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Second Epistle to the Corinthians (Loeb)
XV.
1. Οὐκ οἴομαι δέ, ὅτι μικρὰν συμβουλίαν ἐποιησάμην περὶ ἐγκρατείας, ἣν ποιήσας τις οὐ μετανοήσει, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑαυτὸν σώσει κἀμὲ τὸν συμβουλεύσαντα. μισθὸς γὰρ οὔκ ἐστιν μικρὸς πλανωμένην ψυχὴν καὶ ἀπολλυμένην ἀποστρέψαι εἰς τὸ σωθῆναι. 2. ταύτην γὰρ ἔχομεν τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν ἀποδοῦναι τῷ θεῷ τῷ κτίσαντι ἡμᾶς, ἐὰν ὁ λέγων καὶ ἀκούων μετὰ πίστεως καὶ ἀγάπης καὶ λέγῃ καὶ ἀκούῃ. 3. ἐμμείνωμεν οὖν ἐφ’ οἷς ἐπιστεύσαμεν δίκαιοι καὶ ὅσιοι, ἵνα μετὰ παρρησίας αἰτῶμεν τὸν θεὸν τὸν λέγοντα· Ἔτι λαλοῦντός σου ἐρῶ· ἰδοὺ πάρειμι. 4. τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ ῥῆμα μεγάλης ἐστιν ἐπαγγελίας σημεῖον· ἑτοιμότερον γὰρ ἑαυτὸν λέγει ὁ κύριος εἰς τὸ διδόναι τοῦ αἰτοῦντος. 5. τοσαύτης οὖν χρηστότητος μεταλαμβάνοντες μὴ φθονήσωμεν ἑαυτοῖς τυχεῖν τοσούτων ἀγαθῶν. ὅσην γὰρ ἡδονὴν ἔχει τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα τοῖς ποιήσασιν αὐτά, τοσαύτην κατάκρισιν ἔχει τοῖς παρακούσασιν.
Translation
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An ancient Homily, commonly styled the second epistle of Clement
Chap. xv.--faith and love the proper return to god.
Now I do not think I have given you any light counsel concerning self-control, 1 which if any one do he will not repent of it, but will save both himself and me who counselled him. For it is no light reward to turn again a wandering and perishing soul that it may be saved. 2 For this is the recompense 3 we have to return to God who created us, if he that speaketh and heareth both speaketh and heareth with faith and love. Let us therefore abide in the things which we believed, righteous and holy, that with boldness we may ask of God who saith, "While thou art yet speaking, I will say, Lo, I am here." 4 For this saying is the sign of a great promise; for the Lord saith of Himself that He is more ready to give than he that asketh to ask. 5 6 Being therefore partakers of so great kindness, let us not be envious of one another 7 in the obtaining of so many good things. For as great as is the pleasure which these sayings have for them that have done them, so great is the condemnation they have for them that have been disobedient.
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peri` enkratei'as, "temperance" in the wide New-Testament sense. Lightfoot, "continence;" in these days the prominent danger was from libidinous sins. ↩
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Comp. Jas. v. 19, 20, with which our passage has many verbal correspondences. ↩
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"A favorite word with our author, especially in this connection."--Lightfoot. ↩
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Isa. lviii. 9, LXX. ↩
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ei's to` dido'nai tou ai'tountos; the sense of the elliptical construction is obviously as above. ↩
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heautois. Here again in the reciprocal sense; comp. chap. xiii. ↩