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Mandate 9
1 Λέγει μοι· Ἆρον 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; "He says to me: 'Remove double-mindedness from yourself and do not double-mind [hesitate] at all to ask anything from God, saying in yourself: How can I ask from the Lord and receive, having sinned so much against Him?
2 μὴ διαλογίζου ταῦτα, ἀλλ' ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου ἐπίστρεψον ἐπὶ τὸν κύριον καὶ αἰτοῦ παρ' αὐτοῦ ἀδιστάκτως, καὶ γνώσῃ τὴν πολλὴν εὐσπλαγχνίαν αὐτοῦ, ὅτι οὐ μή σὲ ἐγκαταλίπῃ, ἀλλὰ τὸ αἴτημα τῆς ψυχῆς σου πληροφορήσει. Do not reason in this way, but turn back to the Lord with all your heart and ask of Him unhesitatingly, and you will know His great compassion, that He will by no means abandon you, but will fulfill the request of your soul.
3 οὐκ ἔστι γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ὡς οἱ ἄνθρωποι μνησικακοῦντες, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ἀμνησίκακός ἐστι καὶ σπλαγχνίζεται ἐπὶ τὴν ποίησιν αὐτοῦ. For God is not like human beings who harbor grudges, but He Himself harbors no grudge and has compassion upon His creation.
4 σὺ οὖν καθάρισόν σου τὴν καρδίαν ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ματαιωμάτων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου καὶ τῶν προειρημένων σοί ῥημάτων καὶ αἰτοῦ παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ ἀπολήψῃ πάντα καὶ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν αἰτημάτων σου ἀνυστέρητος ἔσῃ, ἐὰν ἀδιστάκτως αἰτήσῃς παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου. Purify your heart, therefore, from all the vanities of this age and from the words previously spoken to you, and ask from the Lord, and you will receive all things, and will be deprived of none of your requests, if you ask from the Lord undoubtingly.
5 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. 		But if you hesitate in your heart, you will by no means receive any of your requests.

For those who hesitate toward God, these are the double-minded, and they do not obtain any of their requests at all.
6 οἱ δὲ ὁλοτελεῖς 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. 		But those who are complete in faith ask all things, trusting upon the Lord, and they receive, because they ask unhesitatingly, in no way double-minded.

For every double-minded man, unless he repents, will live with difficulty [will hardly be saved].
7 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 παράπτωμά τι, ὃ σὺ ἀγνοεῖς, βραδύτερον λαμβάνεις τὸ αἴτημά σου. Purify your heart, therefore, from double-mindedness, and put on faith, because it is strong, and believe God, that you will receive all the requests which you ask; and if ever having asked a request from the Lord you receive it somewhat slowly, do not be double-minded because you did not receive the request of your soul quickly; for surely on account of some temptation or some transgression of which you are ignorant, you receive your request more slowly.
8 σὺ οὖν μὴ διαλίπῃς αἰτούμενος τὸ αἴτημα τῆς ψυχῆς σου, καὶ λήψῃ αὐτό.

ἐὰν δὲ ἐκκακήσῃς καὶ διψυχήσῃς αἰτούμενος, σεαυτὸν αἰτιῶ καὶ μὴ τὸν διδόντα σοι. 		Do not cease, therefore, asking the request of your soul, and you will receive it; but if you lose heart and become double-minded while asking, blame yourself and not the One who gives to you
9 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. 		See to this double-mindedness, for it is evil and senseless, and uproots many from the faith, even those who are exceedingly faithful and strong.

For this double-mindedness is a daughter of the devil, and acts very maliciously toward the servants of God.
10 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 αὐτῇς ὧν πράσσει. Despise double-mindedness, therefore, and master it in every matter, putting on the faith that is strong and powerful; for faith promises all things, accomplishes all things, but double-mindedness, not trusting in itself, fails in all the works which it performs.
11 βλέπεις οὖν, φησίν, ὅτι ἡ πίστις ἄνωθέν ἐστι παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ ἔχει δύναμιν μεγάλην· ἡ δὲ διψυχία ἐπίγειον πνεῦμά ἐστι παρὰ τοῦ διαβόλου, δύναμιν μὴ ἔχουσα. You see, therefore,' says he, 'that faith is from above, from the Lord, and has great power; but double-mindedness is an earthly spirit from the devil, having no powe
12 σὺ οὖν δούλευε τῇ ἐχούσῃ δύναμιν τῇ πίστει καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς διψυχίας ἀπόσχου τῆς μὴ ἐχούσης δύναμιν, καὶ ζήσῃ τῷ θεῷ, καὶ πάντες ζήσονται τῷ θεῷ οἱ ταῦτα φρονοῦντες. Serve, therefore, the faith that has power, and abstain from the double-mindedness that has no power, and you will live to God; and all who set their minds on these things will live to God.'"
Summary
This text comprises Commandment 9 (Mandatum 9), providing an in-depth pneumatological and psychological treatment of double-mindedness (διψυχία) versus unwavering faith (πίστις).

The Shepherd directly confronts the psychological barrier caused by post-baptismal guilt. Believers often refrain from prayer or doubt God's willingness to answer because they consider their past sins too great. The Shepherd counters this by contrasting human vengefulness with God's non-grudging, compassionate character (ἀμνησίκακος).

The passage constructs a stark spiritual binary:

 Faith (πίστις): Heavenly in origin (ἄνωθεν), powerful, single-minded, and efficacious in prayer.

 Double-Mindedness (διψυχία): Earthly (ἐπίγειον πνεῦμα), originating from the devil ("the daughter of the devil"), intrinsically weak, and responsible for pulling down even mature Christians by paralyzing their trust in God.

The Shepherd also offers a pastoral explanation for delayed answers to prayer: delays stem not from divine unwillingness, but from hidden transgressions or pedagogical trials (πειρασμός).
Key Themes & Pneumatological Contributions
 The Pneumatology of Prayer: True prayer requires an undivided heart (ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας). Hesitation in prayer is not treated as a minor weakness, but as an influx of an earthly, demonic spirit (ἐπίγειον πνεῦμα) that disrupts communion with God.

 Divine Character (Ἀμνησικακία): God is explicitly distinguished from fallen human judges. Humans harbor grudges (μνησικακοῦντες), whereas God forgets evil (ἀμνησίκακος) when a sinner turns to Him with an undivided heart.

 Demonology of Dipsychia: Personified as "the daughter of the devil" (θυγάτηρ τοῦ διαβόλου). Double-mindedness acts covertly to uproot (ἐκριζοῖ) even seasoned believers by eroding their confidence (πεποίθησις) in God's mercy.
Significant Greek Expressions
 ἡ διψυχία / δίψυχος: "Double-mindedness / double-minded." A signature term in early Christian moral literature (strongly prominent in James 1:8, 4:8 and 1 Clement), describing a divided, hypocritical, or oscillating disposition of the soul.

 αἰτοῦ παῤ αὐτοῦ ἀδιστάκτως: "Ask of Him unhesitatingly." Echoes James 1:6 (αἰτείτω δὲ ἐν πίστει, μηδὲν διακρινόμενος). Ἀδιστάκτως stresses praying without internal doubt or second-guessing God's willingness to grant aid.

 ἀμνησίκακος: "Not harboring malice / forgetting evil." A major patristic divine attribute. God does not hold a list of past offenses against the truly penitent.

 οἱ ὁλοτελεῖς ὄντες ἐν τῇ πίστει: "Those who are complete/perfect in faith." Contrasted directly with οἱ δίψυχοι. Wholeness (ὁλοτέλεια) in faith yields bold, effective prayer.

  ἡ πίστις ἄνωθέν ἐστι ... ἡ δὲ διψυχία ἐπίγειον πνεῦμά ἐστι: "Faith is from above ... but double-mindedness is an earthly spirit." Establishes the ontological origins of spiritual states, paralleling James 3:15–17 regarding heavenly vs. earthly wisdom.

Hermas: The Shepherd
Book Two
Mandates or Commandments