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Chapter 17
1 Μετανοήσωμεν οὖν ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας, ἵνα μή τις ἡμῶν παραπόληται. εἰ γὰρ ἐντολὰς ἔχομεν ἵνα καὶ τοῦτο πράσσωμεν, ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων ἀποσπᾶν καὶ κατηχεῖν, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ψυχὴν ἤδη γινώσκουσαν τὸν θεὸν οὐ δεῖ ἀπόλλυσθαι; Let us therefore repent with our whole heart, lest any of us perish needlessly.
For if we have commands that we should make this our business to tear men away from idols and to instruct them, how much more wrong is it that a soul who knows God already should perish?
2 συλλάβωμεν οὖν ἑαυτοῖς καὶ τοὺς ἀσθενοῦντας ἀνάγειν περὶ τὸ ἀγαθόν, ὅπως σωθῶμεν ἅπαντες καὶ ἐπιστρέψωμεν ἀλλήλους καὶ νουθετήσωμεν. Therefore let us help one another, to restore the weak ones concerning good, that we may all be saved and we may restore and admonish one another.
3 καὶ μὴ μόνον ἄρτι δοκῶμεν πιστεύειν καὶ προσέχειν ἐν τῷ νουθετεῖσθαι ἡμᾶς ὑπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅταν εἰς οἶκον ἀπαλλαγῶμεν, μνημονεύωμεν τῶν τοῦ κυρίου ἐνταλμάτων καὶ μὴ ἀντιπαρελκώμεθα ἀπὸ τῶν κοσμικῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν, ἀλλὰ πυκνότερον προσερχόμενοι πειρώμεθα προκόπτειν ἐν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς τοῦ κυρίου, ἵνα πάντες τὸ αὐτὸ φρονοῦντες συνηγμένοι ὦμεν ἐπὶ τὴν ζωήν·
And let us not only think to believe and to be on guard now when we are being admonished by the elders; but also when we return home.
Let us remember the commandments of the Lord, and not be dragged off to the other direction by our worldly desires;
but let us come here more frequently, let us strive to advance in the commandments of the Lord, that all of us, being of one mind, may be gathered together into life.
4 εἶπεν γὰρ ὁ κύριος·
Ἔρχομαι συναγαγεῖν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, φυλὰς καὶ γλώσσας·
τοῦτο δὲ λέγει τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς ἐπιφανείας αὐτοῦ, ὅτε ἐλθὼν λυτρώσεται ἡμᾶς, ἕκαστον κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ. 		For the Lord said, “I am coming to gather together all the nations, tribes, and languages” {see Isa. 66:18}.
Now by this, He speaks of the day of his appearing; when coming, He will redeem us, each one according to his works.
5 καὶ ὄψονται τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ κράτος οἱ ἄπιστοι, καὶ ξενισθήσονται ἰδόντες τὸ βασίλειον τοῦ κόσμου ἐν τῷ Ἰησοῦ, λέγοντες·
Οὐαὶ ἡμῖν, ὅτι σὺ ἦς, καὶ οὐκ ᾔδειμεν καὶ οὐκ ἐπιστεύομεν καὶ οὐκ ἐπειθόμεθα τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις τοῖς ἀναγγέλλουσιν ἡμῖν περὶ τῆς σωτηρίας ἡμῶν. καὶ ὁ σκώληξ αὐτῶν οὐ τελευτήσει καὶ τὸ πῦρ αὐτῶν οὐ σβεσθήσεται, καὶ ἔσονται εἰς ὅρασιν πάσῃ σαρκί. 		And the unbelievers will see His glory and His might.
And they will be astonished when they see that the kingdom of the world is for Jesus, saying, “Woe to us, for You do exist, and we didn’t know it, and we didn’t believe it, and we didn’t obey the elders when they told us about our salvation” {see John 8:24, 28; 13:19}.
And their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be a spectacle for all flesh.
6 τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην λέγει τῆς κρίσεως, ὅταν ὄψονται τοὺς ἐν ἡμῖν ἀσεβήσαντας καὶ παραλογισαμένους τὰς ἐντολὰς Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. He speaks of that day of judgment, when people will see those among us who lived ungodly lives and perverted the commandments of Jesus Christ.
7 οἱ δὲ δίκαιοι εὐπραγήσαντες καὶ ὑπομείναντες τὰς βασάνους καὶ μισήσαντες τὰς ἡδυπαθείας τῆς ψυχῆς, ὅταν θεάσωνται θεάσωνται τοὺς ἀστοχήσαντας καὶ ἀρνησαμένους διὰ τῶν λόγων ἢ διὰ τῶν ἔργων τὸν Ἰησοῦν, ὅπως κολάζονται δειναῖς βασάνοις πυρὶ ἀσβέστῳ ἔσονται δόξαν διδόντες τῷ θεῷ αὐτῶν λέγοντες, ὅτι Ἔσται ἐλπὶς τῷ δεδουλευκότι θεῷ ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας. But the righteous, having done good and endured torments and hated pleasures of the soul, when they see those who have gone astray and denied Jesus by their words or by their deeds, are being punished with dreadful torments in unquenchable fire, will give glory to their God, saying, “There will be hope for the one who has served God with the whole heart.”
Summary
This passage offers a compelling pastoral plea for mutual accountability and spiritual vigilance within the Christian community.

The author argues that if Christians are called to evangelize idolaters, they have an even greater responsibility to restore struggling members within their own fellowship.

He explicitly warns against superficial piety—attending church services and listening to the elders without translating those teachings into daily home life.

Looking toward the final judgment (ἡμέρα τῆς ἐπιφανείας), the author contrasts the shock and horror of unrepentant sinners and unbelievers with the vindication of the righteous, who will glorify God for their salvation after enduring trials and rejecting worldly pleasures.
Significant Greek Expressions
ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων ἀποσπᾶν καὶ κατηχεῖν ("to drag away from idols and instruct"):Ἀποσπάω means to pull away or tear away, depicting conversion from pagan idolatry as an urgent rescue mission. Κατηχέω (the root of catechism) refers to systematic oral instruction in the Christian faith.

συλλάβωμεν... τοὺς ἀσθενοῦντας ἀνάγειν ("let us assist... to lead back those who are weak"):Συλλαμβάνω means to take hold of together, help, or assist. The Christian life is presented as a collective effort where stronger believers help restore (ἀνάγω) spiritually weak or faltering brothers and sisters (τοὺς ἀσθενοῦντας).

ὑπὸ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων ("by the elders"): Provides important historical insight into early church leadership and liturgical practice. The homily was read in the presence of the assembly after the elders (πρεσβύτεροι) delivered their exhortations and instructions (νουθετεῖσθαι).

μὴ ἀντιπαρελκώμεθα ("not be dragged away in the opposite direction"): A rare compound verb (ἀντιπαρέλκω) meaning to be pulled sideways or dragged off in an opposing direction. It vividly captures how worldly desires (κοσμικαὶ ἐπιθυμίαι) pull believers away from the truth once they step outside the church walls.

ξενισθήσονται ("they will be astonished / amazed"): From ξενίζω (to surprise, shock, or appear foreign/strange to someone). Describes the overwhelming shock of unbelievers when they witness Jesus exercising cosmic and worldly sovereignty (τὸ βασίλειον τοῦ κόσμου ἐν τῷ Ἰησοῦ) on Judgment Day.

παραλογισαμένους τὰς ἐντολάς ("those who perverted / set aside the commandments"): From παραλογίζομαι (to deceive by false reasoning, miscalculate, or bypass). Targets nominal Christians who rationalized away or distorted Christ’s ethical demands while claiming to be part of the community.

ἀστοχήσαντας ("those who went astray / missed the mark"): From ἀστοχέω (to miss the aim or deviate from the target). Used in pastoral contexts (cf. 1 Tim 1:6, 6:21) to describe those who drifted away from sound doctrine and righteous conduct.