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2 Clement

About this book
Chapter 11

1 Let us therefore serve God with a pure heart, and we shall be righteous; but if we do not serve Him, because we do not believe the promise of God, we shall be miserable. 2 For the word of prophecy also says: “Miserable are the double-minded, who doubt in their hearts and say, ‘We heard these things long ago in our fathers’ time, yet day after day we have waited and seen none of them.’”⁠ 3 You fools! Compare yourselves to a tree; take a vine. First it sheds its leaves, then a shoot appears, after this a sour berry, then a fully ripe grape. 4 So likewise My people had turmoil and afflictions, but afterward they shall receive good things. 5 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, let us not be double-minded but patiently endure in hope, so that we may also obtain our reward. 6 For He who promised is faithful⁠ to pay each person the due reward of their works. 7 If therefore we have done what is right in the sight of God, we shall enter His kingdom and shall receive the promises that no ear has heard nor eye seen, nor has it entered into any person’s heart.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Hebrews 10:23 and 2 Clement 11:6

New Testament · Early Christian

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Summary

In Hebrews 10, the author urges hope because God keeps his promises. In 2 Clement, the preacher uses the same Greek language to encourage patience, though this common claim does not establish that he draws directly from Hebrews.

Passages

Hebrews 10:23

New Testament
19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the fresh and living way that he inaugurated for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. 23 And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy. 24 And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, 25 not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near.
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Hebrews

2 Clement 11:6

Early Christian
3 You fools! Compare yourselves to a tree; take a vine. First it sheds its leaves, then a shoot appears, after this a sour berry, then a fully ripe grape. 4 So likewise My people had turmoil and afflictions, but afterward they shall receive good things. 5 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, let us not be double-minded but patiently endure in hope, so that we may also obtain our reward. 6 For He who promised is faithful to pay each person the due reward of their works. 7 If therefore we have done what is right in the sight of God, we shall enter His kingdom and shall receive the promises that no ear has heard nor eye seen, nor has it entered into any person’s heart.
130–160 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Clement

References

“... The committee claims that the ‘context of the two passages is similar, referring to the need of hope in the presence of grounds for doubt’. This is correct, although the doubt addressed explicitly at 2 Clem. 11. 1–5 is addressed more implicitly in Hebrews. [...] Yet even the similarity of context between these passages and the verbal identity that they display are not compelling evidence for literary dependence. The claim that God is faithful is a general one that might be made in a wide range of contexts and for a wide range of reasons (cf. 1 Clem. 1. 27), so it seems better to consider this parallel only as a possible rather than as a probable instance of direct dependence on Hebrews. ...”
Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett, eds., The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 290.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Hebrews 10:23 and 2 Clement 11:6

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