Shepherd of Hermas, Mandate 9.1 (39.1)

Hermas · Shepherd of Hermas: Mandates · ca. 100–150 · Rome · Read in context

Summary: Do not doubt when asking God, even as a sinner.

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Greek text · Lake, LCL 25:106

Λέγει μοι· Ἆρον ἀπὸ σεαυτοῦ τὴν διψυχίαν καὶ μηδὲν ὅλως διψυχήσῃς αἰτήσασθαί τι παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, λέγων ἐν σεαυτῷ ὅτι πῶς δύναμαι αἰτήσασθαι παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ λαβεῖν, ἡμαρτηκὼς τοσαῦτα εἰς αὐτόν;

English · Claude translation

He said to me, “Remove double-mindedness from yourself, and do not be double-minded at all about asking anything from God, saying to yourself, ‘How can I ask anything from the Lord and receive it, when I have sinned so much against him?’

About this passage

Source

Lake, LCL 25:106 · Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 2, LCL 25 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1913), 70–137 · Greek text: K. Lake, The Apostolic Fathers (LCL, 1912-1913), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Lake (LCL 25, 1913); made independently of existing English translations.

Scripture

Jas 1:6 · allusion, medium confidence
Jas 1:8 · allusion, medium confidence

Topics

Prayer

Notes

Translation notes

Mandate 9 is on “double-mindedness” (διψυχία), doubt that divides the heart between God and the world; compare Jas 1:5–8.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (digitization slip against Lake's printed text (dropped letters)): καὶ μὲν ὅλως διψυχήσῃς → καὶ μηδὲν ὅλως διψυχήσῃς.

Cite this passage

Herm. Mand. 9.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/herm-mand/9/1/).

Plain text

Herm. Mand. 9.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/herm-mand/9/1/).

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