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Chapter 2
1 Εὐφράνθητι, στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα, ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον, ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα, ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα. ὃ εἶπεν·
Εὐφράνθητι, στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα, ἡμᾶς εἶπεν·
στεῖρα γὰρ ἦν ἡ ἐκκλησία ἡμῶν πρὸ τοῦ δοθῆναι αὐτῇ τέκνα. 		“Rejoice, you barren woman who does not bear children, break out and shout, you who does not have labour pains, because the deserted woman has more children than the woman who has a husband” {Isa. 54:1}.
2 ὃ δὲ εἶπεν·
βόησον, ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα, τοῦτο λέγει·
τὰς προσευχὰς ἡμῶν ἁπλῶς ἀναφέρειν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, μὴ ὡς αἱ ὠδίνουσαι ἐγκακῶμεν, 		When He said, “Rejoice, you barren woman who does not bear children,” He spoke about us: for our Church was barren, before children were given to her.
3 ὃ δὲ εἶπεν·
Ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα·
ἐπεὶ ἔρημος ἐδόκει εἶναι ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ λαὸς ἡμῶν, νυνὶ δὲ πιστεύσαντες πλείονες ἐγενόμεθα τῶν δοκούντων ἔχειν θεόν. 		Again, in that He said, “The deserted woman has more children than the woman who has a husband,” He so spoke, because our people seemed abandoned by God, but now, having believed, we have become more than those who seemed to have God.
4 καὶ ἑτέρα δὲ γραφὴ λέγει, ὅτι οὐκ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλούς·
Again another scripture says, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” {Mark 2:17; Matt. 9:13}.
5 τοῦτο λέγει, ὅτι δεῖ τοὺς ἀπολλυμένους σῴζειν. He says this because it is right to save the perishing.
6 ἐκεῖνο γάρ ἐστιν μέγα καὶ θαυμαστὸν οὐ τὰ ἑστῶτα στηρίζειν, ἀλλὰ τὰ πίπτοντα. For this is a great and marvelous thing, not to establish those things which are standing, but those that are falling.
7 οὕτως καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἠθέλησεν σῶσαι τὰ ἀπολλύμενα, καὶ ἔσωσεν πολλούς, ἐλθὼν καὶ καλέσας ἡμᾶς ἤδη ἀπολλυμένους. So also Christ willed to save the things which were perishing And He saved many, coming and calling us when we were already perishing.
Summary
This section transitions into allegorical exegesis and scriptural backing for the gentiles’ redemption, drawing from Isaiah 54:1 and Matthew 9:13 / Mark 2:17.

The author interprets the prophet’s "barren woman" as the Gentile Church, which had no spiritual lineage until God called it into being. He contrasts the abundance of Gentile believers with the traditional claims of Israel ("those who seemed to have God"), framing Christ’s mission specifically as a work of restoring what was broken and lost rather than preserving what was already self-sufficient.
Significant Greek Expressions
στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα ("the barren woman who does not bear"): Quotative usage of Isaiah 54:1. The author directly allegorizes ἡ ἐκκλησία ἡμῶν ("our church") as the formerly infertile entity prior to receiving spiritual children through faith.

ἁπλῶς ἀναφέρειν ("to offer up in simplicity / sincerity"): The author interprets the phrase "cry aloud without laboring" as an instruction on prayer. The adverb ἁπλῶς emphasizes single-mindedness, sincerity, or unreserved directness in presenting prayers (ἀναφέρειν) to God, contrasting it with the straining or exhaustion (ἐγκακῶμεν) of labor pains.

μὴ... ἐγκακῶμεν ("not to lose heart / not to grow weary"): From ἐγκακέω (or ἐκκακέω), a key New Testament verb (cf. Gal 6:9, 2 Cor 4:1) meaning to succumb to fatigue or discouragement. In this context, prayer should be fluid and faithful, not burdensome or faint-hearted.

τῶν δοκούντων ἔχειν θεόν ("those who seemed to have God"): A sharp polemical formulation using the participle δοκούντων ("those who seem/are thought to"). It draws a line between outward, apparent religious status (historically referring to non-Christian Jewish communities) and true spiritual fruitfulness realized in the Gentile Christian assembly.

οὐ τὰ ἑστῶτα στηρίζειν, ἀλλὰ τὰ πίπτοντα ("not to support things that stand, but things that fall"): A memorable aphoristic contrast using στηρίζειν (to establish/strengthen). The brilliance of divine mercy is not showcased by propping up the stable (τὰ ἑστῶτα), but by rescuing and uplifting what is collapsing (τὰ πίπτοντα).

σῶσαι τὰ ἀπολλύμενα ("to save those/things that are perishing"): Echoes Luke 19:10 ("to seek and to save the lost"). The neuter plural participle τὰ ἀπολλύμενα emphasizes the collective state of humanity in ruin, underlining that salvation is fundamentally a restorative act directed toward the helpless.