# Epistle of Barnabas 5.13

- Author: Anonymous
- Work: [Epistle of Barnabas](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/barnabas/) (*Epistula Barnabae*)
- Date: ca. 70–135 (often ca. 130) (disputed)
- Source: Lake, LCL 24:356; Kirsopp Lake, ed. and trans., The Apostolic Fathers, vol. 1, LCL 24 (London: Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1912), 340–407 (Greek text: K. Lake, The Apostolic Fathers (LCL, 1912), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26
- Canonical URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/barnabas/5/13/

Summary: The Psalms foretold his suffering on a tree.

## Greek text

αὐτὸς δὲ ἠθέλησεν οὕτω παθεῖν· ἔδει γάρ, ἵνα ἐπὶ ξύλου πάθῃ. λέγει γὰρ ὁ προφητεύων ἐπʼ αὐτῷ· Φεῖσαί μου τῆς ψυχῆς ἀπὸ ῥομφαίας, καί· Καθήλωσόν μου τὰς σάρκας, ὅτι πονηρευομένων συναγωγαὶ ἐπανέστησάν μοι.

## English translation (Claude)

But he himself willed to suffer thus, for it was necessary that he suffer on a tree. For the one who prophesies of him says, “Spare my soul from the sword,” and, “Nail my flesh, for the assemblies of evildoers have risen up against me.”

## Scripture references

- Ps 22:20 (21:21 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 119:120 (118:120 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 22:16 (21:17 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 86:14 (85:14 LXX): echo, low confidence

## Translation notes

- “Nail my flesh”: from Ps 119:120 LXX (118:120), read as a prophecy of the crucifixion.

## Citation (SBL)

Barn. 5.13 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/barnabas/5/13/).