσὶν βοηθοὶ

φόβος καὶ

ὑπομονή,

τὰ δὲ συμμαχοῦντα ἡμῖν

μακροθυμία καὶ

ἐγκράτεια.

And while these remain pure in what respects the Lord, there will rejoice along with them:

⁽¹⁾ wisdom,

⁽²⁾ understanding,

⁽³⁾ insight}, and

⁽⁴⁾ knowledge.

2.3 Τούτων οὖν μενόντων τὰ πρὸς κύριον ἁγνῶς, συνευφραίνονται αὐτοῖς

σοφία,

σύνεσις,

ἐπιστήμη,

γνῶσις.

The Office of Readings, Monday of the 18^th week of O.T.  The Liturgy of the Hours, 

vol. 4, pp. 61-63

He has therefore abolished these things, that the new law of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is wiyout the yoke of necessity, might not have a man-made oblation.¹⁶ And again He says to them, “Did I command your fathers, when they went out from the land of Egypt, to offer to Me burnt-offerings and sacrifices? But this rather I commanded them, Let no one of you cherish any evil in his heart against his neighbour, and love not an oath of falsehood.”¹⁷

We ought therefore, being possessed of understanding, to perceive the gracious intention of our Father; for He speaks to us, desirous that we, not¹⁸ going astray like them, should ask how we may approach Him. To us, then, He declares, “A sacrifice [pleasing] to God is a broken spirit; a smell of sweet savour to the Lord is a heart that glorifies Him that made it.”¹⁹ We ought therefore, brethren, carefully to inquire concerning our salvation, lest the wicked one, having made his entrance by deceit, should hurl²⁰ us forth from our [true] life.

CHAPTER 3
[The Fasts of the Jews are Not True Fasts, Nor Acceptable to God.]

3) He says then to them again concerning these things, “Why do you fast to Me as on this day, says the Lord, that your voice should be heard with a cry? I have not chosen this fast, says the Lord, that a man should humble his soul. Nor, though ye bend your neck like a ring, and put upon you sackcloth and ashes, will you call it an acceptable fast.”²¹

{While} He says to us, “Behold, this is the fast that I have chosen, says the Lord, not that a man should humble his soul, but that he should loose every band of iniquity, untie the fastenings of harsh agreements, restore to liberty them that are bruised, tear in pieces every unjust engagement, feed the hungry with your bread, clothe the naked when you seest him, bring the homeless into your house, not despise the humble if you behold him, and not [turn away] from the members of thine own family.

To this end, therefore, brethren, He is long-suffering, foreseeing how the people whom He has prepared shall with guilelessness believe in His Beloved. For He revealed all these things to us beforehand, that we should not rush forward as rash acceptors of their laws.²⁴

CHAPTER 4
[Antichrist is at Hand: Let Us Therefore Avoid Jewish Errors]

It therefore behoves us, who inquire much concerning events at hand,²⁵ to search diligently into those things which are able to save us. Let us then utterly flee from all the works of iniquity, lest these should take hold of us; and let us hate the error of the present time, that we may set our love on the world to come: let us not give loose reins to our soul, that it should have power to run with sinners and the wicked, lest we become like them.

The following section is not given in the Liturgy of the Hours

The final stumbling-block [or ‘source of danger’] approaches, concerning which it is written, as Enoch²⁶ says, “For for this end the Lord has cut short the times and the days, that His Beloved may hasten; and He will come to the inheritance.” And the prophet also speaks thus: “Ten kingdoms shall reign upon the earth, and a little king shall rise up after them, who shall subdue under one three of the kings.²⁷

In like manner Daniel says concerning the same, “And I beheld the fourth beast, wicked and powerful, and more savage than all the beasts of the earth, and how from it sprang up ten horns, and out of them a little budding horn, and how it subdued under one three of the great horns.”²⁸

The Toppling
     of  the Old Covenant,
The Apostle's Creed

The Breviary of
Martin of Aragon, 1350

You ought therefore to understand. And this also I further beg of you, as being one of you, and loving you both individually and collectively more than my own soul, to take heed now to yourselves, and not to be like some, adding largely to your sins, and saying, “The covenant is both theirs and ours.”²⁹

But they thus finally lost it, after Moses had already received it.

For the Scripture says, “And Moses was fasting in the mount forty days and forty nights, and received the covenant from the Lord, tables of stone written with the finger of the hand of the Lord; ”³⁰ but turning away to idols, they lost it.

For the Lord speaks thus to Moses: “Moses go down quickly; for the people whom you hast brought out of the land of Egypt have transgressed.”³¹ And Moses understood [the meaning of God], and cast the two tables out of his hands; and their covenant was broken, in order that the covenant of the beloved Jesus might be sealed upon our heart, in the hope which flows from believing in Him.³²

Now, being desirous to write many things to you, not as your teacher, but as becomes one who loves you, I have taken care not to fail to write to you from what I myself possess, with a view to your purification.³³ We take earnest³⁴ heed in these last days; for the whole [past] time of your faith will profit you nothing, unless now in this wicked time we also withstand coming sources of danger, as becomes the sons of God.

Dangers of Solitude

That the Black One³⁵ may find no means of entrance, let us flee from every vanity, let us utterly hate the works of the way of wickedness. Do not, by retiring apart [monazete], live a solitary life, as if you were already [fully] justified; but coming together in one place, make common inquiry concerning what tends to your general welfare. For the Scripture says, “Woe to them who are wise to themselves, and prudent in their own sight!”³⁶

Let us be spiritually-minded: let us be a perfect temple to God. As much as in us lies, let us meditate upon the fear of God, and let us keep His commandments, that we may rejoice in His ordinances. The Lord will judge the world without respect of persons. Each will receive as he has done: if he is righteous, his righteousness will precede him; if he is wicked, the reward of wickedness is before him.

Take heed, lest resting at our ease, as those who are the called [of God], we should fall asleep in our sins, and the wicked prince, acquiring power over us, should thrust us away from the kingdom of the Lord.

The text cited in the Liturgy of the Hours resumes here

CHAPTER 6
[The Sufferings of Christ, and the New Covenant, Were Announced by the Prophets]

The Office of Readings, Tuesday of the 18^th week of O.T.  The Liturgy of the Hours, 

vol. 4, pp. 65-67 [(5.1-8); 6.11-16]

Since, therefore, having renewed us by the remission of our sins, He has made us after another pattern, [it is His purpose] that we should possess the soul of children, inasmuch as He has created us anew by His Spirit. For the Scripture says concerning us, while He speaks to the Son, “Let Us make man after Our image, and after Our likeness; and let them have dominion over the beasts of the earth, and the fowls of heaven, and the fishes of the sea.” (Gen. 1.26)  And the Lord said, on beholding our beautiful created [form], “Increase, and multiply, and replenish the earth.” (Gen 1.28) These things [were spoken] to the Son.

^6.11Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἀνακαινίσας ἡμᾶς ἐν τῇ ἀφέσει τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς ἄλλον τύπον, ὡς παιδίον ἔχειν τὴν ψυχήν, ὡς ἂν δὴ ἀναπλάσσοντος αὐτοῦ ἡμᾶς. ^6.12α Λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφὴ περὶ ἡμῶν, ὡς λέγει τῷ υἱῷ· "Ποιήσωμεν κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν ἡμῶν τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ἀρχέτωσαν τῶν θηρίων τῆς γῆς καὶ τῶν πετεινῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῶν ἰχθύων τῆς θαλάσσης." ^6.12β Καὶ εἶπεν κύριος, ἰδὼν τὸ καλὸν πλάσμα ἡμῶν· "Αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθύνεσθε καὶ πληρώσατε τὴν γῆν." ^6.12ξ Ταῦτα πρὸς τὸν υἱόν.

Again, I will show you how, in respect to us, He has accomplished a second fashioning in these last days. The Lord says, “Behold, I will make the last like the first.” (cf. Matt. 20. 16 ; 2Cor. 5. 17) In reference to this, then, the prophet proclaimed, “Enter you into the land flowing with milk and honey, and have dominion over it.” (Ex. 33.3)

^6.13α Πάλιν σοι ἐπιδείξω, πῶς πρὸς ἡμᾶς λέγει· δευτέραν πλάσιν ἐπ' ἐσχάτων ἐποίησεν. ^6.13β Λέγει δὲ κύριος· "Ἰδού, ποιῶ τὰ ἔσχατα ὡς τὰ πρῶτα." ^6.13ξ Εἰς τοῦτο οὖν ἐκήρυξεν ὁ προφήτης· "Εἰσέλθετε εἰς γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι καὶ κατακυριεύσατε αὐτῆς."

Behold, therefore, we have been refashioned, as again He says in another prophet, “Behold, says the Lord, I will take away from these, that is, from those whom the Spirit of the Lord foresaw, their stony hearts, and I will put hearts of flesh within them,” (Ez. 9.19; 36.26) because He was to be manifested in flesh, and to sojourn among us. For, my brethren, the dwelling place of the heart is a holy temple to the Lord.

^6.14αἼδε οὖν, ἡμεῖς ἀναπεπλάσμεθα, καθὼς πάλιν ἐν ἑτέρῳ προφήτῃ λέγει· "Ἰδού, λέγει κύριος, ἐξελῶ τούτων", τουτ- έστιν ὧν προέβλεπεν τὸ πνεῦμα κυρίου, "τὰς λιθίνας καρδίας, καὶ ἐμβαλῶ σαρκίνας"– ^6.14β ὅτι αὐτὸς ἐν σαρκὶ ἔμελλεν φανεροῦσθαι καὶ ἐν ἡμῖν κατοικεῖν. ^6.15 Ναὸς γὰρ ἅγιος, ἀδελφοί μου, τῷ κυρίῳ τὸ κατοικητήριον ἡμῶν τῆς καρδίας.

 For again says the Lord, “And wherewith shall I appear before the Lord my God, and be glorified? (cf. Ps. 42.2) ” He says, “I will confess to you in the Church in the midst of my brethren; and I will praise you in the midst of the assembly of the saints.” (Ps. 22. 23; Heb. 2. 12.) We, then, are they whom He has led into the good land.

^6.16α Λέγει γὰρ πάλιν κύριος· "Καὶ ἐν τίνι ὀφθήσομαι τῷ κυρίῳ τῷ θεῷ μου καὶ δοξασθήσομαι;" ^6.16β Λέγει· "Ἐξομολογήσομαί σοι ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ ἀδελφῶν μου, καὶ ψαλῶ σοι ἀναμέσον ἐκκλησίας ἁγίων." ^6.16ξ Οὐκοῦν ἡμεῖς ἐσμέν, οὓς εἰσήγαγεν εἰς τὴν γῆν τὴν ἀγαθήν.

The Office of Readings,Wed. of the 18th Week in O.T.

CHAPTER 19

 1) The way of light, then, is {this}: If any one desires to travel to the appointed place, he must be zealous in his works.

2) The knowledge, therefore, which is given to us for the purpose of walking in this way, is the following:

1) You shall love Him who created you:

fear Him who formed you

glorify Him Who redeemed you from death.

19.2αἈγαπήσεις τόν σε ποιήσαντα,

φοβηθήσῃ τόν σε πλάσαντα,

δοξάσεις τόν σε λυτρωσάμενον ἐκ θανάτου.

2) You shall be simple in heart, and rich in spirit.

3) You shall not join yourself to those who walk in the way of death.

4) You shall hate doing what is unpleasing to God:

5) you shall hate all hypocrisy.

6) You shall not forsake the commandments of the Lord.

19.2βἜσῃ ἁπλοῦς τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ πλούσιος τῷ πνεύματι.

19.2ξ Οὐ κολληθήσῃ μετὰ τῶν πορευομένων ἐν ὁδῷ θανάτου.

19.2δ Μισήσεις πᾶν ὃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀρεστὸν τῷ θεῷ.

 19.2ε Μισήσεις πᾶσαν ὑπόκρισιν.

19.2φ Οὐ μὴ ἐγκαταλίπῃς ἐντολὰς κυρίου.

1) You shall not exalt yourself, but shall be of a lowly mind.

2) You shall not take glory to yourself. You shall not take evil counsel against your neighbor. You shall not allow over-boldness to enter into your soul.

19.3 α Οὐχ ὑψώσεις σεαυτόν, ἔσῃ δὲ ταπεινόφρων κατὰ πάντα.

19.3β Οὐκ ἀρεῖς ἐπὶ σεαυτὸν δόξαν, οὐ λήμψῃ βουλὴν πονηρὰν κατὰ τοῦ πλησίον σου, οὐ δώσεις τῇ ψυχῇ σου θράσος.

2) You shall not commit fornication: you shall not commit adultery: you shall not be a corrupter of youth.

2) You shall not let the word of God issue from your lips with any kind of impurity.

3) You shall not accept persons when you reprove any one for transgression.

4) You shall be meek: you shall be peaceable. You shall tremble at the words which you hearest.

5) You shall not [harbor] memory of evil against your brother.

19.4α Οὐ πορνεύσεις, οὐ μοιχεύσεις, οὐ παιδοφθορήσεις.

19.4β Οὐ μή σου ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐξέλθῃ ἐν ἀκαθαρσίᾳ τινῶν.

19.4ξ Οὐ λήμψῃ πρόσωπον ἐλέγξαι τινὰ ἐπὶ παραπτώματι.

19.4δἜσῃ πραΰς, ἔσῃ ἡσύχιος, ἔσῃ τρέμων τοὺς λόγους οὓς ἤκουσας.

19.4ε Οὐ μὴ μνησικακήσεις τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου.

1) You shall not be of [divided] mind as to whether a thing shall be or not.

2) You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.

3) You shall love your neighbour more than thine own soul.

19.5α Οὐ μὴ διψυχήσῃς πότερον ἔσται ἢ οὔ.

19.5β Οὐ μὴ λάβῃς ἐπὶ ματαίῳ τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου.

19.5ξἈγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὑπὲρ τὴν ψυχήν σου.

4) You SHALL not slay the child by procuring abortion;
nor, again, shalL you destroy it after it is born.

19.5δ Οὐ φονεύσεις τέκνον ἐν φθορᾷ, οὐδὲ πάλιν γεννηθὲν ἀνελεῖς.

5) You shall not withdraw your hand from your son, or from your daughter, but from their infancy you shall teach them the fear of the Lord.

1) You shall not covet what is your neighbour’s, nor shall you be avaricious.

2) You shall not be joined in soul with the haughty, but you shall be reckoned with the righteous and lowly.

3) Receive you as good things the trials which come upon thee.

19.6α Οὐ μὴ γένῃ ἐπιθυμῶν τὰ τοῦ πλησίον σου.

19.6β Οὐ μὴ γένῃ πλεονέκτης, οὐδὲ κολληθήσῃ ἐκ ψυχῆς σου μετὰ ὑψηλῶν, ἀλλὰ μετὰ δικαίων καὶ ταπεινῶν ἀναστραφήσῃ.

19.6ξ Τὰ συμβαίνοντά σοι ἐνεργήματα ὡς ἀγαθὰ προσδέξῃ, εἰδὼς ὅτι ἄνευ θεοῦ οὐδὲν γίνεται.

1) You shall not be of double mind or of double tongue, for a double tongue is a snare of death.

2) You shall be subject to the Lord, and to [other] masters as the image of God, with modesty and fear.

3) You shall not issue orders with bitterness to your maidservant or your man-servant, who trust in the same [God], lest you shouldst not reverence that God who is above both; for He came to call men not according to their outward appearance, but according as the Spirit had prepared them.

19.7α Οὐκ ἔσῃ διγνώμων οὐδὲ δίγλωσσος· παγὶς γὰρ θανάτου ἐστὶν ἡ διγλωσσία.

19.7βὙποταγήσῃ κυρίοις ὡς τύπῳ θεοῦ ἐν αἰσχύνῃ καὶ φόβῳ.

19.7ξ Οὐ μὴ ἐπιτάξῃς δούλῳ σου ἢ παιδίσκῃ ἐν πικρίᾳ, τοῖς ἐπὶ τὸν αὐτὸν θεὸν ἐλπίζουσιν, μή ποτε οὐ φοβηθῶσιν τὸν ἐπ' ἀμφοτέροις θεόν· ὅτι ἦλθεν οὐ κατὰ πρόσωπον καλέσαι, ἀλλ' ἐφ' οὓς τὸ πνεῦμα ἡτοίμασεν.

1) You shall {have all things in common} with your neighbour; you shall not things thine own; for if you are partakers in common of things which are incorruptible,how much more [should you be] of those things which are corruptible!

2) You shall not be hasty with your tongue, for the mouth is a snare of death.

3) As far as possible, you shall be pure in your soul.

19.8α Κοινωνήσεις ἐν πᾶσιν τῷ πλησίον σου καὶ οὐκ ἐρεῖς ἴδια εἶναι· εἰ γὰρ ἐν τῷ ἀφθάρτῳ κοινωνοί ἐστε, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς φθαρτοῖς;

19.8β Οὐκ ἔσῃ πρόγλωσσος, παγὶς γὰρ στόμα θανάτου.

19.8ξὍσον δύνασαι, ὑπὲρ τῆς ψυχῆς σου ἁγνεύσεις.

1) Do not be ready to stretch forth your hands to take, while you contract them to give.

2) You shall love, as the apple of your eye, every one that speaks to you the word of the Lord.

19.9α Μὴ γίνου πρὸς μὲν τὸ λαβεῖν ἐκτείνων τὰς χεῖρας, πρὸς δὲ τὸ δοῦναι συσπῶν.

19.9βἈγαπήσεις ὡς κόρην ὀφθαλμοῦ σου πάντα τὸν λαλοῦντα σοι τὸν λόγον κυρίου.

You shall remember the day of judgment, night and day, {and} seek out every day the faces of the saints, either by word examining them, and going to exhort them, and meditating how to save a soul by the word, or by your hands you shall labour for the redemption of your sins.

19.10 Μνησθήσῃ ἡμέραν κρίσεως νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας, καὶ ἐκζητήσεις καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν, ἢ διὰ λόγου κοπιῶν καὶ πορευόμενος εἰς τὸ παρακαλέσαι καὶ μελετῶν εἰς τὸ σῶσαι ψυχὴν τῷ λόγῳ, ἢ διὰ τῶν χειρῶν σου ἐργάσῃ εἰς λύτρον ἁμαρτιῶν σου.

1) You shall not hesitate to give, nor murmur when you givest. “Give to every one that asks thee,”and you shall know who is the good Recompenser of the reward.

2) You shall preserve what you hast received [in charge], neither adding to it nor taking from it.

3) To the last you shall hate the wicked [one].

4) You shall judge righteously.

19.11α Οὐ διστάσεις δοῦναι οὐδὲ διδοὺς γογγύσεις, γνώσῃ δὲ τίς ὁ τοῦ μισθοῦ καλὸς ἀνταποδότης.

19.11β Φυλάξεις ἃ παρέλαβες, μήτε προστιθεὶς μήτε ἀφαι ρῶν.

19.11ξ Εἰς τέλος μισήσεις τὸ πονηρόν.

19.11δ Κρινεῖς δικαίως.

1) You shall not make a schism, but you shall pacify those that contend by bringing them together.

2) You shall confess your sins.

3) You shall not go to prayer with an evil conscience.

19.12α Οὐ ποιήσεις σχίσμα, εἰρηνεύσεις δὲ μαχομένους συναγαγών.

19.12βἘξομολογήσῃ ἐπὶ ἁμαρτίαις σου.

19.12ξ Οὐ προσήξεις ἐπὶ προσευχὴν ἐν συνειδήσει πονηρᾷ.

[This is the way of light.]

CHAPTER 20

20. 1) But the way of darkness is crooked, and full of cursing;

2) for it is the way of eternal death with punishment, in which way are the things that destroy the soul, [namely]:

3) idolatry, over-confidence, the arrogance of power, hypocrisy, double-heartedness, adultery, murder, rapine, haughtiness, transgression, deceit, malice, self-sufficiency, poisoning, magic, avarice,^- want of the fear of God.

20.1αἩ δὲ τοῦ μέλανος ὁδός ἐστιν σκολιὰ καὶ κατάρας μεστή.

20.1βὍλως γάρ ἐστιν ὁδὸς θανάτου αἰωνίου μετὰ τιμωρίας, ἐν ᾗ ἐστὶν τὰ ἀπολλύντα τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν·

20.1ξ εἰδωλολατρεία, θρασύτης, ὕψος δυνάμεως, ὑπόκρισις, διπλοκαρδία, μοιχεία, φόνος, ἁρπαγή, ὑπερηφανία, παράβασις, δόλος, κακία, αὐθάδεια, φαρμακεία, μαγεία, πλεονεξία, ἀφοβία θεοῦ.

1) [In this way, too, ] are those who persecute the good,

2) those who hate truth, those who love falsehood,

3) those who know not the reward of righteousness, those who cleave not to that which is good,

4) those who attend not with just judgment to the widow and orphan,

5) those who watch not to the fear of God, [but incline] to wickedness, from whom meekness and patience are far off;

6) persons who love vanity, follow after a reward,

20.2α Διῶκται τῶν ἀγαθῶν,

20.2β μισοῦντες ἀλήθειαν, ἀγαπῶντες ψουῦδος,

20.2ξ οὐ γινώσκοντες μισθὸν δικαιοσύνης, οὐ κολλώμενοι ἀγαθῷ,

20.2δ οὐ κρίσει δικαίᾳ, χήρᾳ καὶ ὀρφανῷ οὐ προσέχοντες,

20.2ε ἀγρυπνοῦντες οὐκ εἰς φόβον θεοῦ, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὸ πονηρόν – ὧν μακρὰν καὶ πόρρω πραΰτης καὶ ὑπομονή –

20.2φ ἀγαπῶντες μάταια, διώκοντες ἀνταπόδομα,

7) pity not the needy, labour not in aid of him who is overcome with toil;

8) who are prone to evil-speaking, who know not Him that made them,

20.2γ οὐκ ἐλεοῦντες πτωχόν, οὐ πονοῦντες ἐπὶ καταπονουμένῳ,

20.2η εὐχερεῖς ἐν καταλαλιᾷ, οὐ γινώσκοντες τὸν ποιήσαντα αὐτούς,

9) who are murderers of children, destroyers of the workmanship of God;

10) who turn away him that is in want, who oppress the afflicted,

11) who are advocates of the rich, who are unjust judges of the poor, and who are in every respect transgressors.

20.2ι φονεῖς τέκνων, φθορεῖς πλάσματος θεοῦ,

20.2ς ἀποστρεφόμενοι τὸν ἐνδεόμενον, καταπονοῦντες τὸν θλιβόμενον,

20.2κ πλουσίων παράκλητοι, πενήτων ἄνομοι κριταί– πανταμάρτητοι.

CHAPTER 21 Conclusion.

It is well, therefore,²⁷⁴ that he who has learned the judgments of the Lord, as many as have been written, should walk in them.

For he who keeps these shall be glorified in the kingdom of God; but he who chooses other things shall be destroyoud with his works.

On this account there will be a resurrection, on this account a retribution.

21.1α Καλὸν οὖν ἐστίν, μαθόντα τὰ δικαιώματα τοῦ κυρίου, ὅσα γέγραπται, ἐν τούτοις περιπατεῖν.

21.1βὉ γὰρ ταῦτα ποιῶν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ δοξασθήσεται· ὁ ἐκεῖνα ἐκλεγόμενος μετὰ τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ συναπολεῖται.

21.1ξ Διὰ τοῦτο ἀνάστασις, διὰ τοῦτο ἀνταπόδομα.

I beseech you who are superiors, if you will receive any counsel of my good-will, have among yourselves those to whom you may show kindness: do not forsake them. For the day is at hand on which all things shall perish with the evil [one]. The Lord is near, and His reward. Again, and yout again, I beseech you: be good lawgivers to one another; continue faithful counsellors of one another; take away from among you all hypocrisy.

And may God, who rules over all the world, give to you wisdom, intelligence, understanding, knowledge of His judgments, with patience. And be you taught of God, inquiring diligently what the Lord asks from you; and do it that you may be safe in the day of judgment. And if you have any remembrance of what is good, be mindful of me, meditating on these things, in order that both my desire and watchfulness may result in some good. I beseech you, entreating this as a favour. While you you are in this fair vessel, do not fail in any one of those things, but unceasingly seek after them, and fulfil every commandment; for these things are worthy.

Wherefore I have been the more earnest to write to you, as my ability served, that I might cheer you.

 Farewell, you children of love and peace.

The Lord of glory and of all grace be with your spirit. Amen.

21.9α Διὸ μᾶλλον ἐσπούδασα γράψαι ἀφ' ὧν ἠδυνήθην.

21.9β Σώζεσθε, ἀγάπης τέκνα καὶ εἰρήνης.

21.9ξὉ κύριος τῆς δόξης καὶ πάσης χάριτος μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματος ὑμῶν.