The Shepherd of Hermas

The Shepherd was a popular book among Christians of the ﬁrst four centuries. Written by Hermas, brother of Pius, bishop of Rome, during the ﬁrst half of the second century, the book was regarded by some churches as canonical Scripture. It was eventually excluded from the canon, however, in part because it was known not to have been written by an apostle.1 Even so, it was still included as one of the books of the New Testament in the fourth-century codex Sinaiticus and is mentioned by other authors of the time as standing on the margins of the canon.2 The book takes its name from an angelic mediator who appears to Hermas in the form of a shepherd. Other angelic beings appear here as well, in particular an old woman who identiﬁes herself as the personiﬁcation of the Christian church. These various ﬁgures communicate divine revelations to Hermas and, upon request, interpret their meaning to him. The book is divided into a series of ﬁve visions, twelve sets of commandments (or “mandates”), and ten parables (or “similitudes”). The visions and similitudes are enigmatic and symbolic; they are usually explained to Hermas as having a spiritual signiﬁcance for the Christian here on earth. The mandates are somewhat easier to interpret, consisting for the most part of direct exhortations to speak the truth, give alms, do good, and avoid sexual immorality, drunkenness, gluttony, and other vices. Indeed, the entire book is driven by an ethical concern: what can Christians do if they have fallen into sin after being baptized? A number of early Christians had insisted that those who returned to lives of sin after joining the church had lost any hope of salvation. An alternative view is advanced by Hermas, who maintains, on the basis of divine revelations, that Christians who have fallen again into sin after their baptism have a second chance (but only one second chance) to repent and return to God’s good graces. Those who refuse to avail themselves of this opportunity, however, or who revert to sin again thereafter, will be forced to face the judgment of God on the day of reckoning soon to come.

See the Muratorian Canon.

See the Canons of Eusebius and Athanasius.

Translation by Bart D. Ehrman, in The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 2 (Loeb Classical Library; Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2003); used with permission.

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The Shepherd of Hermas is the longest work to survive from the ﬁrst hundred years of the Christian church. The following extracts are representative of the whole.

Vision One (I, 1) The one who raised me sold me to a certain woman named Rhoda, in Rome. After many years, I regained her acquaintance and began to love her as a sister. 2 When some time had passed, I saw her bathing in the Tiber river; and I gave her my hand to help her out of the river. When I observed her beauty I began reasoning in my heart, “I would be fortunate to have a wife of such beauty and character.” This is all I had in mind, nothing else. 3 When some time had passed, I was traveling to the countryside, glorifying the creations of God and thinking how great, remarkable, and powerful they are. On the way I fell asleep and a spirit took me and carried me through a certain deserted place that was impassable, for the place was steep and split up by the courses of water. When I crossed the river I came to level ground and bowed my knees; and I began praying to the Lord and confessing my sins. 4 While I was praying the sky opened up and I saw the woman I had desired, addressing me from heaven: “Hermas, greeting!” I looked at her and said, “Lady, what are you doing here?” 5 She replied to me, “I have been taken up to accuse your sins before the Lord.” 6 I said to her, “So now are you accusing me?” “No,” she said, “but listen to what I have to say to you. The God who dwells in heaven and who, for the sake

of his holy church, created, increased, and multiplied that which exists out of that which does not exist, is angry at you for sinning against me.” 7 I answered her, “Have I sinned against you? In what way? When did I speak an inappropriate word to you? Have I not always thought of you as a goddess? Have I not always respected you as a sister? Why do you make such evil and foul accusations against me, O woman?” 8 But she laughed and said to me, “The desire for evil did rise up in your heart. Or do you not think it is evil for an evil desire to arise in the heart of an upright man? Indeed,” she said, “it is a great sin. For the upright man intends to do what is right. And so, when he intends to do what is right his reputation is ﬁrmly established in heaven and he ﬁnds that the Lord looks favorably on everything he does. But those who intend in their hearts to do evil bring death and captivity on themselves—especially those who are invested in this age, who rejoice in their wealth and do not cling to the good things yet to come. 9 Those who have no hope but have already abandoned themselves and their lives will regret it. But pray to God, and he will heal your sins, along with those of your entire household and of all the saints.” (I, 2) After she had spoken these words, the skies were shut; I was trembling all over and upset. I began saying

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to myself, “If this sin is recorded against me, how can I be saved? Or how will I appease God for the sins I have recently committed?a What words can I use to ask the Lord for mercy?” 2 While I was mulling these things over in my heart and trying to reach a decision, I saw across from me a large white chair, made of wool, white as snow. And an elderly woman came, dressed in radiant clothes and holding a book in her hands. She sat down, alone, and addressed me, “Greetings, Hermas.” And I said, still upset and weeping, “Greetings Lady.” 3 She said to me, “Why are you sad, Hermas—you who are patient, slow to anger, and always laughing? Why are you so downcast, and not cheerful?” I replied to her, “Because of a very good woman who has been telling me that I sinned against her.” 4 And she said, “May such a thing never happen to a slave of God! But probably something did rise up in your heart about her. This kind of notion brings the slaves of God into sin. For when someone longs to do what is evil, it is an evil and shocking notion, directed against a fully reverend and tested spirit— especially for Hermas, the selfcontrolled, who abstains from every evil desire and is full of all simplicity and great innocence. (I, 3) “Still, God is angry with you, not about this, but so that you may convert your household, which has acted lawlessly against the Lord and against you, their parents. But since you yourself are so fond of your children you do not admonish your household, and so you allow it to be terribly ruined. This is why the Lord is angry with you. But he will heal every evil your household formerly

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committed. For you yourself have been brought to ruin by the affairs of daily life—because of their sins and lawless acts. 2 But the Lord’s compassion has granted you and your household mercy, and it will make you strong and establish you in its glory. But you must not relax; instead, take courage and strengthen your household. For as the coppersmith hammers his work to master the material as he wants, so also the upright word spoken every day masters all evil. Do not stop exhorting your children. For I know that if they repent from their whole heart, they will be recorded with the saints in the books of the living.” 3 When she ﬁnished these words, she said to me, “Do you want to hear me read?” I replied to her, “Yes, Lady, I do.” She said to me, “Be a hearer and hear the glories of God.” I heard great and amazing matters that I could not remember. For all the words were terrifying, more than a person can bear. But I have remembered the ﬁnal words, for they were beneﬁcial to us, and gentle: 4 “Behold, the powerful God, who with his invisible power, might, and great understanding created the world, and by his glorious plan encompassed his creation with beauty, and by his powerful word ﬁxed the sky and founded the earth upon the waters, and by his unique wisdom and foreknowledge created his holy church, which he also blessed—behold, he transforms the skies and the mountains and the hills and the seas, and everything becomes level for his elect, that he may deliver over to them the promise he made, with great glory and joy, if they keep the ordinances of God, which they received in great faith.”

Or: for the sins I am yet to commit

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(I, 4) Then, when she ﬁnished reading and rose up from the chair, four young men came and took the chair and went away to the east. 2 She called me over and touched my breast and said to me, “Did my reading please you?” I said to her, “Lady, these last words are pleasing to me, but the earlier ones were difﬁcult and hard.” She said to me, “These last words are for those who are upright, but the former are for the outsiders and apostates.” 3 While she was speaking with me, two other men appeared and took her by the arms and went away to the east, where the chair was. She went away cheerfully; and while she was going she said to me, “Be a man,b Hermas.”

Vision Two (II, 1) I was traveling to the countryside at the same time as the previous year, and on the way I remembered the vision from the year before. And again a spirit took me and bore me to the same place I had been then. 2 And so, when I came to the place I bowed my knees and began praying to the Lord and glorifying his name, because he considered me worthy and showed me my former sins. 3 When I arose from prayer I saw across from me the elderly woman I had seen the year before, walking and reading a little book. And she said to me, “Can you announce these things to the ones chosen by God?” I said to her, “Lady, I cannot remember so many things. Give me the book to make a copy.” “Take it,” she said, “and then return it to me.” 4 I took it and went away to another part of the ﬁeld, where I copied the whole

thing, letter by letter, for I could not distinguish between the syllables. And then, when I completed the letters of the book, it was suddenly seized from my hand; but I did not see by whom. (II, 2) Fifteen days later, after I had fasted and asked the Lord many things, the meaning of the writing was revealed to me. These are the words that were written: 2 “Your offspring, Hermas, have rejected God, blasphemed the Lord, and betrayed their parents with a great evil. And even though they have been called betrayers of their parents, they have gained nothing from their betrayal. Yet they have added still more licentious acts to their sins and piled on more evil; and so their lawless acts have gone as far as they can go. 3 But make these words known to all your children and your wife, who is about to become your sister. For she also does not restrain her tongue, but uses it to perpetrate evil. But when she hears these words she will control it and receive mercy. 4 After you have made known to them these words that the Master has commanded me to reveal to you, then all the sins they formerly committed will be forgiven them, along with those of all the saints who have sinned till this day, if they repent from their whole heart and remove double-mindedness from it. 5 For the Master swore by his own glory to his chosen ones: ‘If there is any more sinning once this day has been appointed, they will not ﬁnd salvation. For there is a limit to repentance for those

Or: Be courageous

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who are upright, and the days of repentance for all the saints are complete. But the outsidersc will be able to repent until the ﬁnal day.’ 6 And so, say to those who lead the church that they are to make their paths straight in righteousness, that they may fully receive the promises with great glory. 7 You who do what is righteous should stand ﬁrm and not be of two minds, that your path may lie with the holy angels. How fortunate are all you who endure the great afﬂiction that is coming and do not deny your life. 8 For the Lord has sworn by his Son, that those who deny their Lord have lost their life—that is, those who are about to deny him in the days that are coming. But through his great compassion, mercy has been given to those who denied the Lord previously.

(II, 3) “But you, Hermas, must no longer hold a grudge against your children nor leave your sister to her own devices, that they may be cleansed from their former sins. For they will be disciplined with an upright discipline, if you bear no grudge against them. A grudge produces death. But you, Hermas, have experienced great afﬂictions of your own because of your family’s transgressions, since you paid no attention to them. You neglected them and became enmeshed in your own evil deeds. 2 But you are saved by not straying from the living God, and by your simplicity and great self-restraint. These things have saved you, if you continue; and they save all those who do them and who proceed in innocence and simplicity. Such people will overcome all evil and persist to eternal life.

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3 How fortunate are all those who do righteousness. They will never perish. 4 Say to Maximus, ‘See, afﬂiction is coming. If it seems right to you, make another denial.’d The Lord is near to those who convert, as is written in the Book of Eldad and Modat,e who prophesied to the people in the wilderness.”

(II, 4) While I was sleeping, brothers, I received a revelation from a very beautiful young man, who said to me: “The elderly woman from whom you received the little book—who do you think she is?” “The Sibyl,” I replied. “You are wrong,” he said; “it is not she.” “Who then is it?” I asked. “The church,” he said. I said to him, “Why then is she elderly?” “Because,” he said, “she was created ﬁrst, before anything else. That is why she is elderly, and for her sake the world was created.” 2 And afterward I saw a vision in my house. The elderly woman came and asked if I had already given the book to the presbyters. I said that I had not. “You have done well,” she said. “For I have some words to add. Then, when I complete all the words, they will be made known through you to all those who are chosen. 3 And so, you will write two little books, sending one to Clement and the other to Grapte. Clement will send his to the foreign cities, for that is his commission. But Grapte will admonish the widows and orphans. And you will read yours in this city, with the presbyters who lead the church.”

Literally: Gentiles; or nations d The quotation may continue to the end of the verse e This was an apocryphal book written in the names of the two prophets mentioned in Num. 11:26. It no longer survives.

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Vision Three (III, 1) What I saw, brothers, was this. 2 After I fasted a great deal and asked the Lord to show me the revelation that he promised to reveal through the elderly woman, that same night the elderly woman appeared and said to me, “Since you are so needy and eager to know everything, come to the ﬁeld where you farm, and around eleven in the morning I will be revealed to you and show you what you must see.” 3 I asked her, “Lady, in what part of the ﬁeld?” “Wherever you wish,” she said. I chose a beautiful spot that was secluded. But before I could speak with her to tell her the place, she said to me, “I will come there, wherever you wish.” 4 And so, brothers, I went into the ﬁeld and counted the hours. I arrived at the place that I had directed her to come, and I saw an ivory couch set up. On the couch was placed a linen pillow, with a piece of ﬁne linen cloth on top. 5 When I saw these things laid out with no one there, I was astounded and seized with trembling, and my hair stood on end—terriﬁed, because I was alone. Then when I came to myself, I remembered the glory of God and took courage. I bowed my knees and confessed my sins again to the Lord, as I had done before. 6 And she came with six young men, whom I had seen before, and she stood beside me and listened closely while I prayed and confessed my sins to the Lord. She touched me and said, “Hermas, stop asking exclusively about your sins; ask also about righteousness, that you may receive some of it in your house.” 7 She raised me by the hand and led me to the couch; and she said to the young men, “Go and build.” 8 After the young men left and we were alone, she said to me, “Sit here.” I

said to her, “Lady, let the elders sit ﬁrst.” “Do what I tell you,” she said. “Sit.” 9 But then, when I wanted to sit on the right side, she did not let me, but signaled with her hand for me to sit on the left. As I was mulling this over and becoming upset that she did not allow me to sit on the right, she said to me, “Are you upset, Hermas? The place on the right is for others, who have already pleased God and suffered on behalf of the name. Many things must happen to you before you can sit with them. But continue in your simplicity, as you are doing, and you will sit with them, as will everyone who does what they have done and endures what they have endured.” (III, 2) “What have they endured?” I asked. “Listen,” she said: “ﬂoggings, imprisonments, great afﬂictions, cruciﬁxions, and wild beasts—for the sake of the name. For this reason, the right side of holiness belongs to them, and to anyone who suffers on account of the name. The left side is for the others. The same gifts and promises belong to both—those seated on the right and those on the left. But they alone sit on the right and have a certain glory. 2 You want to sit on the right side with them, but you have many shortcomings. But you will be cleansed of your shortcomings. And all those who are not of two minds will be cleansed from all the sins they have committed up to this day. 3 After she said these things she wanted to leave. But I fell before her feet and pled with her by the Lord to show me the vision she had promised. 4 Again she took my hand, raised me up, and seated me on the couch on the left side. She herself sat on the right. And raising up a bright rod she said to me, “Do you see a great thing?” I said to her, “Lady, I see nothing.” She said to me,

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“Look, do you not see a great tower being built upon the water across from you, with bright, squared stones?” 5 The tower was being built in a square by the six young men who had come with her. And thousands of other men were bringing stones, some of them from the depths of the sea and some from the land, and they were handing them over to the six young men, who were taking them and building. 6 Thus they placed all the stones drawn from the depths in the building; for they ﬁt together and were straight at their joints with the other stones. And they were placed together so that their joints were invisible. The building of the tower seemed to have been made out of a single stone. 7 But they tossed aside some of the other stones that were brought from the dry land, while others they placed in the building. Others they broke up and cast far from the tower. 8 Many other stones were lying around the tower, and they did not use them in the building. For some of them had a rough surface, others had cracks, others were broken off, and others were white and round, and did not ﬁt in the building. 9 I saw other stones cast far from the tower; these came onto the path, but did not remain there, but rolled from the path onto the rough terrain. Others fell into the ﬁre and were burned. And others fell near the water, but could not be rolled into it, even though they wanted to be. (III, 3) When she had shown me these things she wanted to hurry away. I said to her, “Lady, what good is it for me to see these things if I do not know what they mean?” She answered and said to me, “You, fellow, are a crafty one, wanting to know about the tower.” “Yes, Lady,” I said; “I want to announce

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it to the brothers that they can become more cheerful; for when they hear these things they will know the Lord in great glory.” 2 She said, “Many will indeed hear; and some of those who hear will rejoice, but some will weep. But even these latter, if they hear and repent, will rejoice as well. Hear therefore the parables of the tower. For I will reveal everything to you. Then trouble me no further about the revelation. For these revelations are completed and fulﬁlled. But you will not stop asking about revelations, because you are shameless. 3 The tower, which you see being built, is I, the church, who has appeared to you both now and previously. And so, ask whatever you wish about the tower and I will reveal it to you, that you may rejoice with the saints.” 4 I said to her, “Lady, since you have on this one occasion considered me worthy to reveal all things to me: reveal them.” She said to me, “Whatever can be revealed to you, will be revealed. Only let your heart be set on God, and do not be of two minds, whatever you see.” 5 I asked her, “Why, Lady, is the tower built upon water?” “I have told you already,” she said, “and you keep seeking; it is by seeking, therefore, that you ﬁnd the truth. As to why the tower is built upon water, listen: it is because your life was saved and will be saved through water. But the tower is founded on the word of the almighty and glorious name, and it is strengthened by the invisible power of the Master.” (III, 4) I responded to her, “Lady, this is a great and amazing thing. But the six young men who are building, Lady—who are they?” “These are the holy angels of God who were created ﬁrst, to whom the Lord handed over his

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entire creation, so that they could increase, build up, and rule over it all. Thus, through these the building of the tower will be brought to completion.” 2 “But the other—the ones bringing the stones—who are they?” “They also are holy angels of God; but these six are superior to them. And so the building of the tower will be completed, and then all of them will rejoice together around the tower and glorify God, because the building of the tower has been completed.” 3 I asked her, “Lady, I want to know about the destination of the stones, and about what they mean.” And she answered me, “This will be revealed to you, but not because you are more worthy than everyone else. For others are ahead of you and better than you; and these visions should have been revealed to them. But that the name of God may be gloriﬁed, the matter has been revealed to you and will be revealed, for the sake of those who are of two minds, who debate in their hearts whether these things are so or not. Tell them that all these things are true, that none of them is outside the truth, but that everything is ﬁrm and certain and established. (III, 5) “Hear now about the stones that go into the building. On the one hand, the squared and white stones that ﬁt together at the joints are the apostles, bishops, teachers, and deacons who live reverently towards God and perform their duties as bishops, teachers, and deacons for the chosen ones of God in a holy and respectful way; some of these have fallen asleep, but others are still living. And they have always been harmonious with one another and at peace with one another, and they have listened to one another. For this reason their joints ﬁt together in the building of the tower.” 2 “But who are the ones drawn from the depths of the sea and placed into the

building, who ﬁt together at their joints with the other stones already built in it?” “These are those who have suffered on account of the name of the Lord.” 3 “But I also want to know, Lady, who the other stones are, the ones brought from the dry land.” She said, “Those that go into the building without being hewn are ones the Lord has approved, because they walk in the uprightness of the Lord and carry out his commandments.” 4 “And who are the ones brought and placed in the building?” “These are those who are new in the faith and faithful. They are admonished by the angels to do good; for this reason, no evil has been found in them.” 5 “But who are the ones who were tossed aside and cast out?” “These are those who have sinned but wish to repent. For this reason they are not cast far away from the tower, because they will be useful for the building, if they repent. And so if those who are about to repent do so, they will be strong in faith—if they repent now while the tower is still under construction. But if the building is completed, they will no longer have a place, but will be outcasts. This alone is to their advantage, that they lie next to the tower. (III, 6) “But do you want to know about the ones that are broken off and cast far from the tower? These are the children of lawlessness. For they came to faith hypocritically and no wickedness ever left them. And so they have no salvation, since, because of their wickedness, they are useless for the building. This is why they were broken off and cast far away, because of the Lord’s anger, since they aggravated him. 2 But with respect to the many other stones you saw lying on the ground and not coming into the building—the ones that are rough are those who know the truth but do not remain in it nor cling to

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the saints. This is why they are of no use.” 3 “But who are the ones with cracks?” “These are those who hold a grudge against one another in their hearts and have no peace among themselves. Even though they seem to be peace-loving, when they leave one another’s presence, their wickedness remains in their hearts. These are the cracks the stones have. 4 But the ones that are broken off are those who have believed and live, for the most part, in righteousness, but also have a certain share of lawlessness. This is why they are broken off and not whole.” 5 “But who are the white stones, Lady, which are rounded and do not ﬁt into the building?” She replied to me, “How long will you be foolish and ignorant, asking everything and understanding nothing? These are the ones who have faith, but also are wealthy in this age. But when afﬂiction comes, because of their wealth and their business affairs, they deny their Lord.” 6 And I responded to her, “And so when, Lady, will they be useful for the building?” “When the wealth that beguiles them is cut off from them,” she said, “then they will be useful to God. For just as a round stone cannot be made square unless it has something cut off and discarded, so also with those who are rich in this age: if their wealth is not cut off from them, they cannot be useful to the Lord. 7 You should know this above all from your own case. When you were wealthy, you were of no use; but now you are useful and helpful in life. All of you should be useful to God. For you yourself are also being taken from the same stones. (III, 7) “But the other stones that you saw cast far from the tower and falling on the path and rolling from the

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path onto the rough terrain, these are the ones who have believed, but have left their true path because they are of two minds. They are lost, thinking they can ﬁnd a better path; and they are miserable, walking over the rough terrain. 2 But the ones that fell into the ﬁre and were burned are those who completely abandoned the living God; and they no longer think about repenting because of their licentious desires and the wicked deeds they have performed.” 3 “But who are the other ones, which fall near the water but cannot be rolled into it?” “These are the ones who have heard the word and wanted to be baptized in the name of the Lord. But then when they recall what the life of true purity involves, they change their minds and return to pursue their evil desires.” 4 And so she completed her interpretation of the tower. 5 But being completely shameless, I asked her yet another question, whether these stones that were tossed aside and not ﬁt into the building of the tower could repent and have a place in the tower. “They can repent,” she said, “but they cannot be ﬁt into this tower. 6 They will be ﬁt into a greatly inferior place—and then only after they have been tormented and have completed the days of their sins. That is why they will be removed from there, because they have taken part in the righteous word. And then they will be removed from the torments inﬂicted for the evil deeds they did. But if deep down they do not want to repent, they will not be saved, because of their hardened hearts.” (III, 8) And so, when I stopped asking her about all these things, she said to me, “Do you want to see something else?” Being so eager to observe, I was excited by the prospect. 2 She looked at me and smiled, and

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said to me, “Do you see seven women around the tower?” “I see them, Lady,” I replied. “This tower,” she said, “is supported by them according to the commandment of the Lord. 3 Hear now about the work they do. The ﬁrst of them, the one clasping her hands, is called Faith. Those who are chosen by God are saved through her. 4 And the other one, the one wearing a belt and acting like a man,f is called Self-restraint. She is the daughter of Faith. Whoever follows her will be fortunate in his life, because he will abandon all his evil deeds, believing that if he abandons every evil desire, he will inherit eternal life.” 5 “And the others, Lady, who are they?” “They are daughters of one another, called Simplicity, Knowledge, Innocence, Reverence, and Love. And so, when you perform all the works of their mother, you will be able to live.” 6 I replied, “I wish to know, Lady, about the power that each of them has.” “Listen,” she said, “to the powers they have. 7 Their powers are connected and follow one another in the order of their birth. From Faith is born Self-restraint, from Self-restraint Simplicity, from Simplicity Innocence, from Innocence Reverence, from Reverence Knowledge, and from Knowledge Love. And so their deeds are pure, reverent, and godly. 8 Whoever serves as their slave and is able to adhere to their deeds will have a place to reside in the tower, along with the saints of God.” 9 I began to ask her about the times, about whether the end had already come, and she cried out with a great voice, “You fool! Do you not see that the tower is still under construction? Only when its construction is ﬁnished will the end arrive. But it will be built quickly. No longer ask me anything. This reminder is enough for

you and the saints—along with the renewal of your spirits. 10 These things have not been revealed for your sake alone; for you are to show them to all the others, 11 in three days; ﬁrst, however, you must think. But I enjoin you ﬁrst, Hermas, with these words I am about to say; you are to speak them all in the ears of the saints, that once they have heard and done them they may be cleansed from their wicked deeds, and you along with them. (III, 9) “Listen to me, children. I raised you with great simplicity, innocence, and reverence because of the mercy of the Lord, who drizzled his righteousness upon you that you may be made upright and puriﬁed from all evil and perversity. Yet you do not wish to stop doing your wicked deeds. 2 And so, now, listen to me: be at peace with one another, take care of one another, help one another; and do not take an overabundance of God’s creations for yourselves, but share with those in need. 3 For those who enjoy many kinds of food make their ﬂesh weak and harm it; but the ﬂesh of those without enough food is harmed by lack of proper nourishment, and their body wastes away. 4 This disparity is harmful to you who have but do not share with those in need. 5 Consider the judgment that is coming. You who have an abundance should therefore seek out the hungry before the tower is completed. For after the tower is completed you will long to do good but will have no opportunity. 6 And so, take heed, you who exult in your wealth, lest those in need complain

Or: the one girded and courageous

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and their complaint rises up to the Lord, and you be shut out from the gate of the tower, along with your goods. 7 And so now I say to you who lead the church and sit in its chief seats. Do not be like the sorcerers. For the sorcerers carry their potions in boxes, but you carry your potion and poison in the heart. 8 You have grown calloused and refuse to cleanse your hearts and to join your minds together in clean hearts, so as to receive mercy from the great king. 9 And so take heed, children, lest these dissensions deprive you of your life. 10 How can you want to discipline the Lord’s chosen ones, when you yourselves have no discipline? And so, discipline one another and be at peace among yourselves, that I also may stand before the Father cheerfully and so render an account to our Lord for all of you.”

(III, 10) Then, when she stopped speaking with me, the six young men who were building came and took her away to the tower. And four others came and took the couch and carried it off to the tower as well. I did not see their faces, because they were turned away. 2 But as she was leaving I began asking her to give me a revelation about the three forms in which she appeared to me. And she answered me, “You must ask someone else to reveal these things to you.” 3 For in the ﬁrst vision, brothers, the year before, she appeared to me as a very elderly woman, seated on a chair. 4 In the other vision she had a younger face, but her skin and hair were older, and she spoke to me while standing. But she was more cheerful than before. 5 And in the third vision she was very young and exceedingly beautiful in appearance; only her hair was older. But

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she was completely cheerful and seated on a couch. 6 I was very sad, wanting to know about this revelation. Then I saw the elderly woman in a night vision, saying to me, “Every request requires humility. And so fast, and you will receive from the Lord what you ask.” 7 So I fasted one day, and in that night a young man appeared to me and said, “Why do you constantly ask for revelations in your prayer? Take care, or you will harm your ﬂesh by asking so much. 8 These revelations are enough for you. How can you manage to see revelations even more powerful than the ones you have already seen?” 9 I replied to him, “Lord, I am asking only about the three forms of the elderly woman, that the revelation may be complete.” He answered me, “How long will you people be ignorant? You have become ignorant from being of two minds, not having your hearts set on the Lord.” 10 I said to him again, “But from you, Lord, we will learn all these things more accurately.”

(III, 11) “Listen,” he said, “concerning the forms you are inquiring

after. 2 In the ﬁrst vision, why did she appear to you as an elderly woman, seated on a chair? Because your spirit is elderly and already fading away, having no vigor because you are feeble and of two minds. 3 For just as elderly people who have no hope of being rejuvenated look forward to nothing but their sleep,g so also you, grown feeble because of your worldly affairs, have handed yourselves over to apathy, and you do not cast your

Or: death

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anxieties upon the Lord. Your mind has been wounded and you have grown old in your sorrows.” 4 “I also want to know, Lord, why she was seated in a chair.” “Because anyone who is weak sits in a chair out of weakness, to support the weakness of the body. Now you have the meaning the ﬁrst vision. (III, 12) “And in the second vision you saw her standing, and she had a younger face and was more cheerful than before, even though her skin and hair looked older. Listen,” he said, “to this parable as well. 2 Someone who is older and has already given up all hope because of his bodily weakness and poverty looks forward to nothing except the last day of his life. Then suddenly an inheritance is left to him. And when he hears about it he rises up and in his excitement grows strong. No longer does he recline, but he stands and his spirit becomes rejuvenated even though it has been wasting away because of his daily life from before; and he no longer sits, but becomes manly.h You are like this as well, when you hear what the Lord has revealed to you. 3 For he showed you compassion and rejuvenated your spirits; and you laid your feebleness to the side and strength seized you and you were empowered with faith. And when the Lord saw your renewed strength he was glad. For this reason he showed you the building of the tower, just as he will show you other things as well, if you are at peace with one another from your whole heart.

(III, 13) “But in the third vision you saw her younger and beautiful and cheerful, and her form was beautiful. 2 For it is as when some good news comes to a person who is grieving: im-

mediately he forgets his former griefs and thinks about nothing but the news he has heard. And he is strengthened from that time on to do what is good, and his spirit is rejuvenated because of the exciting news he has received. So also your spirits have been rejuvenated from seeing these good things. 3 And you saw her seated on a couch because that is a strong position, since the couch has four legs and stands ﬁrmly. For the world is also held ﬁrm through the four elements. 4 And so, those who fully repent will become new and ﬁrmly established— those who have repented from their whole heart. Now you have the revelation complete. No longer ask anything about it; if anything is still needed, it will be revealed to you.”

Vision Four (IV, 1) This is what I saw, brothers, twenty days after the earlier vision, as a foreshadowing of the coming afﬂiction. 2 I was going into the country on the Via Campania. This is just over a mile off the public road; the place is easily reached. 3 While walking alone, I was asking the Lord to complete the revelations and visions he had shown me through his holy church, that he might strengthen me and give repentance to his slaves who had stumbled, so that his great and glorious name might be gloriﬁed, since he had considered me worthy to see his marvelous acts. 4 And while I was giving him glory and thanks, something like the sound of

Or: courageous

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a voice answered me, “Do not be of two minds, Hermas.” I began to debate with myself, “How can I be of two minds, when I have been ﬁrmly established by the Lord and seen his glorious deeds?” 5 I passed on a bit, brothers, and suddenly saw a cloud of dust, reaching up to the sky. And I began saying to myself, “Is that a herd of cattle coming, raising the dust? But it was still about two hundred yards away from me. 6 And as the dust cloud grew larger and larger, I realized that it was something supernatural. The sun began to shine a bit and suddenly I saw an enormous wild beast, something like a sea monster, with ﬁery locusts spewing from its mouth. The beast was nearly a hundred feet long, and its head looked like a ceramic jar. 7 And I began to weep and ask the Lord to save me from it. Then I remembered the word I had heard: “Do not be of two minds, Hermas.” 8 And so, putting on the faith of the Lord, brothers, and remembering the great things he had taught me, I courageously gave myself over to the beast. And so it came on with a roar, enough to lay waste a city. 9 But when I approached it, the enormous sea monster stretched itself out on the ground and did nothing but stick out its tongue; otherwise it did not move at all until I had passed it by. 10 And the beast had four colors on its head: black, ﬁre- and blood-red, gold, and white. (IV, 2) After I passed by the beast and went about thirty feet ahead, a young woman suddenly met me, clothed as if coming from a bridal chamber, dressed all in white and with white sandals, veiled down to her forehead. Her veil was a headband and her hair was white.

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2 From my earlier visions I knew that she was the church, and I became cheerful. She welcomed me, “Greetings, my man.” And I welcomed her in return, “Greetings, Lady.” 3 She said to me, “Did anything meet you?” I responded, “An enormous wild beast, Lady, able to destroy entire peoples. But by the power of the Lord and his great compassion, I escaped it.” 4 “You escaped well,” she said, “because you cast your anxiety upon God and opened your heart to the Lord, believing that you could not be saved except through his great and glorious name. For this reason the Lord sent his angel, named Thegri, who is in charge of the wild beasts; and he shut the beast’s mouth, so that it could not harm you. You have escaped a great afﬂiction because of your faith, and because you were not of two minds even though you saw such an enormous wild beast. 5 And so, go and explain the great acts of the Lord to his chosen ones, and tell them that this wild beast is a foreshadowing of the great afﬂiction that is coming. If then all of you prepare and repent before the Lord from your whole heart, you will be able to escape it—if your heart becomes clean and blameless and you serve the Lord blamelessly the rest of your days. Cast your anxieties upon the Lord and he will take care of them. 6 Trust in the Lord, you who are of two minds, because he can do all things; he both diverts his anger from you and sends punishments to you who are double-minded. Woe to those who hear these words and disobey. It would be better for them not to have been born.”

(IV, 3) I then asked her about the four colors the beast had on its head. And she answered me, “Once again you are being overly inquisitive about these

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matters.” “Yes Lady,” I said, “explain these things to me.” 2 “Listen,” she said. “The black is this world, in which all of you live. 3 The ﬁre- and blood-red shows that this world must be destroyed through blood and ﬁre. 4 But you who escape this world are the part that is gold. For just as gold is tested through ﬁre and thus becomes useful, so also you who dwell among themi are put to the test. Those who endure and are burned by them will be made pure. For just as gold casts off its dross, so also you will cast off every grief and tribulation, and be cleansed and made useful for the building of the tower. 5 But the part that is white is the age that is coming, in which the chosen ones of God will dwell. For those who have been chosen by God for eternal life will be spotless and pure. 6 And so do not stop speaking in the ears of the saints. You now have the foreshadowing of the great afﬂiction that is coming. But if you wish, it will come to nothing. Remember the things written before.” 7 When she said these things she departed; but I did not see where she went. For there was a noise, and I turned around out of fear, thinking that the beast was coming.

Vision Five (V) After I prayed in my house, sitting on my bed, an eminent looking man came to me, dressed in shepherd’s clothing—wrapped with a white goat skin around his waist, with a backpack on his shoulder and a staff in his hand. He greeted me, and I greeted him in return. 2 He immediately sat next to me and

said, “I have been sent from the most reverend angel to live with you for the rest of your life.” 3 I thought he had come to put me to the test, and I said to him, “Who are you? For I know the one to whom I have been entrusted.” He said to me, “Do you not recognize me?” “No,” I replied. He said, “I am the shepherd to whom you have been entrusted.” 4 While he was speaking his appearance changed, and I recognized him, since he was in fact the one to whom I had been entrusted. And I was suddenly thrown into confusion, seized with fear, and entirely broken up by grief, because I had given him such a wicked and foolish response. 5 But he said to me, “Do not be confused, but become strong in my commandments, which I am about to give you. For I was sent,” he said, “to show you yet again all the things that you saw before, since these are what will chieﬂy beneﬁt you. First, though, write my commandments and parables; but write the other things just as I show them to you. This is why,” he said, “I am commanding you ﬁrst to write the commandments and parables—that you may read them regularly and so be able to keep them.” 6 And so I wrote the commandments and parables, just as he commanded me. 7 If then, after you hear them, you keep them and walk in them and accomplish them with a pure heart, you will receive from the Lord everything he promised you. But if you do not repent once you have heard them, but increase your sins still further, you will receive the opposite from the Lord. The shepherd, the angel of repentance, thus commanded me to write all these things.

I.e., either among the inhabitants of the world, or among the ﬁre and the blood

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First Commandment

one to be given something from his own gifts. 5 And so, those who receive something will render an account to God, about why they received something and to what end. For those who received because of hardship will not face condemnation; but those who received out of hypocrisy will pay a penalty. 6 And so the one who gives is innocent. For as he was given a ministry from the Lord to complete, he has completed it in a simple way, having no doubts about to whom he should give or not give something. This ministry that is completed in a simple way becomes glorious before God, so that the one who ministers thus, in a simple way, will live to God. 7 And so guard this commandment as I have spoken it to you, that your repentance and that of your household may be found to be in simplicity—and pure, innocent, and blameless.”

(I) “First of all, believe that God is one, who created and completed all things, and made everything that exists out of that which did not, who contains all things but is himself, alone, uncontained. 2 And so believe in him and fear him, and in your fear be self-restrained. Guard these matters and you will cast all wickedness from yourselves and clothe yourselves with every righteous virtue, and you will live to God—if you guard this commandment.”

Second Commandment (II) He said to me, “Hold on to simplicity and be innocent, and you will be like young children who do not know the wickedness that destroys human life. 2 First, of all, do not slander anyone. Nor listen gladly to anyone else who slanders. Otherwise, you the hearer will share the sin of the slanderer—if you believe the slander you hear. For when you believe it you also will hold something against your brother. And so you will share the sin of the one who slanders. 3 Slander is evil, a restless demon, never at peace but always living in dissension. And so, abstain from it and you will always be in good standing with all. 4 Clothe yourself with reverence, in which there is no wicked stumbling block, but everything is smooth and cheerful. Do what is good, and take what you have earned through the toils God has given you and give simply to those in need, not wavering about to whom you should give something and to whom not. Give to everyone. For God wishes every-

Third Commandment (III) Then he spoke to me again, “Love the truth and let all truth come from your mouth, so that the spirit that God made to live in this ﬂesh may be recognized as true by everyone; in this way the Lord who dwells in you will be gloriﬁed. For the Lord is true in his every word, and there is no lie in him. 2 And so, those who lie reject the Lord and defraud him, not handing over to him the down payment they received. For they received from him a spirit that does not lie; if they return it to him as a liar, they deﬁle the commandment of the Lord and become defrauders.” 3 When I heard these things I wept bitterly. When he saw me weeping he asked, “Why are you weeping?” “Because, Lord,” I said, “I do not know if I

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can be saved.” “Why?” he asked. “Because, Lord” I said, “I have never in my entire life spoken a true word, but have always lived craftily with everyone, and have portrayed my lie as truth to all. And no one has ever contradicted me, but has trusted my word. How then, Lord,” I asked, “can I live, having done such things?” 4 “Your thoughts are good and true,” he said. “For you should have been conducting yourself as a slave of God; and a wicked conscience should not have dwelt with the spirit of truth or brought grief to the reverend and true spirit.” “Never,” I replied, “have I heard such words so accurately.” 5 “You are hearing them now,” he said. “Guard these matters so that the lies you spoke before in your daily life may themselves become trustworthy when these other words are found to be true. For even those other ones can become trustworthy. If you guard these matters and from now on speak only the truth, you will be able to give yourself life. And whoever hears this commandment and avoids lying most wickedly will live to God.”

Fourth Commandment (IV, 1) “I command you,” he said, “to guard your holiness, and do not allow any thought to rise up in your heart about someone else’s wife, or sexual immorality, or any other similarly wicked things. Otherwise you commit a great sin. But if you always keep thinking about your own wife, you will never sin. 2 For if this notion should rise up in your heart you will sin, and if another such wicked idea should arise, you commit a sin. For this notion is a great sin for the slave of God. And anyone who

does such an evil deed brings death upon himself. 3 So be on the alert and avoid this notion. For where reverence dwells, lawlessness should not rise up in the heart of an upright man.” 4 I said to him, “Lord, allow me to ask you a few questions.” “Go ahead,” he replied. “Lord,” I said, “if someone is married to a woman who believes in the Lord, but he discovers that she is having an adulterous relationship, does the man then sin if he continues to live with her?” 5 “As long as he is ignorant of the affair,” he replied, “he does not sin. But if the husband knows about her sin, and the wife does not repent, but remains in her sexual immorality, and the husband continues to live with her, he becomes guilty of her sin and a partner in her immorality.” 6 “What then should the husband do, Lord” I said, “if the wife continues in her passion?” “He should divorce her,” he replied, “and live alone. But if he marries someone else after the divorce, he also commits adultery.” 7 “But, Lord,” I said, “if after the wife is divorced she repents and wants to return to her husband, should she not be taken back?” 8 “Yes indeed,” he replied. “If her husband does not take her back, he sins, and drags a great sin upon himself; for the one who sins and repents must be accepted back. But not many times. For there is but one repentance given to the slaves of God. Because of repentance, therefore, the husband ought not to marry. The same applies to both wife and husband. 9 Not only is it adultery,” he continued, “if a person deﬁles his ﬂesh; but also, whoever behaves like the outsiders commits adultery. And so, if anyone continues doing such deeds and does not repent, you should avoid him and not allow him

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to live in your midst. Otherwise you also share in his sin. 10 This is why you have been ordered to remain by yourselves, whether a husband or wife; for repentance is possible in such cases. 11 And so,” he said, “I am not giving an occasion for matters to turn out this way; I am saying that the sinner should sin no more. But with respect to his former sin, there is one who can provide healing. For he has the authority over all things.” (IV, 2) I asked him again, “Since the Lord has considered me worthy to have you live with me always, bear with me for a few more words, since I understand nothing and my heart has been hardened because of my former actions. Give me insight, for I am extremely senseless and comprehend nothing at all.” 2 He answered me, “I am in charge of repentance,” he said, “and I give understanding to all those who repent. Or do you not realize,” he said, “that repentance is itself a form of understanding? Repentance,” he said, “is indeed a great understanding. For the one who sins understands that he has done something evil before the Lord, and what he has done rises up in his heart; then he repents and no longer does what is evil, but lavishly does what is good; and he humbles and torments himself, because he has sinned. So you see that repentance is a great understanding.” 3 I replied, “This is why, Lord, I am carefully inquiring about everything from you—chieﬂy because I am a sinner, and I need to know what sorts of things I must do to live; for my sins are many and various.” 4 “You will live,” he said, “if you guard my commandments and proceed in them. And whoever guards these command-

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ments, once he has heard them, will live to God.” (IV, 3) “I still have some things to ask, Lord,” I said. “Go ahead,” he replied. “I have heard from some teachers, Lord,” I said, “that there is no repentance apart from the one that came when we descended into the water and received forgiveness for the sins we formerly committed.” 2 He said to me, “You have heard well, for that is so. For the one who has received forgiveness of sins must sin no more, but live in holiness. 3 And since you are carefully inquiring about all things, I will show this to you as well—not, however, to give an occasion for those who are about to believe in the Lord or who have already come to believe. For those who now believe or who are about to believe have no further repentance for their sins, but have received forgiveness for the sins they previously committed. 4 And so the Lord has given those who were called before these days an opportunity to repent. For the Lord knows the heart, and knowing all things in advance he recognized the weakness of humans and the intricate plots of the devil—that he will do some harm to the slaves of God and will reek havoc among them. 5 And so, since the Lord is full of compassion, he had mercy on his creation and provided this opportunity to repent; and the authority for this repentance was given to me. 6 But this also I say to you,” he said: “whoever is tempted by the devil and sins after that great and reverend calling has one repentance. But if he should sin and repent repeatedly it is of no beneﬁt to him. For he will ﬁnd it difﬁcult to live.” 7 I said to him, “I have been made alive by hearing these things from you so ac-

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curately. For I know that if I no longer increase my sins, I will be saved.” “You will be saved,” he replied, “as will everyone else who does these things.” (IV, 4) I asked him again, “Lord, since you have borne with me once, reveal this to me as well.” “Speak,” he said. “Lord,” I said, “if a wife or, again, a husband, should die and the survivor marry, does the one who marries commit a sin?” 2 “That one does not sin,” he said, “but anyone who remains alone has provided a superior honor for himself and a great glory to the Lord. But if such a one does marry, it is not a sin. 3 And so, maintain your purity and reverence, and you will live to God. From now on, from this day in which you have been entrusted to me, guard all these things that I say and am about to say to you, and I will reside in your house. 4 For your former transgressions will be forgiven if you guard my commandments. And everyone will be forgiven, if they guard these my commandments and proceed in this purity.”

Fifth Commandment (V, 1) “Be patient,” he said, “and understanding, and you will rule over every evil work and do all that is righteous. 2 For if you are patient, the holy spirit that dwells in you will be pure and will not be overshadowed by another, evil spirit; but dwelling in a broad place it will rejoice and be glad with the vessel it inhabits, and it will serve God with great cheerfulness, ﬂourishing in itself. 3 But if any irascibility should enter in, immediately the holy spirit, which is sen-

sitive, feels cramped; and not having a pure place it seeks to leave. For it is suffocated by the evil spirit, not having a place to serve the Lord as it wishes, being polluted by the irascibility. For the Lord dwells in patience, but the devil in irascibility. 4 And so, when both spirits dwell in the same place, it is unproﬁtable and evil for that person in whom they dwell. 5 For if you take a very small portion of wormwood and pour it into a jar of honey, is not all the honey spoiled? A great deal of honey is ruined by the least bit of wormwood. It destroys the sweetness of the honey, which is no longer pleasing to the master, because it has become bitter and lost its value. But if the wormwood is not put into the honey, the honey is found to be sweet and is valuable to the master. 6 You see that patience is sweeter than honey and is valuable to the Lord, and he dwells in it. But irascibility is bitter and useless. And so, if irascibility is mixed with patience, the patience is deﬁled and its prayer is of no use to God.” 7 “I wish to know, Lord,” I said, “the inner workings of irascibility, that I may guard against it.” “Yes indeed,” he replied, “if you and your household do not guard against it, you destroy your entire hope. But guard against it, for I am with you. And all those who repent from their whole heart will abstain from it; for I will be with them and protect them. For all have been made upright by the most reverend angel.” (V, 2) “Hear, now,” he said, “the inner workings of irascibility, how it is evil and brings ruin on the slaves of God by the way it works, and misleads them away from righteousness. It does not mislead those who are full of faith, nor is it able to work against them, be-

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cause the power of God is with them. But it misleads those who are empty and of two minds. 2 For when it sees such people at rest it inserts itself into their hearts, and with no warning the woman or man becomes embittered on account of some business deals, or because of food or something trivial, or because of a friend or something received or given, or because of other such foolish matters. For all these things are foolish, empty, senseless, and unproﬁtable for the slaves of God. 3 But patience is great and mighty; it has a forceful power that ﬂourishes in a spacious arena; it is cheerful, glad, and free of anxiety, glorifying the Lord at all times, having no bitterness in itself but remaining always meek and mild. This patience, therefore, dwells with all those who hold on to faith intact. 4 But irascibility is ﬁrst of all foolish, ﬁckle, and senseless. And then, from senselessness comes bitterness, from bitterness anger, from anger wrath, and from wrath rage. Then this rage, which is compounded of such evil things, becomes a great and incurable sin. 5 For when these spirits dwell in one and the same vessel with the holy spirit, the vessel no longer has sufﬁcient space but is stuffed to the brim. 6 And so the sensitive spirit, which is not accustomed to dwelling with an evil spirit nor with harshness, leaves the person and seeks to live with meekness and mildness. 7 Then when it leaves the one it had inhabited, the person becomes devoid of the upright spirit and at last, being ﬁlled with evil spirits, vacillates in everything he does, being dragged back and forth by the evil spirits, entirely blinded from any good understanding. This then is what happens to everyone who is irascible. 8 And so, avoid irascibility, which is the most wicked spirit. Clothe yourself

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with patience and stand against irascibility and bitterness, and you will be found with the reverence that is loved by the Lord. Take care that you never neglect this commandment. For if you master it, you will be able to guard the other commandments, which I am about to give you. And so, be strong and empowered in them, and may everyone who wishes to proceed in them be so empowered.” . . .

The Parables That He Spoke With Me (I) He said to me, “You know that you slaves of God are living in a foreign land. For your own city is a long way from this one. If, then,” he said, “you know your own city, where you are about to live, why are you preparing ﬁelds, expensive furnishings, buildings, and pointless rooms for yourselves here? 2 Anyone who prepares these things in this city, therefore, cannot return to his own city. 3 You foolish, double-minded, and miserable person! Do you not understand that all these things belong to another and are under someone else’s control? For the ruler of this city will say, ‘I do not want you living in my city; leave it, because you are not living by my laws.’ 4 And so, you who have ﬁelds and houses and many other possessions— when he casts you out, what will you do with your ﬁeld and house and whatever else you have prepared for yourself? For the ruler of this country rightly says to you, ‘Either live by my laws or leave my country.’ 5 And so what will you do, you who have a law from your own city? Will you completely renounce your own law for the sake of your ﬁelds and whatever else you own, and follow the law of the city

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you are in now? Take care, because renouncing your law may be contrary to your own interests. For if you want to return to your own city, you will not be welcomed, because you have renounced its law; and you will be shut out of it. 6 And so take care. Since you are dwelling in a foreign land, ﬁx nothing up for yourself except what is absolutely necessary; and be ready, so that when the master of this city wants to banish you for not adhering to his law, you can leave his city and go to your own, and live according to your own law gladly, suffering no mistreatment. 7 Take care, then, you who are enslaved to the Lord and have him in your heart. Do the works of God, remembering his commandments and the promises he made; and trust in him, because he will do these things, if his commandments are guarded. 8 Instead of ﬁelds, then, purchase souls that have been afﬂicted, insofar as you can, and take care of widows and orphans and do not neglect them; spend your wealth and all your furnishings for such ﬁelds and houses as you have received from God. 9 For this is why the Master made you rich, that you may carry out these ministries for him. It is much better to purchase the ﬁelds, goods, and houses you will ﬁnd in your own city when you return to it. 10 This kind of extravagance is good and makes one glad; it has no grief or fear, but joy instead. And so, do not participate in the extravagance sought by outsiders; for it is of no proﬁt for you who are slaves of God. 11 But participate in your own extravagance in which you can rejoice. And do not counterfeit or touch what belongs to another, or desire it. For it is evil to desire someone else’s goods. But do your own work, and you will be saved.”

Another Parable (II) While I was walking in the ﬁeld and considering an elm tree and a vine, reﬂecting on them and their fruits, the shepherd appeared to me and said, “Why are you asking yourself about the elm tree and the vine?” “I am thinking, Lord,” I replied, “that they are extremely well suited for one another.” 2 “These two trees,” he replied, “symbolize the slaves of God.” “I would like to know,” I said, “what these two trees you are speaking about symbolize.” “You see,” he said, “the elm and the vine?” “I see them, Lord,” I replied. 3 “This vine,” he said, “bears fruit; but the elm is a tree that does not. Yet if this vine did not grow up onto the elm, it could not bear much fruit, since it would be lying on the ground, and the fruit it bore would be rotten, since it would not be clinging to the elm. And so, when the vine attaches to the elm, it bears fruit both of itself and because of the elm. 4 And so you see that the elm also gives much fruit—no less than the vine, but rather more.” “How does it bear more, Lord” I asked. “Because,” he said, “it is by clinging to the elm that the vine gives an abundance of good fruit; but when it is lying on the ground it bears just a little rotten fruit. And so this parable applies to the slaves of God, the poor and the rich.” 5 “How so, Lord?” I asked. “Explain it to me.” “Listen,” he said. “The rich person has money, but is poor towards the Lord, since he is distracted by his wealth. The prayer and confession he makes to the Lord are very small—weak, small, and of no real effect. And so, when the rich person depends upon the one who is poor and supplies him with what he needs, he believes that by helping the one who is poor he will ﬁnd his recom-

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pense before God. For the poor person is rich in his petition and confession, and his petition has a great effect before God. And so the rich person supplies everything to the one who is poor, without hesitation. 6 And then the poor person, having his needs supplied by the one who is rich, prays to God and thanks him for the one who has given him what he needs. And that one becomes even more eager to help out the poor person, so that he may lack nothing in his life. For he knows that the petition of the poor person is acceptable and rich before the Lord. 7 And so both accomplish their work. The poor person works at his prayer in which he is rich and which he received from the Lord; and he gives it back to the Lord who supplied it to him in the ﬁrst place. So too the rich person does not hesitate to supply his wealth to the poor person, since he received it from the Lord. And this is a great and acceptable thing to do before God, because the rich person has gained understanding by his wealth and has worked for the poor person out of the gifts provided by the Lord, and he has accomplished his ministry well. 8 And so, people may think that the elm tree bears no fruit; but they neither know nor understand that when a drought comes, the elm nourishes the vine by holding water; and the vine, since it has an undiminished supply of water, produces fruit for two, both for itself and for the elm. Thus also those who are poor who pray to the Lord on behalf of the rich bring their own wealth to completion; and again those who are rich and supply the poor with what they need bring their souls to completion. 9 Both then share in an upright work. And so the one who does these things will not be abandoned by God, but will be recorded in the books of the living.

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10 Happy are those who have possessions and understand that their riches have come from the Lord; for the one who understands this will also be able to perform a good ministry.”

Third Parable (III) He showed me many trees that did not have leaves but appeared to me to be withered. And they were all alike. He said to me, “Do you see these trees?” “I see them, Lord,” I replied. “They are like one another and withered.” He replied, “These trees you see are the people who dwell in this age.” 2 “Why, then, Lord,” I asked, “do they seem withered and like one another?” “Because,” he said, neither the upright nor the sinners stand out clearly in this age, but they are like one another. For this age is a winter for those who are upright: they do not stand out clearly while dwelling with the sinners. 3 For just as the trees that shed their leaves in the winter all look alike, with the withered indistinguishable from the living, so too in this age it is not clear who the upright are and who the sinners, but they all appear alike.”

Another Parable (IV) He showed me again a number of trees, some of them budding, others withered. And he said to me, “Do you see these trees?” “I see them, Lord,” I replied. “Some of them are budding and others withered.” 2 “These trees that are budding,” he said, “are the upright who are about to dwell in the age that is coming. For the coming age is a summer for the upright,

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but a winter for sinners. And so, when the mercy of the Lord shines forth, those who serve as slaves to God will stand out clearly, and everyone will be able to recognize them. 3 For just as the fruits of each individual tree appear in the summer and their species are recognized, so too the fruits of the upright will appear, and they will all be known in that age because they will be blossoming. 4 But the outsiders and sinners—who are the withered trees you saw—will be found withered and fruitless in that age, and they will be burned like withered trees and shown for what they are, because they did what was evil in their lifetimes. The sinners will be burned for sinning and not repenting. But the outsiders will be burned for not knowing the one who created them. 5 You, therefore, bear fruit in yourself, that your fruit may appear in that summer. But avoid many business activities and you will not sin at all. For those involved with numerous business dealings are also involved in numerous sins, since they are distracted by their affairs and do not serve as the Lord’s slaves. 6 How then,” he continued, “can someone like this receive anything he asks from the Lord, if he does not serve as the Lord’s slave? For his slaves will receive what they request, but those who are not his slaves will receive nothing. 7 But if someone should engage in just one kind of business,j he will also be able to serve as the Lord’s slave. For his thoughts will in no way be corrupted away from the Lord, but he will be enslaved to him, keeping his thoughts pure. 8 So then, if you do these things you will be able to bear fruit in the age that is coming. And whoever else does these things will bear fruit.”

Another Parable, Five (V, 1) While I was fasting and sitting on a certain mountain, thanking the Lord for everything he had done for me, I saw the shepherd sitting next to me. And he said to me: “Why have you come here so early?” “Because, Lord,” I said, “I have a duty to perform.”k 2 “What is the duty?”l he asked. “I am fasting, Lord,” I replied. “But what is this fast you people are keeping?” he asked. “I am fasting according to my custom, Lord,” I said. 3 “You people do not know how to fast for God,” he said, “and this worthless fast you are keeping for him is not a fast.” “Why do you say this, Lord,” I asked. “I say this,” he said, “because what you think you are keeping is not a fast. But I will teach you a fast that is acceptable and complete to the Lord.” “Yes, Lord,” I said, “you will make me blessed if you show me the fast acceptable to God.” “Listen,” he said. 4 “God does not want this kind of vain fast. For when you fast like this to God you do nothing at all righteous. But fast to God as follows: 5 Do no evil in your life, but serve as the Lord’s slave with a pure heart, keeping his commandments and proceeding in his injunctions; and let no evil desire rise up in your heart. Trust in God, because if you do these things and fear him and are self-restrained from every evil deed, you will live to God. If you do these things, you will accomplish a fast that is great and acceptable to the Lord.

Or: one business transaction tion lOr: What is a station?

Literally: I have a sta-

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(V, 2) “Listen to this parable I am about to tell you; for it relates to fasting. 2 There was a person who owned a ﬁeld and many slaves, and he planted a vineyard in part of the ﬁeld. And he chose a certain slave who was most trustworthy and pleasing to him; and when he was about to go on a journey, he called him in and said to him, ‘Take this vineyard that I have planted and build a fence around it before I return, and do nothing else to the vineyard. Do what I have commanded and I will set you free.’ And the master of the slave went away on his journey. 3 When he had gone, his slave took the vineyard and built a fence around it. And when he ﬁnished the fence he saw that the vineyard was full of weeds. 4 And so he reasoned to himself, ‘I have ﬁnished what the lord commanded; so now I will dig in this vineyard. Once it is dug it will be more attractive, and without the weeds it will give more fruit, since it will not be choked by the weeds.’ So he dug the vineyard and removed all the weeds that were in it. And that vineyard became more attractive and ﬂourishing, since there were no weeds that could choke it. 5 After some time the master of both ﬁeld and slave returned and came into the vineyard. When he saw that the vineyard was attractively fenced and even more that it was dug, with all the weeds removed, and that the vines were ﬂourishing, he was extremely pleased with what the slave had done. 6 So he called his beloved son, who was to be his heir, and his friends, who served as his advisors, and he told them everything he had commanded his slave and everything he found accomplished. And they congratulated the slave for the good testimony that the master had given him.

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7 He said to them, ‘I promised to free this slave if he did what I commanded him. And he did what I commanded and an additional good work in my vineyard besides. He has pleased me greatly. In exchange for the work he has done I want to make him a fellow heir with my son; for when he thought of the good deed, he did not leave it alone, but he accomplished it.’ 8 The master’s son approved of the idea that the slave should become his fellow heir. 9 After some days the master of the house gave a dinner and sent a number of foods to the slave from his table. When the slave received the food his master sent, he took what he needed and distributed the rest to his fellow slaves. 10 His fellow slaves took the food gladly, and began also to pray for him, that he might ﬁnd even greater favor with the master, since he had treated them so well. 11 The master heard everything that happened and was again extremely pleased at what the slave had done. And so he once more assembled his friends and his son, and he reported to them what the slave had done with the foods he had received. And they approved even more heartily his plan to make the slave his son’s fellow heir.”

(V, 3) I said to him, “Lord, I do not know what these parables mean and cannot understand them, unless you explain them to me.” 2 “I will explain everything to you,” he said, “and show you the meaning of everything I tell you. Guard what the Lord commands and you will be acceptable to him and enrolled among those who keep his commandments. 3 But if you do anything good beyond

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what God commands, you will be gloriﬁed even more and even more highly honored before God than you were bound to be. If, then, you do what God commands and perform any of these services in addition, you will be ﬁlled with joy—if you keep them according to my commandment.” 4 I said to him, “Lord, I will guard whatever you command me. For I know you are with me.” “I will be with you,” he said, “because you are so eager to do good; and I will be with everyone who is just as eager. 5 This fast that consists of keeping the Lord’s commandments,” he said, “is very good. And so guard the fast. 6 First of all, be on your guard against every evil word and desire, and cleanse your heart from all the vain affairs of this age. If you guard these things, this fast will be complete. 7 And act as follows: when you have completed the things that have already been written, taste nothing but bread and water on the day you fast. Then estimate the cost of the food you would have eaten on that day and give that amount to a widow or orphan or someone in need. Be humble in this way, that the one who receives something because of your humility may ﬁll his own soul and pray to the Lord for you. 8 If then you complete your fast like this, as I have commanded you, your sacriﬁce will be acceptable before God and the fast will be recorded. The service done in this way will be good and cheerful and pleasing to the Lord. 9 Thus you should keep these things, as should your children and your entire household. When you do so, you will be blessed. Everyone who hears these things and keeps them will be blessed, and they will receive whatever they ask from the Lord.”

(V, 4) I begged him fervently to explain to me the parable of the ﬁeld, the master, the vineyard, the slave who built a fence around the vineyard, the fence posts, the weeds that were removed from the vineyard, the son, and the friends who were advisors. For I understood that all these things were a parable. 2 He answered me, “You are extremely brazen in your requests. You should ask nothing at all, for if anything needs to be explained to you, it will be.” I said to him, “Lord, there is no point in showing me something that you do not explain, when I do not know what it is. And if you tell me parables without explaining them to me, there is no point in my hearing them from you.” 3 Again he said to me, “Whoever is a slave of God and has the Lord in his heart asks him for understanding and receives it. And he interprets every parable; and the words of the Lord spoken in parables are made known to him. But all those who are weak and lazy in prayer hesitate to ask anything from the Lord. 4 The Lord has great compassion and gives without hesitation to everyone who asks of him. But you have been empowered by the glorious angel and have received from him this petition; since you are not lazy, why do you not ask for understanding from the Lord and receive it directly from him?” 5 I said to him, “Lord, since I have you with me I need to ask and inquire of you. For you are the one showing everything to me and speaking with me. If I had seen or heard these things without you, I would ask the Lord to clarify them for me.”

(V, 5) “I told you just now,” he said, “that you are crafty and brazen,

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asking for the interpretations of the parables. But since you are so persistent, I will interpret for you the parable of the ﬁeld and everything that follows it, that you may make these things known to all. Listen, now,” he said, “and understand these things. 2 The ﬁeld is this world. And the lord of the ﬁeld is the one who created all things and completed them and empowered them. The son is the Holy Spirit and the slave is the Son of God. The vines are this people, which he has planted. 3 The fence-posts are the Lord’s holy angels who surround his people. The weeds that were removed from the vineyard are the lawless deeds of the slaves of God. The foods that he sent to him from his dinner are the commandments he has given his people through his Son. The friends and advisors are the holy angels who were created ﬁrst. And the absence of the master is the time that remains until his coming.” 4 I said to him, “Lord, all these things are great, marvelous, and glorious. How could I have understood them? No one else could have understood them either, even if he were extremely insightful. Yet, Lord,” I said, “explain to me what I am about to ask you.” 5 “Say what you wish,” he said. “Why, Lord,” I asked, “is the Son of God represented as a slave in the parable?” (V, 6) “Listen,” he said; “the Son of God is not represented as a slave, but as one who has great authority and lordship.” “I don’t see how, Lord,” I replied. 2 “Because,” he said, “God planted the vineyard—that is, he created the people and handed them over to his Son. And the Son appointed the angels over them, to protect each one. And he cleansed their

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sins through great labor, bearing up under his many labors. For a vine cannot be dug around without labor or toil. 3 And so, when he had cleansed the sins of the people he showed them the paths of life, giving them the law, which he received from his Father. 4 You see, then,” he said, “that he is the Lord of the people, having received all authority from his Father. But listen to what it means that the Lord took his Son, along with the glorious angels, as a counselor about the slave’s inheritance. 5 God made the Holy Spirit dwell in the ﬂesh that he desired,m even though it pre-existed and created all things. This ﬂesh, then, in which the Holy Spirit dwelled, served well as the Spirit’s slave, for it conducted itself in reverence and purity, not deﬁling the Spirit at all. 6 Since it lived in a good and pure way, cooperating with the Spirit and working with it in everything it did, behaving in a strong and manly way, God chose it to be a partner with the Holy Spirit. For the conduct of this ﬂesh was pleasing, because it was not deﬁled on earth while bearing the Holy Spirit. 7 Thus he took his Son and the glorious angels as counselors, so that this ﬂesh, which served blamelessly as the Spirit’s slave, might have a place of residence and not appear to have lost the reward for serving as a slave. For all ﬂesh in which the Holy Spirit has dwelled— and which has been found undeﬁled and spotless—will receive a reward. 8 Now you have the interpretation of this parable.”

60 m

(V, 7) “I am very glad to have heard this interpretation, Lord,” I

Meaning obscure

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said. “And now listen,” he replied: “Guard this ﬂesh of yours to keep it clean and undeﬁled, so that the spirit dwelling in it may bear a good testimony to it, and your ﬂesh may be made upright. 2 Take care that the thought never occur to you that this ﬂesh of yours is corrupt, and never misuse it in a deﬁling way. If you deﬁle your ﬂesh, you deﬁle the Holy Spirit as well. And if you deﬁle your ﬂesh, you will not live.” 3 “But Lord,” I said, “if anyone was ignorant earlier—before having heard these words—and deﬁled his ﬂesh, how will he be saved?” “God alone,” he replied, “can bring healing to those who were ignorant earlier. For all authority is his. 4 But guard these things for now, and the Lord who has great compassion will provide healing for these things, if here at the end you deﬁle neither your ﬂesh nor your spirit. For these two go together, and one cannot be deﬁled without the other. Keep both of them pure, therefore, and you will live to God.”

Parable Six (VI, 1) While I was sitting in my house and giving glory to the Lord for all the things I had seen, and reﬂecting that his commandments are good, powerful, cheerful, glorious, and able to save a person’s soul, I was telling myself, “I will be fortunate if I proceed in these commandments; for whoever proceeds in them is fortunate.” 2 While I was telling myself these things, I suddenly saw him sitting next to me and saying, “Why are you of two minds about the commandments I have given you? They are good. Do not be at all of two minds, but clothe yourself with

the faith of the Lord and proceed in them. For I will empower you to do them. 3 These commandments are proﬁtable to those who are about to repent. For if they do not proceed in them, their repentance is in vain. 4 And so, you who repent should cast aside the evil affairs of this age, which wear you down. For when you are clothed with every righteous virtue, you will be able to keep these commandments and no longer increase your sins. And so, by not increasing them, you will greatly cut off your former sins. Proceed therefore in my commandments, and you will live to God. For I have spoken these things to all of you.” 5 After he spoke these things to me, he said, “Let us go into the country, and I will show you the shepherds of the sheep.” “Yes, Lord,” I said, “let us go.” We came to a certain plain and he showed me a young shepherd, wearing a bright yellow suit of clothes. 6 He was tending a large ﬂock of sheep. These sheep were luxuriously fed and extremely frisky and cheerful, leaping about here and there; and the shepherd also was cheerful with his ﬂock. The shepherd’s appearance was very cheerful, and he was running about among the sheep. (VI, 2) He said to me, “Do you see this shepherd?” “I see him, Lord,” I replied. “This,” he said, “is the angel of luxury and deceit. He, then, is the one who wears down the souls of the vacuous slaves of God and turns them away from the truth, deceiving them with evil desires that destroy them. 2 For they forget the commandments of the living God and proceed in vain deceits and luxuries and are destroyed by this angel—some to death and others to ruin.”

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3 I said to him, “Lord, I do not know what you mean that some are destroyed to death and others to ruin.” “Listen,” he said. “All the sheep you saw that were extremely cheerful and leaping about are the ones who have ﬁnally fallen away from God and have delivered themselves over to the desires of this age. Among these there is no repentance that leads to life, because they have also committed blasphemy against the name of the Lord. Death therefore belongs to them. 4 But the ones you saw that were not leaping about but were grazing in one place, these are the ones who have delivered themselves over to luxuries and deceits, without committing blasphemy against the Lord. They have been ruined by falling from the truth. For these there is a hope of repentance, and it can make them live. And so, those who have experienced this kind of ruin have some hope of new life, but death brings eternal destruction.” 5 Then we went a little way ahead, and he showed me a large shepherd with a wild kind of appearance, clothed in the skin of a white goat, with a bag on his shoulder, a very hard and knotty staff, and a great whip. He had an extremely bitter look about him. I was afraid of him, he had such a look. 6 This shepherd was taking the sheep from the young shepherd—those that were frisky and luxuriously fed, but not leaping—and driving them into an area that was steep and ﬁlled with thorns and thistles. And the sheep could not extricate themselves from the thorns and thistles but became entangled in them. 7 And so they had to graze while being entangled among the thorns and thistles; and they were being miserably beaten by the shepherd. He was forcing them to move here and there, giving them no rest at all, so that those sheep were not at all tranquil.

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(VI, 3) When I saw them ﬂogged like this and made so miserable, I started to grieve for them, because they were tormented in this way and had no respite. 2 I said to the shepherd who was speaking with me, “Lord,” I said, “who is this merciless and bitter shepherd, who is showing no compassion at all for these sheep?” “This,” he replied, “is the angel of punishment. He is one of the upright angels, but he has been appointed to mete out punishment. 3 And so he takes those who have strayed from God and proceeded in the desires of this age, and he punishes them with the various terrifying punishments that each of them deserves.” 4 “I want to know, Lord,” I said, “what sorts of punishments there are.” “Listen,” he said, “to the various torments and punishments. For the torments come in the present life. Some people are punished with ﬁnancial losses, others with deprivations, various diseases, or every kind of disruption, or by being abused by miscreants and many other kinds of suffering. 5 For many people undertake numerous projects but go back and forth in their minds, and nothing at all goes well for them. And they say that they do not prosper in what they do, but it never occurs to them that they have done what is evil; instead, they blame the Lord. 6 And so, when they have suffered every afﬂiction, they are handed over to me for good discipline, and they are made strong in the faith of the Lord, and they serve as the Lord’s slaves the remaining days of their lives, with pure hearts. When they repent, they think about the evil deeds they have done, and then they give glory to God, because he is an upright judge and each one has rightly suffered everything in light of what he has

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done. For the rest of their lives they will serve as the Lord’s slave with pure hearts, and they will prosper in their every deed, receiving everything they ask from the Lord. Then they glorify the Lord, because they have been delivered over to me, and they no longer suffer any evil.” (VI, 4) I said to him, “Lord, explain something else to me.” “What do you want to know?” he asked. “Are those who live in luxury and deceit,” I asked, “tormented for the same amount of time they lived in luxury and deceit?” He replied to me, “They are tormented the same amount of time.” 2 “Then they are tormented very little, Lord,” I said. “For those who have lived in luxury like this and forgotten God should be tormented seven times as long.” 3 He said to me, “You are a fool and do not understand the force of the torment.” “If I had understood it, Lord,” I replied, “I would not have asked you to explain it to me.” “Listen,” he said, “and I will tell you the force of both things. 4 The time of luxury and deceit is a single hour. But an hour’s worth of torment has the force of thirty days. And so, if someone lives in luxury and deceit for a single day, and is then tormented for a single day, that day of torment has the force of an entire year. Thus, a person is tormented for the same number of years as the days he has lived in luxury.n You see,” he said, “that the time of luxury and deceit is very brief, but that of punishment and torment is long.”

(VI, 5) I said, “Lord, since I have not completely understood about the times of deceit and luxury and torment, explain them to me more clearly.” 2 He answered me, “You are persistently foolish and do not wish to cleanse

your heart and serve God. Take care,” he said, “lest the time be fulﬁlled and you be found foolish. Listen, now,” he said, “to what you want to know, so that you may understand these things. 3 The one who lives in luxury and deceit for a single day, doing whatever he wants, is clothed with great foolishness and does not understand what he is doing. The next day he forgets what he did the day before. For luxury and deceit have no memories, because the person is clothed in foolishness. But when punishment and torment cling to a person for a single day, he is punished and tormented for a year, because punishment and torment have great memories, 4 And so, when he is tormented and punished over the course of the entire year, then he remembers his luxury and deceit and he knows that he is suffering because of these evil deeds. All those who live in luxury and deceit are tormented in this way, because even though they are alive they have handed themselves over to death.” 5 “What sorts of luxuries, Lord,” I asked, “are harmful?” He replied, “Everything that brings a person pleasure is a luxury,” he said. “For even the foultempered person who acts as he desires enjoys a luxury. So too does the adulterer, the drunkard, the slanderer, the liar, the greedy, the defrauder, and anyone who does anything similar, as he desires, in his own diseased way. Such a person, then, enjoys a luxury in what he does. 6 All these luxuries are harmful to the slaves of God. Those who are punished and tormented, therefore, suffer because of these deceitful practices. 7 But there are also luxuries that save people. For many people who do what is good enjoy luxury by being borne along

Note: the calculations are based on a twelve-hour day

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by their own pleasure. And so this kind of luxury can be proﬁtable for the slaves of God, and provides life to such a person. But the harmful luxuries that I mentioned before provide torments and punishments. If people remain in them without repenting, they provide death for themselves.”

Parable Seven (VII) After a few days I saw him in the same plain where I had seen the shepherds, and he said to me, “What are you looking for?” “I have come here, Lord,” I said, “to ask you to order the punishing angel to leave my house, because he is afﬂicting me terribly.” “You need to be afﬂicted,” he replied, “because this is what the glorious angel commanded for you. For he wants you to be put to the test.” “What evil thing have I done, Lord, to be handed over to this angel?” I asked. 2 “Listen,” he said, “your sins are many, but not enough for you to be handed over to this angel. But your household has committed great sins and lawless acts, and the glorious angel is embittered by their deeds. This is why he commanded you to be afﬂicted for a time, to lead them to repent and cleanse themselves from all worldly desires. When they repent and are cleansed, then the punishing angel will leave.” 3 I said to him, “Lord, even if they are acting in ways that embitter the glorious angel—what have I done?” “It cannot be otherwise,” he said. “They cannot be afﬂicted unless you are as well, since you are the head of the household. For if you are afﬂicted, of necessity they are too; but if you are ﬂourishing, they can experience no afﬂiction.”

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4 “But look, Lord,” I said, “they have in fact repented from their whole heart.” “I myself know they have repented from their whole heart,” he replied. “But do you think,” he said, “that the sins of those who repent are forgiven on the spot? Not at all! But the one who repents must torment his own soul and become mightily humble in his every deed and be afﬂicted with many and various afﬂictions. And if he should endure the afﬂictions that come upon him, the one who created and empowered all things will be fully compassionate and bring him some healing. 5 This will certainly happen if he sees that the heart of the one who repents is pure from every evil deed. And it is to your advantage, and to your household’s, to be afﬂicted now. But why am I telling you so much? You must be afﬂicted, just as that angel of the Lord commanded, the one who delivered you over to me. Give the Lord thanks for this—for he considered you worthy to have the afﬂiction explained in advance, that by knowing about it in advance you could endure it strongly.” 6 I said to him, “Lord, be with me and I will be able to endure every afﬂiction.” “I will be with you,” he said. “And I will also ask the punishing angel to afﬂict you less severely. You will be afﬂicted for a brief time, and you will again be restored to your place. But continue by being humble, serving the Lord with a pure heart, you, your children, and your household, and proceed in my commandments, which I have given you, and your repentance will be able to be strong and pure. 7 And if you guard these matters, along with your household, every afﬂiction will leave you. And afﬂiction will leave everyone who proceeds in these my commandments.” . . .