To the Magnesians 3.2

Ignatius of Antioch · To the Magnesians · ca. 110 (range ca. 105–135) · Smyrna · Read in context

Summary: Deceiving the bishop means deceiving the unseen God.

BothGreekEnglish

Greek text · Lake, LCL 24:198–200

εἰς τιμὴν οὖν ἐκείνου τοῦ θελήσαντος ἡμᾶς πρέπον ἐστὶν ἐπακούειν κατὰ μηδεμίαν ὑπόκρισιν· ἐπεὶ οὐχ ὅτι τὸν ἐπίσκοπον τοῦτον τὸν βλεπόμενον πλανᾷ τις, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἀόρατον παραλογίζεται. τὸ δὲ τοιοῦτον οὐ πρὸς σάρκα ὁ λόγος, ἀλλὰ πρὸς θεὸν τὸν τὰ κρύφια εἰδότα.

English · Claude translation

So for the honor of him who has desired us, it is fitting to obey without any hypocrisy. For it is not that one deceives this bishop who is seen; rather, one cheats the one who is unseen. In such a case one's account is not with flesh but with God, who knows hidden things.

About this passage

Source: Lake, LCL 24:198–200 · Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1, LCL 24 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1912), 172–277 · 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
Also in: PG 5:665a (found by text match)
Translation: Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Lake (LCL 24, 1912); made independently of existing English translations.
Topics: Church office

Notes

Translation notes

“Who has desired us” (τοῦ θελήσαντος ἡμᾶς): who willed us into being, or who chose us.

Cite this passage

Ign. Magn. 3.2 (PG 5:665a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ign-magnesians/3/2/).

Plain text

Ign. Magn. 3.2 (PG 5:665a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ign-magnesians/3/2/).

Download citation:BibTeX ·RIS (Zotero, EndNote)

Report an error in this passage