Shepherd of Hermas — Similitude 6 · Chapter 1
Similitude 6.1.1
Greek (Lake printed text, including explicitly identified versional reconstructions)
Similitude 6.1.1 I was sitting in my house, glorifying the Lord for everything I had seen and reflecting on the commandments: how good, powerful, joyful, and glorious they were, and how able to save a person's soul. I said within myself, “I will be blessed if I walk in these commandments, and whoever walks in them will be blessed.”
Textual & reception notes
Similitude 6.1.1 — Textual: Hermas considers both the excellence of the commands and the salvation promised to those who walk in them; the blessing remains conditional on practice. Reception: No section-specific reception verified in the sources checked.
Similitude 6.1.2
Greek (Lake printed text, including explicitly identified versional reconstructions)
Similitude 6.1.2 While I was saying these things within myself, suddenly I saw him sitting beside me and saying, “Why are you double-minded about the commandments I gave you? They are good. Do not be double-minded at all; put on faith in the Lord, and you will walk in them, for I will strengthen you in them.
Textual & reception notes
Similitude 6.1.2 — Textual: The shepherd opposes doubt to faith, describing faith as clothing and a source of strength for keeping the commands. Reception: No section-specific reception verified in the sources checked.
Similitude 6.1.3
Greek (Lake printed text, including explicitly identified versional reconstructions)
Similitude 6.1.3 “These commandments benefit those who intend to repent. Unless they walk in them, their repentance is in vain.
Textual & reception notes
Similitude 6.1.3 — Textual: Repentance becomes empty when those receiving it do not walk in the commands; the warning concerns subsequent conduct. Reception: No section-specific reception verified in the sources checked.
Similitude 6.1.4
Greek (Lake printed text, including explicitly identified versional reconstructions)
Similitude 6.1.4 “You who repent, therefore, cast away the evils of this age that are wearing you down. By putting on every excellence of righteousness, you will be able to keep these commandments and add no more to your sins. Walk, then, in these commandments of mine, and you will live to God. I have spoken all these things to you.”
Textual & reception notes
Similitude 6.1.4 — Textual: The penitents must put away the present age's evil and put on righteous virtue; an additional Latin clause is not introduced into Lake's Greek-based text. Reception: No section-specific reception verified in the sources checked.
Similitude 6.1.5
Greek (Lake printed text, including explicitly identified versional reconstructions)
Similitude 6.1.5 After speaking these things with me, he said, “Let us go into a field, and I will show you the shepherds of the sheep.” “Let us go, sir,” I said. We came to a plain, and he showed me a young shepherd dressed in a suit of saffron-colored clothing.
Textual & reception notes
Similitude 6.1.5 — Textual: The scene moves to a plain and a young shepherd in saffron-colored clothing; these visual details prepare the ensuing moral contrast. Reception: No section-specific reception verified in the sources checked.
Similitude 6.1.6
Greek (Lake printed text, including explicitly identified versional reconstructions)
Similitude 6.1.6 He was tending a very great many sheep. These sheep seemed to be enjoying themselves and indulging themselves greatly, merrily leaping here and there. The shepherd himself was very cheerful over his flock. His very appearance was exceedingly cheerful, and he ran about among the sheep.
Textual & reception notes
Similitude 6.1.6 — Textual: The flock's conspicuous pleasure and leaping initially accompany a cheerful shepherd; the appearance is interpreted adversely in the next scene. Reception: No section-specific reception verified in the sources checked.