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Chapter 59
Pray for peace and forgiveness
1 Ἐὰν δέ τινες ἀπειθήσωσιν τοῖς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ δι' ἡμῶν εἰρημένοις, γινωσκέτωσαν ὅτι παραπτώσει καὶ κινδύνῳ οὐ μικρῷ ἑαυτοὺς ἐνδήσουσιν. But if certain people should disobey the words spoken by Him through us, let them understand that they will involve themselves in no minor sin and danger,
2 ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀθῷοι ἐσόμεθα ἀπὸ ταύτης τῆς ἁμαρτίας καὶ αἰτησόμεθα ἐκτενῆ τὴν δέησιν καὶ ἱκεσίαν ποιούμενοι, ὅπως τὸν ἀριθμὸν τὸν κατηριθμημένον τῶν ἐκλεκτῶν αὐτοῦ ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ κόσμῳ διαφυλάξῃ ἄθραυστον ὁ δημιουργὸς τῶν ἁπάντων διὰ τοῦ ἠγαπημένου παιδὸς αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι' οὗ ἐκάλεσεν ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ σκότους εἰς φῶς, ἀπὸ ἀγνωσίας εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν δόξης ὀνόματος αὐτοῦ, but we will be innocent of this sin.
And we will pray with persistent prayer and supplication that the Creator of the universe may keep intact the exact number of the elect throughout the whole world, through His beloved servant Jesus Christ, through whom He called us from darkness to light, from ignorance to the full knowledge of the glory of His Name.
3 [δὸς ἡμῖν, κύριε,][1] ἐλπίζειν ἐπὶ τὸ ἀρχεγόνον πάσης κτίσεως ὄνομά σου, ἀνοίξας τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς τῆς καρδίας ἡμῶν εἰς τὸ γινώσκειν σε τὸν μόνον ὕψιστον ἐν ὑψίστοις, ἅγιον ἐν ἁγίοις ἀναπαυόμενον. τὸν ταπεινοῦντα ὕβριν ὑπερηφάνων, τὸν διαλύοντα λογισμοὺς ἐθνῶν, τὸν ποιοῦντα ταπεινοὺς εἰς ὕψος καὶ τοὺς ὑψηλοὺς ταπεινοῦντα, τὸν πλουτίζοντα καὶ πτωχίζοντα, τὸν ἀποκτείνοντα[2] καὶ ζῆν ποιοῦντα, μόνον εὑρέτην[3] πνευμάτων καὶ θεὸν πάσης σαρκός·
τὸν ἐπιβλέποντα ἐν τοῖς ἀβύσσοις, τὸν ἐπόπτην ἀνθρωπίνων ἔργων, τὸν τῶν κινδυνευόντων βοηθόν, τὸν τῶν ἀπηλπισμένων σωτῆρα, τὸν παντὸς πνεύματος κτίστην καὶ ἐπίσκοπον·
τὸν πληθύνοντα ἔθνη ἐπὶ γῆς καὶ ἐκ πάντων ἐκλεξάμενον τοὺς ἀγαπῶντάς σε διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ ἠγαπημένου παιδός σου, δι' οὗ ἡμᾶς ἐπαίδευσας, ἡγίασας, ἐτίμησας· 		[Grant us Lord,] to hope on Your name which is the primary source of all creation, and open the eyes of our hearts, that we may know You, who alone are the highest of the high, holy of the holy.
You humble the pride of the proud, You defeat the plans of the nations, You exalt the humble and huble the exalted, You make both rich and poor, You both kill and make alive.
You alone are the benefactor of spirits and the God of all flesh.
You look into the depths and see the works of man.
You are the helper of those who are in peril, the Savior of those who are in despair, the Creator and and Overseer of every spirit.
You multiply the nations upon earth, and from all of them, You have chosen those who love You through Jesus Christ, Your beloved servant, through whom You instructed us, sanctified us, honoured us.
[1] There appears to be a lacuna in the Greek: Lightfoot supplies: δὸς ἡμῖν, κύριε.
[2] Alt. text: adds καὶ σώζοντα
[3] Alt. text: εὐεργέτην
4 ἀξιοῦμέν σε, δέσποτα, βοηθὸν γενέσθαι καὶ ἀντιλήπτορα ἡμῶν. τοὺς ἐν θλίψει ἡμῶν σῶσον, τοὺς ταπεινοὺς ἐλέησον, τοὺς πεπτωκότας ἔγειρον, τοῖς δεομένοις ἐπιφάνηθι, τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς ἴασαι, τοὺς πλανωμένους τοῦ λαοῦ σου ἐπίστρεψον· χόρτασον τοὺς πεινῶντας, λύτρωσαι τοὺς δεσμίους ἡμῶν, ἐξανάστησον τοὺς ἀσθενοῦντας, παρακάλεσον τοὺς ὀλιγοψυχοῦντας· γνώτωσάν σε ἅπαντα τὰ ἔθνη, ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ θεὸς μόνος καὶ Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ὁ παῖς σου καὶ ἡμεῖς λαός σου καὶ πρόβατα τῆς νομῆς σου. We beseech You, Master, be our helper and protector.
Save those among us who are in trouble.
Have mercy on the humble.
Lift up the fallen.
Reveal Yourself to those in need.
Heal the sick.
Turn back the wanderers of Your people.
Feed the hungry.
Ransom our prisoners.
Raise up the weak.
Comfort the discouraged.
Let all the nations know that You are God alone, and Jesus Christ is Your servant, and we are Your people and the sheep of Your pasture.
Summary
In Chapter 59, Clement transitions into the magnificent Great Liturgical Prayer (Chs. 59–61) that forms the theological climax of the letter. He begins with a stern, authoritative assertion of Roman apostolic oversight: if anyone disobeys the admonitions spoken by God through the Roman church (τοῖς ὑπ̓ αὐτοῦ δἰ ἡμῶν εἰρημένοις), they entangle themselves in serious sin and danger, while Rome remains innocent (ἀθῷοι).

Clement then moves into a soaring, elevated prayer on behalf of the whole global church:

 The Creator and Sovereign: He petitions the Creator of all (ὁ δημιουργὸς τῶν ἁπάντων) to preserve intact (ἄθραυστον) the full count of His elect across the entire world through His beloved Servant (παῖς), Jesus Christ, who called believers out of darkness into light and knowledge.

 The Exalted Majesty of God: Invoking rich Old Testament liturgical language (echoing 1 Samuel 2:6–8, Job 5:11, Isaiah 13:11, Judith 9:11), Clement extols God as the One who humbles the pride of the arrogant, exalts the lowly, enriches and impoverishes, slays and makes alive, and searches the abysses as the Overseer (ἐπίσκοπος) of all human spirits.

 Petition for the Needy and Suffering: The chapter culminates in an intense, compassionate series of imperative supplications asking God to act as a helper and protector (ἀντιλήπτωρ): to save those in affliction, mercy the humble, raise the fallen, heal the sick, bring back the wandering, feed the hungry, ransom prisoners, and comfort the faint-hearted (ὀλιγοψυχοῦντες).

The prayer asserts the covenantal intimacy of the Church, confessing before all nations that God alone is God, Jesus Christ is His Servant, and believers are His people and the sheep of His pasture (Psalm 99:3 LXX / Psalm 100:3 MT).
Significant Greek Expressions
τοῖς ὑπ̓ αὐτοῦ δἰ ἡμῶν εἰρημένοις (The things spoken by Him through us): A high claim of divine inspiration and authority. The prepositional construction (hypo + genitive for ultimate agency [God], dia + genitive for instrumental agency [Rome]) frames Rome’s letter not as mere human advice, but as God’s own voice speaking through the Roman assembly.

παραπτώσει καὶ κινδύνῳ... ἐνδήσουσιν (They will bind / entangle themselves in transgression and danger): Future active indicative of endeō (to bind, tie in, entangle). Highlights that defying the divinely sanctioned ecclesial order brings self-inflicted spiritual peril.

ἄθραυστον (Intact / unbroken / unshattered): Adjective athraustos (from a- "not" + thrauō "to break or shatter"). Expresses the church’s ultimate eschatological security: God preserves the total count (arithmos) of His elect unbroken despite local schisms and human weakness.

τὸν ἠγαπημένον παῖδα αὐτοῦ (His beloved Servant / Child): Uses pais (servant, child, youth). A archaic Christological title prevalent in early liturgical texts (e.g., Didache, Acts 3:13, 4:27) echoing the "Suffering Servant" (ebed Yahweh) of Isaiah 42:1, 52:13.

τὸν ἀρχεγόνον... ὄνομά σου (Your primal / primordial name): Compound adjective archegonos (first-born, originating, primal; from archē + ginomai). Denotes God’s uncreated, eternal nature as the ultimate source of all creation.

τὸν... ἐπίσκοπον (The Overseer / Bishop [of every spirit]): Noun episkopos applied directly to God Himself (cf. 1 Peter 2:25). Reenforces the ecclesiological theme of the epistle: earthly episkopoi reflect and participate in the supreme, cosmic overseership (episkopē) of God.

ἀντιλήπτορα (Protector / helper / defender): Noun antilēptōr (a frequent LXX term in the Psalms for God as a shield or fortress; e.g., Psalm 3:3, 17:3). Represents God as the One who takes hold of the weak and supports them in times of peril.

τοὺς ὀλιγοψυχοῦντας (The faint-hearted / despondent): Present active participle of oligopsycheō (from oligos "little" + psychē "soul/spirit"; cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:14). Demonstrates the pastoral scope of the liturgy, which encompasses not only spiritual rebellion but also emotional and mental suffering within the flock.

πρόβατα τῆς νομῆς σου (The sheep of Your pasture): Citation of Psalm 94:7 LXX / Psalm 99:3 LXX. Reaffirms the foundational metaphor of the church as Christ’s flock (poimnion), highlighting God’s gentle, shepherd-like care for His submissive people.