top 2 Clement ch 2

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.