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Mandate 11
1 Ἔδειξέ μοι ἐπὶ συμψελλίου καθημένους ἀνθρώπους καὶ ἕτερον ἄνθρωπον καθήμενον ἐπὶ καθέδραν, καὶ λέγει μοι· Βλέπεις τοὺς ἐπὶ τοῦ συμψελλίου καθημένους;

βλέπω, φημί, κύριε.

Οὗτοι, φησί, πιστοί εἰσι, καὶ ὁ καθήμενος ἐπὶ τὴν καθέδραν ψευδοπροφήτης ἐστίν, ὃς ἀπόλλυσι τὴν διάνοιαν τῶν δούλων τοῦ θεοῦ· τῶν διψύχων δὲ ἀπόλλυσιν, οὐ τῶν πιστῶν. 		"He showed me men sitting on a bench [couch] and another man sitting upon a chair [cathedra], and he says to me: 'Do you see the ones sitting on the bench?'

'I see [them], Sir,' I say.

'These,' says he, 'are faithful, and the one sitting upon the chair is a false prophet who destroys the mind of the servants of God; now he destroys that of the double-minded, not of the faithful.
2 οὗτοι οὖν οἱ δίψυχοι ὡς ἐπὶ μάντιν ἔρχονται καὶ ἐπερωτῶσιν αὐτόν, τί ἄρα ἔσται αὐτοῖς· κἀκεῖνος ὁ ψευδοπροφήτης.

μηδεμίαν ἔχων ἐν ἑαυτῷ δύναμιν πνεύματος θείου, λαλεῖ μετ' αὐτῶν κατὰ τὰ ἐπερωτήματα αὐτῶν καὶ κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς πονηρίας αὐτῶν καί πληροῖ τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν, καθὼς αὐτοὶ βούλονται. 		These double-minded ones, therefore, come to him as to a diviner and ask him what will happen to them; and that false prophet, having no power of a divine Spirit in himself, speaks with them according to their questions and according to the desires of their wickedness and fills their souls just as they themselves wish.
3 αὐτὸς γὰρ κενὸς ὢν κενὰ καὶ ἀποκρίνεται κενοῖς· ὃ γὰρ ἐὰν ἐπερωτηθῇ, πρὸς τὸ κένωμα τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀποκρίνεται.

τινὰ δὲ καὶ ῥήματα ἀληθῆ λαλεῖ· ὁ γὰρ διάβολος πληροῖ αὐτὸν τῷ αὐτοῦ πνεύματι, εἴ τινα δυνήσεται ῥῆξαι τῶν δικαίων. 		For being empty himself, he gives empty answers to empty people; for whatever he is asked, he answers according to the emptiness of the person.

Yet he also speaks some true words; for the devil fills him with his own spirit, to see if he can break any of the righteous.
4 ὅσοι οὖν ἰσχυροί εἰσιν ἐν τῇ πίστει τοῦ κυρίου, ἐνδεδυμένοι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, τοῖς τοιούτοις πνεύμασιν οὐ κολλῶνται, ἀλλ' ἀπέχονται ἀπ' αὐτῶν· ὅσοι δὲ δίψυχοί εἰσι καὶ πυκνῶς μετανοοῦσι, μαντεύονται ὡς καὶ τὰ ἔθνη καὶ ἑαυτοῖς μείζονα ἁμαρτίαν ἐπιφέρουσιν εἰδωλολατροῦντες· ὁ γὰρ ἐπερωτῶν ψευδοπροφήτην περὶ πράξεώς τινος εἰδωλολάτρης ἐστὶ καὶ κενὸς ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ ἄφρων. As many, therefore, as are strong in the faith of the Lord, clothed in the truth, do not cleave to such spirits, but abstain from them; but as many as are double-minded and frequently repent practice divination like the Gentiles and bring greater sin upon themselves by practicing idolatry.

For the one who asks a false prophet concerning any matter is an idolater, empty of the truth, and foolish.
5 πᾶν γὰρ πνεῦμα ἀπὸ θεοῦ δοθὲν οὐκ ἐπερωτᾶται, ἀλλὰ ἔχον τὴν δύναμιν τῆς θεότητος ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ λαλεῖ πάντα, ὅτι ἄνωθέν ἐστιν ἀπὸ τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ θείου πνεύματος. For every Spirit given by God is not asked questions, but having the power of the divinity speaks all things of itself, because it is from above, from the power of the divine Spirit.
6 τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα τὸ ἐπερωτώμενον καὶ λαλοῦν κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπίγειόν ἐστι καὶ ἐλαφρόν, δύναμιν μὴ ἔχον· καὶ ὅλως οὐ λαλεῖ, ἐὰν μὴ ἐπερωτηθῇ. But the spirit that is asked questions and speaks according to the desires of human beings is earthly and light [trivial], having no power; and it does not speak at all unless it is asked.'
7 Πῶς οὖν, φημί, κύριε, ἄνθρωπος γνώσεται, τίς αὐτῶν προφήτης καὶ τίς ψευδοπροφήτης ἐστίν;

Ἄκουε, φησί, περὶ ἀμφοτέρων τῶν προφητῶν· καὶ ὥς σοί μέλλω λέγειν, οὕτω δοκιμάσεις τὸν προφήτην καὶ τὸν ψευδοπροφήτην.

ἀπὸ τῆς ζωῆς δοκίμαζε τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν ἔχοντα τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ θεῖον. 		'How then, Sir,' I say, 'shall a person know who among them is a prophet and who is a false prophet?'

'Listen,' says he, 'concerning both prophets; and as I am about to tell you, so you shall test the prophet and the false prophet.

Test the person who has the divine Spirit by his life.
8 πρῶτον μὲν ὁ ἔχων τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἄνωθεν πραΰς ἐστι καὶ ἡσύχιος καὶ ταπεινόφρων καὶ ἀπεχόμενος ἀπὸ πάσης πονηρίας καὶ ἐπιθυμίας ματαίας τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου καὶ ἑαυτὸν ἐνδεέστερον ποιεῖ πάντων τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ οὐδενὶ οὐδὲν ἀποκρίνεται ἐπερωτώμενος, οὐδὲ καταμόνας λαλεῖ, οὐδὲ ὅταν θέλῃ ἄνθρωπος λαλεῖν, λαλεῖ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ἀλλὰ τότε λαλεῖ, ὅταν θελήσῃ αὐτὸν ὁ θεὸς λαλῆσαι. First of all, the one who has the Spirit from above is gentle, quiet, and humble-minded, abstaining from all wickedness and vain desire of this age, and makes himself lower than all human beings; he answers nothing to anyone when asked, nor does he speak in isolation, nor when a human person wishes to speak does the Holy Spirit speak, but it speaks then, when God wishes him to speak.
9 ὅταν οὖν ἔλθῃ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ ἔχων τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ θεῖον εἰς συναγωγὴν ἀνδρῶν δικαίων τῶν ἐχόντων πίστιν θείου πνεύματος καὶ ἔντευξις γένηται πρὸς τὸν θεὸν τῆς συναγωγῆς τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων, τότε ὁ ἄγγελος τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ προφητικοῦ ὁ κείμενος πρὸς αὐτὸν πληροῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ πληρωθεὶς ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῷ πνεύματι τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἁγίῳ λαλεῖ εἰς τὸ πλῆθος, καθὼς ὁ κύριος βούλεται. Whenever, therefore, the person who has the divine Spirit comes into an assembly of righteous men who have faith in a divine Spirit, and intercession is made to God by the assembly of those men, then the angel of the prophetic Spirit who rests on him fills the person, and being filled with the Holy Spirit, the person speaks to the multitude as the Lord wills.
10 οὕτως οὖν φανερὸν ἔσται τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς θεότητος.

ὅση οὖν περὶ τοῦ πνεύματος τῆς θεότητος τοῦ κυρίου ἡ δύναμις αὕτη. 		In this way, therefore, the Spirit of the divinity will be made manifest.

Such, then, is the power concerning the Spirit of the divinity (diety) of the Lord.
11 Ἄκουε νῦν, φησί, περὶ τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἐπιγείου καὶ κενοῦ καὶ δύναμιν μὴ ἔχοντος, ἀλλὰ ὄντος μωροῦ. Listen now,' says he, 'concerning the earthly and empty spirit that has no power, but is foolish.
12 πρῶτον μὲν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος ὁ δοκῶν πνεῦμα ἔχειν ὑψοῖ ἑαυτὸν καὶ θέλει πρωτοκαθεδρίαν ἔχειν, καὶ εὐθὺς ἰταμός ἐστι καὶ ἀναιδὴς καὶ πολύλαλος καὶ ἐν τρυφαῖς πολλαῖς ἀναστρεφόμενος καὶ ἐν ἑτέραις πολλαῖς ἀπάταις καὶ μισθοὺς λαμβάνων τῆς προφητείας αὐτοῦ· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ λάβῃ, οὐ προφητεύει.

δύναται οὖν πνεῦμα θεῖον μισθοὺς λαμβάνειν καὶ προφητεύειν;

οὐκ ἐνδέχεται τοῦτο ποιεῖν θεοῦ προφήτην, ἀλλὰ τῶν τοιούτων προφητῶν ἐπίγειόν ἐστι τὸ πνεῦμα. 		First of all, that person who seems to have a spirit exalts himself and wishes to hold the primary seat [preeminence]; he is immediately bold, shameless, and verbose, living in many luxuries and in many other deceptions, and receiving pay for his prophecy; if he does not receive pay, he does not prophesy.

Can a divine Spirit receive pay and prophesy?

It is not possible for a prophet of God to do this, but the spirit of such prophets is earthly.
13 εἶτα ὅλως εἰς συναγωγὴν ἀνδρῶν δικαίων οὐκ ἐγγίζει, ἀλλ' ἀποφεύγει αὐτούς· κολλᾶται δὲ τοῖς διψύχοις καὶ κενοῖς καὶ κατὰ γωνίαν αὐτοῖς προφητεύει καὶ ἀπατᾷ αὐτοὺς λαλῶν κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας αὐτῶν πάντα κενῶς· κενοῖς γὰρ καὶ ἀποκρίνεται·

τὸ γὰρ κενὸν σκεῦος μετὰ τῶν κενῶν συντιθέμενον οὐ θραύεται, ἀλλὰ συμφωνοῦσιν ἀλλήλοις. 		Next, he does not approach an assembly of righteous men at all, but shuns them; instead, he cleaves to the double-minded and empty, and prophesies to them in corners, deceiving them by speaking all things emptily according to their desires; for he answers empty people.

For an empty vessel set together with empty ones is not broken, but they agree with one another.
14 ὅταν δὲ ἔλθῃ εἰς συναγωγὴν πλήρη ἀνδρῶν δικαίων ἐχόντων πνεῦμα θεότητος καὶ ἔντευξις ἀπ' αὐτῶν γένηται, κενοῦται ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἐπίγειον ἀπὸ τοῦ φόβου φεύγει ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ κωφοῦται ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος καὶ ὅλως συνθραύεται, μηδὲν δυνάμενος λαλῆσαι. But whenever he comes into an assembly full of righteous men who have a Spirit of divinity, and intercession is made by them, that person is emptied out, and the earthly spirit flees from him out of fear, and that person is struck mute and is completely shattered, unable to speak anything.
15 ἐὰν γὰρ εἰς ἀποθήκην στιβάσῃς οἶνον ἢ ἔλαιον καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς θῇς κεράμιον κενόν, καὶ πάλιν ἀποστιβάσαι θελήσῃς τὴν ἀποθήκην, τὸ κεράμιον ἐκεῖνο, ὃ ἔθηκας κενόν, κενὸν καὶ εὑρήσεις· οὕτω καὶ οἱ προφῆται οἱ κενοὶ ὅταν ἔλθωσιν εἰς πνεύματα δικαίων, ὁποῖοι ἦλθον, τοιοῦτοι καὶ εὑρίσκονται. For if you pack wine or oil into a storehouse and place an empty jar among them, and later wish to unpack the storehouse, that jar which you placed empty you will also find empty; so also the empty prophets, whenever they come to spirits of the righteous, remain just as they came.
16 ἔχεις ἀμφοτέρων τῶν προφητῶν τὴν ζωήν.

δοκίμαζε οὖν ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων καὶ τῆς ζωῆς τὸν ἄνθρωπον τὸν λέγοντα ἑαυτὸν πνευματοφόρον εἶναι. 		You have the life of both prophets.

Test, therefore, from his deeds and his life the person who says he is spirit-bearing [inspired].
17 σὺ δὲ πίστευε τῷ πνεύματι τῷ ἐρχομένῳ ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἔχοντι δύναμιν· τῷ δὲ πνεύματι τῷ ἐπιγείῳ καὶ κενῷ μηδὲν πίστευε, ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ δύναμις οὐκ ἔστιν· ἀπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου γὰρ ἔρχεται But trust the Spirit coming from God and having power; do not trust the earthly and empty spirit at all, because there is no power in it; for it comes from the devil.
18 ἄκουσον οὖν τὴν παραβολήν, ἣν μέλλω σοί λέγειν· λάβε λίθον καὶ βάλε εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, ἴδε, εἰ δύνασαι ἅψασθαι αὐτοῦ· ἢ πάλιν λάβε σίφωνα ὕδατος καὶ σιφώνισον εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, ἴδε, εἰ δύνασαι τρυπῆσαι τὸν οὐρανόν. Listen, therefore, to the parable which I am about to tell you: Take a stone and throw it into the sky, see if you can touch it; or again take a water-syringe and squirt it into the sky, see if you can pierce the sky.'
19 Πῶς, φημί κύριε, δύναται ταῦτα γενέσθαι;

ἀδύνατα γὰρ ἀμφότερα ταῦτα εἴρηκας.

Ὡς ταῦτα οὖν, φησίν, ἀδύνατά ἐστιν, οὕτω καὶ τὰ πνεύματα τὰ ἐπίγεια ἀδύνατά ἐστι καὶ ἀδρανῆ. 		'How, Sir,' I say, 'can these things happen?

For both these things you mentioned are impossible.'

'Just as these things,' says he, 'are impossible, so also the earthly spirits are powerless and weak.
20 λάβε οὖν τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἄνωθεν ἐρχομένην· ἡ χάλαζα ἐλάχιστόν ἐστι κοκκάριον, καὶ ὅταν ἐπιπέσῃ ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν ἀνθρώπου, πῶς πόνον παρέχει;

ἢ πάλιν λάβε σταγόνα, ἣ ἀπὸ τοῦ κεράμου πίπτει χαμαὶ καὶ τρυπᾷ τὸν λίθον. 		Take, therefore, the power coming from above: hail is a very small grain, yet when it falls on a person’s head, how much pain it causes!

Or again take a drop which falls from the roof to the ground and pierces a stone.
21 βλέπεις οὖν, ὅτι τὰ ἄνωθεν ἐλάχιστα πίπτοντα ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν μεγάλην δύναμιν ἔχει· οὕτω καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ θεῖον ἄνωθεν ἐρχόμενον δυνατόν ἐστι·

τούτῳ οὖν τῷ πνεύματι πίστευε, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ ἑτέρου ἀπέχου. 		You see, therefore, that the smallest things falling from above onto the earth have great power; so also the divine Spirit coming from above is powerful.

Trust this Spirit, therefore, but keep away from the other.'"
Summary
This passage comprises the complete Eleventh Commandment (Mandatum 11), providing one of the early Church's most comprehensive treatises on pneumatology, prophecy, and the discernment of spirits (διάκρισις πνευμάτων).

The Shepherd contrasts the authentic Christian prophet with the pagan-style diviner / false prophet through spatial imagery, behavioral criteria, financial ethics, and pneumatological mechanics:

 The Spatial Setting: The false prophet sits on a raised "chair of honor" (καθέδρα), representing pride and institutional pretension, while his double-minded client-followers sit below on a low bench (συμψέλλιον).

 Mechanics of Inspiration vs. Divination: The true prophet is strictly non-reactive; the Spirit speaks spontaneously as God wills (ὅταν θελήσῃ ὁ θεός) within the corporate worship of the church (συναγωγή).

The false prophet, conversely, functions on demand (ἐπερωτώμενος), telling clients what they wish to hear in exchange for payment (μισθοί).

 Moral Criteria for Discernment: Echoing Didache 11–12, true prophecy is validated not by spectacular claims, but by the prophet's manner of life (ἀπὸ τῆς ζωῆς δοκίμαζε).
The true prophet exhibits lowliness, restraint, and humility; the false prophet seeks preeminence (πρωτοκαθεδρία), lives in luxury, takes fees, and operates in private corners (κατὰ γωνίαν).

 Pneumatological Collision: When an earthly spirit enters an assembly of spirit-filled believers, the divine presence paralyzes and empties out the false prophet (συνθραύεται / κωφοῦται).

 Cosmic Parables of Power: The Shepherd illustrates the contrast between earthly and heavenly spirits through two nature analogies: human efforts to breach heaven (throwing stones or squirting water upward) are futile and weak, whereas small things descending from above (hailstones or dropping water) exert immense power.


Key Themes & Patristic Parallels
 The Ethics of Early Christian Prophecy: Aligns closely with Didache 11.7–12, establishing commercialization (prophesying for pay) as an absolute mark of false prophecy.

 Corporate Ecclesial Pneumatology: Prophetic inspiration is inherently communal.
The Spirit operates within the συναγωγὴ ἀνδρῶν δικαίων during corporate intercession (ἔντευξις), rejecting isolated, private gnostic or pagan divinatory practices.

 Divination as Idolatry: Consulting a prophet to discover future fortunes or ease worldly anxieties is branded as pagan divination (μαντεύονται ὡς καὶ τὰ ἔθνη) and covert idolatry (εἰδωλολατρία).
Significant Greek Expressions
 συμψέλλιον vs. καθέδρα: "Bench / low couch" vs. "chair of office / teacher's seat." Symbolizes the visual contrast between humble subjection to truth and arrogant self-exaltation (πρωτοκαθεδρία).

 ἀπὸ τῆς ζωῆς δοκίμαζε: "Test [him] from his life." The definitive early Christian rule of discernment: authentic charismata must be validated by Christlike character and ethical fruits.

 πνευματοφόρος: "Spirit-bearing / inspired." A technical patristic designation (cf. Ignatius of Antioch) for a true prophet inhabited and driven by the Holy Spirit.

 ὁ ἄγγελος τοῦ προφητικοῦ πνεύματος: "The angel of the prophetic Spirit." Reflects Hermas's complex angelological pneumatology, where specific angelic agents mediate prophetic inspiration to human vessels.

 κενὸς ὢν κενὰ καὶ ἀποκρίνεται κενοῖς: "Being empty himself, he gives empty answers to empty people." A striking rhetorical wordplay (kēnos) emphasizing the ontological vanity and lack of divine substance in demonic deceit.

 κατὰ γωνίαν προφητεύει: "Prophesies in a corner." Highlights the covert, secretive nature of false prophecy, contrasting with the open, public accountability of the ecclesial assembly.

Hermas: The Shepherd
Book Two
Mandates or Commandments