The Didache

© Mark Tuson, 2021. This work is protected by the Berne Convention.

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I am making the text of this translation of the Didache freely available, but I retain and reserve my aforementioned copyright. The translation is also avaliable for purchase as a paperback, with an historical introduction, annotations, and cross-references with Scripture, at Amazon.

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The Lord’s teaching to the nations, through the Twelve Apostles.

The Two Ways

1 There are two ways: one of life, and one of death; there are many differences between them.

The way of life is this: first, you will love God your maker. Second, your neighbour as yourself: all you don’t want to happen to you, don’t do to others.

The point of this doctrine is this: bless those who curse you; pray for your enemies; fast for your pursuers. This is kindness: don’t even foreigners love those who love them? Love those who hate you, and you will have no enemies.

Abstain from fleshly and bodily lusts. If someone smacks your right cheek, turn the other to him, too, and be perfect. If someone drives you a mile, go with him two. If someone takes your cloak, give him your tunic. If someone takes from you what is yours, neither ask for it back nor use force.

Give to all who ask of you, and don’t ask for it back, because the Father desires to give to all from his own gifts. Blessed is he who gives according to the commandments; he is guiltless. Woe to the one receiving: if he receives in genuine need, he is guiltless – but the one who doesn’t need will receive judgment; it will torture him, and he won’t be freed from it until he has repaid the last penny. As they say: “let your alms sweat in your palms until you know to whom you give”.

2 The second command of the teaching is this:

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not have sex with children.

You shall not be slutty.

You shall not steal.

You shall not perform magic.

You shall not perform sorcery.

You shall not terminate an unborn child, nor will you kill a newborn.

You shall not be jealous of your neighbour’s possessions.

You shall not swear falsely.

You shall not lie.

You shall not speak evil.

You shall not bear a grudge.

You shall not be double-minded nor double-tongued; for the double-tongued person is a deathly trap.

Your words shall not be false nor empty, but fulfilled in your actions.

You shall not be greedy; nor a robber, nor a pretender, nor depraved, nor proud.

You shall not devise evil plots against your neighbour.

You shall not hate anyone, but pray for those you reproach – people you should love more than your own soul.

3 My child, flee from all evil and from everything like it. Don’t be quick-tempered; anger turns to murder. Neither be jealous nor struggle nor be angry: all murder comes from these things.

My child, don’t be lustful; lust leads to sluttiness. Don’t talk dirty either, or look lustfully at people: all such things give rise to adultery.

My child, don’t get into numerology; it leads to idolatry – numerology or exorcisms – nor wish to see or hear these things: all these things come to idolatry.

My child, don’t be a liar; it leads to theft – or a lover of money or vanity: theft comes from all these things.

My child, don’t be a grumbler; it leads to blasphemy – or self-serving or thinking evil: all these things give rise to blasphemy.

Be gentle instead, for the gentle will inherit the earth.

Be long-suffering, merciful, innocent, calm, and good. Fear the words you have heard.

You shall not exalt yourself, neither will you give your soul over to arrogance.

You shall not join your soul to the exalted, but instead conduct yourself with virtue and humility.

Accept the events that converge upon you as good, knowing that nothing happens aside from God’s will.

4 My child, honour the one speaking the word of God to you night and day as you would the Lord, because where the things of the Lord are spoken, there is the Lord.

Seek the faces of the saints each day, and accept their words.

Don’t create divisions between people, but appease those who are fighting: favour justice, and don’t listen to the excuses of the person being corrected on their faults.

Don’t be of two minds whether a thing will be or not.

Don’t be one of those stretching your hands out to receive but drawing your fist when the time comes for giving.

If you have anything, give with your hands, to put your sins right.

Don’t hesitate when giving, neither grumble when giving; there is one who pays a good wage for this.

Don’t turn away those in need. Share everything with your brother, and don’t say it is your own – if you are partners in the immortal, how much more in the mortal?

Don’t withdraw your hand from your son or from your daughter, but teach them the fear of God from their youth.

Don’t be unpleasant in your commands to your servant or maid who trusts God, in case they come to stop fearing the same God – he doesn’t come to the good, but to the ready of spirit.

And to you servants: subject yourselves to your masters as though he were a representative of God, in shame and fear.

Hate all pretence and all that isn’t pleasing to the Lord.

Don’t abandon the commands of the Lord, but guard what you have received. Neither add to them not take from them.

Be open in church regarding your sins, and do not say your prayers with evil on your conscience.

This is the way of life.

5 This, then, is the way of death: first of all, it is evil and accursed: to be full of thoughts of murder, adultery, lust, sluttiness, stealing, idolatry, magic, sorcery, robbery, lies, pretences, double-heartedness, guile, haughtiness, wickedness, depravity, greed, dirty talk, jealousy, arrogance, pride, insolence, and recklessness; persecuting those who are good, hating the truth and loving lies, not knowing the rewards of justice, not sticking to what is good nor to just judgment, not keeping their sight on what is good – but rather to evil – being far from gentleness and endurance, loving vanity and chasing revenge, not giving mercy to those in need nor working for the afflicted, not knowing him who made them, murderers of children and destroyers of what God has made, turning away those in need and afflicting the oppressed, advocates for the rich and lawless judges of the poor. In short, completely sinful. Children, deliver yourselves from all of these.

6 Make sure nobody leads you from the way of this doctrine, as it would deviate from what God teaches. But indeed, if you can bear the burden of the Lord, you will be perfect – but if you can’t, do what you can do. Concerning food, do what you can, but as regards idolatry, be very careful; they are the rituals of dead gods.

Baptism, Fasting, and Prayer

7 Concerning baptism, baptize in this way: having first instructed your catechumens in all these things, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, in flowing water. If, however, you don’t have access to flowing water, baptize in still water. If you can’t in cold, do it in warm. But if you have neither, pour water onto the head three times: in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Before the baptism, the one baptizing and the one being baptized should fast for one or two days, as should anyone else who is able.

8Don’t observe your fasts with hypocrites, who fast on the Monday and the Thursday. You should, instead, fast on the Wednesday and the Friday.

Don’t pray like the hypocrites either, but as the Lord ordered in his Gospel – pray like this:

Our Father in heaven; your name is sacred. Reign over us. Bring your will to earth, like it is in heaven. Give us our bread for being today, and release our debts, as also we release our debtors. Don’t put us on trial, but rescue us from evil. For yours are the power and the glory, into the ages.

Pray like this three times each day.

The Eucharist

9 Now, concerning the Eucharist, give your thanks like this.

First, over the cup:

We give thanks to you, our Father, over the holy vine of your servant David, which you made known to us through your servant Jesus. To you be the glory into the ages.

And over the broken bread:

We give thanks to you, our Father, for the life and knowledge made known to us through your servant Jesus. To you be the glory into the ages.

Just as broken bread scattered beyond the mountains and then gathered together became one, thus gather your Church from the ends of the earth into your kingdom, for yours is the glory and the power, through Jesus Christ, into the ages.

No one must either eat or drink of your Eucharist except those baptized in the name of the Lord: about which the Lord ordered, “do not give holy things to dogs”.

10 Once satisfied, give thanks like this:

We give thanks to you, holy Father, for your holy name that dwells in our hearts, and for the knowledge, faith, and immortality that you have made known to us through your servant Jesus. Yours is the glory, into the ages.

You, almighty Lord, creator of all for your own name, who gave us food and drink for our enjoyment so that we could give you thanks: grant to us spiritual food and drink and life into the ages, through your servant Jesus. We give thanks to you before all things, because you are powerful. Yours is the glory, into the ages.

Lord, remember your elect: rescue them from evil and perfect them in your love; gather your saints from the four winds into the kingdom you have prepared, for yours is the power and the glory, into the ages.

Come, grace; dispose of this world. Hosanna to the God of David. If someone is holy, let him come; if someone is not, let him repent. Maranatha. Amen.

Prophets, however, are to be permitted to give thanks as they see fit.

Concerning the myrrh, give thanks in this way:

We give thanks to you, our Holy Father, for this myrrh, made known to us through your servant Jesus. Yours is the glory, into the ages. Amen.

Treatment of Apostles and Prophets

11 Receive anyone who comes and teaches you all these things, but if the teacher is turned aside into other, destructive, doctrines, do not listen to him. Give your time, instead, to teachers of virtue and the knowledge of the Lord: receive them as you would the Lord.

Concerning apostles and prophets, do according to the rule of the Gospel: receive all apostles who come to you, though he shall not remain more than one day unless it is necessary, in which case allow him two. But if he remains three days, he is a false prophet, 6and when the apostle departs, he shall take nothing except bread until he finds a place. But if he asks for money, he is a false prophet.

Neither test nor judge any prophet who speaks in the Spirit. All sins will be forgiven – but this sin will not be forgiven.

However, not all speaking in the Spirit are prophets, except those who have the manners of the Lord; you shall recognize the false prophet from the prophet by his behaviour.

All prophets who call a feast in the Spirit will not eat of it, unless he is a false prophet.

All prophets will teach the truth. If he does not do what he teaches, he is a false prophet: all prophets approve of what is true, doing the mysteries of the world’s Church, but if he does not do what he teaches, you shall not judge what he does, for judgment is God’s; the ancient prophets did the same.

If he says in the Spirit, “give me money”, or something similar, do not listen to him – but if he says to give to others in need, nobody is to judge him.

12 Receive all who come to you in the name of the Lord, and then examine him discerningly, for you have understanding of right and left. Indeed, if the one coming is a traveller, help him as far as you can, but don’t let him live with you except for two or three days, if needed. If he wishes to live with you and he is a craftsman, let him work and eat, but if he doesn’t have a craft you are aware of, decide for yourself how he shall live as a Christian rather than idle. If, however, he will not do this, he is a Christmonger. Beware of people such as this.

13 All true prophets who will rest with you are worthy of their food. A true teacher is likewise worthy of his food, as is a workman.

Therefore, give all the first-fruits of the wine-press and threshing-floor and of the oxen and sheep to the prophets, for they are your priests. However, if you do not have a prophet, give it to the poor. If you make bread, take the first-fruit and give according to the commandments. Likewise, opening the jar of wine or olive oil, take the first-fruits and give them to the prophets.

Take the first-fruits of money, clothing, and every possession – as much as feels right to you – and give them according to the commandments.

Living as a Christian

14 According to the things of the Lord: gather, break bread, celebrate Eucharist, and confess your failures, so that your sacrifice is pure. But all having an unresolved conflict with a friend should not gather until reconciled, such that your sacrifice will not be desecrated.

For this is what the Lord said: “offer me a pure sacrifice at every place and time, because I am a great king (says the Lord), and my name is marvellous among the nations”.

15 So choose for yourselves bishops and deacons who are worthy of the Lord – men who are gentle and not lovers of money; true and proven to serve you, for they also serve the prophets and teachers. Don’t neglect them, for they are your honoured ones, along with the prophets and teachers.

Don’t correct one another in anger, but peacefully, as you have learned from the Gospel. Don’t speak to those who deviate the other way, neither should you listen to him, until he repents. Your prayers, alms, and all the acts you do, should be as you have learned from your Lord’s Gospel.

Watchfulness at the End

16 Watch for your life’s sake; do not extinguish your lamps nor remove your armour. Be ready: you do not know the time at which our Lord will return.

Gather often and seek what is good for your souls, for at the end of time it will be irrelevant how long you have had faith: when the last days are concluded, the false prophets and the perverse will be multiplied; sheep will turn into wolves, and love will turn into hate, for as lawlessness grows, they will hate and betray one another, and then the deceiver will appear in the guise of the Son of God, doing signs and spectacles, and the world will give itself over into his hands, doing things never before known throughout all the ages.

Then the creations of humanity will come into the fire of trial. Many will be caught and perish, but those who remain in their faith will be lifted up out of the curse, and then the signs of truth will appear to them: the first sign being the spreading out of heaven, and then the sign of the sound of the trumpet, and third, the raising of the dead – though not all; as it is said, “the Lord will come, and all his saints with him”.

Then the world will see the Lord, coming above the clouds of heaven.