And if any man, — An appeal to the rightminded, not only to persevere themselves, but to join with the overseers of their Church in enforcing discipline, as in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-15.
By this epistle. — Rightly rendered. The marginal version, “by an Epistle,” is impossible, for in the Greek the definite article appears. It might, if the context suited, be attached to the following clause, instead of the foregoing, and translated, “by means of the Epistle signify that man,” meaning “in your answer.” But there is nothing to show that St. Paul was expecting any answer; and, for another thing, he has given them full directions for dealing with the case themselves, so that it would be superfluous to send the particulars to St. Paul. For several other weighty reasons it is best to attach the words to the hypothetical clause; and the sense will be, “There can be no excuse now. It was possible to forget or misinterpret our verbal tradition, painstaking and definite though it was; possible also to ignore the example which we set; but now you have it in black and white, and the man who does not submit to our directions in this form must be visited severely.” There are at least three places besides this in St. Paul’s writings where “the Epistle” stands absolutely for “the present Epistle,” viz., Romans 16:22; Colossians 4:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:27; possibly a fourth might be added, 1 Corinthians 5:9; only once in a very clear context it refers to a former Letter (2 Corinthians 7:8).
Note that man. — The reflexive voice of the verb implies mutual warning against him: “Agree to set a mark upon him, to make a marked man of him.” The notion is that of making him easily recognisable, so that no Christian should “have company” with him unawares. (Comp. Genesis 4:15.) The word and the thought in Romans 16:17 are slightly different. The best text goes on abruptly, without conjunction: “Note that man; have no company with him.” This social extrusion from good men’s conversation, not to speak of the Sacraments, would, to a Christian in a heathen city, be indeed a delivering to Satan, a thrusting into outer darkness.
That he may be ashamed — i.e., put to shame. Comp. 1 Corinthians 6:5; 1 Corinthians 15:34; Titus 2:8; and (for the end to be served by this shame) the first clause of the Commination of Sinners.