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Mandate 3
1 Πάλιν μοι λέγει· Ἀλήθειαν ἀγάπα, καὶ πᾶσα ἀλήθεια ἐκ τοῦ στόματός σου ἐκπορευέσθω, ἵνα τὸ πνεῦμα ὃ ὁ θεὸς κατῴκισεν ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ ταύτῃ, ἀληθὲς εὑρεθῇ παρὰ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις, καὶ οὕτως δοξασθήσεται ὁ κύριος ὁ ἐν σοί κατοικῶν, ὅτι ὁ κύριος ἀληθινὸς ἐν παντὶ ῥήματι καὶ οὐδὲν παρ' αὐτῷ ψεῦδος. "Again he says to me: 'Love truth, and let all truth proceed out of your mouth, so that the spirit which God caused to dwell in this flesh may be found true in the sight of all people; and thus the Lord who dwells in you will be glorified, because the Lord is true in every word, and with Him there is no falsehood.
2 οἱ οὖν ψευδόμενοι ἀθετοῦσι τὸν κύριον καὶ γίνονται ἀποστερηταὶ τοῦ κυρίου, μὴ παραδιδόντες αὐτῷ τὴν παρακαταθήκην, ἣν ἔλαβον.

ἔλαβον γὰρ παρ' αὐτοῦ πνεῦμα ἄψευστον.

τοῦτο ἐὰν ψευδὲς ἀποδώσωσιν, ἐμίαναν τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ κυρίου καὶ ἐγένοντο ἀποστερηταί. 		Those, therefore, who lie disregard [or defraud] the Lord and become robbers of the Lord, not returning to Him the deposit which they received.

For they received from Him a spirit free of falsehood.

If they hand this back as false, they have defiled the commandment of the Lord and become robbers.'
3 ταῦτα οὖν ἀκούσας ἐγὼ ἔκλαυσα λίαν.

ἰδὼν δέ με κλαίοντα λέγει· Τί κλαίεις;

Ὅτι, φημί, κύριε, οὐκ οἶδα, εἰ δύναμαι σωθῆναι.

Διατί; φησίν.

Οὐδέπω γάρ, φημί, κύριε, ἐν τῇ ἐμῇ ζωῇ ἀληθὲς ἐλάλησα ῥῆμα, ἀλλὰ πάντοτε πανούργως ἐλάλησα μετὰ πάντων καὶ τὸ ψεῦδός μου ἀληθὲς ἐπέδειξα παρὰ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις· καὶ οὐδέποτέ μοι οὐδεὶς ἀντεῖπεν, ἀλλ' ἐπιστεύθη τῷ λόγῳ μου.

πῶς οὖν, φημί, κύριε, δύναμαι ζῆσαι ταῦτα πράξας; 		Now when I heard these things, I wept bitterly.

And seeing me weeping, he says: 'Why are you weeping?'

'Because, Sir,' I say, 'I do not know if I can be saved.'

'Why?' says he.

'For never yet in my life, Sir,' I say, 'have I spoken a true word, but always I spoke craftily with everyone and exhibited my lie as truth in the sight of all people; and no one ever contradicted me, but my word was believed.

How, then, Sir,' I say, 'can I live, having done these things?'
4 Σὺ μέν, φησί, καλῶς καὶ ἀληθῶς φρονεῖς· ἔδει γάρ σὲ ὡς θεοῦ δοῦλον ἐν ἀληθείᾳ πορεύεσθαι, καὶ πονηρὰν συνείδησιν μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματος τῆς ἀληθείας μὴ κατοικεῖν μηδὲ λύπην ἐπάγειν τῷ πνεύματι τῷ σεμνῷ καὶ ἀληθεῖ.

Οὐδέποτε, φημί, κύριε, τοιαῦτα ῥήματα ἀκριβῶς ἤκουσα. 		'Your thinking,' says he, 'is right and true; for it was necessary for you as a servant of God to walk in truth, and not to let an evil conscience dwell with the Spirit of truth, nor to bring grief upon the holy and true Spirit.'

'Never, Sir,' I say, 'have I heard such words so accurately.'
5 Νῦν οὖν, φησίν, ἀκούεις· φύλασσε αὐτά, ἵνα καὶ τὰ πρότερον ἃ ἐλάλησας ψευδῆ ἐν ταῖς πραγματείαις σου, τούτων εὑρεθέντων ἀληθινῶν, κἀκεῖνα πιστὰ γένηται· δύναται γὰρ κἀκεῖνα πιστὰ γενέσθαι.

ἐὰν ταῦτα φυλάξῃς καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν πᾶσαν ἀλήθειαν λαλήσῃς, δυνήσῃ σεαυτῷ ζωὴν περιποιήσασθαι· καὶ ὃς ἄν ἀκούσῃ τὴν ἐντολὴν ταύτην καὶ ἀπέχηται τοῦ πονηροτάτου ψεύσματος ζήσεται τῷ θεῷ. 		'Now, therefore,' says he, 'you hear [them]. Keep them, so that even those former lies which you spoke in your business transactions, these present ones being found true, those also may become trustworthy; for even those can become trustworthy.

If you keep these things and speak all truth from now on, you will be able to procure life for yourself; and whoever hears this commandment and abstains from that most evil lie will live to God.'"
Summary
This section contains the Third Commandment (Mandatum 3), focusing on the absolute imperative of truthfulness (ἀλήθεια) and the profound spiritual gravity of deceit.

The Shepherd presents truth not merely as a social virtue, but as an indwelling pneumatological reality: God places an unlieing Spirit (πνεῦμα ἄψευστον) inside the believer as a sacred trust or deposit (παρακαταθήκη). Lying defiles this deposit and makes the liar a "robber of God" (ἀποστερητής).

Deeply shaken by this teaching, Hermas breaks into tears, confessing his past career as a deceitful businessman who routinely passed off lies as truth. The Shepherd offers a striking pastoral remedy: retroactive moral rehabilitation. By radically speaking the truth from this moment forward, Hermas can cleanse his past business dishonesty and secure eternal life (ζωὴν περιποιήσασθαι).
Key Themes & Pneumatological Ethics
 The In-dwelling Spirit as a Deposit: The Holy Spirit given at baptism is framed as a παρακαταθήκη (a sacred trust or deposit). Believers must return it to God in its original, pure condition.

 Lying as Sacrilege and Theft: Deceit is not treated as a minor fault, but as an act of defrauding God (ἀθετέω) and robbing Him of the truthfulness inherent to His Spirit.

 Hermas’s Autobiographical Confession: Offers a rare, transparent glimpse into Hermas’s past life as a merchant/trader (πραγματεῖαι) whose commercial interactions were defined by craftiness (πανούργως) and pretense.

 Retroactive Redemption of the Past: Genuine present repentance and truth-telling have the power to transform the ultimate moral impact of one's past dishonest actions (κἀκεῖνα πιστὰ γένηται).
Significant Greek Expressions
 τὸ πνεῦμα ὃ ὁ θεὸς κατῴκισεν ἐν τῇ σαρκὶ ταύτῃ: "The spirit which God caused to dwell in this flesh." Emphasizes the somatic and pneumatological unity of the Christian; the Spirit resides within concrete physical existence.

 παρακαταθήκη: "Deposit / sacred trust." A legal and commercial term (common in Greco-Roman law and used in 1 Tim 6:20; 2 Tim 1:12–14) referring to property entrusted to someone else's care, which must be returned unmarred.

 ἀποστερηταὶ τοῦ κυρίου: "Robbers / defrauders of the Lord." Strong polemical terminology designating liars as thieves who misappropriate God's property.

 λύπην ἐπάγειν τῷ πνεύματι: "To bring grief upon the Spirit." Echoes Ephesians 4:30 ("Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God"), highlighting that moral failure causes internal grief to the divine indwelling presence.

 ἐν ταῖς πραγματείαις σου: "In your business transactions / commercial affairs." Directly ties high spiritual theology to the mundane ethics of the Roman marketplace.

Hermas: The Shepherd
Book Two
Mandates or Commandments