Your opinion on The Vulgate epistle to the Laodiceans

[firstmode]

THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE LAODICEANS

1. He salutes the brethren. 3. exhorts them to persevere in good works, 4. and not to be moved by vain speaking. 6. Rejoices in his bonds, 10. desires them to live in the fear of the Lord.

1. Paul an Apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, to the brethren which are at Laodicea.
2. Grace be to you, and peace, from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
3. I thank Christ in every prayer of mine, that you may continue and persevere in good works, looking for that which is promised in the day of judgment.
4. Do not be troubled by the vain speeches of anyone who perverts the truth, that they may draw you aside from the truth of the Gospel which I have preached.
5. And now may God grant that my converts may attain to a perfect knowledge of the truth of the Gospel, be beneficent, and doing good works which accompany salvation.
6. And now my bonds, which I suffer in Christ, are manifest, in which I rejoice and am glad.

This epistle, along with those to the Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon were likely written during Paul's Roman captivity, about A.D. 61- 63.

7. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation forever, which shall be through your prayer and the supply of the Holy Spirit.
8. Whether I live or die, to me to live shall be a life to Christ, to die will be joy.

Compare with: "For to me to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain." (Philippians 1:21)

9. And our Lord will grant us his mercy, that you may have the same love, and be like-minded.
10. Wherefore, my beloved, as you have heard of the coming of the Lord, so think and act reverently, and it shall be to you life eternal;
11. For it is God who is working in you;

Compare with: "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

12. And do all things without sin.
13. And what is best, my beloved; rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ, and avoid all filthy lucre.

For "filthy lucre" or money, especially gained from sinful activities, see I Timothy 3:3, 8; Titus 1:7, 11; I Peter 5:2. I Timothy 6:10 is often misquoted as "money is the root of all evil," but it really says "the love of money is the root of all evil," meaning the root of all sorts of evil.

14. Let all your requests by made known to God, and be steady in the doctrine of Christ.
15. And whatever things are sound and true, and of good report, and chaste, and just, and lovely, these things do.

Compare with: "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)

16. Those things which you have heard and received, think on these things, and peace shall be with you.
17. All the saints salute you.
18. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
19. Cause this Epistle to be read to the Colossians, and the Epistle of the Colossians to be read among you.

Compare with: "And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the [epistle] from Laodicea." (Colossians 4:16)

 

[firstmode]

Origins

Paul, the earliest known Christian author, wrote several letters (or epistles) in Greek to various churches. Many survived and are included in the New Testament, but others are known to have been lost. The Epistle to the Colossians states “After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.”[1] The last words can be interpreted as “letter written to the Laodiceans”, but also “letter written from Laodicea.” The NASB translates this verse in the latter manner, and translations in other languages such as the Dutch Statenvertaling translate it likewise: “When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part read my letter {that is coming} from Laodicea.”[2] Those who read here “letter written to the Laodiceans” presume that, at the time that the Epistle to the Colossians was written, Paul also had written an epistle to the Laodicean Church.

[edit] Possible candidates

Some scholars have suggested that this refers to the canonical Epistle to the Ephesians, contending that it was a circular letter to be read to many churches in the Laodicean area.[3] Others dispute this view.[4]

[edit] The Marcionist epistle to the Laodiceans

The early Christian Marcion believed that Paul was the only apostle who truly understood Jesus’s message, and constructed a canon consisting of only one single Gospel (based on the Gospel of Luke) and some of the Pauline epistles. (These were also edited, in Marcion’s canon, to remove passages that he did not agree with.) According to the Muratorian fragment, Marcion’s canon contained a forgery entitled Epistle to the Laodiceans which was written to conform to his own point of view.[5] It is not known what this letter might have contained. Some scholars suggest it may have been the Vulgate epistle described below[6], while others believe it must have been more explicitly Marcionist in its outlook.[7]

[edit] The Vulgate epistle to the Laodiceans

A letter entitled Epistle to the Laodiceans, consisting of 20 short lines, is found in some editions of the Vulgate, known only in Latin. It is almost unanimously believed to be pseudepigraphical, being a pastiche of phrases taken from the genuine Pauline epistles.[8] It contains almost no doctrine, teachings, or narrative not found elsewhere, and its exclusion from the Biblical canon has little effect.

The text was almost unanimously considered pseudepigraphal when Biblical canon was decided upon, and does not appear in any Greek copies of the Bible at all, nor is it known in Syriac or other versions.[9] Jerome wrote in the 4th century, “it is rejected by everyone.”[10] However, it evidently gained a certain degree of respect. It appeared in over 100 surviving early Latin copies of the Bible. According to Biblia Sacra iuxta vulgatum versionem, there are Latin Vulgate manuscripts containing this epistle dating between the 6th and 12th century, including Latin manuscripts F (Codex Fuldensis), M, Q, B, D (Ardmachanus), C, and Lambda. The epistle also appeared in John Wycliffe’s Bible and in all the early German translations before Martin Luther’s, and was thus evidently considered scriptural by much of the western church for quite some time.[11]

The apocryphal epistle is generally considered a transparent attempt to supply this supposed lost sacred document. Some scholars suggest that it was created to offset the popularity of the Marcionite epistle.[7]

[edit] Jakob Lorber’s Epistle to the Laodiceans

In 1884, Austrian mystic Jakob Lorber (1800–1864) published an “Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Laodiceans” [12], which he claimed to have learned from an “inner voice” as with all his other writings. This epistle has no connection to the other texts mentioned above.

 

[tobinatorstark]

which edition of the Vulgate you referring to?? Certainly not the Clementine or the Nova Vulgata. Neither one of them include Laodiceans. Are you possibly referring an earlier edition of the Vulgate before the Clementine?? Or maybe the Latin bible entitled “Biblia Sacra Vulgata” by Stuttgart. If the Stuttgart edition is what you are referring to, that bible is Protestant and not approved by the Catholic Church any way, shape or form.

 

[firstmode]

which edition of the Vulgate you referring to?? Certainly not the Clementine or the Nova Vulgata. Neither one of them include Laodiceans. Are you possibly referring an earlier edition of the Vulgate before the Clementine?? Or maybe the Latin bible entitled “Biblia Sacra Vulgata” by Stuttgart. If the Stuttgart edition is what you are referring to, that bible is Protestant and not approved by the Catholic Church any way, shape or form.

[edit] The Vulgate epistle to the Laodiceans

A letter entitled Epistle to the Laodiceans, consisting of 20 short lines, is found in some editions of the Vulgate, known only in Latin. It is almost unanimously believed to be pseudepigraphical, being a pastiche of phrases taken from the genuine Pauline epistles.[8] It contains almost no doctrine, teachings, or narrative not found elsewhere, and its exclusion from the Biblical canon has little effect.

The text was almost unanimously considered pseudepigraphal when Biblical canon was decided upon, and does not appear in any Greek copies of the Bible at all, nor is it known in Syriac or other versions.[9] Jerome wrote in the 4th century, “it is rejected by everyone.”[10] However, it evidently gained a certain degree of respect. It appeared in over 100 surviving early Latin copies of the Bible. According to Biblia Sacra iuxta vulgatum versionem, there are Latin Vulgate manuscripts containing this epistle dating between the 6th and 12th century, including Latin manuscripts F (Codex Fuldensis), M, Q, B, D (Ardmachanus), C, and Lambda. The epistle also appeared in John Wycliffe’s Bible and in all the early German translations before Martin Luther’s, and was thus evidently considered scriptural by much of the western church for quite some time.[11]

The apocryphal epistle is generally considered a transparent attempt to supply this supposed lost sacred document. Some scholars suggest that it was created to offset the popularity of the Marcionite epistle.[7]

 

[COPLAND_3]

I don’t see anything bad within it, and it does seem to sound like Paul. But according to Jerome it was rejected by all, which I take that as solid testimony from tradition. Personally I like apocryphal writings but I am not so much a fan of pseudigrapha because of the deception factor.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE LAODICEANS

1. He salutes the brethren. 3. exhorts them to persevere in good works, 4. and not to be moved by vain speaking. 6. Rejoices in his bonds, 10. desires them to live in the fear of the Lord.
2. Paul an Apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, to the brethren which are at Laodicea.
3. Grace be to you, and peace, from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. I thank Christ in every prayer of mine, that you may continue and persevere in good works, looking for that which is promised in the day of judgment.
5. Do not be troubled by the vain speeches of anyone who perverts the truth, that they may draw you aside from the truth of the Gospel which I have preached.
6. And now may God grant that my converts may attain to a perfect knowledge of the truth of the Gospel, be beneficent, and doing good works which accompany salvation.
7. And now my bonds, which I suffer in Christ, are manifest, in which I rejoice and am glad.

This epistle, along with those to the Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon were likely written during Paul’s Roman captivity, about A.D. 61- 63.

1. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation forever, which shall be through your prayer and the supply of the Holy Spirit.
2. Whether I live or die, to me to live shall be a life to Christ, to die will be joy.

Compare with: “For to me to live [is] Christ, and to die [is] gain.” (Philippians 1:21)

1. And our Lord will grant us his mercy, that you may have the same love, and be like-minded.
2. Wherefore, my beloved, as you have heard of the coming of the Lord, so think and act reverently, and it shall be to you life eternal;
3. For it is God who is working in you;

Compare with: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

1. And do all things without sin.
2. And what is best, my beloved; rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ, and avoid all filthy lucre.

For “filthy lucre” or money, especially gained from sinful activities, see I Timothy 3:3, 8; Titus 1:7, 11; I Peter 5:2. I Timothy 6:10 is often misquoted as “money is the root of all evil,” but it really says “the love of money is the root of all evil,” meaning the root of all sorts of evil.

1. Let all your requests by made known to God, and be steady in the doctrine of Christ.
2. And whatever things are sound and true, and of good report, and chaste, and just, and lovely, these things do.

Compare with: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

1. Those things which you have heard and received, think on these things, and peace shall be with you.
2. All the saints salute you.
3. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
4. Cause this Epistle to be read to the Colossians, and the Epistle of the Colossians to be read among you.

Compare with: “And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the [epistle] from Laodicea.” (Colossians 4:16)

It’s of no value - it’s nothing but a rather feeble cento of Paulinisms without any message, chopped up & glued together in the manner of a poison-pen letter to look Pauline. Its only purpose is to fill up a gap in the corpus of Paul’s letters - it’s not by him, & is no more than a curiosity, like his alleged correspendence with Seneca, which is equally lifeless & feeble.​

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

which edition of the Vulgate you referring to?? Certainly not the Clementine or the Nova Vulgata. Neither one of them include Laodiceans. Are you possibly referring an earlier edition of the Vulgate before the Clementine?? Or maybe the Latin bible entitled “Biblia Sacra Vulgata” by Stuttgart. If the Stuttgart edition is what you are referring to, that bible is Protestant and not approved by the Catholic Church any way, shape or form.

See volume 2 of the Stuttgart printing of the Beuron Vulgate. It’s not Protestant - it has the required ecclesiastical bits & pieces such as the Imprimatur, even though it may conceivably be inter-confessional. The EpLaod is as apocryphal for Protestants as for Catholics - that particular edition is a manual edition with textual apparatus:it’s for scholarship, more than for piety in the usual sense. So its confessional origin is of very slight importance; what matters is that it should be of academic value. Or do Catholics imagine that all non-Papal academia is a howling waste inhabited only by lobotomised Yahoos incapable of stringing two words together ? ​

 

[firstmode]

It’s of no value - it’s nothing but a rather feeble cento of Paulinisms without any message, chopped up & glued together in the manner of a poison-pen letter to look Pauline. Its only purpose is to fill up a gap in the corpus of Paul’s letters - it’s not by him, & is no more than a curiosity, like his alleged correspendence with Seneca, which is equally lifeless & feeble.​

Thanks for reminding me about the correspondence of Paul and Seneca. I realize these are not valid, yet interesting to look at none the less.

The Correspondence of Paul and Seneca

From “The Apocryphal New Testament”
M.R. James-Translation and Notes
Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1924
Introduction

The Correspondence of Paul and Seneca existed in the fourth century, for Jerome mentions it, says it was ‘read by many’, and is led by it to insert Seneca in his catalogue of Christian authors; Augustine also, quoting the genuine Seneca, says, ‘of whom some letters to the apostle Paul are current read’. The Pseudo-Linus inserts a paragraph in his Passion of Paul telling how Seneca frequently conversed and corresponded with Paul, admired him much, and read some of his writings to Nero.

Manuscripts as old as the ninth century exist, and of the twelfth–fifteenth centuries there are many. The composition is of the poorest kind: only its celebrity induces me to translate it once again.

1. SENECA TO PAUL, greeting

I believe, Paul, that you have been informed of the talk which I had yesterday with my Lucilius about the apocrypha (or possibly the secret mysteries) and other things; for certain sharers in your teaching were with me. For we had retired to the gardens of Sallust, where, because of us, those whom I speak of, going in another direction, saw and joined us. Certainly we wished for your presence, and I would have you know it. We were much refreshed by the reading of your book, by which I mean some of the many letters which you have addressed to some city or capital of a province, and which inculcate the moral life with admirable precepts. These thoughts, I take it, are not uttered by you but through you, but surely sometimes both by you and through you: for such is the greatness of them and they are instinct (warm) with such nobility, that I think whole generations (ages) of men could hardly suffice for the instilling and perfecting of them. I desire your good health, brother.

1. PAUL TO SENECA, greeting

I received your letter yesterday with delight, and should have been able to answer it at once, had I had by me the youth I meant to send to you. For you know when, and by whom, and at what moment, and to whom things ought to be given and entrusted. I beg, therefore, that you will not think yourself neglected, when I am respecting the dignity of your person. Now in that you somewhere write that you are pleased with my letter (or, write that you are pleased with part of my letter) I think myself happy in the good opinion of such a man: for you would not say it, you, a critic, a sophist, the teacher of a great prince, and indeed of all -unless you spoke truth. I trust you may long be in health.

1. SENECA TO PAUL, greeting

I have arranged some writings in a volume, and given them their proper divisions: I am also resolved to read them to Caesar, if only fortune be kind, that he may bring a new (an interested) ear to the hearing. Perhaps you, too, will be there. If not, I will at another time fix you a day, that we may look over the work together: indeed, I could not produce this writing to him, without first conferring with you, if only that could be done without risk: that you may know that you are not being neglected. Farewell, dearest Paul.

1. PAUL TO ANNAEUS SENECA, greeting

Whenever I hear your letters read, I think of you as present, and imagine nothing else but that you are always with us. As soon, then, as you begin to come, we shall see each other at close quarters. I desire your good health.

1. SENECA TO PAUL, greeting

We are much pained by your retirement. What is it? what causes keep you away? if it be the anger of the lady (Poppaea) because you have left the old rite and sect, and have converted others, there will be a possibility of pleading with her, that she may consider it as done on due reflection and not lightly.

1. PAUL TO SENECA AND LUCILIUS, greeting

Of the subject on which you have written I must not speak with pen and ink, of which the former marks out and draws somewhat, and the latter shows it clearly, especially as I know that among you -that is, in your homes and in you- there are those who understand me. Honour is to be paid to all, and so much the more because men catch at opportunities of being offended. If we are patient with them, we shall certainly over-come them at every point, provided they be men who can be sorry for their actions. Farewell.

 

[firstmode]

1. ANNAEUS SENECA TO PAUL AND THEOPHILUS, greeting

I profess myself well content with the reading of your letters which you sent to the Galatians, Corinthians, and Achaeans; and may we so live together as you show yourself to be inspired with the divine frenzy (horror). For it is the holy spirit which is in you and high above you which expresses these exalted and adorable thoughts. I would therefore have you careful of other points, that the polish of the style may not be wanting to the majesty of the thought. And, brother, not to conceal anything from you, and have it on my conscience, I confess to you that the Augustus was moved by your views. When I read to him the beginning of the power (virtue) that is in you (perhaps he meant your exordium about virtue) his words were these: that he could wonder that a man not regularly educated could think thus. I replied that the gods often speak by the mouths of the simple (innocent), not of those who try deceitfully to show what they can do by their learning. And when I cited him the example of Vatienus the rustic, to whom two men appeared in the territory of Reate, who afterwards were recognized as Castor and Pollux, he appeared fully convinced. Farewell.

1. PAUL TO SENECA, greeting

Though I am aware that Caesar, even if he sometimes lapses, is a lover of our wonders, you will suffer yourself to be, not wounded but admonished. For I think that you took a very serious step in bringing to his notice a matter alien to his religion and training. For since he is a worshipper of the gods of the nations, I do not see why you thought you would wish him to know this matter, unless I am to think that you did it out of excessive attachment to me. I beg you not to do so in future; For you must be careful not to offend the empress in your love for me: yet her anger will not hurt us if it lasts, nor do good if it does not [this is nonsense]. As a queen, she will not be angry: as a woman, she will be offended. Farewell.

1. SENECA TO PAUL, greeting

I know that you are not so much disturbed on your own account by my letter to you on the showing of your letters to Caesar, as by the nature of things, which so calls away the minds of men from all right learning and conduct -so that I am not surprised, for I have learnt this for certain by many examples. Let us then act differently, and if in the past anything has been done carelessly, you will pardon it. I have sent you a book on elegance of expression (store of words). Farewell, dearest Paul.

1. TO SENECA, PAUL, greeting

Whenever I write to you and do not place my name after yours (see the heading) I do a serious thing and one unbefitting my persuasion (sect). For I ought, as I have often declared, to be all things to all men, and to observe in your person that which the Roman law has granted to the honour of the senate, and choose the last place in writing (text, reading) a letter, not striving to do as I please in a confused and disgraceful way. Farewell, most devoted of masters. Given on the 5th of the kalends of July; Nero the fourth time, and Messala, consuls (A. D. 58).

1. SENECA TO PAUL, greeting

Hail, my dearest Paul. If you, so great a man, so beloved in all ways, be -I say not joined- but intimately associated with me and my name, it will indeed be well with your Seneca. Since then, you are the summit and topmost peak of all people, would you not have me glad that I am so near you as to be counted a second self of yours ? Do not, then, think that you are unworthy to be named first on the heading of letters, lest you make me think you are testing me rather than playing with me -especially as you know yourself to be a Roman citizen. For the rank that is mine, I would it were yours, and yours I would were mine. Farewell, dearest Paul. Given on the 10th of the kalends of April; Apronianus and Capito consuls (59).

 

[firstmode]

1. SENECA TO PAUL, greeting

Hail, my dearest Paul. Think you that I am not in sadness and grief, that your innocent people are so often condemned to suffer? And next, that the whole people thinks you so callous and so prone to crime, that you are supposed to be the authors of every misfortune in the city? Yet let us bear it patiently and content ourselves with what fortune brings, until supreme happiness puts an end to our troubles. Former ages had to bear the Macedonian, Philip’s son, and, after Darius, Dionysius, and our own times endured Gaius Caesar: to all of whom their will was law. The source of the many fires which Rome suffers plain. But if humble men could speak out what the reason is, and if it were possible to speak without risk in this dark time, all would be plain to all. Christians and Jews are commonly executed as contrivers of the fire. Whoever the criminal is whose pleasure is that of a butcher, and who veils himself with a lie, he is reserved for his due season: and as the best of men is sacrificed, the one for the many, so he, vowed to death for all, will be burned with fire. A hundred and thirty-two houses and four blocks have been burnt in six days, the seventh brought a pause. I pray you may be well, brother. Given the 5th of the kalends of April; Frugi and Bassus consuls (64).

1. SENECA TO PAUL, greeting

Much in every part of your works is enclosed in allegory and enigma, and therefore the great force that is given you of matter and talent (?) should be beautified, I do not say with elegance of words, but with a certain care. Nor should you fear what I remember you have often said; that many who affect such things vitiate the thought and emasculate the strength of the matter. But I wish you would yield to me and humour the genius of Latin, and give beauty to your noble words, that the great gift that has been granted you may be worthily treated by you. Farewell.

Given on the day before the nones of June; Leo and Sabinus consuls (non-existent).

1. PAUL TO SENECA, greeting

To your meditations have been revealed those things which the Godhead has granted to few. With confidence, therefore, I sow in a field already fertile a most prolific seed, not such matter as is liable to corruption, but the abiding word, an emanation from God who grows and abides for ever. This your wisdom has attained and you will see that it is unfailing -so as to judge that the laws of heathens and Israelites are to be shunned. You may become a new author, by showing forth with the graces of rhetoric the unblameable wisdom of Jesus Christ, which you, having well nigh attained it, will instil into the temporal monarch, his servants, and his intimate friends, yet the persuading of them will be a rough and difficult task, for many of them will hardly incline to your admonitions. Yet the word of God, if it be instilled into them, will be a vital gain, producing a new man, incorrupt, and an everlasting soul that shall hasten from hence to God. Farewell, Seneca, most dear to me.

Given on the kalends of August; Leo and Sabinus consuls.