Translation and Commentary on The Martyrdom of Polycarp §2.1-2
Translation
1 Therefore, blessed and noble [a] are all the martyrs according to the will of God which has brought them to pass. For it is necessary, being more [b] God-fearing, to ascribe to God power over all things. 2 For at their nobility, fortitude, and love for their Master [c] who should not marvel? After they were torn to shreds with whips, the structure of the flesh became visible even as far as the inner veins and arteries. They held out patiently such that the bystanders took pity and grieved. [d] But while so great a nobility came upon them, so that they neither complained nor groaned something of their situation, they were at the same time demonstrating to us all that the martyrs of Christ, those being tormented, in that hour were absent from the flesh and that to a greater degree the Lord, who was standing with them, was speaking to them.
[a] γενναῖα (γενναι̂ος) is a common epithet of the martyrs (c.f., 4 Macc; 1 Clement 5:1). (BAGD)
[b] This is a use of the comparative form (εὐλαβεσ + τέρους) seems to connect with the μὲν at the beginning of §2.1 but escapes my understanding of its use. Lightfoot does not indicate in his translation a comparative use in his English translation.
[c] φιλοδέσποτον a compound word here Christianized to be a reference to the martyr’s love for Jesus. This picks up on Paul’s language of being a bond-servant or slave of Christ (δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ), as seen in Romans 1:1 and elsewhere.
[d] ὀδύρεσθαι (ὀδυρμός) A rare verb in the LXX. Jeremiah 38:14 (LXX), according to TDNT (p 673), employs the word to speak of Ephraim weeping, ἀκοὴν ἤκουσα Εφραιμ ὀδυρομένου. The NRSV renders this “Indeed I heard Ephraim pleading;” however, that does not grasp the weeping and wailing that constitutes the idea of ὀδυρμός. The Hebrew there is שָׁמ֣וֹעַ שָׁמַ֗עְתִּי אֶפְרַ֙יִם֙ מִתְנוֹדֵ֔ד, which I render, “I heard Ephraim wandering in grief…”
