NT Critic
Berean Standard Bible · NT & related texts
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  3. Hover a verse number in the passage to open a manuscript list and timeline.
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This book

A visionary work from Rome (2nd c.), circulated widely in the East and cited as Scripture by some early writers. Quoted as authoritative by many church fathers; the Muratorian Fragment treats it as useful but not public reading in every church. Often grouped with “almost canonical” literature.

The chapter view is for reading and quick manuscript discovery. Hover verse superscripts for a preview; open the verse page for full lists, timelines, and analysis tools.

Extrabiblical text

Extrabiblical writings are listed separately from the 27 NT books. Each includes a public-domain English translation plus a scholarly witness catalog — Greek papyri and codices, major versional witnesses, and inventory cross-links (LDAB, Trismegistos, P.Oxy).

Witnesses are drawn from standard scholarly catalogs (CPG, LDAB, Repertorium Kirchenväter-Papyri, and related inventories). Each entry is tagged Verified, Approx., or Tradition to show how confidently it is identified. Where fragment coverage is known, the list narrows by section — but this is still not a full critical apparatus, and scholarly totals often exceed our catalogued list.

Witness lists come from our extrabiblical catalog (Firestore + bundled JSON). Each entry is tagged Verified, Approx., or Tradition. Where fragment coverage is documented — especially for Hermas, Didache, and Thomas — the list narrows by section. Versional witnesses without unit data still appear at every address. Counts are catalogued witnesses, not the full scholarly total.

Sources

English text: Berean Standard Bible (helloao API). NT manuscript catalog and apparatus: Münster NTVMR. Extrabiblical catalog: scholarly inventories with bundled JSON + Firestore. Pre-indexed lists enable fast hover; apparatus XML is fetched live on ECM verse pages.

Extrabiblical · canon discussions

A visionary work from Rome (2nd c.), circulated widely in the East and cited as Scripture by some early writers.

Quoted as authoritative by many church fathers; the Muratorian Fragment treats it as useful but not public reading in every church. Often grouped with “almost canonical” literature.

English text: Joseph Barber Lightfoot (1891). Source: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Shepherd_of_Hermas. Reading text is a public-domain English translation for orientation — not a critical edition of the Greek or Coptic original.

Witnesses are drawn from standard scholarly catalogs (CPG, LDAB, Repertorium Kirchenväter-Papyri, and related inventories). Each entry is tagged Verified, Approx., or Tradition to show how confidently it is identified. Where fragment coverage is known, the list narrows by section — but this is still not a full critical apparatus, and scholarly totals often exceed our catalogued list.

Shepherd of Hermas 2Extrabiblical writings are listed separately from the 27 NT books. Each includes a public-domain English translation plus a scholarly witness catalog — Greek papyri and codices, major versional witnesses, and inventory cross-links (LDAB, Trismegistos, P.Oxy).

Open section
Full workspaceShepherd of Hermas 2:1

Hover a verse number in the passage to open a manuscript list and timeline. Open the workspace for GA lookup and the sample witness list — not every surviving manuscript.

§1Chapter I.As I was going to the country about the same time as on the previous year, in my walk I recalled to memory the vision of that year. And again the Spirit carried me away, and took me to the same place where I had been the year before. On coming to that place, I bowed my knees and began to pray to the Lord, and to glorify His name, because He had deemed me worthy, and had made known to me my former sins. On rising from prayer, I see opposite me that old woman, whom I had seen the year before, walking and reading some book. And she says to me, "Can you carry a report of these things to the elect of God?" I say to her, "Lady, so much I cannot retain in my memory, but give me the book and I shall transcribe it." "Take it," says she, "and you will give it back to me." Thereupon I took it, and going away into a certain part of the country, I transcribed the whole of it letter by letter; but the syllables of it I did not catch. No sooner, however, had I finished the writing of the book, than all of a sudden it was snatched from my hands; but who the person was that snatched it, I saw not.§2Chapter II.Fifteen days after, when I had fasted and prayed much to the Lord, the knowledge of the writing was revealed to me. Now the writing was to this effect: "Your seed, O Hermas, has sinned against God, and they have blasphemed against the Lord, and in their great wickedness they have betrayed their parents. And they passed as traitors of their parents, and by their treachery did they not reap profit. And even now they have added to their sins lusts and iniquitous pollutions, and thus their iniquities have, been filled up. But make known these words to all your children, and to your wife, who is to be your sister. For she does not restrain her tongue, with which she commits iniquity; but, on hearing these words, she will control herself, and will obtain mercy. For after you have made known to them these words which my Lord has commanded me to reveal to you, then shall they be forgiven all the sins which in former times they committed, and forgiveness will be granted to all the saints who have sinned even to the present day, if they repent with all their heart, and drive all doubts from their minds. For the Lord has sworn by His glory, in regard to His elect, that if any one of them sin after a certain day which has been fixed, he shall not be saved. For the repentance of the righteous has limits. Filled up are the days of repentance to all the saints; but to the heathen, repentance will be possible even to the last day. You will tell, therefore, those who preside over the Church, to direct their ways in righteousness, that they may receive in full the promises with great glory. Stand stedfast, therefore, ye who work righteous, ness, and doubt not, that your passage may be with the holy angels. Happy ye who endure the great tribulation that is coming on, and happy they who shall not deny their own life. For the Lord hath sworn by His Son, that those who denied their Lord have abandoned their life in despair, for even now these are to deny Him in the days that are coming. To those who denied in earlier times, God became gracious, on account of His exceeding tender mercy.§3Chapter III."But as for you, Hermas, remember not the wrongs done to you by your children, nor neglect your sister, that they may be cleansed from their former sins. For they will be instructed with righteous instruction, if you remember not the wrongs they have done you. For the remembrance of wrongs worketh death. And you, Henna, have endured great personal tribulations on account of the transgressions of your house, because you did not attend to them, but were careless and engaged in your wicked transactions. But you are saved, because you did not depart from the living God, and on account of your simplicity and great self-control. These have saved you, if you remain stedfast. And they will save all who act in the same manner, and walk in guilelessness and simplicity. Those who possess such virtues will wax strong against every form of wickedness, and will abide unto eternal life. Blessed are all they who practise righteousness, for they shall never be destroyed. Now you will tell Maximus: Lo! tribulation cometh on. If it seemeth good to thee, deny again. The Lord is near to them who return unto Him, as it is written in Eldad and Modat, who prophesied to the people in the wilderness."§4Chapter IV.Now a revelation was given to me, my brethren, while I slept, by a young man of comely appearance, who said to me, "Who do you think that old woman is from whom you received the book?" And I said, "The Sibyl." "You are in a mistake," says he; "it is not the Sibyl." "Who is it then?" say I. And he said, "It is the Church." And I said to him, "Why then is she an old woman? "Because," said he, "she was created first of all. On this account is she old. And for her sake was the world made." After that I saw a vision in my house, and that old woman came and asked me, if I had yet given the book to the presbyters. And I said that I had not. And then she said, "You have done well for I have some words to add. But when I finish all the words, all the elect will then become acquainted with them through you. You will write therefore two books, and you will send the one to Clemens and the other to Grapte. And Clemens will send his to foreign countries, for permission has been granted to him to do so. And Grapte will admonish the widows and the orphans. But you will read the words in this city, along with the presbyters who preside over the Church.