Sophia Scriptura

Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 8.6.5 (72.5)

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

Summary: Hypocrites and false teachers who hindered repentance may still repent.

Greek text · Lake, LCL 25:204

οἱ δὲ τὰς ξηρὰς καὶ ἀσήπτους ἐπιδεδωκότες, καὶ οὗτοι ἐγγὺς αὐτῶν· ἦσαν γὰρ ὑποκριταὶ καὶ διδαχὰς ξένας εἰσφέροντες καὶ ἐκστρέφοντες τοὺς δούλους τοῦ θεοῦ, μάλιστα δὲ τοὺς ἡμαρτηκότας, μὴ ἀφιέντες μετανοεῖν αὐτούς, ἀλλὰ ταῖς διδαχαῖς ταῖς μωραῖς πείθοντες αὐτούς. οὗτοι οὖν ἔχουσιν ἐλπίδα τοῦ μετανοῆσαι.

English · Claude translation

And those who gave in the dry but unrotted ones are also near them; for they were hypocrites and brought in strange teachings and perverted God's servants, especially those who had sinned, not allowing them to repent, but persuading them with their foolish teachings. These, then, have hope of repenting.

About this passage

Source
Lake, LCL 25:204 · Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 2, LCL 25 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1913), 138–305 · 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), and from the ancient Latin version where Lake prints it because the Greek is lost (from Sim. 9.30.3); made independently of existing English translations.
Topics
Heresy

Notes

Translation notes

  • The false teachers apparently denied that sinners could repent after baptism.

Cite this passage

Herm. Sim. 8.6.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/herm-sim/8/6/5/).

Plain text
Herm. Sim. 8.6.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/herm-sim/8/6/5/).

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