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English translation and notes by John Barach
Chapter 16
Lessons about the temple
16:1 Ἔτι δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ ναοῦ ἐρῶ ὑμῖν, ὡς πλανώμενοι οἱ ταλαίπωροι εἰς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν ἤλπισαν, καὶ οὐκ ἐπὶ τὸν θεὸν αὐτῶν τὸν ποιήσαντα αὐτούς, ὡς ὄντα οἶκον θεοῦ.
 Furthermore, I will also speak to you concerning the temple, how those wretched men erred by putting their hope in the building, and not in their God who made them, as being the house of God.
16:2 σχεδὸν γὰρ ὡς τὰ ἔθνη ἀφιέρωσαν αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ ναῷ.
ἀλλὰ πῶς λέγει κύριος καταργῶν αὐτόν, μάθετε·
Τίς ἐμέτρησεν τὸν οὐρανὸν σπιθαμῇ ἢ τὴν γῆν δρακί;
οὐκ ἐγώ;
λέγει κύριος·
ὁ οὐρανός μοι θρόνος, ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου·
ποῖον οἶκον οἰκοδομήσετέ μοι, ἢ τίς τόπος τῆς καταπαύσεώς μου;
ἐγνώκατε, ὅτι ματαία ἡ ἐλπὶς αὐτῶν.
 For almost like the pagans they consecrated Him in the temple.
But learn how the Lord speaks when abolishing it: “Who measured the heaven with a span, or the earth with a palm? Was it not I? Says the Lord: The heaven is My throne, and the earth is the footstool of My feet; what kind of house will you build for Me, or what is the place of My rest?”
You have known that their hope was futile.
16:3 πέρας γέ τοι πάλιν λέγει·
ἰδού, οἱ καθελόντες τὸν ναὸν τοῦτον αὐτοὶ αὐτὸν οἰκοδομήσουσιν.
 Furthermore He says again: “Look, those who pulled down this temple, they themselves shall build it.”
16:4 γίνεται.
διὰ γὰρ τὸ πολεμεῖν αὐτοὺς καθῃρέθη ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν·
νῦν καὶ αὐτοὶ οἱ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ὑπηρέται ἀνοικοδομήσουσιν αὐτόν.
 It is happening; for because of their fighting it was pulled down by their enemies, and now the servants of the enemies themselves shall rebuild it.
16:5 πάλιν ὡς ἔμελλεν ἡ πόλις καὶ ὁ ναὸς καὶ ὁ λαὸς Ἰσραὴλ παραδίδοσθαι, ἐφανερώθη.
λέγει γὰρ ἡ γραφή·
Καὶ ἔσται ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν, καὶ παραδώσει κύριος τὰ πρόβατα τῆς νομῆς καὶ τὴν μάνδραν καὶ τὸν πύργον αὐτῶν εἰς καταφθοράν.
καὶ ἐγένετο καθ' ἃ ἐλάλησεν κύριος.
 Again, it was made clear how the city and the temple and the people of Israel were about to be handed over.
For the Scripture says:
“And it shall be in the last days that the Lord will hand over the sheep of the pasture and the sheepfold and their tower to destruction.”
And it came to pass according to what the Lord spoke.
16:6 Ζητήσωμεν δέ, εἰ ἔστιν ναὸς θεοῦ.
ἔστιν, ὅπου αὐτὸς λέγει ποιεῖν καὶ καταρτίζειν.
γέγραπται γάρ·
Καὶ ἔσται, τῆς ἑβδομάδος συντελουμένης οἰκοδομηθήσεται ναὸς θεοῦ ἐνδόξως ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι κυρίου.
 Let us inquire, then, if there is a temple of God. There is—where He Himself says He makes and prepares it! For it is written:
“And it shall be, when the week is being completed, a temple of God shall be built gloriously in the name of the Lord.”
16:7 εὑρίσκω οὖν, ὅτι ἔστιν ναός.
πῶς οὖν οἰκοδομηθήσεται ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι κυρίου, μάθετε.
πρὸ τοῦ ἡμᾶς πιστεῦσαι τῷ θεῷ ἦν ἡμῶν τὸ κατοικητήριον τῆς καρδίας φθαρτὸν καὶ ἀσθενές, ὡς ἀληθῶς οἰκοδομητὸς ναὸς διὰ χειρός, ὅτι ἦν πλήρης μὲν εἰδωλολατρείας καὶ ἦν οἶκος δαιμονίων διὰ τὸ ποιεῖν, ὅσα ἦν ἐναντία τῷ θεῷ.
 I find, therefore, that there is a temple.
Learn, then, how it shall be built in the name of the Lord.
Before we believed in God, the dwelling place of our heart was corruptible and weak, truly like a temple built by hands; for it was full of idolatry and was a house of demons because of doing whatever was contrary to God.
16:8 Οἰκοδομηθήσεται δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι κυρίου.
προσέχετε δέ, ἵνα ὁ ναὸς τοῦ κυρίου ἐνδόξως οἰκοδομηθῇ.
πῶς, μάθετε.
λαβόντες τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν καὶ ἐλπίσαντες ἐπὶ τὸ ὄνομα ἐγενόμεθα καινοί, πάλιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς κτιζόμενοι·
διὸ ἐν τῷ κατοικητηρίῳ ἡμῶν ἀληθῶς ὁ θεὸς κατοικεῖ ἐν ἡμῖν.
 But it shall be built in the name of the Lord.
Pay attention, so that the temple of the Lord may be built gloriously.
How? Learn! Having received the forgiveness of sins and having set our hope upon the Name, we became new, created again from the beginning.
Therefore God truly dwells in us, in our dwelling place.
16:9 πῶς;
ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ τῆς πίστεως, ἡ κλῆσις αὐτοῦ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας, ἡ σοφία τῶν δικαιωμάτων, αἱ ἐντολαὶ τῆς διδαχῆς, αὐτὸς ἐν ἡμῖν προφητεύων, αὐτὸς ἐν ἡμῖν κατοικῶν, τοὺς τῷ θανάτῳ δεδουλωμένους ἀνοίγων ἡμῖν τὴν θύραν τοῦ ναοῦ, ὅ ἐστιν στόμα, μετάνοιαν διδοὺς ἡμῖν, εἰσάγει εἰς τὸν ἄφθαρτον ναόν.
 How?
His word of faith, His calling of promise, the wisdom of ordinances, the commandments of teaching—He Himself prophesying in us, He Himself dwelling in us, opening to us who were enslaved to death the door of the temple, which is the mouth, giving us repentance, leads us into the incorruptible temple.
16:10 ὁ γὰρ ποθῶν σωθῆναι βλέπει οὐκ εἰς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλ' εἰς τὸν ἐν αὐτῷ κατοικοῦντα καὶ λαλοῦντα, ἐπ' αὐτῷ ἐκπλησσόμενος, ἐπὶ τῷ μηδέποτε μήτε τοῦ λέγοντος τὰ ῥήματα ἀκηκοέναι ἐκ τοῦ στόματος μήτε αὐτός ποτε ἐπιτεθυμηκέναι ἀκούειν.
τοῦτό ἐστιν πνευματικὸς ναὸς οἰκοδομούμενος τῷ κυρίῳ.
 For he who longs to be saved looks not at the man [speaking], but at Him who dwells and speaks in him, being amazed at him, because he had never either heard such words spoken from his mouth nor had he himself ever desired to hear them.
This is the spiritual temple being built for the Lord.
Summary
In Chapter 16 of the Epistle of Barnabas, the author addresses the topic of the Jewish Temple.

He criticizes the physical, brick-and-mortar Temple in Jerusalem, arguing that Israel erred like pagans by placing their trust in a physical structure rather than in God.

He cites Isaiah to prove that God cannot be contained in a building made by human hands.

Referencing the destruction of the Temple by Rome ("servants of the enemies"), he explains that the true, predicted "temple of God" (ναὸς θεοῦ) is not a physical edifice, but a spiritual temple (πνευματικὸς ναός) built within the hearts of believers.

Through the forgiveness of sins and spiritual rebirth, human hearts—once full of idolatry—are transformed into incorruptible dwelling places where God Himself abides and speaks.
Significant Greek Expressions
οἰκοδομητὸς ναὸς διὰ χειρός (a temple built by hands): Echoes New Testament and early Christian anti-temple rhetoric (cf. Acts 7:48, 17:24; Hebrews 9:11), contrasting humanly constructed sanctuaries (χειροποίητος) with the spiritual dwelling constructed by God.

οἶκος δαιμονίων (a house of demons): A harsh description of the unregenerate human heart prior to faith in Christ, framing idol worship and sinful living as demonic indwelling.

κτιζόμενοι πάλιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς (created again from the beginning): A rich theological phrase expressing the doctrine of regeneration/new creation (kainē ktisis), where Christian baptism and faith recreate the believer from the foundation up.

ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ τῆς πίστεως (His word of faith): Refers to the internal presence of God’s active word, promises, and commandments indwelling the believer’s spirit.

ἡ θύρα τοῦ ναοῦ, ὅ ἐστιν στόμα (the door of the temple, which is the mouth): A striking metaphor identifying the human mouth as the gateway of the heart’s temple, through which divine speech, prophecy, and praise flow outward.

πνευματικὸς ναὸς οἰκοδομούμενος τῷ κυρίῳ (a spiritual temple being built for the Lord): The ultimate theological conclusion of the chapter (parallel to 1 Peter 2:5 and 1 Corinthians 3:16–17), redefining the true sanctuary of God as the collective community of renewed believers inhabited by the Holy Spirit.
Epistle of Barnabas