Sophia Scriptura

Dialogue with Trypho 18.2

Justin Martyr · Dialogue with Trypho · ca. 155–160 · Rome · Read in context

Summary: Circumcision and the Sabbath were imposed on Israel because of its hardness of heart.

Greek text · Archambault 1:82–84

Λούσασθε οὖν καὶ νῦν καθαροὶ γένεσθε καὶ ἀφέλεσθε τὰς πονηρίας ἀπὸ τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν, ὡς δὲ λούσασθαι ὑμῖν τοῦτο τὸ λουτρὸν κελεύει ὁ θεὸς καὶ περιτέμνεσθαι τὴν ἀληθινὴν περιτομήν. Ἡμεῖς γὰρ καὶ ταύτην ἂν τὴν περιτομὴν τὴν κατὰ σάρκα καὶ τὰ σάββατα καὶ τὰς ἑορτὰς πάσας ἁπλῶς ἐφυλάσσομεν, εἰ μὴ ἔγνωμεν διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν καὶ ὑμῖν προσετάγη, τουτέστι διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ὑμῶν καὶ τὴν σκληροκαρδίαν.

English · Claude translation

“Wash, then, and be clean now, and put away the wickedness from your souls, as God bids you wash with this washing and be circumcised with the true circumcision. For we too would keep this circumcision according to the flesh, and the Sabbaths, and in short all the feasts, if we did not know for what reason they were enjoined on you, namely because of your transgressions and hardness of heart.

About this passage

Source
Archambault 1:82–84 · Georges Archambault, ed., Justin: Dialogue avec Tryphon, 2 vols., Textes et documents pour l'étude historique du christianisme 8, 11 (Paris: Picard, 1909) · Greek text: G. Archambault, Justin: Dialogue avec Tryphon (Paris, 1909), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Archambault. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Archambault (1909); made independently of existing English translations.
Compare
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)
Scripture
Topics
Baptism

Notes

Translation notes

  • Justin's view that the ceremonial law was given because of Israel's sins is distinctive and much discussed.

Cite this passage

Justin, Dial. 18.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-dialogue/18/2/).

Plain text
Justin, Dial. 18.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/justin-dialogue/18/2/).

Download citation:BibTeX ·RIS (Zotero, EndNote)

Whole work:BibTeX ·RIS ·Markdown text

Report an error in this passage