[The genuineness of this Epistle is controverted, but implicitly
believed by Archbishop Wake, whose translation is below. There is
also a translation by Dr. Cave attached to his life of Polycarp.]
CHAPTER I.
Polycarp commends the Philippians for their respect to
those who suffered for the Gospel; and for their own faith.
1 POLYCARP, and the presbyters
that are with him, to the
church of God which is at Philippi;
mercy unto you, and peace from
God Almighty, and the Lord Jesus
Christ our Saviour, be multiplied.
2 I rejoiced greatly with you
in our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye
received the images of a true love,
and accompanied, as it behoved you,
those who were in bonds, becoming
saints; which are the crowns of
such as are truly chosen by God
and our Lord:
3 As also that the root of the
faith which was preached from
ancient times, remains firm in you
to this day; and brings forth fruit
to our Lord Jesus Christ, who
suffered himself to be brought
even to the death for our sins:
4 Whom God hath raised up, having
loosed the pains of death. Whom
having not seen, ye love; in whom
though now ye see him not, yet
believing, ye rejoice with joy
unspeakable and full of glory.
5 Into which many desire to
enter; I knowing that by grace ye
are saved; not by works, but by
the will of God through Jesus
Christ.
6 Wherefore girding up the
loins of your minds; I serve
the Lord with fear, and in truth;
laying aside all empty and vain
speech, and the errors of many;
believing in him that raised up
our Lord Jesus Christ from the
dead, and hath given him glory
and a throne at his right hand.
7 To whom all things are made
subject, both that are in heaven,
and that are in earth; whom every
living creature shall worship;
who shall come to be the judge of
the quick and dead: whose blood
God shall require of them that
believe not in him.
8 But he that raised up Christ
from the dead, shall also raise up
us in like manner, if we do his
will, and walk according to his
commandments; and love those
things which he loved:
9 Abstaining from all
unrighteousness; inordinate affection,
and love of money; from evil.
speaking; false witness; not
rendering evil for evil, or
railing for railing, or striking
for striking, or cursing
for cursing:
10 But remembering what the
Lord has taught us saying, Judge
not, and ye shall not be judged;
forgive and ye shall be forgiven;
be ye merciful, and ye shall obtain
mercy; for with the same measure
that ye meet withal, it shall be
measured to you again.
11 And again; Blessed are the
poor, and they that are persecuted
for righteousness sake; for theirs
is the kingdom of God.
CHAPTER II.
Exhorts to Faith, Hope, and Charity.
Against covetousness, and as to the
duties of husbands, wives, widows,
deacons, young men, virgins, and presbyters.
1 THESE things, my brethren,
I took not the liberty of myself
to write unto you concerning
righteousness, but you yourselves
before encouraged me to it.
2 For neither can i, nor any
other such as I am, come up to
the wisdom of the blessed and
renowned Paul; who being himself
in person with those who then
lived, did with all exactness and
soundness teach the word of truth;
and being gone from you wrote an
epistle to you.
3 Into which if you look, you
will be able to edify yourselves in
the faith that has been delivered
unto you, which is the mother of
us all; being followed with hope,
and led on by a general love, both
towards God and towards Christ,
and towards our neighbour.
4 For if any man has these
things, he has fulfilled the law
of righteousness: for he that has
charity is far from all sin.
5 But the love of money is the
root of all evil. Knowing therefore
that as we brought nothing into this
world, so neither may we carry any
thing out; let us arm ourselves
with the armour of righteousness.
6 And teach ourselves first to
walk according to the commandments
of the Lord; and then your wives
to walk likewise according to the
faith that is given to them; in
charity, and in purity; loving
their own husbands, with all
sincerity, and all others alike,
with all temperance; and to bring up
their children in the instruction
and fear of the Lord.
7 The widows likewise teach
that they be sober as to what
concerns the faith of the Lord:
praying always for all men; being far
from all detraction, evil speaking,
false witness; from covetousness,
and from all evil.
8 Knowing that they are the
altars of God, who sees all blemishes,
and from whom nothing is hid; who
searches out the very reasonings,
and thoughts, and secrets of our
hearts.
9 Knowing therefore that God
is not mocked, we ought to walk
worthy both of his command and
of his glory.
10 Also the deacons must be
blameless before him, as the
ministers of God in Christ, and
not of men. Not false mousers, not
double tongued, not lovers of money;
but moderate in all things;
compassionate, careful; walking
according to the truth of the Lord,
who was the servant of all.
11 Whom if we please in this
present world, we shall also be
made partakers of that which is
to come, according as he has
promised to us, that he will raise
us from the dead; and that if we
shall walk worthy of him, we shall
also reign together with him, if
we believe.
12 In like manner the younger
men must be unblameable in all
things; above all, taking care of
their purity, and to restrain
themselves from all evil. For it is
good to be cut off from the lusts that
are in the world; because every
such lust warreth against the
spirit: and neither fornicators,
nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind, shall
inherit the kingdom of God; nor
they who do such things as are
foolish and unreasonable.
13 Wherefore ye must needs
abstain from all these things,
being subject to the priests and
deacons, as unto God and Christ.
14 The virgins admonish to
walk in a spotless and pure
conscience.
15 And let the elders be
compassionate and merciful towards
all; turning them from their errors;
seeking out those that are weak;
not forgetting the widows, the
fatherless, and the poor; but
always providing what is good
both in the sight of God and man.
16 Abstaining from all wrath,
respect of persons, and unrighteous
judgment; and especially being
free from all covetousness.
17 Not easy to believe anything
against any; not severe in judgment;
knowing that we are all debtors
in point of sin.
18 If therefore we pray to the
Lord that he would forgive us, we
ought also to forgive others; for
we are all in the sight of our Lord
and God; a and must all stand before
the judgment-seat of Christ;
and shall every one give an
account of himself.
19 Let us therefore serve him in
fear, and with all reverence as
both himself hath commanded;
and as the Apostles who have
preached the Gospel unto us, and
the prophets who have foretold
the coming of our Lord have
taught us:
20 Being zealous of what is
good; abstaining from all offence,
and from false brethren; and
from those who bear the name of
Christ in hypocrisy; who deceive
vain men.
CHAPTER III.
As to faith in our Saviour Christ;
his nature and sufferings, the resurrection and judgment.
Exhorts to prayer
and steadfastness in the faith, from the examples of Christ,
and Apostles and saints, and exhorts to carefulness
in all well-doing.
1 FOR whosoever does not confess
that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh, he is Antichrist: and
whoever does not confess his
suffering upon the cross, is
from the devil.
2 And whosoever perverts the
oracles of the Lord to his own
lusts, and says that there shall.
neither be any resurrection, nor
judgment, he is the first-born of
Satan.
3 Wherefore leaving the vanity
of many, and their false doctrines;
let us return to the word that was
delivered to us from the beginning:
Watching unto prayer; and
persevering in fasting;
4 With supplication beseeching
the all seeing God not to lead us
into temptation; as the Lord hath
said, The spirit is truly willing,
but the flesh is weak.
5 Let us therefore without ceasing
hold steadfastly to him who is our
hope, and the earnest of our
righteousness, even Jesus Christ;
Who, his own self, bare our sins
in his own body on the tree: who
did no sin, neither was guile found
in his mouth; but suffered all for
us that we might live through
him.
6 Let us therefore imitate his
patience; and if we suffer for his
name, let us glorify him; for this
example he has given us by himself,
and so have we believed.
7 Wherefore I exhort all
of you that ye obey the word of
righteousness, and exercise all
patience; which ye have seen set
forth before your eyes, not only
in the blessed Ignatius, and Zozimus,
and Rufus; but in others among
yourselves; and in Paul himself,
and the rest of the Apostles:
8 Being confident of this, that
all these have not run in vain, but
in faith and righteousness; and
are gone to the place that was due
to them from the Lord; with
whom also they suffered.
9 For they loved not this
present world; but him who died,
and was raised again by God for
us.
10 Stand therefore in these
things, and follow the example of
the Lord; being firm and immutable
in the faith, lovers of the
brotherhood, lovers of one
another: companions together
in the truth, being kind and
gentle towards each other,
despising none.
11 When it is in your power to
do good defer it not, for charity
delivered from death.
12 Be all of you subject one to
another, having your conversation
honest among the Gentiles; that
by your good works, both ye
yourselves may receive praise, and
the Lord may not be blasphemed
through you. But woe be to him
by whom the name of the Lord is
blasphemed.
13 Therefore teach all men
sobriety; in which do ye also
exercise yourselves.
CHAPTER IV.
Valens, a presbyter, having fallen into the sin
of covetousness, he exhorts them against it.
1 I am greatly afflicted for Valens,
who was once a presbyter among you;
that he should so little understand
the place that was given to him in
the church, Wherefore I admonish you
that ye abstain from covetousness;
and that ye be chaste, and true of
speech.
2 Keep yourselves from all evil.
For he that in these things cannot
govern himself, how shall he be
able to prescribe them to another?
3 If a man does not keep himself
from covetousness, he shall be
polluted with idolatry, and be
judged as if he were a Gentile.
4 But who of you are ignorant
of the judgment of God? Do we
not know that the saints shall
judge the world, as Paul teaches?
5 But I have neither perceived
nor heard anything of this kind
in you, among whom the blessed
Paul laboured; and who are
named in the beginning of his
Epistle.
6 For he glories of you in all
the churches who then only knew
God; for we did not then know
him. Wherefore, my brethren, I
am exceedingly sorry both for him
and for his wife; to whom God
grant a true repentance.
7 And be ye also moderate upon
this occasion; and look not upon
such as enemies, but call them
back as suffering and erring
members, that ye may save your
whole body: for by so doing,
ye shall edify your own selves.
8 For I trust that ye are well
exercised in the Holy Scriptures,
and that nothing is hid from you
but at present it is not granted
unto me to practise that which is
written, Be angry and sin not;
and again, Let not the sun go
down upon your wrath.
9 Blessed be he that believeth
and remembereth these things;
which also I trust you do.
10 Now the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and he
himself who is our everlasting
high-priest, the Son of God, even
Jesus Christ, build you up in faith
and in truth, and in all meekness
and lenity; in patience and long-
suffering, in forbearance and
chastity:
11 And grant unto you a lot and
portion among his saints, and us
with you; and to all that are under
the heavens, who shall believe in
our Lord Jesus Christ, and in his
Father who raised him from the dead.
12 Pray for all the saints:
pray also for kings, and all that
are in authority; and for those who
persecute you, and hate you, and for
the enemies of the cross; that your
fruit may be manifest in all; and
that ye may be perfect in Christ.
13 Ye wrote to me, both ye, and
also Ignatius, that if any one
went from hence into Syria, he
should bring your letters with
him; which also I will take care
of, as soon as I shall have a
convenient opportunity; either
by myself, or him whom I shall
send upon your account.
14 The Epistle of Ignatius,
which he wrote unto us, together
with what others of his have come
to our hands, we have sent to you,
according to your order; which
are subjoined to this Epistle:
15 By which we may be greatly
profited; for they treat of faith
and patience, and of all things that
pertain to edification in the Lord
Jesus.
16 What you know certainly of
Ignatius, and those that are
with him, signify to us.
17 These things have I written
unto you by Crescens, whom by
this present Epistle I have
recommended to you, and do now
again commend.
18 For he has had his conversation
without blame among us; and I suppose
also with you.
19 Ye will also have regard unto
his sister when she shall come
unto you.
20 Be ye safe in the Lord Jesus
Christ; and in favour with all
yours. Amen.
