# 1 Clement 53.3

- Author: [Clement of Rome](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/clement-of-rome/)
- Work: [1 Clement](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/1-clement/) (*Epistula I ad Corinthios*)
- Date: ca. 95–97 (range ca. 70–100) (disputed)
- Source: Lake, LCL 24:98–100; Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1, LCL 24 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1912), 8–121 (Greek text: K. Lake, The Apostolic Fathers (LCL, 1912-1913), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26
- Canonical URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/1-clement/53/3/

Summary: God threatened to destroy the people.

## Greek text

καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς αὐτόν· Λελάληκα πρός σε ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς λέγων· Ἑώρακα τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον, καὶ ἰδού ἐστιν σκληροτράχηλος· ἔασόν με ἐξολεθρεῦσαι αὐτούς, καὶ ἐξαλείψω τὸ ὄνομα αὐτῶν ὑποκάτωθεν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ποιήσω σε εἰς ἔθνος μέγα καὶ θαυμαστὸν καὶ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἢ τοῦτο.

## English translation (Claude)

And the Lord said to him: “I have spoken to you once and twice, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is stiff-necked. Let me destroy them, and I will blot out their name from under heaven, and I will make you into a great and wonderful nation, much more than this one.’”

## Scripture references

- Deut 9:13: quotation, high confidence
- Deut 9:14: quotation, high confidence
- Exod 32:10: allusion, medium confidence

## Citation (SBL)

1 Clem. 53.3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/1-clement/53/3/).