Shepherd of Hermas — Mandate 2 · Chapter 1

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Mandate 2.1.1 He says to me, “Hold to simplicity and become innocent, and you will be like little children who do not know the wickedness that destroys human life.

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Mandate 2.1.2 “First, speak against no one, and do not listen gladly to someone speaking against another. Otherwise, you who listen will also be liable for the speaker’s sin, if you believe the slander you hear. For when you believe it, you yourself will also hold something against your brother. In this way you will be liable for the slanderer’s sin.

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Mandate 2.1.3 “Slander is wicked; it is a restless demon, never at peace but always dwelling among divisions. Keep away from it, then, and you will always have well-being with everyone.

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Mandate 2.1.4 “Put on reverence, in which there is no evil stumbling block, but everything is smooth and cheerful. Do good; and from the fruits of your labor that God gives you, give generously to all who lack anything, without hesitating over whom to give to or whom not to give to. Give to everyone, for God wishes everyone to receive from His own gifts.

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Mandate 2.1.5 “Those who receive will therefore give God an account of why they received and for what purpose. Those who receive because they are afflicted will not be judged, but those who receive under false pretenses will pay the penalty.

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Mandate 2.1.6 “The giver, therefore, is innocent. For just as he received from the Lord the service he was to fulfill, so he fulfilled it with simplicity, making no distinction about whom to give to or whom not to give to. This service, fulfilled with simplicity, became glorious before God. Whoever serves with such simplicity will therefore live to God.

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Mandate 2.1.7 “Keep this commandment, then, as I have spoken it to you, so that your repentance and that of your household may be found in simplicity, and your innocence pure and undefiled.”