Chap. xvii.--the danger of impenitence.
Let us therefore repent from the whole heart, that no one of us perish by the way. For if we have commandments that we should also practice this, [3983] to draw away men from idols and instruct them, how much more ought a soul already knowing God not to perish! Let us therefore assist one another that we may also lead up those weak as to what is good, [3984] in order that all may be saved; and let us convert and admonish one another. [3985] [3986] And let us not think to give heed and believe now only, while we are admonished by the presbyters, but also when we have returned home, [3987] [3988] remembering the commandments [3989] of the Lord; and let us not be dragged away by worldly lusts, but coming [3990] more frequently let us attempt to make advances in the commandments of the Lord, that all being of the same mind [3991] we may be gathered together unto life. For the Lord said, "I come to gather together all the nations, tribes, and tongues." [3992] This He speaketh of the day of His appearing, when He shall come and redeem us, each one according to his works. [3993] And the unbelievers "shall see His glory," and strength; and they shall think it strange when they see the sovereignty [3994] of the world in Jesus, saying, Woe unto us, Thou wast He, [3995] and we did not know and did not believe, and we did not obey the presbyters when they declared unto us concerning our salvation. And "their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched, and they shall be for a spectacle unto all flesh." [3996] He speaketh of that day of judgment, when they shall see those among us [3997] that have been ungodly and acted deceitfully with the commandments of Jesus Christ. But the righteous who have done well and endured torments and hated the enjoyments of the soul, when they shall behold those that have gone astray and denied Jesus through their words or through their works, how that they are punished with grievous torments in unquenchable fire, shall be giving glory to God, saying, There will be hope for him that hath served God with his whole heart.
Chap. xviii.--the preacher confesseth his own sinfulness.
Let us also become of the number of them that give thanks, that have served God, and not of the ungodly that are judged. For I myself also, being an utter sinner, [3998] [3999] and not yet escaped from temptation, but still being in the midst of the engines [4000] of the devil, give diligence to follow after righteousness, that I may have strength to come even near it, [4001] fearing the judgment to come.
Chap. xix.--he justifieth his exhortation.
Wherefore, brethren and sisters, [4002] after the God of truth hath been heard, [4003] I read to you an entreaty [4004] that ye may give heed to the things that are written, in order that ye may save both yourselves and him that readeth among you. For as a reward I ask of you that ye repent with the whole heart, thus giving to yourselves salvation and life. For by doing this we shall set a goal [4005] for all the young who are minded to labour [4006] on behalf of piety and the goodness of God. And let us not, unwise ones that we are, be affronted and sore displeased, whenever some one admonisheth and turneth us from iniquity unto righteousness. For sometimes while we are practising evil things we do not perceive it on account of the double-mindedness and unbelief that is in our breasts, and we are "darkened in our understanding" [4007] by our vain lusts. Let us then practice righteousness that we may be saved unto the end. Blessed are they that obey these ordinances. Even if for a little time they suffer evil in the world, [4008] they shall enjoy the immortal fruit of the resurrection. Let not then the godly man be grieved, if he be wretched in the times that now are; a blessed time waits for him. He, living again above with the fathers, shall be joyful for an eternity without grief.
Chap. xx.--concluding word of consolation. doxology.
But neither let it trouble your understanding, that we see the unrighteous having riches and the servants of God straitened. Let us therefore, brethren and sisters, be believing: we are striving in the contest [4009] of the living God, we are exercised by the present life, in order that we may be crowned by that to come. No one of the righteous received fruit speedily, but awaiteth it. For if God gave shortly the recompense of the righteous, straightway we would be exercising ourselves in business, not in godliness; for we would seem to be righteous, while pursuing not what is godly but what is gainful. And on this account Divine judgment surprised a spirit that was not righteous, and loaded it with chains. [4010]
To the only God invisible, [4011] the Father of truth, who sent forth to us the Saviour and Prince of incorruption, [4012] through whom also He manifested to us the truth and the heavenly life, to Him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. [4013]
[3848] No title, not even a letter, is preserved in the ms. [In C (= ms. at Constantinople found by Bryennios) the title is Kle'mentos pro`s Korinthi'ous B', corresponding to that of the First Epistle. In S (= Syriac ms. at Cambridge) there is a subscription to the First Epistle ascribing it to Clement, then these words: "Of the same the second Epistle to the Corinthians." At the close this subscription occurs: "Here endeth the Second Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians."--R.]
[3849] [C has here, and in many other places, humas instead of hemas. This substitution of the second person plural is one of its marked peculiarities.--R.]
[3850] [Literally, "little things;" Lightfoot, "mean things."--R.]
[3851] [Literally, "little things;" Lightfoot, "mean things."--R.]
[3852] [Lightfoot follows the Syriac, and renders: "And they that listen, as concerning mean things, do wrong; and we ourselves do wrong, not knowing," etc. But the briefer reading of the Greek mss. is lectio difficilior --R.]
[3853] [Only S has ga'r. A has de', which the Edinburgh translators have rendered "for." So twice in chap. iii.--R.]
[3854] Literally, "holy things."
[3855] Comp. Ps. cxvi. 12.
[3856] Literally, "lame."
[3857] Literally "of men." [Compare Arnobius, vol. vi. p. 423.]
[3858] Literally, "being full of such darkness in our sight."
[3859] Literally, "having beheld in us much error and destruction."
[3860] [C, S (apparently), and recent editors have hechontas, "even when we had," instead of hechontes (A), as above paraphrased.--R.]
[3861] Comp. Hos. ii. 23; Rom. iv. 17, ix. 25.
[3862] Literally, "willed us from not being to be." [Comp. n. 4, p. 365.]
[3863] Isa. liv. 1; Gal. iv. 27. [R. V., "the husband."--R.]
[3864] Some render, "should not cry out, like women in travail." The text is doubtful. [Lightfoot: "Let us not, like women in travail, grow weary of offering up our prayers with simplicity to God."--R.]
[3865] [epei, "since;" hence Lightfoot renders, "He so spake, because."--R.]
[3866] It has been remarked that the writer here implies he was a Gentile.
[3867] Matt. ix, 13; Luke v. 32. [The briefer form given above is that of the correct text in Matthew and Mark (ii. 17), not Luke.--R.]
[3868] [ethe'lese, "willed."--R.] [Noteworthy. 2 Pet. iii. 9.]
[3869] Comp. Matt. xviii. 11. [Luke xix. 10.--R.]
[3870] Literally, "already perishing." [Rev. iii. 2.]
[3871] [Literally, "the Father of the truth." The best editions have a period here.--R.]
[3872] Literally, "what is the knowledge which is towards Him." [C, with Bryennios. Hilgenfeld reads tes alethei'as, "what is the knowledge of the truth," instead of he pro`s auto'n, A, S, Lightfoot, and earlier editors.--R.]
[3873] [le'gei de` kai` auto's, "Yea, He Himself saith," Lightfoot.--R.]
[3874] Matt. x. 32.
[3875] Comp. Matt. xxii. 37.
[3876] ["Now He saith also."--R.]
[3877] Isa. xxix. 13.
[3878] Matt. vii. 21, loosely quoted.
[3879] [Literally, "in."--R.]
[3880] [A defect in A was thus supplied, but "these" is now accepted; so C, S.--R.]
[3881] Some read "God." ["Him" is correct.--R.]
[3882] Or, "with Me." [This is the more exact rendering of met' emou.--R.]
[3883] The first part of this sentence is not found in Scripture; for the second, comp. Matt. vii. 23, Luke xiii. 27. [The first part is not even identified as a citation from an apocryphal book.--R.]
[3884] Matt. x. 16.
[3885] No such conversation is recorded in Scripture. [Comp. note 13.--R.]
[3886] Or, "Let not the lambs fear."
[3887] Matt. x. 28; Luke xii. 4, 5.
[3888] Or, "know."
[3889] The text and translation are here doubtful. [All doubt has been removed; the above rendering is substantially correct.--R.]
[3890] [More exactly, "the righteous path," tes hodou tes dikai'as.--R.]
[3891] Matt. vi. 24; Luke xvi. 13.
[3892] Matt. xvi. 26. [The citation is not exactly according to any evangelist. Literally, "For what advantage is it, if any one gain the whole (Comits whole') world, but forfeit his life," or "soul."--R.]
[3893] Literally, "speaks of." [So Lightfoot.--R].
[3894] Or, "enjoy." [Lightfoot: "but must bid farewell to the one and hold companionship with the other;" thus preserving the correspondence with the preceding sentence.--R.]
[3895] The ms. has, "we reckon." [So C and S, but Lightfoot retains the subjunctive.--R.]
[3896] Ezek. xiv. 14, 20.
[3897] [Literally, "But if even such righteous men."--R.]
[3898] Literally, "with what confidence shall we."
[3899] Wake translates "kingdom," as if the reading had been basilei'an; but the ms. has basi'leion, "palace." [Lightfoot gives the former rendering, though accepting basi'leion.--R.]
[3900] [Literally, "holy and righteous works."--R.]
[3901] [agonisometha, "let us strive," as in the games.--R.]
[3902] Literally, "that many set sail for corruptible contests," referring probably to the concourse at the Isthmian games.
[3903] Or, "Let us place before us." [The latter rendering is that of the reading found in A and C, and now accepted by many editors (thomen); but Lightfoot adheres to the'omen (so S), and holds the former reading to be a corruption.--R.]
[3904] Or, "set sail."
[3905] Literally, "know."
[3906] Literally "if he be found corrupting."
[3907] Baptism is probably meant. [See Eph. i. 13 and Acts xix. 6.]
[3908] [Or, "He saith;" "unbroken" is not necessary.--R.]
[3909] Isa. lxvi. 24.
[3910] Comp. Luke xvi. 10-12.
[3911] ms. has "we," which is corrected by all editors as above. [The newly discovered authorities have the second person; most recent editors, however, adopt the first person, as lectio difficilior. So Lightfoot; but Hilgenfeld restores apola'bete in his second edition.--R.]
[3912] Some have thought this a quotation from an unknown apocryphal book, but it seems rather an explanation of the preceding words.
[3913] [Editors differ as to the punctuation. Lightfoot: "Understand ye. In what were ye saved? In what did ye recover your sight? if ye were not in the flesh." Hilgenfeld puts a comma after gnote (understand ye), and a period after eso'thete (saved).--R.]
[3914] Literally, "looked up." [Both senses of anable'pein occur in New Testament.--R.]
[3915] The ms. has heis, "one," which Wake follows, but it seems clearly a mistake for hos. [Lightfoot reads ei, with a Syriac fragment; both C and S have heis--R.]
[3916] [C has here the curious reading lo'gos instead of pneuma, but all editors retain the latter.--R.]
[3917] [A reads "eternal," and C, S, "praise;" Lightfoot and others combine the two, "eternal praise,"--R.]
[3918] Matt. xii. 50.
[3919] Literally, "rather."
[3920] Literally, "malice, as it were, the precursor of our sins." Some deem the text corrupt.
[3921] Literally, according to the ms., "it is not possible that a man should find it who are"--the passage being evidently corrupt. [The evidence of C and S does not clear up the difficulty here, the reading of these authorities being substantially that of A. Lightfoot renders: "For for this cause is a man unable to attain happiness, seeing that they call in the fears of men," etc. Hilgenfeld (2d ed.) assumes here a considerable gap in all the authorities, and inserts two paragraphs, cited in other authors as from Clement. The first and longer passage is from John of Damascus, and it may be accounted for as a loose citation from chap. xx. in the recovered portion of this Epistle. The other is from pseudo-Justin (Questions to the Orthodox, 74) This was formerly assigned by both Hilgenfeld and Lightfoot (against Harnack) to the First Epistle of Clement, lviii., in that portion wanting in A. But the recovered chapters (lviii.-lxiii.) contain, according to C and S, no such passage. Lightfoot thinks the reference in pseudo-Justin is to chap. xvi. of this homily, and that the mention of the Sibyl in the same author is not necessarily part of the citation from Clement. Comp. Lightfoot, pp. 308, 447, 448, 458, 459, and Hilgenfeld, 2d ed., pp. xlviii., 77.--R.]
[3922] [Lightfoot, more literally, "but now they continue teaching evil to innocent souls."--R.]
[3923] The same words occur in Clement's first epistle, chap. xxiii.
[3924] 1 Cor. ii. 9.
[3925] These words are quoted (Clem. Alex., Strom., iii. 9, 13) from the Gospel according to the Egyptians, no longer extant.