Stromata Editions · The Shepherd of Hermas
Similitude IV
Sim. 4.1–4.8
Complete audiobook →Greek source
Ἔδειξέ μοι πάλιν δένδρα πολλά, ἃ μὲν βλαστῶντα, ἃ δὲ ξηρά, καὶ λέγει μοι· Βλέπεις, φησί, τὰ δένδρα ταῦτα; Βλέπω, φημί, κύριε, ἃ μὲν βλαστῶντα, ἃ δὲ ξηρά.
Translation
Again he showed me many trees, some sprouting and some dry. He said to me, “Do you see these trees?” “I do, sir,” I said, “some sprouting and some dry.”
Greek source
Ταῦτα, φησί, τὰ δένδρα τὰ βλαστῶντα οἱ δίκαιοί εἰσιν οἱ μέλλοντες κατοικεῖν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸν ἐρχόμενον· ὁ γὰρ αἰὼν ὁ ἐρχόμενος θερεία ἐστὶν τοῖς δικαίοις, τοῖς δὲ ἁμαρτωλοῖς χειμών. ὅταν οὖν ἐπιλάμψῃ τὸ ἔλεος τοῦ κυρίου, τότε φανεροὶ ἔσονται οἱ δουλεύοντες τῷ θεῷ, καὶ πᾶσι φανεροποιηθήσονται.
Translation
“These sprouting trees,” he said, “are the righteous who will live in the coming age. The coming age is summer for the righteous, but winter for sinners. When the Lord's mercy shines out, those who serve God will become visible, and they will be made known to everyone.
Greek source
ὥσπερ γὰρ τῇ θερείᾳ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου δένδρου οἱ καρποὶ φανεροῦνται καὶ ἐπιγινώσκονται ποῖοί τινές εἰσιν, οὕτω καὶ τῶν δικαίων οἱ καρποὶ φανεροὶ ἔσονται καὶ γνωσθήσονται πάντες εὐθαλεῖς ὄντες ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι ἐκείνῳ.
Translation
“In summer the fruit of each tree becomes visible, and people recognize what sort it is. In the same way, the fruit of the righteous will become visible. All of them will be recognized as flourishing in that age.
Greek source
τὰ δὲ ἔθνη καὶ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοί, ἃ εἶδες τὰ δένδρα τὰ ξηρά, τοιοῦτοι εὑρεθήσονται ξηροὶ καὶ ἄκαρποι ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ αἰῶνι καὶ ὡς ξηρὰ ξύλα κατακαυθήσονται καὶ φανεροὶ ἔσονται, ὅτι ἡ πρᾶξις αὐτῶν πονηρὰ ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ ζωῇ αὐτῶν. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἁμαρτωλοὶ καήσονται ὅτι ἥμαρτον καὶ οὐ μετενόησαν· τὰ δὲ ἔθνη καήσονται ὅτι οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τὸν κτίσαντα αὐτούς.
Translation
“The nations and the sinners, the dry trees you saw, will be found dry and fruitless in that age. They will be burned up like dry wood. It will become clear that their conduct during their lives was wicked. The sinners will be burned because they sinned and did not repent; the nations will be burned because they did not know the one who created them.
Greek source
σὺ οὖν ἐν σεαυτῷ καρποφόρει, ἵνα ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ θερείᾳ γνωσθῇ σου ὁ καρπός· ἀπέχου δὲ ἀπὸ πολλῶν πράξεων καὶ οὐδὲν διαμάρτῃς. οἱ γὰρ τὰ πολλὰ πράσσοντες πολλὰ καὶ ἁμαρτάνουσιν, περισπώμενοι περὶ τὰς πραγματείας αὐτῶν μηδὲ δουλεύοντες τῷ κυρίῳ αὐτῶν.
Translation
“So bear fruit within yourself, so that your fruit may be recognized in that summer. Keep away from a multitude of undertakings, and you will commit no offence. Those who undertake many things also commit many sins, distracted by their dealings and failing to serve their Lord.
Greek source
Πῶς οὖν, φησίν, δύναται ὁ τοιοῦτος αἰτήσασθαί τι παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ λαβεῖν, μὴ δουλεύων τῷ κυρίῳ; οἱ δουλεύοντες αὐτῷ, ἐκεῖνοι λήμψονται τὰ αἰτήματα αὐτῶν, οἱ δὲ μὴ δουλεύοντες τῷ κυρίῳ οὐδὲν λήμψονται.
Translation
“How, then,” he said, “can such a person ask the Lord for something and receive it without serving the Lord? Those who serve him will receive what they ask for. Those who do not serve the Lord will receive nothing.
Greek source
ἐὰν δὲ μίαν τις πρᾶξιν ἐργάσηται, δύναται καὶ τῷ κυρίῳ δουλεῦσαι· οὐ γὰρ μὴ διαφθαρήσεται ἡ διάνοια αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τοῦ κυρίου, ἀλλὰ δουλεύσει αὐτῷ ἔχων καθαρὰν τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτοῦ.
Translation
“But if someone pursues a single undertaking, they can also serve the Lord. Their mind will certainly not be drawn away from the Lord and corrupted. They will serve him with a pure mind.
Greek source
ταῦτα οὖν ἐὰν ποιήσῃς, δυνήσῃ καρποφορῆσαι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸν ἐρχόμενον· καὶ ὃς ἐὰν ταῦτα ποιήσῃ, καρποφορήσει.
Translation
“If you do these things, you will be able to bear fruit for the coming age. Everyone who does these things will bear fruit.”
Reader’s notes
1. 3.1–3; 4.1–4
“Dry” does not automatically become “dead” at every occurrence: winter initially makes living and dry trees indistinguishable. The coming age is summer for the righteous and winter for sinners. The tree imagery and the distinct reasons given for the burning of sinners and the nations remain as stated.
2. 4.5–7
“Undertakings” and “dealings” render the practical activities that distract a person from serving the Lord. The passage does not specify that every occurrence means commerce. The contrast between many undertakings and a single undertaking is retained, as are the categorical statements about petitions and receiving.
About this edition
English translation v02. Greek source v01: Molly Whittaker, second revised edition, 1967; Patristic Text Archive (2018), Annette von Stockhausen — conversion to CTS-compliant PTA TEI and markup of places and persons. Technical derivative: Stromata Editions, 2026-09-29. Fixed version ef861ab3.
Dotted underlining marks editorial supplied spans in the selected source and the corresponding translation, including partial spans. The sign alone does not establish the intervention’s nature or necessarily indicate a conjecture. Original square brackets are preserved.
Latin ending: the ancient Vulgata edited by Adolphus Hilgenfeld, Hermae Pastor (Leipzig, 1873), pp. 155–164; project source HER-ENDING-SOURCE-v01. Hilgenfeld took the insertion in Sim. 10.2.4 from the Palatina and added habet himself. The Greek digital source’s license does not automatically cover the Latin edition or the translations.
The translation is a reviewed working version following an AI editorial pass; human philological review is not claimed.
The reproduced Greek source and its technical derivative: CC BY-SA 4.0. Whitespace adapted for reading; words and diacritics preserved. Attribution does not imply endorsement of Stromata by PTA contributors.
Vulgata · Hilgenfeld 1873 · StromataPTA · ef861ab3CC BY-SA 4.0
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