2025-02-10
This translation of Polycarp’s Letter to the Philippians is a language update of Massey Hamilton Shepherd, Jr.’s translation, originally translated in 1953. The langauge update was done in 2025 and was intended to make Shepherd’s translation sound more natural to a modern audience without significantly changing the meaning of the translation. Both Shepherd’s translation and this update are in the public domain.
This translation was digitized and the language updated for the Early Christian Sources project. To find more information on this translation, a reproduction of the original translation and notes that accompanied it or more information on the early Christian writings, visit http://early.xpian.info.
Polycarp and the elders with him, to the assembly of God that temporarily resides at Philippi; may mercy and peace be multiplied to you from God Almighty and Jesus Christ, our Saviour.
1.1. I greatly rejoice with you in our Lord Jesus Christ, because you have welcomed the models of true Love. And, as opportunity was given to you, you helped on their way those men who are bound in chains worthy of the holy ones. These chains are really the crowns of those who are truly chosen by God and by our Lord. 2. And I also rejoice because the firm root of your faith, which was famous since the beginning, still remains and bears fruit for our Lord Jesus Christ. He endured even to face death for our sins. God raised him up, having thrown off the birth-pains of Hades. 3. Even though you have never seen him, you believe in him with inexpressible and exalted joy—joy that many have greatly desired to experience—knowing that you are saved by grace, not because of works, but by the will of God through Jesus Christ.
2.1. Therefore, prepare yourselves for hard work, and serve God in fear and in truth, leaving behind empty chatter and the wrong teaching of the crowd, believing in the one who raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and gave him glory and a throne at his right hand; He made all things subject to him, whether things in heaven or on earth. Every breathing thing serves him. He will come as judge of the living and the dead. God will require his blood from those who disobey him. 2. But the one who raised him from the dead will raise us also, if we do his will and follow his commandments, and love what he loved, keeping away from all wrongdoing, greed, love of money, slander, and false witness; not returning evil for evil or abuse for abuse, or blow for blow, or curse for curse; but instead remembering what the Lord said when he taught: 3. “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged; forgive, and you will be forgiven; be merciful, so that you may be shown mercy; the measure you give will be the measure you get”; and “blessed are the poor and those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, because the Kingdom of God is theirs.”
3.1. Brothers, I write these things about righteousness, not on my own initiative, but because you first provoked me to do so. 2. Certainly, neither I nor anyone like me can follow after the wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul. When he was present among you face to face with the generation of his time, he taught the word of truth to you accurately and firmly. And when he was absent, he wrote letters to you that will enable you to grow in the faith delivered to you, if you study them carefully— 3. This faith is a mother of us all, accompanied by hope, and led by love to God and Christ and our neighbor. Because if anyone is occupied in these things, he has fulfilled the commandment of righteousness; because he who possesses love is far from all sin. 4.1. But the love of money is the beginning of all evil. Therefore, knowing that we brought nothing into the world, and that we cannot take anything out, let’s arm ourselves with the weapons of righteousness, and let’s first of all teach ourselves to live by the commandment of the Lord.
2. Then you must teach your wives to walk in the faith delivered to them, and in love and purity—to cherish their own husbands in all truth, and to love all others equally in all self-control, and to educate their children in the fear of God. 3. And the widows should be sensible in their faith pledged to the Lord, continuously praying on behalf of everyone, keeping away from all slander, gossip, false witness, love of money—in fact, from evil of any kind—knowing that they are God’s altar, that everything is examined for imperfections, and nothing escapes him, not even thoughts or intentions, or any of the secrets of the heart. 5.1. So, knowing that God is not mocked, we should live in a way that is worthy of his commandment and glory.
2. In the same way the attendants should be blameless before his righteousness, as attendants of God and Christ and not of men; they must not be slanderers, or double-tongued, or lovers of money. They must be temperate in everything, compassionate, careful, living according to the truth of the Lord, who became a servant of everyone; If we are pleasing to him in the present age, we will also obtain the age to come, just as he promised to raise us from the dead. And if we prove to be citizens who are worthy of him, we will also reign with him—if we keep the faith, of course.
3. Similarly also the younger people must be blameless in all things, thinking especially about purity and keeping themselves in check from all evil. It is a good thing to cut ourselves off from the desires that are in the world, because every passion of the flesh wages war against the Spirit, and neither the sexually immoral nor the effeminate nor homosexuals will inherit the Kingdom of God, nor those who do perverse things. Therefore it is necessary to keep away from all these things, and be obedient to the elders and attendants as we would obey God and Christ. And the young women must live with a blameless and pure conscience.
6.1. Additionally, the elders must be compassionate, merciful to everyone, helping those who have gone astray to turn back. They should look after the sick, must not neglect widows or orphans or the poor; They must always think of what is honorable in the sight of God and of men, refraining from all anger, prejudice, and unfair judgment. They must keep far from any love of money, must not be quick to believe evil about anyone, and must not be harsh in judgment, knowing that we all owe the debt of sin. 2. So, if we pray to the Lord to forgive us, we ourselves should also forgive; because the eyes of the Lord and God can see us. Everyone will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and each of us will give an account of himself. 3. So let’s serve him with fear and with total reverence, as he himself has commanded, as did the sent ones who preached the good news to us and the prophets who predicted the coming of the Lord.
Let’s be zealous for what is good, avoiding stumbling blocks, false brothers, and those who take the name of the Lord but are hypocrites who mislead foolish people. 7.1. Because whoever does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is an antichrist; and whoever does not confess the testimony of the cross is of the devil; and whoever twists the sayings of the Lord for his own desires and says there is neither resurrection nor judgment—someone like that is the first-born of Satan. 2. Therefore, let’s forsake the uselessness of the crowd and their false teachings and turn back to the word delivered to us from the beginning, being watchful in prayer and enduring in fasting, diligently asking the God who sees everything to lead us not into temptation, even as the Lord said, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
8.1. So then, let’s continue to hold firmly to our Hope and to the Pledge of our righteousness, that is, Christ Jesus, who bore our sins in his own body on the tree, who did not commit sin, neither was deceit found on his lips; but for our sake he endured everything so that we might live in him. 2. Therefore let’s follow his example of patient endurance, and if we suffer for the sake of his name, let’s glorify him, because he set this example for us in his own Person, and this is what we have put our trust in.
9.1. Now I urge all of you to be obedient to the word of righteousness and to exercise all patient endurance, which you saw with your own eyes, not only in the blessed Ignatius, Zosimus, and Rufus, but also in other people among you, and in Paul himself and the other sent ones. 2. Be confident that none of these people ran in vain, but in faith and righteousness, and that they are now in the place they deserve with the Lord they suffered with, because they did not love this present world, but they loved the one who died on our behalf and who was raised by God for our sake.
10.1. Therefore, stand firm in these things and follow the example of the Lord, firm and unmovable in the faith, loving the brotherhood, cherishing one another, being fellow companions in the truth; preferring one another in the gentleness of the Lord and despising no one. 2. Whenever you are able to do something kind, do not delay, because giving charitably frees from death. All of you submit yourselves to one another, and keep your way of life blameless among the people of this world, so that you may be praised for your good works and so that the Lord will not be blasphemed because of you. 3. But woe to them through whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed. Therefore, all of you teach the sobriety in which you yourselves are living.
11.1. I am deeply sad about Valens, who was once an elder among you, because he’s completely forgotten the office that was given to him. Therefore, I warn you to keep away from the love of money and to be pure and truthful. 2. Abstain from every kind of evil. Because how will someone who cannot control themselves in these things teach someone else to be self controlled? If anyone does not stay away from the love of money he will be defiled by idolatry and will be judged as if he were one of the people of this world, who are ignorant of the judgment of the Lord. Or “do we not know that the holy ones will judge the world,” as Paul teaches? 3. However, I have not observed or heard of this happening among you, whom the blessed Paul labored with and whom he praised in the beginning of his letter. He boasted about you in all the churches, which were the only ones who knew God at that time; because we did not yet know him. 4. Therefore, I am very sad for that man and his wife. May the Lord give them true repentance. But you, too, must be sober in this matter; and do not consider such people to be enemies, but reclaim them as suffering and straying members, in order that you may save your whole body. Because in doing this you will build yourselves up.
12.1. I am confident that you are well trained in the sacred writings and that you’re not ignorant of anything—something that has not been given to me—only, these scriptures say, “be angry but do not sin” and “do not let the sun go down on your anger.” The one who remembers this is blessed. I believe this is the case with you. 2. May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the eternal High Priest himself, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, build you up in faith and truth and in all gentleness, without anger and in patient endurance, in long-suffering, forbearance, and purity; and give you a portion and share among his holy ones, and to us also along with you, and to all under heaven who are destined to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ and in his Father who raised him from the dead. 3. Pray for all the holy ones. Pray also for emperors and magistrates and rulers, and for those who persecute and hate you, and for the enemies of the cross, so that your fruit may be obvious to everyone, and so that you may be perfected in him.
13.1. Both you and Ignatius have written to me and said that if anyone is leaving for Syria he should take your letter along too. I will take care of this if I have a good opportunity—either I or someone I will send to represent you as well as me. 2. Just as you requested, we are sending you the letters of Ignatius, those he addressed to us, and any others we had by us. They are attached to this letter. You can get great benefit from them, because they are concerned with faith and patient endurance and all the edification related to the Lord. Let us have any reliable information that you know of Ignatius himself and those who are with him.
14.1. I am sending you this letter by Crescens. I recently recommended him to you and now recommend him again. He has been blameless among us, and I believe he will be among you. I also recommend his sister to you, when she arrives among you. Farewell in the Lord Jesus Christ in grace, both you and all who are yours. Amen.