Miscellanies 3.4.39
Summary: Paul condemns “let us do evil that good may come”; the heretics twist Scripture by changing accents and punctuation, and Malachi rebukes those who say evildoers please God.
Greek text · Stählin 2:213–214
καὶ μή τι πρὸς τούτους ὁ ἀπόστολος ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ἐπιστολῇ ἀποτεινόμενος γράφει· καὶ μὴ καθὼς βλασφημούμεθα καὶ καθώς φασί τινες ἡμᾶς λέγειν, ὅτι ποιήσωμεν τὰ κακά, ἵνα ἔλθῃ τὰ ἀγαθά; ὧν τὸ κρῖμα ἔνδικόν ἐστιν. οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ κατὰ τὴν ἀνάγνωσιν φωνῆς τόνῳ διαστρέφοντες τὰς γραφὰς πρὸς τὰς ἰδίας ἡδονάς, καί τινων προσῳδιῶν καὶ στιγμῶν μεταθέσει τὰ παραγγελθέντα σωφρόνως τε καὶ συμφερόντως βιαζόμενοι πρὸς ἡδυπαθείας τὰς ἑαυτῶν. οἱ παροξύνοντες τὸν θεὸν τοῖς λόγοις ὑμῶν· ὁ Μαλαχίας φησί, καὶ εἴπατε· ἐν τίνι παρωξύναμεν αὐτόν; ἐν τῷ λέγειν ὑμᾶς· πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν πονηρὸν ἀγαθὸς ἐνώπιον κυρίου, καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς αὐτὸς ηὐδόκησεν· καί· ποῦ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς τῆς δικαιοσύνης;
English · Claude translation
And is not the apostle aiming at these when he writes in the letter to the Romans: “And not, as we are slandered and as some say that we say, ‘Let us do evil that good may come’? Their condemnation is just.” These are the ones who, in reading, twist the Scriptures by the tone of voice toward their own pleasures, and by changing certain accents and punctuation force what was commanded wisely and usefully to their own self-indulgence. “You who have provoked God with your words,” says Malachi, “and you said, ‘How have we provoked him?’ In your saying, ‘Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he has taken pleasure in them’; and, ‘Where is the God of justice?’”
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Rom 3:8 and Mal 2:17. Clement's remark on accents and punctuation reflects the reading of unaccented, unpunctuated manuscripts.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent: grave on πρὸς): βιαζόμενοι πρός ἡδυπαθείας → βιαζόμενοι πρὸς ἡδυπαθείας.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.4.39 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/3/4/39/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.4.39 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/3/4/39/).
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