1.
Eighty and six years have I served Christ, nor has He ever done me any harm. How, then, could I blaspheme my King who saved Me?....I bless Thee for deigning me worthy of this day and this hour that I may be among Thy martyrs and drink the cup of my Lord Jesus Christ.
Polycarp
2.
Let us, therefore, foresake the vanity of the crowd and their false teachings, and turn back to the word delivered to us from the beginning.
Polycarp
Let us, thusly, abandon the conceit of the multitude and their deceptive maxims, and rediscover the instruction provided to us from the outset.
3.
Hear me declare with boldness, I am a Christian.
Polycarp
I ardently avow that I am a follower of Christ.
4.
Beware of greed and remain pure and just. Restrain yourself from every vice. He who cannot restrain himself, how will he be able to teach others restraint?
Polycarp
Be vigilant of avarice and stay incorruptible and righteous. Refrain from every sin. One who is unable to keep themselves in check, how can they instruct others on self-control?
5.
by grace ye are saved, not of works,' but by the will of God through Jesus Christ . . . If we please Him in this present world, we shall receive also the future world, according as He has promised to us that He will raise us again from the dead, and that if we live worthily of Him, 'we shall also reign together with Him,' provided only we believe . . .
Polycarp
6.
Now may the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the eternal high priest himself, the Son of God Jesus Christ, build you up in faith and truth and in all gentleness and in all freedom from anger and forbearance and steadfastness and patient endurance and purity.
Polycarp
7.
If you imagine for a moment that I would do that, then I think you pretend that you don't know who I am. Hear it plainly. I am a Christian.
Polycarp
If you conceive that I would act in such a way, then it appears as if you have no comprehension of my identity. Let it be heard plainly. I am a believer in Jesus Christ.
8.
For 86 years I have served Jesus Christ and he has never abandoned me. How could I curse my blessed king and savior?
Polycarp
'For 86 years I have been devoted to Jesus Christ and he has never failed me. How could I possibly renounce my benevolent king and savior?'
9.
I exhort you, press on in your course, and exhort all men that they may be saved.
Polycarp
I encourage you, continue your journey, and implore all people that they may be redeemed.
10.
If anyone does not refrain from the love of money, he will be defiled by idolatry and so be judged as if he were one of the heathen.
Polycarp
11.
Be all of you subject one to another having your conduct blameless among the Gentiles, that you may both receive praise for your good works, and the Lord may not be blasphemed through you. But woe to him by whom the name of the Lord is blasphemed! Teach, therefore, sobriety to all, and manifest it also in your own conduct
Polycarp
12.
Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?
Polycarp
13.
But why do you delay? Come, do what you will.
Polycarp
