The following is four different translations of the same citation from Basil the Great on the judgment seat of Christ. Since the words of Christ (according to Holy Scripture & Basil) will meet us in the Day of Judgment, Basil's reminder of this reality presupposes the basic clarity/perspicuity of Holy Scripture, and thus our responsibility to adhere to the inscripturated word of God.
Basil of Caesarea (329-379): And since we know that the words of the God-inspired Scripture shall rise up before us at the judgment seat of Christ: For I will rebuke you, he says, and expose to your face your sins (Ps. 49:21), let us attend soberly to what is said and let us hasten zealously to the work of the divine teachings (which you have heard), for we do not know the day or the hour when our Lord shall come (Matt. 24:42). Anna M. Silvas, The Asketikon of St. Basil the Great, The Longer Responses, Prologue (Oxford: University Press, 2005) p. 160.
Basil of Caesarea (Ad 329-379): And since, then, we know that the words of divine Scripture will rise up before us at the judgment seat of Christ⸺“For I will reprove thee,” He says, “and set before thee thy sins”⸺let us hearken diligently to that which is spoken, and seek earnestly to carry out the divine decrees; for we know not on what day or at what hour the Lord will come. W. K. L. Clarke, The Ascetic Works of Saint Basil, Translations of Christian Literature Series I, Greek Texts (London: S.P.C.K., 1925), Preface to the Longer Rules, pp. 150-151.
Basil of Caesarea (Ad 329-379): Let us pray then that I may blamelessly dispense the word, and that the teaching may bear fruit in you. And since then we know that the words of Divine Scripture will rise up before us at the judgment-seat of Christ—‘For I will reprove thee,’ He says, ‘and set before thee thy sins’—let us hearken diligently to that which is spoken, and seek earnestly to carry out the Divine decrees; for we know not on what day or at what hour the Lord will come. E. F. Morison, St. Basil and His Rule, A Study in Early Monasticism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1912), p. 144.
Basil of Caesarea (Ad 329-379): Let us pray, therefore, that I may exercise the ministry of the Word blamelessly, and that my teaching may be fruitful in you. Knowing as we do that at the tribunal of Christ the words of the Holy Scripture will confront us (for He says: ‘I will reprove thee and set thy sins before thy faceʼ Ps 50:21), let us in all sobriety attend to the words of the divine teaching and hasten to put them into practice, for we know not the day nor the hour when our Lord will come. Fathers of the Church, Vol. 9, Ascetical Works, Preface to the Long Rules (New York: Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1950), p. 231.
Greek text: Εὐξώμεθα οὖν ἐμοὶ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ λόγου ἄμεμπτον, καὶ ὑμῖν ἔγκαρπον τὴν διδασκαλίαν γενέσθαι. Ὡς οὖν εἰδότες, ὅτι ἀντιπρόσωποι ἡμῖν οἱ τῆς θεοπνεύστου Γραφῆς λόγοι στήσονται ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ (Ἐλέγξω γάρ σε, φησὶ, καὶ παραστήσω κατὰ πρόσωπόν σου τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου), οὕτω καὶ πρόσχωμεν νηφόντως τοῖς λεγομένοις, καὶ εἰς ἔργον προαγαγεῖν τὰ θεῖα διδάγματα σπουδαίως ἐπειχθῶμεν, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδαμεν ποίᾳ ἡμέρᾳ ἢ ὥρᾳ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἔρχεται. Prooemium in asceticum magnum, PG 31:900-901.
Virtually the same paragraph (Oἱ τῆς θεοπνεύστου Γραφῆς λόγοι στήσονται ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἐλέγξω γάρ σε, φησὶ, καὶ παραστήσω κατὰ πρόσωπόν σου τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου. Οὕτω καὶ πρόσχωμεν νηφόντως τοῖς λεγομένοις, κατὰ τὴν Γραφὴν, καὶ εἰς ἔργον προάγειν τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Κυρίου σπουδαίως ἐπειχθῶμεν, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδαμεν ποίᾳ ἡμέρᾳ ἢ ὥρᾳ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἔρχεται·) serves as the opening words of Basil’s exposition of the 37th Psalm. In Psalmum XXXVII, PG 30:81, 84. See also B. B. Warfield, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible (Philadelphia: The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1970), p. 275.
Basil of Caesarea (329-379): And since we know that the words of the God-inspired Scripture shall rise up before us at the judgment seat of Christ: For I will rebuke you, he says, and expose to your face your sins (Ps. 49:21), let us attend soberly to what is said and let us hasten zealously to the work of the divine teachings (which you have heard), for we do not know the day or the hour when our Lord shall come (Matt. 24:42). Anna M. Silvas, The Asketikon of St. Basil the Great, The Longer Responses, Prologue (Oxford: University Press, 2005) p. 160.
Basil of Caesarea (Ad 329-379): And since, then, we know that the words of divine Scripture will rise up before us at the judgment seat of Christ⸺“For I will reprove thee,” He says, “and set before thee thy sins”⸺let us hearken diligently to that which is spoken, and seek earnestly to carry out the divine decrees; for we know not on what day or at what hour the Lord will come. W. K. L. Clarke, The Ascetic Works of Saint Basil, Translations of Christian Literature Series I, Greek Texts (London: S.P.C.K., 1925), Preface to the Longer Rules, pp. 150-151.
Basil of Caesarea (Ad 329-379): Let us pray then that I may blamelessly dispense the word, and that the teaching may bear fruit in you. And since then we know that the words of Divine Scripture will rise up before us at the judgment-seat of Christ—‘For I will reprove thee,’ He says, ‘and set before thee thy sins’—let us hearken diligently to that which is spoken, and seek earnestly to carry out the Divine decrees; for we know not on what day or at what hour the Lord will come. E. F. Morison, St. Basil and His Rule, A Study in Early Monasticism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1912), p. 144.
Basil of Caesarea (Ad 329-379): Let us pray, therefore, that I may exercise the ministry of the Word blamelessly, and that my teaching may be fruitful in you. Knowing as we do that at the tribunal of Christ the words of the Holy Scripture will confront us (for He says: ‘I will reprove thee and set thy sins before thy faceʼ Ps 50:21), let us in all sobriety attend to the words of the divine teaching and hasten to put them into practice, for we know not the day nor the hour when our Lord will come. Fathers of the Church, Vol. 9, Ascetical Works, Preface to the Long Rules (New York: Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1950), p. 231.
Greek text: Εὐξώμεθα οὖν ἐμοὶ τὴν οἰκονομίαν τοῦ λόγου ἄμεμπτον, καὶ ὑμῖν ἔγκαρπον τὴν διδασκαλίαν γενέσθαι. Ὡς οὖν εἰδότες, ὅτι ἀντιπρόσωποι ἡμῖν οἱ τῆς θεοπνεύστου Γραφῆς λόγοι στήσονται ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ (Ἐλέγξω γάρ σε, φησὶ, καὶ παραστήσω κατὰ πρόσωπόν σου τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου), οὕτω καὶ πρόσχωμεν νηφόντως τοῖς λεγομένοις, καὶ εἰς ἔργον προαγαγεῖν τὰ θεῖα διδάγματα σπουδαίως ἐπειχθῶμεν, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδαμεν ποίᾳ ἡμέρᾳ ἢ ὥρᾳ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἔρχεται. Prooemium in asceticum magnum, PG 31:900-901.
Virtually the same paragraph (Oἱ τῆς θεοπνεύστου Γραφῆς λόγοι στήσονται ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἐλέγξω γάρ σε, φησὶ, καὶ παραστήσω κατὰ πρόσωπόν σου τὰς ἁμαρτίας σου. Οὕτω καὶ πρόσχωμεν νηφόντως τοῖς λεγομένοις, κατὰ τὴν Γραφὴν, καὶ εἰς ἔργον προάγειν τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Κυρίου σπουδαίως ἐπειχθῶμεν, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδαμεν ποίᾳ ἡμέρᾳ ἢ ὥρᾳ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἔρχεται·) serves as the opening words of Basil’s exposition of the 37th Psalm. In Psalmum XXXVII, PG 30:81, 84. See also B. B. Warfield, The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible (Philadelphia: The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1970), p. 275.
