Chapter 39
The foolishness of boasting
| 1 Ἄφρονες καὶ ἀσύνετοι καὶ μωροὶ καὶ ἀπαίδευτοι χλευάζουσιν ἡμᾶς καὶ μυκτηρίζουσιν, ἑαυτοὺς βουλόμενοι ἐπαίρεσθαι ταῖς διανοίαις αὐτῶν. | Senseless, stupid, foolish and ignorant men sneer and ridicule us, wishing that they be exalted in their own imaginations. |
| 2 τί γὰρ δύναται θνητός; ἢ τίς ἰσχὺς γηγενοῦς; |
What is a mortal person able to do? Or what strength does a child of earth have? |
| 3 γέγραπται γάρ· Οὐκ ἦν μορφὴ πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν μου, ἀλλ' ἢ αὔραν καὶ φωνὴν ἤκουον· | For it is written, "There was no form before my eyes, I heard only a breath and a voice. |
| 4 Τί γάρ; μὴ καθαρὸς ἔσται βροτὸς ἔναντι κυρίου; ἢ ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ ἄμεμπτος ἀνήρ, εἰ κατὰ παίδων αὐτοῦ οὐ πιστεύει, κατὰ δὲ ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ σκολιόν τι ἐπενόησεν; |
For what? Shall a mortal person be clean in the presence of the Lord? Or will a person be blameless for his deeds? Seeing that He distrust His servants and finds fault in His angels. |
| 5 οὐρανὸς δὲ οὐ καθαρὸς ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ· ἔα δέ, οἱ κατοικοῦντες οἰκίας πηλίνας, ἐξ ὧν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πηλοῦ ἐσμέν· ἔπαισεν αὐτοὺς σητὸς τρόπον καὶ ἀπὸ πρωΐθεν ἕως ἑσπέρας οὐκ ἔτι εἰσίν· παρὰ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι αὐτοὺς ἑαυτοῖς βοηθῆσαι ἀπώλοντο. |
But heaven isn’t clean in His sight, let alone those who live in houses of clay, even the same clay of which we are made. He struck them like a moth, and from morning to evening they exist no more. Because they couldn’t help themselves, they perished. |
| 6 ἐνεφύσησεν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἐτελεύτησαν παρὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν αὐτοὺς σοφίαν. | He breathed on them and they died because they had no wisdom. |
| 7 ἐπικάλεσαι δέ, εἴ τίς σοι ὑπακούσεται, ἢ εἴ τινα ἁγίων ἀγγέλων ὄψῃ· καὶ γὰρ ἄφρονα ἀναιρεῖ ὀργή, πεπλανημένον δὲ θανατοῖ ζῆλος. |
But call now. Perhaps someone will obey you, or you will see one of the holy angels. For wrath kills the foolish man and envy slays the one who has gone astray.y. |
| 8 ἐγὼ δὲ ἑώρακα ἄφρονας ῥίζας βάλλοντας, ἀλλ' εὐθέως ἐβρώθη αὐτῶν ἡ δίαιτα. | I saw fools putting down roots, but their house was suddenly destroyed. |
| 9 πόρρω γένοιντο οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτῶν ἀπὸ σωτηρίας· κολαβρισθείησαν ἐπὶ θύραις ἡσσόνων, καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ὁ ἐξαιρούμενος· ἃ γὰρ ἐκείνοις ἡτοίμασται, δίκαιοι ἔδονται, αὐτοὶ δὲ ἐκ κακῶν οὐκ ἐξαίρετοι ἔσονται. |
Their sons are far from safety. They are mocked in the gate of their inferiors, and there will be none to deliver them. The things they prepared will be eaten by the righteous, but they won’t be delivered from troubles. |
Summary
In Chapter 39, Clement severely rebukes the schismatic leaders in Corinth who arrogance-driven motives have disrupted the peace of the church. He labels these factional agitators as foolish, senseless, senseless, and uninstructed (ἄφρονες καὶ ἀσύνετοι καὶ μωροὶ καὶ ἀπαίδευτοι), condemning their mockery (χλευάζουσιν) and contempt (μυκτηρίζουσιν) toward the established presbyters and the wider community. Clement exposes the tragic irony of human self-exaltation (ἑαυτοὺς βουλόμενοι ἐπαίρεσθαι): mortals who are mere earth-born creatures (γηγενεῖς) have no grounds for boastful pride before the majesty of God.
To dismantle their arrogance, Clement cites at length a composite poetic discourse from Job 4:16–18, 15:15, 4:19–21, and 5:1–5 LXX (Eliphaz’s vision). The scriptural passage underscores:
Human Imperfection before God: Neither mortal man (βροτός), nor even the angels or the heavens themselves, can stand faultless before God’s supreme holiness.
Creaturely Frailty: Humans inhabit "houses of clay" (οἰκίας πηλίνας) formed from the same dust and mud, crushed as easily as a moth (σητός), fading away between morning and evening.
The Fate of the Arrogant Fool: Wrath slays the senseless (ἄφρων), and jealousy destroys the straying. Though the foolish may briefly strike deep roots (ῥίζας βάλλοντας), their households and dwellings (δίαιτα) are swiftly consumed, and their offspring are left far from safety without a deliverer.
By deploying this Wisdom/Joban polemic, Clement warns the Corinthian rebels that their self-exaltation will lead to sudden divine judgment and ruin.
Significant Greek Expressions
Ἅφρονες καὶ ἀσύνετοι καὶ μωροὶ καὶ ἀπαίδευτοι (Foolish, senseless, foolish, and uninstructed): A powerful fourfold sting of derogatory epithets (aphron, asynetos, mōros, apaideutos). Clement uses this string of adjectives to dismantle the agitators' pretensions to special spiritual wisdom (sophia) or insight (synesis).
χλευάζουσιν... καὶ μυκτηρίζουσιν (They mock and sneer at / turn up their noses at us):
Chleuazō: to mock, scoff, or deride (cf. Acts 17:32).
Myktērizō: literally to turn up the nose at (myktēr, nostril), expressing contemptuous derision (cf. Galatians 6:7). Describes the condescending, contemptuous attitude of the young rebels toward the established leadership.
τίς ἰσχὺς γηγενοῦς; (What is the strength of an earth-born creature?): Adjective gēgenēs means born of the earth / produced from soil (translating Hebrew adam / dust-born). Highlights human creaturely fragility and transience in contrast to God’s eternal power.
οἰκίας πηλίνας (Houses of clay): Metaphor for human mortal bodies and earthly existence (from pēlinos, made of clay/mud; cf. Job 4:19 LXX). Frames human life as an unstable, easily crumbled earthen vessel.
σητὸς τρόπον (In the manner of a moth): Uses sēs (moth / cloth-moth larva). Illustrates how effortlessly human confidence is destroyed—crushed as easily as a moth or moth-eaten fabric.
κολαβρισθείησαν (May they be mocked / insulted / beaten at the doors): An extremely rare Greek verb (kolabrizō, meaning to mock, buffet, mistreat, or treat with insolent disdain, translating Job 5:4 LXX). Denotes total public humiliation and deprivation of legal/social recourse for the arrogant.
αὐτοὶ δὲ ἐκ κακῶν οὐκ ἐξαίρετοι ἔσονται (And they themselves shall not be delivered from evils): Verbal adjective exairetos (deliverable, set free, exempt). The proud who sow division will find no escape or exemption when divine retribution falls upon their households.