Nielsen’s Nook

Translation

[ 1 We pray that you would be strong, [a] brothers, following the word of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel. [b] Glory to God is with Jesus [c] on account of the salvation of the holy elect; [d] just as the blessed Polycarp was martyred, in whose footsteps may we be found in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.] [e]

[a] Ἐρρῶσθαι perfect passive, to be strong (BAGD, 738).

[b] Stephen’s 1550 Textus Receptus version of Philippians 3:16 reads, πλην εις ο εφθασαμεν τω αυτω στοιχειν κανονι το αυτο φρονειν. Only that we follow what we have attained (author’s translation).

[c] μεθ ̓ οὗ Jesus, the antecedent for the pronoun οὗ for readability.

[d] ἁγίων ἐκλεκτῶν is a pair of substantives consisting of a tautological emphasis of each other. To say “for the salvation of the elect” is the same as to say “for the salvation of the saints/holy ones.”

[e] §22.1 is omitted from the Latin and Codex Mosquensis 159 but is included in a Greek Manuscript from the tenth to thirteenth centuries (Holmes, Apostolic Fathers, 244).

Translation

1 Finally, after the lawless ones saw that Polycarp’s body could not be consumed [a] by the fire, they ordered an executioner [b] to approach and run him through [c] with a short sword. [d] After the executioner did this, a great quantity[e] of blood came [f] from Polycarp’s body, so that the fire was extinguished. The entire crowd was amazed that [g] there was so stark a difference between [h] the faithless and the elect.

[a] δαπανηθῆναι (δαπανάω) The proconsul had threatened to consume St. Polycarp with flames in §11.2; here the same word for consume is used showing that the proconsul has been thwarted.

[b] The κομφέκτωρ was the executioner on hand in the arena who “gave the coup de grâce to wounded gladiators” (BAGD, 443). Indeed, St. Polycarp had taken on a wild lion but the lawless crowd. The executioner came not to end the suffering but to allow the proconsul to not lose control of the crowd that he might save face.

[c] παραβῦσαι (παραβύσω) to stuff or insert (Liddell, H.G., Intermediate Greek English Lexicon, 594). Liddell further notes, regarding βύω (βύω > βύσω > παραβύσω), that when used with the dative it may mean to stop or to bung up with, to plug (p 158).

[d] ξιφίδιον short sword, dagger (BAGD, 548).

[e] πλῆθος BAGD, 668.

[f] περιστερὰ καὶ “and a dove” is noted in Lightfoot as questionable. The shorter reading being preferred, it is omitted here. Lake writes in a footnote, “This no doubt points to the belief that the spirit appears at death in the form of a bird. Cf. Prudentius Peristeph Hymn. iii. 33.” (Apostolic Fathers, vol 2, p 333). Holmes annotates, “The reference to the dove is almost certainly a later addition to the text (possibly by the Pionius mentioned in the last paragraph of the epilogue” (The Apostolic Fathers, 239).

[g] εἰ after verbs of emotion (i.e., θαυμάσαι) is rendered as “that” (BAGD, 219).

[h] τις διαφορὰ μεταξὺ a difference between someone and another (BAGD, 190), which in this case is between the faithless (ἀπίστων) and the elect or those God has chose for salvation (ἐκλεκτῶν). Consider Didache 1:1, Ὁδοὶ δύο εἰσί, μία τῆς ζωῆς καὶ μία τοῦ θανάτου, διαφορὰ δὲ πολλὴ μεταξὺ τῶν δύο όδῶν. There are two ways. One is of life and one is of death, and the difference between the two is great (author’s translation). See also the Epistle of Barnabas 18:1, διαφορὰ δὲ πολλὴ τῶν δύο ὁδῶν. There is a great difference between the two [ways] (author’s translation).

Translation

2 For the fire (which made the appearance of a vaulted ceiling, [1] like a ship’s sail being filled by wind) completely enclosed [2] the body of the martyr. It was there in the midst of the flames, not as burning flesh, [3] but as gold and silver being smelted in a furnace. For we also noticed such a fragrance like incense rising [4] from a thurible [5] or some other precious perfume.

[1] καμάρας vault, vaulted ceiling, arch. This word appears only once in all of scripture and does not seem to appear frequently in general. Psalm 40:22b (LXX) reads ὁ στήσας ὡς καμάραν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ διατείνας ὡς σκηνὴν κατοικεῖν, … [It is the Lord] who erected the heavens as a vaulted ceiling and stretched it out as a tent to indwell (author’s translation).

[2] BAGD renders κύκλῳ περιετείχισεν as completely surrounded. καμάρας is imagined in a three dimensional way (i.e. as a vaulted ceiling with supporting walls and floor), so we render κύκλῳ περιετείχισεν as completely enclose (or perhaps envelope).

[3] ἄρτος ὀπτώμενος, ἢ ὡς (”a loaf in the oven or like”) is noted by Lightfoot as being questionable, perhaps “nothing more than Irenæus’ own comments.” (Lightfoot, Joseph Barber, and J. R. Harmer. The Apostolic Fathers. (London: Macmillan and Co., 1891) 195). Consequently, we are opting for the shorter reading as preferred and omitted this phrase from our translation.

[4] πνέοντος breathing out, giving forth (BAGD, 679).

[5] λιβανωτοῦ (λιβανωτός) incense or censer. Here we break with previous translations. Lightfoot renders λιβανωτοῦ πνέοντος as “wafted odour of frankincense,” which is to us aesthetically less pleasing. While Lake and Holmes do a much better job aesthetically rendering the phrase as “the scent of incense,” we feel translating λιβανωτός as thurible (i.e., censer used in religious worship), more specifically connects with the worship tropes running throughout the work (e.g., §14.2) and, perhaps, more explicitly the eschatological worship of Revelation 8:3-5.

Translation

2 When the funeral pyre [1] was made ready, Polycarp removed his own clothes and loosed his girdle. [2] He was attempting to untie his own sandals; however, previously he usually did not do this himself because each of the faithful [3] always took pains who should more quickly touch his skin. For he had been adorned with every good thing on account of his Christian life [4] and before old age [5] was upon him.

[1] πυρκαϊὰ pagan funerals incorporated the cremation of the deceased’s body upon a pyre. Hence, the root πυρ (fire) begins the word.

[2] ζώνη, the girdle, was a means of shortening the undergarment (TDNT, vol 5, 302).

[3] i.e., Christians.

[4] πολιτείας Lake notes in his translation that πολιτείας (citizenship) “is used in a special sense of Christian life” (Apostolic Fathers in English, vol 2, p 329). The third entry for πολιτείας in BAGD is glossed as a “way of life” or “conduct” (p 686). See also 1 Clement 2:8.

[5] Eusebius’ text has πολιᾶς (old age, “gray hairs” in Lightfoot’s translation). Some texts follow a Latin tradition in which πολιᾶς is replaced with μαρτυρίας (martyr) as in Lake’s Greek text (c.f., Apostolic Father’s in Greek, vol 2, p 328). Our commitment in this project is to translate from Lightfoot’s text and we do so here with out making judgment between the two variants.

Translation

3 After they failed [1] to persuade him, they began making threats [2] and they brought him down with haste in such a way that when he came down from the carriage, he tore skin [3] off his shin. Without turning around, as though he had suffered [4] nothing, he began going willingly. [5] After he was led into the stadium, there was such a clamor in the stadium such that it was impossible for just one person to be heard. [6]

[1] ἀποτυχόντες (ἀποτυγχάνω) BAGD directs the reader to Job 31:16 LXX as a biblical example of usage.

[2] δεινὰ ῥήματα ἔλεγον The ingressive imperfect ἔλεγον clues us in that the threatening words began at the point of St. Polycarp’s refusal to “do as you advise me” and continued for some time after that (GGBB, 544).

[3] ἀποσῦραι to tear or scrape the skin off something (BAGD, 100). This word is used in 4 Maccabees 9:28 in the context of the torture of the first and second brothers: “These leopard-like beasts tore out his sinews with the iron hands, flayed all his flesh up to his chin, and tore away his scalp.” (NRSV) The infinitive seems to suggest the purpose of bringing St. Polycarp down from the carriage as the police officers did was to rough him up a bit.

[4] πεπονθώς (πάσχω) generally meant to suffer as Acts 3:18 reminds us: ὁ δὲ θεός, ἃ προκατήγγειλεν διὰ στόματος πάντων τῶν προφητῶν παθεῖν τὸν χριστὸν αὐτοῦ, ἐπλήρωσεν οὕτως. But in this way God fulfilled what he announced beforehand through the mouths of all the prophets - His Messiah was to suffer (author’s translation).

[5] This is the second time σπουδῆς is used in this verse; however, it is used in two context, resulting in two different renderings: haste and willingly. Some have translated σπουδῆς as eagerly here. While that is a possibility, it seems to run cross grain to the point the narrator has made that St. Polycarp was anything but eager to die a martyrs death. It is something he would be content with if that was the Lord’s will for him, but it is not something to be sought out as we learned from Quintus in §4. So we have rendered μετὰ σπουδῆς as willingly to capture this nuance.

[6] We have preferred to render ὡς μηδὲ ἀκουσθῆναί τινα δύνασθαι as ‘such that it was impossible for just one person to be heard.’ Lightfoot narrows the scope of the noise to no one’s voice; however, in a way, this seems to quiet the cacophony of the scene. Not only were these stadium enthusiasts clamoring with their voice, they were likely banging and shuffling in their seats and, we imagine, throwing projectiles of one sort or another at St. Polycarp.

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…”

Preface

The next posts will be translation (and brief commentary) on the Martyrdom of Polycarp. This is not intended to be a scholarly translation, but a personal exercise seeking to expand my Greek and understanding of early Christian writings. My Greek text for this translation is from:

Lightfoot, Joseph Barber, and J. R. Harmer. The Apostolic Fathers. London: Macmillan and Co., 1891.

Translation

From: The church of God, living as strangers in Smyrna

To: the church of God, living as strangers in Philomelium and to those living as strangers in all places who are members of the holy and catholic church.

May the mercy, peace and love of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ be ever multiplied in you. [1]

[1] This way of addressing the letter is consonant with NT epistolary literature.

Nestle-Aland 27

24 Νῦν χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν a ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν καὶ ἀνταναπληρῶ b τὰ ὑστερήματα c τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου ὑπὲρ τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ , ὅ ἐστιν ἡ ἐκκλησία , 25 ἧς ἐγενόμην ἐγὼ διάκονος ‹ κατὰ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ θεοῦ › d τὴν δοθεῖσάν e μοι εἰς ὑμᾶς πληρῶσαι f τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ , 26 τὸ μυστήριον τὸ ἀποκεκρυμμένον g ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν γενεῶν - νῦν δὲ ἐφανερώθη τοῖς ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ , 27 οἷς � θέλησεν ὁ θεὸς γνωρίσαι τί τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν , ὅ ἐστιν Χριστὸς ἐν ὑμῖν , ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς δόξης · 28 ὃν ἡμεῖς καταγγέλλομεν νουθετοῦντες h πάντα ἄνθρωπον καὶ διδάσκοντες πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ , ἵνα παραστήσωμεν i πάντα ἄνθρωπον τέλειον ἐν Χριστῷ · 29 εἰς ὃ καὶ κοπιῶ ἀγωνιζόμενος κατὰ τὴν ἐνέργειαν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐνεργουμένην ἐν ἐμοὶ ἐν δυνάμει .

Commentary

A faithful minister was out riding his bike last week with his to young sons. He fell off it and has been in a coma for a week and is not likely to recover, according to the doctor’s prognosis. I don’t know how to make sense out of that. But what Paul is telling us here is that the suffering that this man endures (and his wife and children with him!) is suffering in which Christ himself participates.Now, don’t be confused about what Paul seems to be saying here. Paul definitely says that his sufferings as a Christian “fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ” (v 24). What is clearly not in the picture here regarding Christ’s sufferings are the ideas of expiation or propitiation. [1]
The paradigm that we have in Colossians is that of union with the risen and exalted Christ who is still very much incarnate, one of us. He is intrinsically bound to his people, in an inseparable fashion. This union (“Christ in you” v 27) is the mystery that was hidden, which has now been revealed to his people, the church.This bond of love is everything for the Christian. It is the purpose of justification. It is the process of sanctification. It is the radiance of glorification. Paul strives, toils for this mysterious bond of love, this union with Christ. It is something he has monergistically by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone and consequently is something that is worked out in union, in cooperation with God as the Lord leads us forward with him in his regal procession through time, having triumphed over sin and death.
__________
[1] Lightfoot, Joseph Barber. Colossians and Philemon. 1st British ed. The Crossway classic commentaries. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1997, Colossians 1:24.

Translation

24 Now I rejoice in sufferings for your sake; even in my flesh I fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the divine office, given to me in order to make full the word of God to you, 26 the mystery hidden from eternity and from generations – but now, revealed to his holy ones, 27 to whom God willed to make known among the nations how great the wealth of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, 28 which we proclaimed to you, warning every person and teaching every person in all wisdom so that we might present every person completed in Christ. 29 For this mystery j I am also toiling, striving according to his work, working k in me with power.

Grammar & Vocabulary

a παθήμασιν dat/pl/neu ( πάθημα ) suffering, misfortune

b ἀνταναπληρῶ pres/act/ind/1p/sg ( ἀνταναπληρόω ) to fill up, complete

c ὑστερήματα acc/pl/neu ( ὑστέρημα ) need, want, deficiency

d κατὰ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ θεοῦ (according to the divine office); οἰκονομία refers to a plan or administration and I take τοῦ θεοῦ as an attributive genitive resulting in “divine office” (c.f., BAGD p 559).

e δοθεῖσάν aor/psv/ptc/sg/acc/fem ( δίδωμι ) to give

f πληρῶσαι taken as an infinitive of purpose

g ἀποκεκρυμμένον pfc/psv/ptc/sg/acc/neu ( ἀποκρύπτω ) kept secret, hidden

h νουθετοῦντες pres/act/ptc/pl/nom/mas ( νουθετέω ) to admonish, instruct, warn

i παραστήσωμεν BAGD informs us that in cases such as this, Eph 5:27 and 2 Tim 2:15 can function conceptually as “to make” or “to render” (p 627).

j the relative pronoun here is neuter and seems to point back to μυστήριον in v 27.

k The English words “work” and “working” are rendered from the Greek ἐνέργεια and ἐνεργέω respectively. It is the language that historically has indicated the union with Christ that transforms all believers.