My LORD’s BibleShepherd of Hermas: Similitudes 3
1_As in winter green trees cannot be distinguished from withered, so in this world neither can the just from the unjust._ He showed me many trees having no leaves, but withered, as it seemed to me; for all were alike. And he said to me, “Do you see those trees?” “I see, sir,” I replied, “that all are alike, and withered.” He answered me, and said, “These trees which you see are those who dwell in this world.” “Why, then, sir,” I said, “are they withered, as it were, and alike?” “Because,” he said, “neither are the righteous manifest in this life, nor sinners, but they are alike; for this life is a winter to the righteous, and they do not manifest themselves, because they dwell with sinners: for as in winter trees that have cast their leaves are alike, and it is not seen which are dead and which are living, so in this world neither do the righteous show themselves, nor sinners, but all are alike one to another.”
"Ἄλλη παραβολή. Περιπατοῦντός μου εἰς τὸν ἀγρὸν καὶ κατανδοῦντος “τελέαν καὶ ἄμπελον, καὶ διακρίνοντος περὶ αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν καρπῶν αὐτῶν, φανεροῦταί μοι ὃ ποιμὴν καὶ λέγει" Τί σὺ ἐν ἑαυτῷ ζητεῖς; Περὶ τῆς πτελέας καὶ τῆς ἀμπέλου συζητῶ, φημί, [κύριε,] ὅτε εὐπρεπέσταταί εἶσιν ἀλλήλαις. Ταῦτα᾽ τὰ δύο δένδρα, φησίν, εἷς τύπον κεῖνται τοῖς δούλοις τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἤθελον, φημί, [κύριε,] γνῶναι τὸν τύπον τῶν δένδρων τούτων ὧν λέγεις. Βλέπεις, φησί, τὴν πτελέαν καὶ τὴν ἄμπελον; Βλέπω, φημί, κύρι. Ἣ ἄμπελος, φησίν, αὕτη καρπὸν φέρει, ἡ δὲ πτελέα ξύλον ἄκαρπόν ἐστιν ἀλλ᾽ ἡ ἄμπελος αὕτη, ἐὰν μὴ ἀναβῇ ἐπὶ τὴν πτέλέαν, οὐ δύναται καρποφορῆ- σαι πολὺ ἐρριμμένη χαμαί, καὶ ὃν φέρει καρπόν, σεσηπότα φέρει μὴ κρεμαμένη ἐπὶ τῆς πτελέας. ὅταν οὖν ἐπιρριφῇ ἡ ἄμπελος ἐπὶ τὴν mredéay, καὶ παρ᾽ ἑαυτῆς φέρει καρπὸν καὶ παρὰ τῆς πτελέας. βλέπεις οὖν ὅτι καὶ ἡ πτελέα [wordy] καρπὸν δίδωσιν, οὐκ ἐλάσσονα τῆς ἀμπέλου, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πλείονα. | Πῶς, φημί, κύριε, πλείονα; [ “Ὅτι, φησίν, ἡ ἄμπε- λος κρεμαμένη ἐπὶ τὴν πτέλέαν τὸν καρπὸν πολὺν καὶ καλὸν δίδωσιν, ἐρριμμένη δὲ χαμαὶ σαπρὸν καὶ odiyow φέρει. αὕτη οὖν ἡ παραβολὴ εἰς τοὺς δούλους τοῦ Θεοῦ κεῖται, εἰς πτωχὸν καὶ πλούσιον. Iles, φημί, κύριε; γνώρισόν μοι. “Axove, φησίν" ὁ μὲν πλούσιος ἔχει χρήματα πολλά, τὰ δὲ πρὸς τὸν Κύριον πτωχεύει περισπώμενος περὶ τὸν πλοῦτον αὐτοῦ, καὶ λίαν μικρὰν ἔχει τὴν ἐξομολόγησιν καὶ τὴν ἔντευξιν πρὸς τὸν Κύριον, καὶ ἣν Exes, μικρὰν καὶ βληχρὰν καὶ ἄνω μὴ ἔχουσαν δύναμιν. ὅταν οὖν ἀναβῇ ὁ πλούσιος ἐπὶ τὸν πένητα καὶ χορηγήσῃ αὐτῷ τὰ δέοντα, πιστεύων ὅτε ὃ ἐργάσεται εἰς τὸν πένητα δυνήσεται τὸν μισθὸν εὑρεῖν παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ---ὅτι ὁ πένης πλούσιός ἐστιν ἐν τῇ ἐντεύξει [καὶ τῇ ἐξομολογήσει.) καὶ δύναμιν peydday ἔχει ἡ ἔντευξις αὐτοῦ παρὰ τῷ Θεῴ-- ἐπιχορηγεῖ οὖν ὁ πλούσιος τῷ πένητι πάντα ἀδιστάκτως" ὁ πένης δὲ ἐπεχορηγούμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ πλουσίου ἐντυγχάνει αὐτῷ, τῷ Θεῷ εὐχαριστῶν περὶ τοῦ διδόντος αὐτῷ. κἀκεῖνος ἔτι ἐπισπουδάζει περὶ τοῦ πένητος, ἵνα ἀδιάλειπτος γένηται ἐν τῇ ζωῇ αὐτοῦ" οἷδε γὰρ ὅτε ἡ ἔντευξις τοῦ πένητος προσ- δεκτή ἐστι καὶ πλουσία πρὸς τὸν Θεόν. ἀμφότεροι οὖν τὸ ἔργον τελοῦσιν" ὁ μὲν πένης ἐργάζεται τὴν ἔντευξιν ἐν ἡ πλουτεῖ, [ἣν ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου" ταύτην ἀποδίδωσι τῷ Κυρίῳ τῷ ἐπιχορηγοῦντι αὐτῷ. καὶ ὁ πλούσιος ὡσαύτως τὸν πλοῦτον ὃν ἔλαβεν ἀπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου ἀδιστάκτως παρέχει τῷ πένητι. καὶ τοῦτο ἔργον μέγα ἐστὶ καὶ δεκτὸν παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ, ὅτι συνῆκεν ἐπὶ τῷ πλούτῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰργάσατο εἰς τὸν πένητα ἐκ τῶν δωρημάτων τοῦ Κυρίου καὶ ἐτέλεσε τὴν διακο- νίαν τοῦ Κυρίου ὀρθώς. παρὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις οὖν ἡ πτελέα δοκεῖ καρπὸν μὴ φέρειν, καὶ οὐκ οἴδασιν οὐδὲ νοοῦσιν ὅτι, ἐὰν ἀβροχία γένηται, ἡ πτελέα ὕδωρ ἔχουσα τρέφει τὴν ἄμπελον, καὶ ἡ ἄμπελος ἀδιάλειπτον ἔχουσα ὕδωρ διπλοῦν τὸν καρπὸν δίδωσι, καὶ ὑπὲρ ἑαυτῆς καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς πτελέας. οὕτω καὶ οἱ πένητες ἐντυγχάνοντες πρὸς τὸν Κύριον ὑπὲρ τῶν πλουσίων 4] THE SHEPHERD ΟΕ HERMAS. 345 πληροφοροῦσι τὸν πλοῦτον αὐτῶν, καὶ πάλιν οἱ πλούσιοι χορηγοῦντες τοῖς πένησι τὰ δέοντα πληροφοροῦσι τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν. γίνονταε οὖν ἀμφότεροι κοινωνοὶ τοῦ ἔργου τοῦ δικαίου. ταῦτα οὖν ὁ ποιῶν οὐκ ἐγκαταλειφθήσεται ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλ᾽ ἔσται ἐπυγεγραμμένος εἰς τὰς βίβλους τῶν ζώντων. 10, μακάριοι οἱ ἔχοντες καὶ συνιέντες ὅτι παρὰ τοῦ Kuplov φ΄λουτίζονται" οἱ γὰρ ταῦτα φρονοῦντες δυνήσονται ayaléy τι ἐργάζεσθαι.