top prev next
English translation and notes by John Barach
Chapter 19
Way of light
19:1 Ἡ οὖν ὁδὸς τοῦ φωτός ἐστιν αὕτη·
ἐάν τις θέλων ὁδὸν ὁδεύειν ἐπὶ τὸν ὡρισμένον τόπον, σπεύσῃ τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ.
ἔστιν οὖν ἡ δοθεῖσα ἡμῖν γνῶσις τοῦ περιπατεῖν ἐν αὐτῇ τοιαύτη.
 Now the Way of Light is this: if anyone desires to travel the way to the appointed place, let him make haste by his works.
The knowledge (gnōsis) given to us, then, for walking in it is such as this:
19:2 ἀγαπήσεις τὸν ποιήσαντά σε, φοβηθήσῃ τόν σὲ πλάσαντα, δοξάσεις τόν σὲ λυτρωσάμενον ἐκ θανάτου·
ἔσῃ ἁπλοῦς τῇ καρδίᾳ καὶ πλούσιος τῷ πνεύματι·
οὐ κολληθήσῃ μετὰ τῶν πορευομένων ἐν ὁδῷ θανάτου, μισήσεις πᾶν, ὃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀρεστὸν τῷ θεῷ, μισήσεις πᾶσαν ὑπόκρισιν·
οὐ μὴ ἐγκαταλίπῃς ἐντολὰς κυρίου.
 You shall love the One who made you; you shall fear the One who formed you; you shall glorify the One who redeemed you from death.
You shall be simple in heart and rich in spirit.
You shall not cleave to those who walk in the way of death; you shall hate everything that is not pleasing to God; you shall hate all hypocrisy.
You shall not abandon the commandments of the Lord.
19:3 οὐχ ὑψώσεις σεαυτόν, ἔσῃ δὲ ταπεινόφρων κατὰ πάντα·
οὐκ ἀρεῖς ἐπὶ σεαυτὸν δόξαν.
οὐ λήμψῃ βουλὴν πονηρὰν κατὰ τοῦ πλησίον σου, οὐ δώσεις τῇ ψυχῇ σου θράσος.
 You shall not exalt yourself, but you shall be humble-minded in all things.
You shall not take glory upon yourself.
You shall not take evil counsel against your neighbor; you shall not give audacity to your soul.
19:4 οὐ πορνεύσεις, οὐ μοιχεύσεις, οὐ παιδοφθορήσεις.
οὐ μή σου ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ἐξέλθῃ ἐν ἀκαθαρσίᾳ τινῶν.
οὐ λήμψῃ πρόσωπον ἐλέγξαι τινὰ ἐπὶ παραπτώματι.
ἔσῃ πραΰς, ἔσῃ ἡσύχιος, ἔσῃ τρέμων τοὺς λόγους οὓς ἤκουσας, οὐ μνησικακήσεις τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου.
 You shall not commit fornication; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not corrupt boys.
The word of God shall not go out from you in the uncleanness of any persons.
You shall not show partiality to reprove anyone for a transgression.
You shall be meek; you shall be quiet; you shall be trembling at the words which you heard.
You shall not bear malice against your brother.
19:5 οὐ μὴ διψυχήσῃς, πότερον ἔσται ἢ οὔ.
οὐ μὴ λάβῃς ἐπὶ ματαίῳ τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου.
ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὑπὲρ τὴν ψυχήν σου.
οὐ φονεύσεις τέκνον ἐν φθορᾷ, οὐδὲ πάλιν γεννηθὲν ἀποκτενεῖς.
οὐ μὴ ἄρῃς τὴν χεῖρά σου ἀπὸ τοῦ υἱοῦ σου ἢ ἀπὸ τῆς θυγατρός σου, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ νεότητος διδάξεις φόβον θεοῦ.
 You shall not be double-minded whether it shall be or not.
You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.
You shall love your neighbor beyond your own soul.
You shall not murder a child by abortion, nor again kill what has been born.
You shall not withhold your hand from your son or from your daughter, but from youth you shall teach them the fear of God.
19:6 οὐ μὴ γένῃ ἐπιθυμῶν τὰ τοῦ πλησίον σου, οὐ μὴ γένῃ πλεονέκτης.
οὐδὲ κολληθήσῃ ἐκ ψυχῆς σου μετὰ ὑψηλῶν, ἀλλὰ μετὰ ταπεινῶν καὶ δικαίων ἀναστραφήσῃ, τὰ συμβαίνοντά σοί ἐνεργήματα ὡς ἀγαθὰ προσδέξῃ, εἰδώς ὅτι ἄνευ θεοῦ οὐδὲν γίνεται.
 You shall not become covetous of the things of your neighbor; you shall not become greedy.
Nor shall you cleave from your soul to the lofty, but you shall walk with the humble and the righteous.
The workings that happen to you, you shall accept as good, knowing that without God nothing comes to pass.
19:7 οὐκ ἔσῃ διγνώμων οὐδὲ γλωσσώδης, ὑποταγήσῃ κυρίοις ὡς τύπῳ θεοῦ ἐν αἰσχύνῃ καὶ φόβῳ·
οὐ μὴ ἐπιτάξῃς δούλῳ σου ἢ παιδίσκῃ ἐν πικρίᾳ, τοῖς ἐπὶ τὸν αὐτὸν θεὸν ἐλπίζουσιν, μή ποτε οὐ μὴ φοβηθήσονται τὸν ἐπ' ἀμφοτέροις θεόν·
ὅτι οὐκ ἦλθεν κατὰ πρόσωπον καλέσαι, ἀλλ' ἐφ' οὓς τὸ πνεῦμα ἡτοίμασεν.
 You shall not be double-tongued nor talkative, for a double tongue is a snare of death.
You shall be subject to masters as a type of God in shame and fear.
You shall not command your slave or female servant in bitterness—those who hope upon the same God—lest at any time they should not fear the God who is over both; for He came not to call according to outward appearance, but upon those whom the Spirit prepared.
19:8 κοινωνήσεις ἐν πᾶσιν τῷ πλησίον σου καὶ οὐκ ἐρεῖς ἴδια εἶναι·
εἰ γὰρ ἐν τῷ ἀφθάρτῳ κοινωνοί ἐστε, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς φθαρτοῖς;
οὐκ ἔσῃ πρόγλωσσος·
παγὶς γὰρ τὸ στόμα θανάτου.
ὅσον δύνασαι, ὑπὲρ τῆς ψυχῆς σου ἁγνεύσεις.
 You shall share in all things with your neighbor and shall not say that things are your own; for if you are sharers in what is incorruptible, how much more in corruptible things?
You shall not be hasty-tongued, for the mouth is a snare of death.
As much as you are able, you shall be pure for the sake of your soul.
19:9 μὴ γίνου πρὸς μὲν τὸ λαβεῖν ἐκτείνων τὰς χεῖρας, πρὸς δὲ τὸ δοῦναι συσπῶν.
ἀγαπήσεις ὡς κόρην τοῦ ὀφθαλμοῦ σου πάντα τὸν λαλοῦντά σοί τὸν λόγον κυρίου.
 Do not be one who stretches out his hands to receive, but draws them in to give. You shall love as the apple of your eye everyone who speaks to you the word of the Lord.
19:10 μνησθήσῃ ἡμέραν κρίσεως νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας, καὶ ἐκζητήσεις καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν τὰ πρόσωπα τῶν ἁγίων, ἢ διὰ λόγου κοπιῶν καὶ πορευόμενος εἰς τὸ παρακαλέσαι καὶ μελετῶν εἰς τὸ σῶσαι ψυχὴν τῷ λόγῳ, ἢ διὰ τῶν χειρῶν σου ἐργάσῃ εἰς λύτρωσιν ἁμαρτιῶν σου.
 You shall remember the day of judgment night and day, and you shall seek out every day the presence of the saints—either laboring by word and going to exhort and meditating to save a soul by the word, or by your hands you shall work for a ransom for your sins.
19:11 οὐ διστάσεις δοῦναι οὐδὲ διδοὺς γογγύσεις·
γνώσῃ δέ, τίς ὁ τοῦ μισθοῦ καλὸς ἀνταποδότης.
φυλάξεις ἃ παρέλαβες, μήτε προστιθεὶς μήτε ἀφαιρῶν.
εἰς τέλος μισήσεις τὸ πονηρόν.
κρινεῖς δικαίως.
 You shall not hesitate to give, nor when giving shall you grumble; and you shall know who is the good paymaster of the reward.
You shall keep what you received, neither adding nor taking away.
To the end you shall hate evil.
You shall judge righteously.
19:12 οὐ ποιήσεις σχίσμα, εἰρηνεύσεις δὲ μαχομένους συναγαγών.
ἐξομολογήσῃ ἐπὶ ἁμαρτίαις σου.
οὐ προσήξεις ἐπὶ προσευχὴν ἐν συνειδήσει πονηρᾷ.
αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ὁδὸς τοῦ φωτός.
 You shall not make a schism, but you shall bring peacemakers together and reconcile those who fight.
You shall confess your sins.
You shall not approach prayer with an evil conscience.
This is the Way of Light.
Summary In Chapter 19 of the Epistle of Barnabas, the author presents the ethical precepts governing the Way of Light (Ἡ ὁδὸς τοῦ φωτός).
Drawing from early Christian moral instruction (closely related to the Didache and early Jewish-Christian catechism), this chapter outlines practical commandments for personal holiness, community life, and social ethics.

The path emphasizes:
 Theology & Devotion: Reverence for God as Creator/Redeemer, humility, and steadfast obedience.
 Sexual & Personal Morality: Direct prohibitions against fornication, adultery, pederasty, abortion, and infanticide.
 Social Ethics: Care for children, fair treatment of enslaved people, communal sharing of earthly resources, peacemaking, and generous almsgiving.
 Ecclesial Integrity: Rejection of hypocrisy, schism, double-mindedness, and malicious speech, alongside continuous confession of sin and pure prayer.
Significant Greek Expressions
οὐ φονεύσεις τέκνον ἐν φθορᾷ, οὐδὲ πάλιν γεννηθὲν ἀποκτενεῖς (You shall not murder a child by abortion, nor again kill what has been born): One of the earliest explicit post-NT Christian moral prohibitions against both abortion (ἐν φθορᾷ) and infanticide/exposure of newborns (γεννηθὲν ἀποκτενεῖς).

εἰ γὰρ ἐν τῷ ἀφθάρτῳ κοινωνοί ἐστε, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς φθαρτοῖς; (for if you are sharers in what is incorruptible, how much more in corruptible things?): Expresses radical Christian economic fellowship—reasoning that if believers share in eternal, spiritual realities (ἀφθάρτῳ), sharing physical goods (φθαρτοῖς) should follow naturally.

ὡς τύπῳ θεοῦ (as a type/representation of God): Directs servants/enslaved individuals to respect authority figures as earthly prefigurations or representations of divine order, framed within early house-table (Haustafel) duties.

ἐργάσῃ εἰς λύτρωσιν ἁμαρτιῶν σου (work for a ransom for your sins): Reflects an early Christian understanding of almsgiving and manual labor as acts of repentance and spiritual restitution (cf. Daniel 4:27; Tobit 4:10).

μὴ γίνου πρὸς μὲν τὸ λαβεῖν ἐκτείνων τὰς χεῖρας, πρὸς δὲ τὸ δοῦναι συσπῶν (Do not be one who stretches out his hands to receive, but draws them in to give): A classic early Christian proverb (also found in Didache 4:5) condemning stinginess and encouraging ready generosity.

παγὶς γὰρ τὸ στόμα θανάτου (for the mouth is a snare of death): Highlights the extreme ethical focus on speech discipline (γλωσσώδης, πρόγλωσσος), warning that careless or deceitful talk leads to spiritual ruin.
Epistle of Barnabas