Polycarp to the Philippians

Brief description:

Polycarp was an overseer in Smyrna in the early second century. His letter to the Christian assembly in Philippi, written in response to their letter, was probably written shortly after Ignatius of Antioch was killed in Rome, some time in the early second century.

Suggested first translation(s):

An easy-to-read, modern English translation that is freely available is the one by Massey Hamilton Shepherd, Jr. from 1953 listed below. A more literal translation that is also in modern English and freely available is the anonymous one from 2013 listed below.

English translations:

• William Wake (translated ~1719)
  • The Genuine Epistles of the Apostolical Fathers… (published 1719) — facsimile
  • The Genuine Epistles of the Apostolical Fathers… (published 1810) — facsimile
• W.K. Clementson (translated ~1827)
  • The Epistles of Ignatius and Polycarp (published 1827) — facsimile
• Temple Chevallier (translated ~1833)
  • A translation of the epistles of Clement of Rome, Polycarp, and Ignatius : and of the apologies of Justin Martyr and Tertullian (published 1833) — facsimile
    • second edition (published 1851) — facsimile
• Anonymous (translated ~1835)
  • The Epistles of Ignatius and Polycarp, with an Account of Their Martyrdom (published 1835) — facsimile
• Alexander Roberts/James Donaldson (translated ~1867)
  • Ante-Nicene Fathers volume 1 (published 1885)
    • read online
• Charles H. Hoole (translated ~1872)
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1872) — facsimile
• George A. Jackson (translated ~1879)
  • The Apostolic Fathers and The Apologists of the Second Century (published 1879) — facsimile
• Joseph Barber Lightfoot (translated ~1885)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: Part II. Vol. I S. Ignatius. S. Polycarp. (published 1885/1889) — facsimile
  • The Apostolic Fathers: Part II. Vol. III S. Ignatius. S. Polycarp. (published 1885/1889) — facsimile
• Joseph Barber Lightfoot/J.R. Harmer (translated ~1891)
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1912) — facsimile
  • The Apostolic Fathers (published 1891) — text/HTML
• Bloomfield Jackson (translated ~1898)
  • St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (published 1898) — facsimile
• Kirsopp Lake (translated ~1912)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume I (published 1912) — facsimile
• Francis X. Glimm (translated ~1947)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume 1 of The Fathers of the Church: A New Translation, The Catholic University of America Press (published 1947) — facsimile
• James A. Kleist (translated ~1948)
  • The Didache, The Epistle of Barnabas, The Epistles and the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp, The Fragments of Papias, The Epistle to Diognetus, Volume 6 of Ancient Christian Writers (published 1948)
• Edgar J. Goodspeed (translated ~1950)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: An American Translation, Harper & Brothers. (published 1950)
• Massey Hamilton Shepherd, Jr. (translated ~1953)
  • Early Christian Fathers (published 1953)
    • read online
• William R. Schoedel (translated ~1967)
  • Polycarp, Martyrdom of Polycarp, Fragmants of Papias Volume 5 of The Apostolic Fathers: A New Translation and Commentary, Thomas Nelson & Sons (published 1967)
• Maxwell Staniforth/A. Louth (translated 1968/revised 1987)
  • Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers, Penguin (published 1987)
• Michael W. Holmes (translated 1989-2007)
  • The Apostolic Fathers in English, Baker Academic (various editions, published 1989-2006)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations of Their Writings, Baker Academic (various editions, published 1992-2007)
• Bart D. Ehrman (translated ~2003)
  • The Apostolic Fathers, Volume I, Harvard University Press (published 2003)
• Kenneth J. Howell (translated ~2009)
  • Ignatius of Antioch & Polycarp of Smyrna: A New Translation and Theological Commentary, CHResources (published 2009)
• Anonymous (translated ~2013, but updated since)
  • Letter of Polykarpos to the Philippians (published 2013) — text/PDF
• Paul Hartog (translated ~2013)
  • Polycarp’s Epistle to the Philippians and the Martyrdom of Polycarp, Oxford University Press (published 2013) — facsimile/preview
• Rick Brannan (translated ~2017)
  • The Apostolic Fathers: A New Translation, Lexham Press (published 2017)