Nielsen’s Nook

Translation

2 The proconsul replied, “Convince [a] the crowd, just try.”

“I considered you worthy of discussion, for we have been taught to give appropriate [b] honor [c] to leaders and authorities who are established by God so long as [d] that honor does not harm us. However, I do not regard this crowd [e] worthy that I make a defense to them,” Polycarp said in reply.

[a] πεῖσον when preceding an accusative of person is rendered convince (BAGD, 639). We take this aorist imperative as ingressive (GGBB, 719 §I.B.1) and bring out the evident mockery by placing the ingressive bits at the end of the command. The proconsul is daring St. Polycarp to live it out, intending that St. Polycarp will demonstrate that he loves his own life more than he loves Christ.

[b] κατὰ τὸ προσῆκον lit., according to what is fitting.

[c] While the infinitive “to give honor” follows just after “been taught” as one would expect in English, ἀπονέμειν (to honor) is the last word in the Greek phrase. Polycarp is stressing the fact that Christians honor the authority of their magistrates and rulers as a general rule.

[d] We take βλάπτουσαν as a circumstantial participle informing the proconsul the parameters under which he should expect Christians to honor government authorities (c.f., GGBB, p 758, §II.A.1).

[e] ἐκείνους, lit., these [people], hence the substitution for the referent δῆμον (crowd).