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listen to what follows: to minister to widows, to visit orphans and the needy, to redeem the servants of God from necessities, to be hospitable (for in hospitality beneficence is sometimes found), to oppose no one, to be quiet, to be more needy than all men, to reverence the elders, to practice righteousness, to preserve brotherhood, to endure insolence, to be long-suffering, to bear no malice, to comfort those who are weary in soul, not to cast away those who have stumbled from the faith, but to convert them and make them cheerful, to admonish sinners, not to afflict debtors and the needy, and whatever things are like these. “Do these things,” he says, “seem to you to be good?” “For what, sir,” I say, “is better than these things?” “Walk, then,” he says, “in them and do not refrain from them, and you will live to God. Keep this commandment, therefore. If you do good and do not refrain from it, you will live to God, and all will live to God who do so. And again, if you do not do evil and refrain from it, you will live to God, and all will live to God, as many as shall keep these commandments and walk in them. Commandment 9 He says to me: Put away from yourself double-mindedness, and do not be at all double-minded in asking anything from God, saying in yourself, ‘How can I ask from the Lord and receive, having sinned so much against him?’ Do not reason about these things, but with your whole heart turn to the Lord, and ask of him without wavering, and you will know his great compassion, that he will not forsake you, but will fulfill the request of your soul. For God is not like men who bear malice, but he himself is without malice and has compassion on his creation. You, therefore, cleanse your heart from all the vanities of this age and from the words previously spoken to you, and ask of the Lord, and you will receive all things, and you will lack nothing of all your requests, if you ask of the Lord without wavering. But if you waver in your heart, you will receive none of your requests. For those who waver towards God, these are the double-minded, and they obtain none of their requests at all. But those who are perfect in the faith ask all things, trusting in the Lord, and receive, because they ask without wavering, being in no way double-minded. For every double-minded man, if he does not repent, will with difficulty be saved. Cleanse your heart, therefore, from double-mindedness, and put on faith, for it is strong, and believe in God that you will receive all the requests you ask. And if, having ever asked some request of the Lord, you receive it more slowly, do not be double-minded because you did not quickly receive the request of your soul; for it is certainly on account of some trial or some transgression, which you do not know, that you receive your request more slowly. You, therefore, do not cease asking the request of your soul, and you will receive it. But if you grow weary and are double-minded in your asking, blame yourself and not him who gives to you. See this double-mindedness; for it is evil and foolish, and it uproots many from the faith, even very faithful and strong ones. For this double-mindedness is a daughter of the devil, and works great evil against the servants of God. Despise, therefore, double-mindedness and gain mastery over it in every matter, putting on the faith that is strong and powerful. For faith promises all things, perfects all things, but double-mindedness, not trusting in itself, fails in all the works which it does. You see, then,” he says, “that faith is from above from the Lord, and has great power;

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λουθα ἄκουσον· χήραις ὑπηρετεῖν, ὀρφανοὺς καὶ ὑστερουμένους ἐπισκέπτεσθαι, ἐξ ἀναγκῶν λυτροῦσθαι τοὺς δούλους τοῦ θεοῦ, φιλόξενον εἶναι (ἐν γὰρ τῇ φιλοξενίᾳ εὑρίσκεται ἀγαθοποίησίς ποτε), μηδενὶ ἀντιτάσσεσθαι, ἡσύχιον εἶναι, ἐνδεέστερον γίνεσθαι πάντων ἀνθρώπων, πρεσβύτας σέβεσθαι, δι καιοσύνην ἀσκεῖν, ἀδελφότητα συντηρεῖν, ὕβριν ὑποφέρειν, μακρόθυμον εἶναι, μνησικακίαν μὴ ἔχειν, κάμνοντας τῇ ψυχῇ παρακαλεῖν, ἐσκανδαλισ μένους ἀπὸ τῆς πίστεως μὴ ἀποβάλλεσθαι, ἀλλ' ἐπιστρέφειν καὶ εὐθύμους ποιεῖν, ἁμαρτάνοντας νουθετεῖν, χρεώστας μὴ θλίβειν καὶ ἐνδεεῖς, καὶ εἴ τινα τούτοις ὅμοιά ἐστι. δοκεῖ σοι, φησί, ταῦτα ἀγαθὰ εἶναι; Τί γάρ, φημί, κύριε, τούτων ἀγαθώτερον; Πορεύου οὖν, φησίν, ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ μὴ ἐγκρατεύου ἀπ' αὐτῶν, καὶ ζήσῃ τῷ θεῷ. φύλασσε οὖν τὴν ἐντολὴν ταύτην· ἐὰν τὸ ἀγαθὸν ποιῇς καὶ μὴ ἐγκρατεύσῃ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, ζήσῃ τῷ θεῷ, καὶ πάντες ζήσονται τῷ θεῷ οἱ οὕτω ποιοῦντες. καὶ πάλιν ἐὰν τὸ πονηρὸν μὴ ποιῇς καὶ ἐγκρατεύσῃ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, ζήσῃ τῷ θεῷ, καὶ πάντες ζήσονται τῷ θεῷ, ὅσοι ἐὰν ταύτας τὰς ἐντολὰς φυλάξωσι καὶ πορευθῶσιν ἐν αὐταῖς. Ἐντολὴ θ Λέγει μοι· Ἀρον ἀπὸ σεαυτοῦ τὴν διψυχίαν καὶ μηδὲν ὅλως διψυχήσῃς αἰτήσασθαί τι παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, λέγων ἐν σεαυτῷ ὅτι πῶς δύναμαι αἰτήσασθαι παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ λαβεῖν, ἡμαρτηκὼς τοσαῦτα εἰς αὐτόν; μὴ δια λογίζου ταῦτα, ἀλλ' ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου ἐπίστρεψον ἐπὶ τὸν κύριον, καὶ αἰτοῦ παρ' αὐτοῦ ἀδιστάκτως, καὶ γνώσῃ τὴν πολυσπλαγχνίαν αὐτοῦ, ὅτι οὐ μή σε ἐγκαταλίπῃ, ἀλλὰ τὸ αἴτημα τῆς ψυχῆς σου πληροφορήσει. οὐκ ἔστι γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ὡς οἱ ἄνθρωποι μνησικακοῦντες, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ἀμνησίκακός ἐστιν καὶ σπλαγχνίζεται ἐπὶ τὴν ποίησιν αὐτοῦ. σὺ οὖν καθάρισόν σου τὴν καρδίαν ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ματαιωμάτων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου καὶ τῶν προ ειρημένων σοι ῥημάτων, καὶ αἰτοῦ παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ ἀπολήψῃ πάντα, καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν αἰτημάτων σου ἀνυστέρητος ἔσῃ, ἐὰν ἀδιστάκτως αἰτήσῃ παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου. ἐὰν δὲ διστάσῃς ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου, οὐδὲν οὐ μὴ λήψῃ τῶν αἰτημάτων σου. οἱ γὰρ διστάζοντες εἰς τὸν θεόν, οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ δίψυχοι, καὶ οὐδὲν ὅλως ἐπιτυγχάνουσι τῶν αἰτημάτων αὐτῶν. οἱ δὲ ὁλο τελεῖς ὄντες ἐν τῇ πίστει πάντα αἰτοῦνται πεποιθότες ἐπὶ τὸν κύριον, καὶ λαμβάνουσιν, ὅτι ἀδιστάκτως αἰτοῦνται, μηδὲν διψυχοῦντες. πᾶς γὰρ δίψυχος ἀνήρ, ἐὰν μὴ μετανοήσῃ, δυσκόλως σωθήσεται. καθάρισον οὖν τὴν καρδίαν σου ἀπὸ τῆς διψυχίας, ἔνδυσαι δὲ τὴν πίστιν, ὅτι ἰσχυρά ἐστι, καὶ πίστευε τῷ θεῷ ὅτι πάντα τὰ αἰτήματά σου ἃ αἰτεῖς λήψῃ. καὶ ἐὰν αἰτησάμενός ποτε παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου αἴτημά τι βραδύτερον λαμβάνῃς, μὴ διψυχήσῃς ὅτι ταχὺ οὐκ ἔλαβες τὸ αἴτημα τῆς ψυχῆς σου· πάντως γὰρ διὰ πειρασμόν τινα ἢ παρά πτωμά τι, ὃ σὺ ἀγνοεῖς, βραδύτερον λαμβάνεις τὸ αἴτημά σου. σὺ οὖν μὴ διαλίπῃς αἰτούμενος τὸ αἴτημα τῆς ψυχῆς σου, καὶ λήψῃ αὐτό. ἐὰν δὲ ἐκκα κήσῃς καὶ διψυχήσῃς αἰτούμενος, σεαυτὸν αἰτιῶ καὶ μὴ τὸν διδόντα σοι. βλέπε τὴν διψυχίαν ταύτην· πονηρὰ γάρ ἐστι καὶ ἀσύνετος, καὶ πολλοὺς ἐκριζοῖ ἀπὸ τῆς πίστεως, καί γε λίαν πιστοὺς καὶ ἰσχυρούς. καὶ γὰρ αὕτη ἡ διψυχία θυγάτηρ ἐστὶ τοῦ διαβόλου, καὶ λίαν πονηρεύεται εἰς τοὺς δούλους τοῦ θεοῦ. καταφρόνησον οὖν τῆς διψυχίας καὶ κατακυρίευσον αὐτῆς ἐν παντὶ πράγματι, ἐνδυσάμενος τὴν πίστιν τὴν ἰσχυρὰν καὶ δυνατήν. ἡ γὰρ πίστις πάντα ἐπαγγέλλεται, πάντα τελειοῖ, ἡ δὲ διψυχία μὴ καταπιστεύουσα ἑαυτῇ πάντων ἀποτυγχάνει τῶν ἔργων αὐτῆς ὧν πράσσει. βλέπεις οὖν, φησίν, ὅτι ἡ πίστις ἄνωθέν ἐστι παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ ἔχει δύναμιν μεγάλην·