Miscellanies 3.4.32
Summary: Lawless living is hateful to human and divine lawgivers, as Phinehas's zeal shows; John says those who walk in darkness cannot claim fellowship with God.
Greek text · Stählin 2:210
ἤδη δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις νομοθέταις καὶ τῷ θείῳ ἀπεχθάνονται παρανόμως βιοῦν ἐπανῃρημένοι. ὁ γοῦν ἐκκεντήσας τὸν πόρνον εὐλογούμενος πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ δείκνυται ἐν τοῖς Ἀριθμοῖς. καὶ ἐὰν εἴπωμεν, φησὶν ὁ Ἰωάννης ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ, ὅτι κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετʼ αὐτοῦ, τουτέστι μετὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ ἐν τῷ σκότει περιπατῶμεν, ψευδόμεθα καὶ οὐ ποιοῦμεν τὴν ἀλήθειαν· ἐὰν δὲ ἐν τῷ φωτὶ περιπατῶμεν ὡς αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ φωτί, κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ αἷμα Ἰησοῦ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ καθαρίζει ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας.
English · Claude translation
And they have made themselves hateful both to human lawgivers and to the divine lawgiver, having chosen to live lawlessly. The one who pierced the fornicator is shown in Numbers, at any rate, being blessed by God. And “if we say,” says John in his letter, “that we have fellowship with him,” that is, with God, “and walk in darkness, we lie and do not do the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with him, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from sin.”
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The allusions and quotations are Num 25:7–13 and 1 John 1:6–7.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misreading in the digital text (καὶ); stray period in the digital text): κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετʼ αὐτοῦ. τουτέστι → κοινωνίαν ἔχομεν μετʼ αὐτοῦ, τουτέστι; ταὶ ἐν τῷ σκότει περιπατῶμεν → καὶ ἐν τῷ σκότει περιπατῶμεν.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.4.32 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/3/4/32/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.4.32 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/3/4/32/).
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