The Epistle of Barnabas
THE EPISTLE OF BARNABAS
INTRODUCTION
We do not know who the author of the Epistle of Barnabas is, or when and where he wrote, or to what specific group of Christian readers he addressed his words of warning. Nor is the meaning of some allusions to his time beyond all doubt.t
One thing is certain: it is only from this epistle that we learn the interesting fact that between the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 and the second catastrophe in Hadrian's time,
Judaism, which had been a disturber of peace from earliest times, raised its head so high as to become a grave danger to a certain Christian community.
The Epistle falls into two parts.
Part I (1-17) is predominantly speculative or doctrinal, though interwoven with exhortations; Part II (18-21) is professedly a manual of Christian morality, shot through, however, with bits of doctrinal explanation.
After offering cordial greetings to his " sons and daughters," the author says in substance: You are to be congratulated on your extraordinary spiritual endowments. They will stand you in good stead in meeting the heavy demands God is making on you at this time. For me it is a joy to contribute to your success by strengthening your faith. This I hope to accomplish by perfecting your knowledge of the Old Testament (1). The world is in an evil plight. Be watchful. A better understanding of the Mosaic Law, which the Jews misread from the start, will enable you to escape the wiles of Satan. God was not pleased with the sacrifice of bulls and goats. The sacrifice He desires is that of a contrite heart
Tue EpistLe OF BARNABAS (2). Nor was He pleased with the kind of fasting practiced by the Jews. The fast He cares for is abstention from every form of injustice and the practice of charity. His intentions in giving the Law were indicated in its very wording (3).
The present crisis calls for careful study. The final stumbling block, foretold by the Prophets, has at last appeared. Be on your guard against the dangerous slogan, "Their covenant is ours also." Moses received the covenant, but the Jews lost it. Hold fast to what you possess. Do away with idle speculations. Be spiritual temples dedicated to God (4). It was for our salvation that Jesus appeared in the flesh and shed
His blood (5). The Incarnation and the Passion of Jesus were foretold. Through them we are redeemed from our sins (6). 'The scapegoat cursed and driven into the desert was a type of Jesus (7). The offering of a heifer and the sprinkling of the people with hyssop was an image of the suffering Christ. The Jews did not understand God's intention in prescribing these ceremonies (8). We do understand it because God circumcised our ears and hearts. The circumcision prescribed to Abraham has been abolished. In reality it was a mystery looking forward to Jesus (9). The rulings discriminating between foods were not meant to be taken literally. They conveyed a spiritual lesson (10). God also enlightened us about the baptismal water (11). The Cross of Christ, too, was prefigured by various incidents in Jewish history (12). It follows that the Covenant with the Chosen People was intended for us rather than the Jews
(13). We are its rightful heirs. The mediator of old was the servant Moses; our Mediator is Jesus, the Son of God
C14). The laws regulating the Sabbath were misinterpreted by the Jews. The true Sabbath is the day of eternity, " the .
"» .
. eighth day " or epoch, which we commemorate, in advance,
INTRODUCTION
hae by our Sunday services (15). The Jews erred egregiously in regard to the Temple. 'The true worship of God is not bound up with the Temple at Jerusalem. God dwells in our hearts.
We are God's spiritual temple. This temple is to be built "in splendor " (16).
_ After two brief chapters of transition (17 and 18) Barnabas exhorts his readers to a Christian life under the form of The Two Ways known to us from the Didache. Since the date of the latter is before the end of the first century, and Barnabas most probably wrote between 117 and 132, this section of his Epistle is indebted to the Didache, unless both writings depend on a common source." In terms reminiscent of the opening chapter, the author closes with a fervent appeal to his " children of love and peace."
The Epistle of Barnabas is a homily on the mistaken Judaistic conception of the Old Testament. But what special purpose could be served by an abstract discussion of Judaism?
No Christian who had read the Gospels and the Epistle to the Hebrews could be ignorant of the relation of the Old
Covenant to the New. Obviously, the serious tone of the writer, his sharp warning against an actual and acute temptation, and, above all, the implication that the faith of the Christian community was in danger, stamp the letter as a timely tract of practical and immediate urgency.
Scholars have therefore tried to discover an event in the history of the Jewish people that was able to create the conditions here taken for granted. No certainty regarding the purpose of this letter has as yet been reached, but a theory is gaining ground in recent years which fixes the date of composition definitely within Hadrian's time, between 117 and 138.
In contrast to Trajan who had dealt most severely with the Jews, Hadrian inaugurated, somewhere between 117,
Tue EpisrLe oF BARNABAS the year of his accession to the throne, and the beginning of the Bar Kochba insurrection in 132, a more lenient policy in dealing with the refractory nation. This, it may be imagined, was an event of the greatest significance to the Jews, which kindled their nationalistic aspirations to such intensity that they entertained hopes for the rebuilding of the Temple and, in consequence, the revival of the old religion. If this view is correct, the reader of the Epistle has a clue to not a few of its otherwise puzzling statements. It will explain, in particular, the nature of the temptation, the stumbling block suddenly thrown into the lives of a certain Jewish-Christian community. The Jews would, of course, at all times be ready to launch a propaganda that was sure to find a fertile soil in the hearts and minds of Christians of Jewish descent. We know that they found it difficult to realize that the new religion was the death of the old. They found it even more difficult to acknowledge the futility of dallying with certain old Jewish customs that had endeared themselves to them before their conversion.* Even the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70, which in the eyes of the more thoughtful meant a complete " annihilation " of their religious hopes,* was not altogether able to stifle a desire for emancipation from Roman oppression that was kept burning by insurrectionist leaders. Christ's prophecy came true:
" Let someone else come in his own name, and you will give him a hearty welcome " (John 5. 43). And really, how could God's solemn covenant with the Chosen People ever be rendered null and void! Ideas such as this were, it would seem, current among Judaistic Christians somewhere in Palestine or Egypt at the supposed date of this letter, and strong enough to alarm its writer.
His identity may perhaps never be discovered. There is
INTRODUCTION
a3 nothing against supposing that his name actually was Barnabas. It is generally agreed, however, that he was not the Apostle of the same name. No Apostle could have brushed the Mosaic Law aside as a deception of an evil spirit. 'That he was an Alexandrian is plausibly inferred from his excessive fondness for the allegorical method of interpreting the Scriptures. Strangely enough, Clement of Alexandria attributes the letter to the Apostle. The Codex Sinaiticus of the fourth century places it directly after the Apocalypse and before the Shepherd of Hermas. Origen calls it a Catholic
Epistle; Eusebius reckons it among the disputed, and Jerome includes it among the apocryphal, writings. Judged by its matter and form, the author was no intellectual giant. The diction lacks elegance.
The writer's uncomplimentary attitude toward the Old Testament is generally considered a fatal objection to an Apostolic origin of the Epistle of Barnabas.
Almost all scholars take him to mean that the Mosaic Law had no validity from the outset. But there are those who judge him more leniently ° and say that his apparently sweeping expressions should rather be interpreted as a vigorous way of saying that the Law did not have the importance attributed to it by the Jews. We may perhaps compare the New Testament way of making negative statements which are obviously not meant to be flat denials. In 1 John 3. 18, for instance, " Let us not love in word and speech, but in deed and in truth," the particle ob means " not simply," or " not exclusively."
It is a rhetorical way of making an emphatic assertion. But there is a further consideration that may exonerate Barnabas.
The Mosaic Law was by itself unable to confer upon the Jews the necessary spiritual power to live up to its enactments
(Heb. 10. 1). And so, since the Jews from the start errone-
Tue EpistLeE oF BARNABAS ously regarded it as self-suflicient, instead of preparing the way for the more perfect law of Christ, from which it drew its power to sanctify men, the author may be taken as wishing to stress this inherent weakness of the Jewish ceremonies, without really denying the temporary validity of the injunctions as such.° But be this as it may, the Church has never included the Epistle of Barnabas among her canonical writings.
Probably few modern readers will warm to the Epistle of Barnabas. Its general topic is not one of wide appeal. Our religious life is not threatened by a revival of Judaism. The minutiae of the Jewish ceremonial Law are little more than antiquarian lore to us. 'The wealth of detail with which they are presented is apt to kill the reader's interest. And yet, may we not take a wider view, and see in the struggle of the community here addressed a mirror of what is happening on a more formidable scale in our midst today? 'Today, too, the times are evil and the Agent is in the ascendant. Barnabas's
"sons and daughters " were face to face with the temptation to fall back into Judaism. In recent times we are witnessing an insidious onslaught upon all revealed religion. Judaism, after all, reveres the one true God; but to fall a prey to certain isms and ideologies of modern times would mean complete religious bankruptcy. Viewed in this broader light, the Epistle has not a few points of attraction; and if the reader is wary enough to "pay close attention," he will find sentences or phrases here and there that are strikingly to the point even today. Again, for the historian it is interesting to see that, when an attack threatened the faith of the infant Church— or, possibly, was no more than "in the air"—there were churchmen at hand who scented the danger and sounded the alarm. Barnabas's tendency to allegorize is distasteful to us,
INTRODUCTION
but it stresses the needful lesson that, in observing outward rites and ceremonies, it is the spirit that vivifies.
) As the topic of the Epistle is not devoid of interest, so the personality of the writer is not devoid of charm. The relation between him and his readers is that of a loving father and _ " children of love." He strikes a warm, human tone whenever he forgets, for the moment, his role of exegete, and we believe him when he speaks of the "keen delight " he had experienced when visiting the community. And then, that affectionate way he has of speaking of Jesus Christ—" the Beloved
Jesus"! He may—or may not!—have erred in his conception of the Old Testament; in zeal for the true religion he takes rank with Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp of Smyrna. At all events, the early Church thought highly of its Barnabas—whoever he was.
By way of collateral reading, the first item to suggest itself is the Epistle to the Hebrews. 'The general theme is the same: the Old Covenant was a preparation for the New. But the purpose of Hebrews is to set forth the all-surpassing dignity of Jesus Christ, the High Priest of the new dispensation; Barnabas argues that, since the Old Testament was a type of the New, no Christian can, without shipwreck of his faith, clutch at the shadows now that the reality has appeared. A comparison of the two epistles throws no light on the authorship of the Epistle of Barnabas; but there is a tradition that Hebrews, which expresses the ideas of St. Paul, owes its literary form to someone associated with him, and that this man was none other than the Apostle Barnabas.
Was this, perhaps, the reason why the present Epistle was ascribed by some to St. Paul's faithful co-worker?
Other pieces of collateral reading are St. Stephen's speech before the Sanhedrin (Acts 7. 1-53); Our Lord's Sermon on
Tue EpistLe oF BARNABAS the Mount (Matt. 5. 17 ff.); Chapters 1-8 of the Didache;
Chapters 3 and 4 of the Epistle to Diognetus, Justin's Dia— logus, and Tertullian's Adversus Iudaeos.
Besides several Greek manuscripts and some Latin versions of portions of this Epistle, our two independent texts are the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Hierosolymitanus.
'The former, written in the early fourth century and discovered in two parts by Tischendorf in 1844 and 1859, contains the Epistle along with the entire New Testament, Hermas, and the Didache. The latter manuscript, written in 1056, was discovered by the Orthodox Metropolitan Bryennios in 1873 and published for the first time in 1883.°
7, The text used for the present translation is that of T.
Klauser, Doctrina duodecim apostolorum. Barnabae epistula (Flor. Patr. 1, Bonn 1940).
Other modern translations of note are contained in the following works:
Bosio, G., I Padri apostolici 1 (Corona Patrum Salesiana, ser. graeca 7, Turin 1940) 253-347.
Hemmer, H.—Oger, G.—Laurent, A., Les Peéres apostoliques 1 CTextes et documents 5, 2nd ed., Paris 1926) 30-101.
Lake, K., The Apostolic Fathers 1 (Loeb Classical Library, London 1912) 335-409.
Lightfoot, J. B., The Apostolic Fathers (ed. by J. R. Harmer, London 1898) 267-88.
Thieme, K., Kirche und Synagoge (Kreuzritterbiicherei 3, Olten 1944) 13-65.
Veil, H., in E. Hennecke's Neutestamentliche Apokryphen (and. ed., Titbingen 1924) 503-18.
Zeller, F., Die apostolischen Vater (Bibliothek der Kirchenvater 35, Munich 1918) 71-105.
THE EPISFLE OF BARNABAS
1. Sons and daughters: * My best wishes to you for peace in the name of the Lord who has loved us!
2 Great, indeed, and generous are God's gifts of justification * bestowed upon you! And so I am exceedingly, in fact beyond all measure, cheered as I think of your happy and glorious endowments.' So deeply implanted is the gift of the Spirit that has been graciously vouchsafed to you! 3 For the same reason I congratulate myself all the more on my own hope of salvation, because I really witness in your community an outpouring upon you of the Spirit from the wealth of the Lord's fountainhead.* Such keen delight, on your account, has my longed-for sight of you afforded me!
4 Now, I am convinced, and indeed fully conscious, of the fact that, since I spoke among you," I have gained much experience, because my travelling companion on the road to holiness has been the Lord. And so I, too, am altogether constrained to love you more than myself.' Surely, great faith and love, resting on the hope of His life," are at home among you. 5 Accordingly, it occurs to me that, if I should interest myself about you and share with you some portion of what I have received, my ministering to such spiritual persons would bring me a reward. I am taking pains, therefore, to send you a brief message, so that in addition to your faith you may also possess perfect knowledge.*
6 To begin with, there are three propositions of the Lord:
Tue EpistLe oF BARNABAS the hope of life ° is the first and last of our faith; holiness * is the first and last of the Judgment; love which radiates genuine happiness is the testimony of a holy life.
7 The fact is, the Master ** has made known to us through the Prophets the past and the present, and given us a foretaste of the future; and so, when we see these things one by one becoming actual fact just as He has said, we ought to be all the more generous and inspired in our effort to advance in the fear of Him. 8 But I will—not in the capacity of a teacher,*® but as one of you—suggest a few things to cheer you in the present situation.
2. Well, then, the times are evil** and the Agent is in the ascendant, and so we ought to watch over ourselves and search into the just demands of the Lord. 2 The auxiliaries of our faith are fear and patient endurance; our allies are long-suffering and self-control; 3 and therefore, as long as these remain intact in all that concerns the Lord, wisdom, understanding, insight, and knowledge will be happy to join their company.
| 4 We certainly have the revelation He made to us through all the Prophets ** to this effect: He needs neither sacrifices nor whole burnt offerings nor oblations. On one occasion He declared: 5 What is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? says the Lord. I am surfeited with whole burnt offerings!
I take no pleasure in fat of lambs or blood of bulls and goats, or in your coming to appear before me! Who, in fact, has required these things at your hands? You shall tread my court no more! When you offer wheaten flour, it is in vain; incense is an abomination to me; your new moons and Sabbaths I disdain.* 6 These things, then, He has superseded; *° it was intended that the New Law of Our Lord Jesus Christ
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- should dispense with yoke and compulsion, and that its _ oblation should not be a man-made one." 7 Another time
He says to them: Did I enjoin your fathers, on leaving the land of Egypt, to offer me whole burnt offerings and sacrifices? 8 No! This is what I enjoined on them: ** Let none of you feel resentment in his heart against his neighbor, and take no pleasure in perjury.® 9 Since, then, we are not devoid of understanding, we ought to appreciate our Father's
__ kindly purpose. He speaks to us from a desire that we should find out how we are to approach Him without going astray as they did." 10 To us, therefore, He speaks as follows: A sacrifice pleasing to the Lord is a broken spirit: an aroma pleasing to the Lord is a heart that glorifies its Maker.™
Hence it is our duty, brethren, to be scrupulously exact in the matter of salvation; otherwise the Evil One will cause error to creep in stealthily and hurl us off the path that leads to our life.
3. Again, therefore, He speaks to them about these matters: * Why, I ask, do you fast, says the Lord, so that today your clamorous voice may be heard? Not that is the fast with which I am pleased, says the Lord; not with the man who chastises himself; 2 and if you bend your neck like a hoop and put on sackcloth and make yourselves a bed of ashes— not even that should you call an acceptable fast. 3 But to us
He says: Behold, this is the fast with which I am pleased, says the Lord: destroy every unjust bond; untie the knots of extorted contracts; set the oppressed at liberty, and tear wp every unjust promissory note. Break your bread to feed the hungry, and when you see one naked, clothe him; take into your home the homeless; and when you see one who is lowly, do not despise him, neither shall any of your own flesh and
Tue EpisrLe oF BaRNABas blood. 4 Then your light will burst like the break of day; then your healing will speedily blossom forth; then holiness will be your vanguard, and the splendor of God will, like a rear guard, compass you about. 5 Then you will cry out and God will hear you, and while you are yet speaking He will say:
" Behold, I am here! "provided, that is, you do away with imprisonment, with violence, and with muttering speech; from your heart you must give your bread to the hungry and compassionate an afflicted soul." 6 It follows, then, brethren, that the Long-suffering One looked forward to the time when the people, prepared in His Beloved," would possess unadulterated faith, and so He instructed us in advance about everything. He did not want us to suffer shipwreck.by being, as it were, proselyted to their Law.
4. We must, then, carefully study the present situation * and find out the means of our salvation. Therefore let us shun absolutely any kind of evildoing, or evildoing will get the better of us. Let us scorn the error of the present time, and we shall be loved in the time to come.
2 Do not let us indulge our natural appetites; otherwise they will without let or hindrance conform to the ways of sinners and reprobates, and we shall be just like them. 3 The final stumbling block has appeared,"* of which, as Henoch says, the Scripture speaks. Indeed, it was for this reason that the Master has shortened the epochs and eras:
He wants His Beloved to make haste and enter upon His inheritance! 4 The Prophet voices the same thought: Ten kingdoms will hold sway upon the earth, and after a little while a king will rise and at one blow humble three of the kings."
5 Daniel has similar things to say on the same subject: And I saw the fourth beast—wicked and strong and more ferocious than all the
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other beasts of the sea, and how ten horns budded out from it, and out of these a small horn, a side-growth, and how this one subdued, at one blow, three large horns.** 6 Here, then, is something for you to understand.
Being one of you and/loving you both individually and collectively more than myself, I urge this further counsel on you: keep watch over yourselves now * and do not imitate certain people by heaping sin after sin upon yourselves and saying: "Their covenant is ours also." 7 Ours, indeed; but in the end they lost it *° without more ado when Moses had already received it. For the Scripture says: And Moses was on the mountain fasting forty days and forty nights, and he received from the Lord the covenant—tables of stone inscribed by the finger of the Lord's hand.** 8 But they turned to idols and lost it. For the Lord says as follows:
Moses, Moses, descend in haste; your people, which you led out of Egypt, has broken the Law.** Moses understood: he flung the two tables out of his hands, and their covenant was shattered, that the covenant of the beloved Jesus might be sealed in our heart * through the hope which the faith in Him holds out.
_9 I should wish to write to you at great length, though not as your teacher; but my chief concern is to write as your humble servant,"* as becomes one who is anxious that we should sacrifice nothing of what we possess.
Let us, then, be on our guard in these latter days.** Surely, of no use will the whole span of our lifelong faith be to us if we do not, here and now in this era of lawlessness, and amidst the seductions yet to come, take a firm stand as becomes children of God. 10
In order, then, that the Black One ** may not find a loophole, let us give a wide berth to all idle speculations; ** let us utterly detest the practices of the Wicked Way. Do not shut yourselves up and court solitude * as though your justification
Tue Epistle oF BARNABAS were already assured. On the contrary, attend the common meetings and join in discussing what contributes to the common good.
11 For the Scripture says:
Ruin awaits those who are wise in their own estimation and prudent in their own conceit.
Let us be spiritual-minded; let us be a finished temple of God! So far as in us lies, let us cultivate the fear of God, and strive to observe His commandments so that we find our delight in His ordinances. 12 The Lord will judge the world without partiality." Everyone will be rewarded according to his conduct: if one is good, his holiness will prepare the way for him; if one is wicked, the wages of his wickedness are in store for him. 13 Let us never rest, on the ground that we have been called,* or fall asleep in our sins; may the wicked Ruler never gain power over us and force us away from the kingdom of the Lord. 14 And furthermore, consider this, my brethren: since you see that Israel, even after such striking exhibitions of power in its midst, has yet been rejected, let us beware that the Scripture text, Many are called, yet few are chosen,** may not be verified in us.
5. It is indeed with this purpose in view that the Lord endured to surrender His body to destruction: we are to be sanctified by the remission of sins, that is, through the sprinkling of His blood.** 2 For this is what the Scripture says in speaking of Him partly to Israel, and partly to us. It says as follows:
He was wounded because of our iniquities, and languishes because of our sins; by His bruises we were healed; as a sheep He was led to the shambles, and as a lamb that is dumb before its shearer.* 3 Surely, we ought to be exceedingly grateful to the Lord for making clear to us the past,"" enabling us to act wisely in the present, and not leaying 1s without discernment in regard to the future. 4 Now,
Tue Epistte oF BARNABAS
the Scripture says: Not unjustly are nets spread out for birds.** This means that a man is justly doomed to perish who has knowledge of the Way of Holiness, yet is heading for the Way of Darkness. 5 And another thing, my brethren: if the Lord submitted to suffering for our souls—He, the Lord of the universe, to whom at the foundation of the world God had said, Let us make man according to our image and likeness *"—then how did it happen that He submitted to suffering at the hands of men?
Let me tell you. 6 The Prophets, who had received the gift from Him,** looked forward to Him in their prophecies; and since it was ordained that He should manifest Himself in the flesh,*® He voluntarily submitted to suffering that He might destroy death * and establish the truth of the resurrection from the dead. 7
Thus He was to redeem the promise made to the fathers, and—while preparing for Himself the new people—to give proof while still on earth that He would raise Himself from the dead and then judge. 8 And besides, by teaching Israel and giving such wondrous exhibitions of power, He preached and showed His exceedingly great love for it. 9 And when for the purpose of preaching His Gospel He chose His own
Apostles from the worst type of sinners ""—since it was not His mission to call saints, but sinners—then it was that He revealed Himself as the Son of God. 10 In fact, had He not come in the flesh, how could men have survived the sight of Him, when at the sight of the sun—His handiwork, which is doomed to perish!—they are unable to look straight at its rays? ** 11 Surely, then, the Son of God came in the flesh to fill to the brim the measure of the sins of those who had persecuted His Prophets to death." 12 This, therefore, is the reason why He submitted to suffering; for God speaks of the chastisement of His flesh as something due to them: When
Tue EpistLe oF BARNABAS they have smitten the shepherd, then the sheep of His flock will perish.* 13 But this suffering was due to His own choice. It was ordained that He should suffer on a tree, since the inspired writer attributes to Him the following words:
Save me from the sword, and, Pierce my flesh with nails, because bands of evildoers have risen against me.** 14 And again He says: Behold, I present my back for scourgings, and my cheeks for blows; my face I set as a solid rock."
6. And when He has obeyed the command," what does He say? Who wants to quarrel with me? Let him confront me! Who wants to bring me to justice? Let him come near the Servant of the Lord! 2 Ruin awaits you! You will all grow old like a garment, and the moth will devour you! **
And again, since He was like a strong stone chosen for polishing," the Prophet says:
Behold, into the foundation of Sion will I sink a choice and precious stone—a highly valued cornerstone. 3 What does He say next? Whoever believes in Him shall live forever." Does our hope, then, rest on a stone? God forbid! No, He speaks that way because the Lord has put strength into His body; for He says:
And He set me as a solid rock." 4 Again the Prophet says:
The very stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.** And again He says: This is the great and wonderful day which the Lord has made." 5 I am writing to you in very plain language that you may understand—I, the humble servant of my love for you.* 6 And again, what does the Prophet say? A band of evildoers has encompassed me; they swarmed round me like bees around the honeycomb;
. and, For my garments they cast lots.®* 7 Since, then, He was to manifest Himself and suffer in the flesh,® the suffering was foretold; for the Prophet denounces Israel:
Perdition
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awaits them: they have framed an evil plot against themselves, saying:
" Let us put the Innocent in chains because He is troublesome to us." © 8 What does the other Prophet, Moses, say to them?
Behold, this is what the Lord God says:
" Enter into the fertile land which the Lord has sworn to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and take possession of it as your inheritance
—a land flowing with milk and honey." ® 9 Learn now what an enlightened understanding has to say about it. " Trust," it says, "in Jesus, who is to be revealed to you in the flesh."
The "land," which is something passible,*° means " man," since it was out of the earth that Adam was formed. 10 And what does into the fertile land, a land flowing with milk and honey, mean? Blessed be Our Lord, brethren, who has endowed us with wisdom and understanding of His secrets; for the Prophet speaks of the Lord in figurative language.
Who will understand but one who is wise and discerning and loves the Lord?
11 When, therefore, He made us new by the remission of sins, He made us men of a different stamp," with the result that we have the soul of little children, as we should have if He were to fashion us anew.
For the Scripture speaks of us when He says to the Son:
Let us make man according to our image and likeness; and let them rule over the beasts on the earth and the birds in the air and the fish in the sea. And when the Lord saw our fair creation, He said:
Increase and multiply and fill the earth." This is what He said to His Son.
13 I will also show you how He speaks to us. In these latter days He made a second creation. The Lord says: Behold, I make the last things like the first."* 'This, then, is what the Prophet announced when he said: Enter into the land flowing with milk and honey, and rule over it. 14 Observe, therefore: we
Tue Episrte oF BARNABAS have been formed anew," as He says through still another
Prophet:
Behold, says the Lord, from them—that is, from those whom the Spirit of the Lord foresaw—I will take out the hearts of stone and put into them hearts of flesh,"* because
He was to manifest Himself in the flesh and to dwell in us.
15 Indeed, my brethren, a holy temple," dedicated to the Lord, is this little house, our heart!
16 For the Lord says again: And where shall I appear before the Lord my God and win praise?
He replies: Let me give thanks to you in the assembly of my brethren, and in the assembly of the saints will I sing psalms to you." We, then, are the ones whom He has led into the fertile land.
17 But what does "the milk and honey" mean? It means that, just as a child is kept alive first with milk and then with honey, so we, too, are made alive by the faith in the promised blessing and by the Word; * and, once we possess life, we shall rule the land.
18 But He has foretold above: And let them increase and multiply ... and rule the fish. Who, then, is at present in a position to rule over beasts and fish and birds in the air? We must bear in mind, of course, that "to rule" requires authority, that is, asserting one's power by a word of command."
19 Well, since this condition is not verified at present, He has evidently told us when it will be verified—then, namely, when we ourselves are so perfected as to become heirs of the Lord's covenant.
7. You notice, then, children of joy, that the good Lord has revealed everything to us in advance, that we may know to whom a full measure of thanks and praise is due from us.
2 The Son of God, although He is Lord and Judge of the living and the dead,** underwent suffering, so that His affliction might give us life. Let us, therefore, believe that the Son of God could not suffer except for our sake.
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3 Furthermore, when crucified, He was given vinegar and gall to drink.** Hear, then, how the priests of the temple had previously made an allusion to this. There is a precept in the Scripture to this effect: Whoever does not keep this fast shall be cut off from the living.* The Lord gave this commandment because He, too, intended to offer the vessel of His spirit as a sacrifice for our sins and thereby fulfill the type established in the person of Isaac, who was sacrificed on the altar. 4 Now what does He say in the Prophet? And they shall eat of the goat offered on the day of fasting for the sins of all, and—pay close attention—only and all the priests shall eat the inwards unwashed with vinegar.*
Why? Because " to me,** when I am going to offer my body for the sins of the new people, you will give gall with vinegar to drink: ** therefore you alone shall eat while the people fast and mourn in sackcloth and ashes." Thus He wanted to show that He had to suffer at their hands.
6 Observe what He commanded:
Take a pair of goats, shapely and like each other, and offer them; and let the priest take the one for a whole burnt sacrifice for sins. 7 But what are they to do with the other? The other, He says, shall be accursed *'—note how Jesus is prefigured by it!—8 and spit upon it, all of you, stab it, and put scarlet wool about its head; and so let it be driven into the desert.** And when this is done, he whose task it is to carry off the goat, takes it into the desert; there he removes the wool and lays it on the shrub called bramblebush—the same whose fruits we are accustomed to eat when we find them in the field: so sweet are the berries of the bramblebush alone! 9 Now what does this mean? Pay attention: the one is to be placed on the altar, the other to be cursed; and note that the one accursed is wreathed,* because on that Day they are going to see Him
Tue EpistLte of BARNABAS wearing the flowing robe of scarlet, and they are going to say: "Is not this the one whom we once crucified and insulted and stabbed and spat upon? Yes, indeed, this is He who then declared Himself the Son of God!" 10 And why is the one " like" the other? The reason why the goats were to be like each other, shapely, and of equal build, is that, when they see Him coming on that Day, they shall be struck at the sight of His likeness to the goat.' Observe, then, the type of Jesus, who was destined to suffer. 11 But what does it mean that they place the wool among the thornbushes?
It is a type of Jesus, intended for the benefit of the Church: since a thornbush makes one fear to touch it, it means that whoever would remove the scarlet wool is bound to suffer much and cannot secure it except through pain. Just so,
He means, "those who wish to see me and take possession of my kingdom must possess me through affliction and suffering." * 8. But what do you think is typified by the injunction to Israel: °? men already grown grey in sin shall offer a heifer, and slay and burn it; then little boys are to collect the ashes and put them into vessels, and to tie around a piece of wood the scarlet wool and hyssop—note here again the type of the Cross and the scarlet wool!—and with this the boys are to sprinkle the people one by one, that they may be sanctified by the remission of their sins? 2 Observe how plainly
He speaks to you! ** The calf is Jesus; the sinners who offer it are those who brought Him to the slaughter. And now— gone are the men; gone is the glory of the sinners! 3 The little boys who did the sprinkling are those who brought us the good tidings of the forgiveness of sins and the sanctification of the heart—those whom He empowered to preach the
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Gospel. They were twelve in number to represent the Tribes of Israel, which were twelve. 4 But why are the sprinklers
+ three boys? To represent Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, since these men were great in the sight of God.** 5 And why the wool around the wood? Because the kingdom of Jesus rests on the Wood," and because those who hope in Him will live forever. 6 And why are the wool and the hyssop together? *
Because in His kingdom there are bound to be foul and evil times, in which we are to be saved; because, moreover, whoever ails through frailty is healed by the foulness of the hyssop. 7 It follows, then, that things like these are plain to us, but were obscure to them,"* because they did not understand the meaning of the Lord's voice.
9. For again, speaking of ears, He tells how He circumcised our heart. The Lord says in the Prophet: They but heard with their ears, and at once obeyed me." And again
He says: With their ears will the far-off hear, and what I did they will understand; *" and, Let your hearts be circumcised.*** 2 And again He says: Listen, Israel; for this is what the Lord your God is saying.' And again the Spirit of the Lord prophesies: Who is he that would have life forever?
With open ear let him listen to the voice of my Servant."
3 And again He says:
Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth, for the Lord has spoken these things to serve as evidence.** And again He says: Rulers of this race, hear the word of the Lord. And He says again: Listen, children, to the voice of one crying in the wilderness. 'The conclusion is: He circumcised our ears, that we might hear the Word and believe. 4 But, moreover, the circumcision in which they put their trust has been superseded. In fact, He did not speak of a circumcision to be performed in the flesh; *
Tue EpistLe oF BARNABAS no, they went against the commandment, being deluded by a bad angel. 5 He says to them: This is what the Lord your
God says—and herein I find a commandment: Do not sow among thorns; circumcise yourselves to please the Lord.
What does He mean?
Circumcise your hard-heartedness, and do not stiffen your necks.' And hear again: Behold, says the Lord, all the heathen lack the circumcision of the foreskin; but this people lacks the circumcision of the heart.'
6 But you will say: "And yet, the people underwent circumcision as a seal!" *°* Well, every Syrian and Arab and all the idol-worshipping priests were circumcised: ** does it follow that they, too, are members of their covenant? Why, even the Egyptians employ circumcision!
7 Let me, then, children of love,*°" give you full and detailed information:
Abraham was the first to make use of circumcision, and he circumcised looking forward in spirit to Jesus, after he had received an object lesson in three letters.*° 8 For it says: And Abraham circumcised eighteen and three hundred men of his household.** What, then, was the knowledge imparted to him? Notice that it first says " ten and eight," and then, in a separate phrase, " three hundred." As to the " ten and eight ": "ten" =I, "eight" =H. There you have IESUS.
But since the Cross, prefigured by a T, was to be the source of grace, it adds the "three hundred." ** It therefore points to Jesus in two letters, and to the Cross in the one. 9 He who put in us the implanted gift ™ of His teaching, well understands. No one has received from me a more reliable explanation; but I know you are entitled to it.
10. As to what Moses said: You shall eat neither swine, nor eagle, nor hawk, nor crow, nor any fish that has no scales on it,' he received, rightly understood, three moral precepts;
Tue Epistte oF Barnapas oe 2 for the Lord still further says to them in Deuteronomy:
And I will set forth to this people my just demands.** There-
> fore, there is no such divine command as " do not eat "; no, Moses spoke in a spiritual sense. 3 Consequently, speaking of " swine," he meant this: Do not associate with such people as resemble swine, that is, people who forget the Lord when they revel in plenty, but know the Lord very well when they are in want—just as a swine, while feeding, takes no notice of its owner, but grunts when it is hungry and, after receiving food, is silent again. 4 You shall eat neither eagle, nor hawk, nor kite, nor crow. Do not, He means, associate with, or resemble, such people as do not know how to obtain their food by sweat and labor, but, in their disregard for law, plunder other people's property. While walking about in seeming simplicity of heart, they watch sharply whom they may rob to satisfy their greed—just as these birds alone do not provide their own food, but, sitting idle, look for a chance to devour the flesh of others—the mischievous pest they are!
5 And you shall eat, He says, neither lamprey, nor polypus, nor cuttle-fish. Do not, he means, associate with, or resemble, such persons as are impious in the extreme and as good as condemned to death—just as these fish alone are condemned to swim in the deep: they do not swim up and down like the rest, but house at the bottom of the sea below."° 6 But furthermore: You shall not eat the hare."* Why? Do not, he means, be a pederast or like such people, because the hare grows a new anus every year, and their number is proportionate to its years."** 7 But neither shall you eat the hyena." Do not, he means, be an adulterer or seducer, or like people of that stamp. Why? Because this animal changes its sex every year, and is now male, now female. 8 But he also abhorred the weasel." Rightly so. Do not, he means, be like those
ae Tue Epistte oF BARNABAS who, we learn, through lecherousness do with their mouth what is forbidden; and do not associate with debauched women, who with their mouth do what is forbidden; for this animal conceives through the mouth. 9 Concerning food, then, Moses received three moral precepts and spoke, as I have shown, in a spiritual sense; ** but the people, carnalminded as they were, accepted them as referring to real food.
10 Regarding the same three moral precepts, David received enlightenment and says accordingly:
Blessed the man that does not follow the counsel of godless men ***—just as those fish move about in the dark deep of the sea; or enter on the sinners' path—just as those who under the mask of the fear of the Lord sin like swine; or sit in the company of pestiferous men—just as birds sit waiting for prey. Now you are fully enlightened about the use of foods also!
11 Again Moses says:
Eat of every cloven-hoofed and ruminant animal.** Why does he name them? Because when they receive food, they acknowledge their feeder, and when they rest after feeding, they are apparently pleased with him. How neatly he expressed the sense of the commandment! What, then, does he mean? Associate with those who fear the Lord, with those who meditate on the precise sense of the words they have heard, with those who have the Lord's commandments on their lips and observe them, with those who realize that meditation is a labor of joy and therefore ruminate on the Word of the Lord. But why " the cloven-hoofed "? Because the good man not only sojourns in this world, but also awaits the holy eternity. You see what an excellent lawgiver Moses was! 12 Alas, how could those people grasp and understand these things? But we tightly understand and explain the commandments in the sense which the Lord intended. He
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~ circumcised our ears and hearts for this very purpose that we might understand things like these.
11. Let us now inquire whether the Lord took pains to hint in advance at the water and the Cross. Regarding the water, the Scripture says that Israel will not accept the baptism which brings forgiveness of sins, but will fabricate something to suit its own fancy.* 2 For the Prophet says:
Be startled, O heaven, and shudder even more, O earth! This people has perpetrated two crimes: me, the Fountain of life, they have abandoned and dug themselves a cistern of death.**®
3 Is my holy Mount Sinai a barren rock? Truly, you will be like nestlings that flutter about when robbed of their nest."
4 And again the Prophet says: I will go before you, and will level mountains, and shatter bronzen gates, and break iron bars; and I will give you hidden, concealed, and invisible treasures. Thus it will become manifest that I am the Lord
God.*** 5 And: You shall dwell in a lofty cave of rugged rock, and its water shall never fail; you shall see the King wrapt in glory, and your heart shall meditate on the terror of the Lord.*** 6 And again He says in another Prophet:
He who does these things will resemble the tree planted by running waters: it yields its fruit in its season, nor does its leaf fall off; whatever he does will prosper. 7 Not so the godless—not so! Like dust they are which the wind whirls off the ground. Therefore the godless will not rise at the Judgment, nor will sinners in the company of the good. The Lord, indeed, approves of the way of the good; but the way of the godless shall end in ruin." 8 Note how at the same time He describes the water and the Cross. This is what He means:
Blessed are those who, fixing their hope on the Cross, have descended into the water; for by the words in its
Tue Eprstte oF BarNaBas season He refers to the reward; then, He means, I will pay it.
For the present, however, this is what He means by the words its leaf does not fall: every word that passes your lips in faith and love will be for many a means of conversion and hope. g And again another Prophet says: And the land of Jacob was praised beyond the rest of the land.**° This is what He. means: He is glorifying the vessel of His spirit. 10 What else does He say? And there was a river creeping along to the right, and out of it beautiful trees were rising; and whoever eats of them will live forever.*** 11 By this He means that we descend into the water,''? laden with sins and filth, and then emerge from it bearing fruit, with the fear (of God) in the heart and the hope of Jesus in the soul. And by the words Whoever eats of them will live forever He means to say: Whoever hears these words and believes will live forever.
12. He also describes the Cross in another Prophet, who says: And when will these things be accomplished? The Lord says:
"" When a tree is felled and rises again, and when blood trickles from the tree." *** Once more you have a hint _ of the Cross and of Him who was to be crucified!
2 Again, when Israel is made war upon by foreigners, He speaks to Moses; *"* and in order to warn them, by means of this very war, that they had been delivered over because of their sins, the Spirit suggests to Moses that he should make a type of the Cross and of Him who was to suffer. He thus intimates that, unless they hope in Him, they will forever be subjec to war. Moses, therefore, placed shield upon shield where the fray was thick; and then, standing where he towered above all the rest, he extended his arms. The result was that Israel was again victorious; then, when he lowered them, the
Tue Epistte oF Barnasas Be » men were again cut down. 3 Why? They were to understand that they could not be saved unless they put their trust in Him. 4 And again He says in another Prophet: The livelong day I extended my arms to a refractory people that rebelled against my just, demands.*° 5 And again, to show that Jesus will have to suffer, and that it is He who will give life—He whom they will fancy to have destroyed!—Moses presents another type of Him in the sign given when Israel was falling in battle: to convince them that they would be delivered over to death because of their transgressions, the Lord made every serpent bite them *** so that they were perishing Cyou will recall that the transgression, in the case of Eve, was occasioned by a serpent). 6 And besides, though
Moses himself had given this commandment:
Neither a molten nor a graven image shall be your God,*" he himself made one to exhibit a type of Jesus. Moses, therefore, had a brazen serpent made and erected it conspicuously, and through a herald's proclamation convened the people. 7 So when they had assembled, they begged Moses to offer a prayer for their cure. Then Moses said to them: If any one of you, he said, has been bitten, let him come to the serpent attached to the wood and have confidence, in the belief that, although it is a dead thing, it has yet power to preserve life.
And he will at once be cured.** And so they did. Again you see in this incident the glory of Jesus, inasmuch as all things are in Him and for Him.
8 Again, what does Moses say to Jesus, the son of Nave,?*® to whom—prophet that he was—he had given this name for the sole reason that the whole people might be informed that the Father reveals all things concerning His Son Jesus?
9 Moses, then, said to Jesus, the son of Nave, after giving him this name at the time when he sent him to reconnoitre
Tue EpistLe oF BARNABAS the land: Take a scroll in your hands and write what the Lord is saying: "In the last days the Son of God will destroy, root and all, the house of Amalec." *°
10 Behold, there is Jesus again, not a son of man, but the Son of God, though revealed by a type in the flesh. Now, they were going to say that Christ was the Son of David; and so David himself, fearing and comprehending the error of the sinners, prophesied: The Lord said to my Lord:
" Be Thou seated at my right hand, until I make Thy enemies a footstool for Thy feet." **
11 And again Isaias says as follows:
The Lord said to Christ my Lord, whose right hand I uphold, that the nations are to obey Him, and "I will shatter the might of kings." ** Note how David calls Him Lord," and does not call Him his son.
13. But let us inquire whether our people or the former is the heir, and whether the covenant is intended for us or for them.*** 2 Hear, then, what the Scripture says about " the people":
Isaac prayed for Rebecca, his wife, because she was barren. And she conceived. Next: And Rebecca went to inquire of the Lord, and the Lord said to her: "Two nations are in your womb and two peoples in your body; one people shall expel the other, and the older shall serve the * younger." 3 You should try to understand who Isaac is and . who Rebecca, and by what means He has pointed out that our people will be greater than the other.
4 In another prophecy Jacob speaks more plainly when he said to his son Joseph: Behold, the Lord has not deprived me of your sight.
Bring me your sons that I may bless them.** 5 And Joseph brought Ephraim and Manasses; but since he wished Manasses to be blessed, because he was the older, he placed him next to the right hand of his father Jacob. But Jacob, en-
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lightened by the Spirit, discerned a type of the people of the future. And what does it say? Then Jacob crossed his hands and laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, the second and younger son, and blessed him. And Joseph said to Jacob:
" Change your right hand to the head of Manasses, for he is my first-born son." Then Jacob said to Joseph: "I know, my child—I know; but the older must be subject to the younger; just the same, he also shall be blessed." **° 6 You see by what means He has ordained that our people shall be first and the heir of the covenant. 7 Consequently, if, in addition to this, our people is also pointed out in the story of Abraham, then we have reached the perfection of our knowledge. What, then, does He say to Abraham when he, the only believer, was accounted justified? Behold, Abraham, I have appointed you the father of the nations which, though not circumcised, believe in God."
14. Yes, indeed!
But let us see whether the covenant which He had sworn to the fathers to give their people, was actually given. He has given it; but they, owing to their sins, proved unworthy of the favor. 2 For the Prophet says: And Moses was on Mount Sinai fasting forty days and forty nights, in order to receive the convenant of the Lord, intended for the people. And Moses received from the Lord two tables inscribed by the finger of the Lord's hand in the Spirit; *° and after receiving them, Moses intended to take them down and give them to the people; 3 and the Lord said to Moses: " Moses, Moses, descend in haste; your people, which you led out of Egypt, has broken the Law!" And Moses perceived that they had again made themselves molten images; and he flung the tables out of his hands, and the tables of the Lord's covenant were shattered.' 4 Moses received it, but they did not prove themselves worthy.
Tue EpisrLe oF BARNABAS But how did we receive it? Let me tell you. Moses received it as a servant,'* but the Lord in person gave it to us in order to make us the people of inheritance by suffering for our sake. 5 He appeared in the flesh, that they might fill up the measure of their sins,*** and that we might receive the covenant through its destined Heir, the Lord Jesus; in fact,
He was appointed for the very purpose of appearing in person and ransoming from darkness our hearts already worn out to death and given over to iniquitous error; and thereby He was to establish among us a covenant by His Word. 6 For the Scripture tells how the Father enjoins Him to ransom us from darkness and prepare for Himself a holy people.** 7
This, then, the Prophet says:
I, the Lord your God, have called Thee to establish the right order, and I will take Thee by the hand and strengthen Thee, and I appoint Thee to make a covenant with the race, and to be a Light to the nations: Thou shalt open the eyes of the blind; Thou shalt free the fettered from their shackles and those who sit in darkness from the prison house.** We realize, therefore, from what state we have been redeemed. 8 Again the Prophet says: Behold, I have appointed Thee a Light to the nations:
Thou art to be a Savior as far as the earth extends. Thus says the Lord God, who has redeemed you.** 9 Again the Prophet says: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the Gospel of grace to the lowly;
He sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to announce release to captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; to proclaim a year of grace ordained by the Lord and the time of recompense; to bring comfort to all the sorrowing.™*
15. Moreover, the Scripture has also mentioned the Sabbath in the Decalogue, in which He spoke face to face to
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» Moses on Mount Sinai: Also keep holy the Sabbath of the Lord, clean of hand and heart." 2 In another passage He says: If my children keep the Sabbath, then will I bestow my mercy on them.' 3 He speaks of the Sabbath at the beginning of the Creation: And God made in six days the works of His hands, and when He had completed them, He rested on the seventh day and sanctified it. 4 Notice, children, what He means by the words He completed them in six days. He means this: in six thousand years the Lord will make an end of all things; for, in His reckoning, the " day " means " a thousand years." He is Himself my witness when He says: Behold, a day of the Lord is as a thousand years."° 'Therefore, children, in six days—in the course of six thousand years—all things will be brought to an end. 5
And He rested on the seventh day. 'This is the meaning: when His Son returns, He will put an end to the era of the Lawless One, judge the wicked, and change the sun, the moon, and the stars. Then, on the seventh day, He will properly rest. 6 Furthermore he says: You shall sanctify it, clean of hand and heart. Consequently, if anyone is able at present to sanctify, clean of heart, the day on which God has sanctified it, then we are the victims of deception. 7 Consider: we shall, as it appears, properly rest and sanctify it then only when we are able to do so after being ourselves justified and having received the promised blessing; when there is no more iniquity, and all things have been made new by the Lord, then at last shall we be able to sanctify it, because we have first been sanctified ourselves.
8 He further says to them: Your new moons and Sabbaths I disdain.** Consider what He means:
Not the Sabbaths of the present era are acceptable to me, but that which I have appointed to mark the end of the world and to usher in the eighth day, that is, oe
Tue EpistteE oF BARNABAS the dawn of another world. 9 This, by the way, is the reason why we joyfully celebrate the eighth day—the same day on which Jesus rose from the dead; after which He manifested
Himself and went up to heaven."
16. But I will also tell you how those wretches erred in regard to the temple when, instead of putting their trust in their God who had made them, they put it in the building, as if it were the house of God! ** 2 In fact, they almost resembled the heathen in consecrating Him by the temple.
But learn how the Lord speaks in superseding it: Who has measured the heavens with the span of his hand, or the earth with the hollow of his palm? Have not I done it? says the Lord. Heaven is my throne and the earth my footstool.
What house can you build for me, or what can be my resting place? *** You know that their hope is in vain. 3 Still further
He says: Behold, the destroyers of this temple are the ones that will build it.*** 4 This is actually being done. 'They were waging war, and therefore it was demolished by the enemies; and now the subjects of the enemies are about to build it up again.*** 5 On the other hand, it has been revealed that the city, the temple, and the people of Israel are doomed!
For the Scripture says: And it will happen in the last days that the Lord will doom to destruction the flock of the pasture and the fold and their watchtower." And what the Lord says is as good as done.** 6 But let us inquire whether there really is a temple of God. There is—there where He Himself says He is building and perfecting it! For the Scripture says: And really, when the week is coming to an end, a temple of God will be built in splendor in the name of the Lord.* 71 find, therefore, that there is a temple. How, then, will it be built up in the name
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of the Lord? Let me tell you. Before we believed in God,?" our little house, the heart, was decrepit and infirm, really like a temple built by hand; in fact, it was a nest of idolatry and a haunt of demons, because it was at enmity with God.
8 It will be built in the name of the Lord. See to it that the temple of the Lord is built in splendor! How? Let me tell you. By receiving the forgiveness of sins and trusting in the Name,' we were made new, being created all over again.
That is why in our little house—in us—there really dwells God. 9 How? His Word of the faith **—His calling us to the promised blessing—the wisdom of His ordinances—the precepts of His teaching—the fact that He personally prophe- > sies in us and personally dwells in us—that He opens to us the door of the temple, that is, our mouth—that He grants us a renewal of spirit—this is what ushers us into the imperishable temple—us, I say, who had been enslaved to death!
10 And in fact,' when one is anxious to be saved, one pays no attention to the man, but to Him who dwells and speaks in him, and it is a surprise to him that he has never either heard
Him utter such words or had a desire to hear them. This is a spiritual temple which is now being built for God.
17. So far as it was possible to give you a simple explanation,' I sincerely trust I have, in keeping with my desire, omitted none of the things that have a bearing on salvation.
2 For if I should write to you concerning things present or yet to come, you would not grasp them, because they are as yet hidden in parables. Let this, then, be enough.
18. Let us now pass on to another kind of knowledge and instruction.'** There are Two Ways of instruction—as there are two powers—that of Light and that of Darkness. And there is a great difference between the Two Ways: the one
Tue Epistte oF BARNABAS is controlled by God's light-bringing angels, the other by angels of Satan.
2 And as the latter is the Ruler of the present era of lawlessness, so the former is Lord from eternity to eternity.
19. The Way of Light, then, is as follows; and whoever desires to make his way to the appointed place must be actively at work. Now, the knowledge granted us to enable us to walk in this way embraces the following points: 2 Love your Maker; reverence your Creator; glorify Him who ransomed you from death; be single of heart and exuberant of spirit; '° do not associate with such as walk in the Way of Death; abhor everything not pleasing to God; detest every form of hypocrisy; do not by any means neglect the commandments of the Lord. 3 Do not carry your head high, but be ever in a humble frame of mind; do not reach out for personal glory; do not plot evil against your neighbor; do not open your heart to presumption. 4 Do not fornicate; do not commit adultery; do not practice pederasty; do not let the Word of God escape your lips in the presence of any that are impure." Make no distinction between man and man when correcting anyone's transgression. Be gentle, be quiet; with trembling treasure the instructions you have received.' a ag RR A —P = Do not bear malice against your brother. 5 Do not waver.in your decision.*" Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.***
Love your neighbor more than yourself. Do not kill a fetus by abortion, or commit infanticide. Do not withdraw your hand from your son or your daughter; but from their youth teach them the fear of God. 6 Do not covet your neighbor's goods; do not be greedy. Do not be on intimate terms with the powerful, but associate with holy and lowly folk. Accept as blessings the casualties that befall you,'* assured that
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nothing happens without God. 7 Do not be double-minded or double-tongued, for the double tongue is a deadly snare.**
In reverence and fear be submissive to your masters as representatives of God. Do not when embittered, give orders to your slave, male or female, for they hope in the same God; otherwise, they might fose the fear of God, who is the Master of you both. He surely did not come to call with an eye to rank or station in life; ** no, He comes to those whom the Spirit has prepared. 8 Share everything with your neighbor, and do not say:
"It is private property"; for, if you are sharers in what is imperishable, how much more so in the things that perish! Do not be hasty of tongue, for the tongue is a deadly snare. As far as you can, be pure to save your soul. 9 Do not be one that opens his hands to receive, but shuts them when it comes to giving. Love as the pupil of your eye *** anyone that explains to you the Word of the Lord.
10 Day and night remember the Day of Judgment. Seek daily the companionship of the saints. Are you proficient in speaking? Then go to comfort, and endeavor to save, an afflicted soul. Do you work with your hands? 'Then pay a ransom for your sins.
11 Do not hesitate to give, and do not give in a grumbling mood; you will find out who is your good Rewarder. Hold fast to the traditions, neither adding nor subtracting anything.*** Hate evil incessantly. Be just in your judgment.' 12 Do not start a schism, but pacify contending parties. Confess your sins. Do not come to prayer with a guilty conscience.
Such is the Way of Light.
20. The Way of the Black One,**' on the other hand, is crooked and altogether accursed: it is the way to eternal death and punishment. In it is found everything that cor-
Tue Epistte oF BARNABAS rupts the soul of men: idolatry, rashness, the pomp of power, hypocrisy, duplicity, adultery, murder, robbery, pride, lawlessness, deceitfulness, malice, surliness, sorcery, magic, covetousness, want of the fear of God. 2 Here belong persecutors of the good, haters of the truth, lovers of falsehood; men ignorant of the reward for right living, not devoted to what is good," or to just judgment; men who neglect widow and orphan, who are on the alert, not because they fear God, but because they are bent on vice; who are utter strangers to gentleness and patient endurance; men who love vanities," and fee hunters; who have no heart for the poor, take no trouble about the oppressed, are prone to slander, do not know their Maker; murderers of children,**° destroyers of God's image; men who turn away from the needy, oppress the afflicted, act as counsel for the rich, are unjust judges of the poor; in a word—men steeped in sin.
21. 'To sum up: when one has learned the just demands of the Lord, as contained in the Scriptures, the proper thing is to make them the rule of one's life. Surely, whoever complies with them will reap glory in the kingdom of God; whoever chooses the opposite course with all its works must perish.
That is why there is a resurrection, why there is a retribution.
2 I would exhort those who are in better circumstances, if you will accept my well-meant advice: you have in your community *** persons to whom you can do good; do not miss your opportunity! 3 The day is at hand when all things will perish together with the Evil One. At hand is the Lord and His recompense.' 4 Again and again I exhort you: be your own good lawgivers; remain your own trusty advisers; ** away with all hypocrisy! 5 May God, who is Lord over the whole world, grant you wisdom, understanding, insight,
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knowledge of His just demands, and patient endurance. 6
Be learners in God's school,' studying what the Lord requires of you; and then do it! Thus you will be approved on Judgment Day. 7 And if there is such a thing as remembering a kindly deed, remember me by pondering what I have said, so that my heart's desire and my vigils may result in something good. I ask for this as your favor to myself. 8
As long as the fair vessel is still with you,*** do not be wanting to yourselves in any respect; on the contrary, study these matters continually and carry out every commandment. They certainly deserve it. 9 For the same reason I have been all the more anxious to write to you to the best of my ability.
I wanted to cheer you.' Farewell, children of love and peace! May the Lord of glory and of every grace be with your spirit!
Epistle of Barnabas
vine:
Ww E Eeaeioe Aja
a os j oS cnaihd Pe a 4 Oo. ssi 4 fy" paar a i a) ; re or ieee eae 7% ; gs i v ees her $ ; '.
; an Pa poate wi en ee .
Se ee an etlnahererewe eat ei Pe NS tare seis aod a aks : y = | ve Pr tae be 7 alee S ; ixeehie et fe rn a
. n ' a e @t pares wiatiel ; ies ; et ee ih Oe io ye gh Ae ie