The Gospel of Thomas
"Scholars' Translation" by Stephen
Patterson & Marvin Meyer
Gnostic Library--Translation by Thomas O. Lambdin
Brill Edition--Translation by W. R. Schoedel
Agape Alliance Edition--Translation by Paterson Brown
The "Scholars' Translation" of the Gospel of Thomas
Copyright Polebridge Press
Used with permission
These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded.
1 And he said, "Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death."
2 Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all. [And after they have reigned they will rest.]"
3 Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is within you and it is outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty."
4 Jesus said, "The person old in days won't hesitate to ask a little child seven days old about the place of life, and that person will live. For many of the first will be last, and will become a single one."
5 Jesus said, "Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. [And there is nothing buried that will not be raised."]
6 His disciples asked him and said to him, "Do you want us to fast? How should we pray? Should we give to charity? What diet should we observe?" Jesus said, "Don't lie, and don't do what you hate, because all things are disclosed before heaven. After all, there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and there is nothing covered up that will remain undisclosed."
7 Jesus said, "Lucky is the lion that the human will eat, so that the lion becomes human. And foul is the human that the lion will eat, and the lion still will become human."
8 And he said, "The person is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of little fish. Among them the wise fisherman discovered a fine large fish. He threw all the little fish back into the sea, and easily chose the large fish. Anyone here with two good ears had better listen!
9 Jesus said, "Look, the sower went out, took a handful (of seeds), and scattered (them). Some fell on the road, and the birds came and gathered them. Others fell on rock, and they didn't take root in the soil and didn't produce heads of grain. Others fell on thorns, and they choked the seeds and worms ate them. And others fell on good soil, and it produced a good crop: it yielded sixty per measure and one hundred twenty per measure."
10 Jesus said, "I have cast fire upon the world, and look, I'm guarding it until it blazes."
11 Jesus said, "This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. The dead are not alive, and the living will not die. During the days when you ate what is dead, you made it come alive. When you are in the light, what will you do? On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you become two, what will you do?"
12 The disciples said to Jesus, "We know that you are going to leave us. Who will be our leader?"
Jesus said to them, "No matter where you are you are to go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being."
13 Jesus said to his disciples, "Compare me to something and tell me what I am like." Simon Peter said to him, "You are like a just messenger." Matthew said to him, "You are like a wise philosopher." Thomas said to him, "Teacher, my mouth is utterly unable to say what you are like." Jesus said, "I am not your teacher. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring that I have tended." And he took him, and withdrew, and spoke three sayings to him. When Thomas came back to his friends they asked him, "What did Jesus say to you?" Thomas said to them, "If I tell you one of the sayings he spoke to me, you will pick up rocks and stone me, and fire will come from the rocks and devour you."
14 Jesus said to them, "If you fast, you will bring sin upon yourselves, and if you pray, you will be condemned, and if you give to charity, you will harm your spirits. When you go into any region and walk about in the countryside, when people take you in, eat what they serve you and heal the sick among them. After all, what goes into your mouth will not defile you; rather, it's what comes out of your mouth that will defile you."
15 Jesus said, "When you see one who was not born of woman, fall on your faces and worship. That one is your Father."
16 Jesus said, "Perhaps people think that I have come to cast peace upon the world. They do not know that I have come to cast conflicts upon the earth: fire, sword, war. For there will be five in a house: there'll be three against two and two against three, father against son and son against father, and they will stand alone.
17 Jesus said, "I will give you what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no hand has touched, what has not arisen in the human heart."
18 The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us, how will our end come?" Jesus said, "Have you found the beginning, then, that you are looking for the end? You see, the end will be where the beginning is. Congratulations to the one who stands at the beginning: that one will know the end and will not taste death."
19 Jesus said, "Congratulations to the one who came into being before coming into being. If you become my disciples and pay attention to my sayings, these stones will serve you. For there are five trees in Paradise for you; they do not change, summer or winter, and their leaves do not fall. Whoever knows them will not taste death."
20 The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us what Heaven's kingdom is like." He said to them, It's like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds, but when it falls on prepared soil, it produces a large plant and becomes a shelter for birds of the sky.
21 Mary said to Jesus, "What are your disciples like?" He said, They are like little children living in a field that is not theirs. when the owners of the field come, they will say, "Give us back our field." They take off their clothes in front of them in order to give it back to them, and they return their field to them. For this reason I say, if the owners of a house know that a thief is coming, they will be on guard before the thief arrives and will not let the thief break into their house (their domain) and steal their possessions. As for you, then, be on guard against the world. Prepare yourselves with great strength, so the robbers can't find a way to get to you, for the trouble you expect will come. Let there be among you a person who understands. When the crop ripened, he came quickly carrying a sickle and harvested it. Anyone here with two good ears had better listen!
22 Jesus saw some babies nursing. He said to his disciples, "These nursing babies are like those who enter the kingdom." They said to him, "Then shall we enter the kingdom as babies?" Jesus said to them, "When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom]."
23 Jesus said, "I shall choose you, one from a thousand and two from ten thousand, and they will stand as a single one."
24 His disciples said, "Show us the place where you are, for we must seek it." He said to them, "Anyone here with two ears had better listen! There is light within a person of light, and it shines on the whole world. If it does not shine, it is dark."
25 Jesus said, "Love your friends like your own soul, protect them like the pupil of your eye."
26 Jesus said, "You see the sliver in your friend's eye, but you don't see the timber in your own eye. When you take the timber out of your own eye, then you will see well enough to remove the sliver from your friend's eye."
27 "If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the kingdom. If you do not observe the sabbath as a sabbath you will not see the Father."
28 Jesus said, "I took my stand in the midst of the world, and in flesh I appeared to them. I found them all drunk, and I did not find any of them thirsty. My soul ached for the children of humanity, because they are blind in their hearts and do not see, for they came into the world empty, and they also seek to depart from the world empty. But meanwhile they are drunk. When they shake off their wine, then they will change their ways."
29 Jesus said, "If the flesh came into being because of spirit, that is a marvel, but if spirit came into being because of the body, that is a marvel of marvels. Yet I marvel at how this great wealth has come to dwell in this poverty."
30 Jesus said, "Where there are three deities, they are divine. Where there are two or one, I am with that one."
31 Jesus said, "No prophet is welcome on his home turf; doctors don't cure those who know them."
32 Jesus said, "A city built on a high hill and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden."
33 Jesus said, "What you will hear in your ear, in the other ear proclaim from your rooftops. After all, no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, nor does one put it in a hidden place. Rather, one puts it on a lampstand so that all who come and go will see its light."
34 Jesus said, "If a blind person leads a blind person, both of them will fall into a hole."
35 Jesus said, "One can't enter a strong person's house and take it by force without tying his hands. Then one can loot his house."
36 Jesus said, "Do not fret, from morning to evening and from evening to morning, [about your food--what you're going to eat, or about your clothing--] what you are going to wear. [You're much better than the lilies, which neither card nor spin. As for you, when you have no garment, what will you put on? Who might add to your stature? That very one will give you your garment.]"
37 His disciples said, "When will you appear to us, and when will we see you?" Jesus said, "When you strip without being ashamed, and you take your clothes and put them under your feet like little children and trample then, then [you] will see the son of the living one and you will not be afraid."
38 Jesus said, "Often you have desired to hear these sayings that I am speaking to you, and you have no one else from whom to hear them. There will be days when you will seek me and you will not find me."
39 Jesus said, "The Pharisees and the scholars have taken the keys of knowledge and have hidden them. They have not entered nor have they allowed those who want to enter to do so. As for you, be as sly as snakes and as simple as doves."
40 Jesus said, "A grapevine has been planted apart from the Father. Since it is not strong, it will be pulled up by its root and will perish."
41 Jesus said, "Whoever has something in hand will be given more, and whoever has nothing will be deprived of even the little they have."
42 Jesus said, "Be passersby."
43 His disciples said to him, "Who are you to say these things to us?" "You don't understand who I am from what I say to you. Rather, you have become like the Judeans, for they love the tree but hate its fruit, or they love the fruit but hate the tree."
44 Jesus said, "Whoever blasphemes against the Father will be forgiven, and whoever blasphemes against the son will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the holy spirit will not be forgiven, either on earth or in heaven."
45 Jesus said, "Grapes are not harvested from thorn trees, nor are figs gathered from thistles, for they yield no fruit. Good persons produce good from what they've stored up; bad persons produce evil from the wickedness they've stored up in their hearts, and say evil things. For from the overflow of the heart they produce evil."
46 Jesus said, "From Adam to John the Baptist, among those born of women, no one is so much greater than John the Baptist that his eyes should not be averted. But I have said that whoever among you becomes a child will recognize the kingdom and will become greater than John."
47 Jesus said, "A person cannot mount two horses or bend two bows. And a slave cannot serve two masters, otherwise that slave will honor the one and offend the other. "Nobody drinks aged wine and immediately wants to drink young wine. Young wine is not poured into old wineskins, or they might break, and aged wine is not poured into a new wineskin, or it might spoil. An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment, since it would create a tear."
48 Jesus said, "If two make peace with each other in a single house, they will say to the mountain, 'Move from here!' and it will move."
49 Jesus said, "Congratulations to those who are alone and chosen, for you will find the kingdom. For you have come from it, and you will return there again."
50 Jesus said, "If they say to you, 'Where have you come from?' say to them, 'We have come from the light, from the place where the light came into being by itself, established [itself], and appeared in their image.' If they say to you, 'Is it you?' say, 'We are its children, and we are the chosen of the living Father.' If they ask you, 'What is the evidence of your Father in you?' say to them, 'It is motion and rest.'"
51 His disciples said to him, "When will the rest for the dead take place, and when will the new world come?" He said to them, "What you are looking forward to has come, but you don't know it."
52 His disciples said to him, "Twenty-four prophets have spoken in Israel, and they all spoke of you."
He said to them, "You have disregarded the living one who is in your presence, and have spoken of the dead."
53 His disciples said to him, "is circumcision useful or not?" He said to them, "If it were useful, their father would produce children already circumcised from their mother. Rather, the true circumcision in spirit has become profitable in every respect."
54 Jesus said, "Congratulations to the poor, for to you belongs Heaven's kingdom."
55 Jesus said, "Whoever does not hate father and mother cannot be my disciple, and whoever does not hate brothers and sisters, and carry the cross as I do, will not be worthy of me."
56 Jesus said, "Whoever has come to know the world has discovered a carcass, and whoever has discovered a carcass, of that person the world is not worthy."
57 Jesus said, "The Father's kingdom is like a person who has [good] seed. His enemy came during the night and sowed weeds among the good seed. The person did not let the workers pull up the weeds, but said to them, 'No, otherwise you might go to pull up the weeds and pull up the wheat along with them.' For on the day of the harvest the weeds will be conspicuous, and will be pulled up and burned."
58 Jesus said, "Congratulations to the person who has toiled and has found life."
59 Jesus said, "Look to the living one as long as you live, otherwise you might die and then try to see the living one, and you will be unable to see."
60 He saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb and going to Judea. He said to his disciples, "that person ... around the lamb." They said to him, "So that he may kill it and eat it." He said to them, "He will not eat it while it is alive, but only after he has killed it and it has become a carcass." They said, "Otherwise he can't do it." He said to them, "So also with you, seek for yourselves a place for rest, or you might become a carcass and be eaten."
61 Jesus said, "Two will recline on a couch; one will die, one will live." Salome said, "Who are you mister? You have climbed onto my couch and eaten from my table as if you are from someone." Jesus said to her, "I am the one who comes from what is whole. I was granted from the things of my Father." "I am your disciple." "For this reason I say, if one is whole, one will be filled with light, but if one is divided, one will be filled with darkness."
62 Jesus said, "I disclose my mysteries to those [who are worthy] of [my] mysteries. Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing."
63 Jesus said, There was a rich person who had a great deal of money. He said, "I shall invest my money so that I may sow, reap, plant, and fill my storehouses with produce, that I may lack nothing." These were the things he was thinking in his heart, but that very night he died. Anyone here with two ears had better listen!
64 Jesus said, A person was receiving guests. When he had prepared the dinner, he sent his slave to invite the guests. The slave went to the first and said to that one, "My master invites you." That one said, "Some merchants owe me money; they are coming to me tonight. I have to go and give them instructions. Please excuse me from dinner." The slave went to another and said to that one, "My master has invited you." That one said to the slave, "I have bought a house, and I have been called away for a day. I shall have no time." The slave went to another and said to that one, "My master invites you." That one said to the slave, "My friend is to be married, and I am to arrange the banquet. I shall not be able to come. Please excuse me from dinner." The slave went to another and said to that one, "My master invites you." That one said to the slave, "I have bought an estate, and I am going to collect the rent. I shall not be able to come. Please excuse me." The slave returned and said to his master, "Those whom you invited to dinner have asked to be excused." The master said to his slave, "Go out on the streets and bring back whomever you find to have dinner." Buyers and merchants [will] not enter the places of my Father.
65 He said, A [...] person owned a vineyard and rented it to some farmers, so they could work it and he could collect its crop from them. He sent his slave so the farmers would give him the vineyard's crop. They grabbed him, beat him, and almost killed him, and the slave returned and told his master. His master said, "Perhaps he didn't know them." He sent another slave, and the farmers beat that one as well. Then the master sent his son and said, "Perhaps they'll show my son some respect." Because the farmers knew that he was the heir to the vineyard, they grabbed him and killed him. Anyone here with two ears had better listen!
66 Jesus said, "Show me the stone that the builders rejected: that is the keystone."
67 Jesus said, "Those who know all, but are lacking in themselves, are utterly lacking."
68 Jesus said, "Congratulations to you when you are hated and persecuted; and no place will be found, wherever you have been persecuted."
69 Jesus said, "Congratulations to those who have been persecuted in their hearts: they are the ones who have truly come to know the Father. Congratulations to those who go hungry, so the stomach of the one in want may be filled."
70 Jesus said, "If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have that within you, what you do not have within you [will] kill you."
71 Jesus said, "I will destroy [this] house, and no one will be able to build it [...]."
72 A [person said] to him, "Tell my brothers to divide my father's possessions with me." He said to the person, "Mister, who made me a divider?" He turned to his disciples and said to them, "I'm not a divider, am I?"
73 Jesus said, "The crop is huge but the workers are few, so beg the harvest boss to dispatch workers to the fields."
74 He said, "Lord, there are many around the drinking trough, but there is nothing in the well."
75 Jesus said, "There are many standing at the door, but those who are alone will enter the bridal suite."
76 Jesus said, The Father's kingdom is like a merchant who had a supply of merchandise and found a peal. That merchant was prudent; he sold the merchandise and bought the single pearl for himself. So also with you, seek his treasure that is unfailing, that is enduring, where no moth comes to eat and no worm destroys."
77 Jesus said, "I am the light that is over all things. I am all: from me all came forth, and to me all attained. Split a piece of wood; I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there."
78 Jesus said, "Why have you come out to the countryside? To see a reed shaken by the wind? And to see a person dressed in soft clothes, [like your] rulers and your powerful ones? They are dressed in soft clothes, and they cannot understand truth."
79 A woman in the crowd said to him, "Lucky are the womb that bore you and the breasts that fed you." He said to [her], "Lucky are those who have heard the word of the Father and have truly kept it. For there will be days when you will say, 'Lucky are the womb that has not conceived and the breasts that have not given milk.'"
80 Jesus said, "Whoever has come to know the world has discovered the body, and whoever has discovered the body, of that one the world is not worthy."
81 Jesus said, "Let one who has become wealthy reign, and let one who has power renounce ."
82 Jesus said, "Whoever is near me is near the fire, and whoever is far from me is far from the kingdom."
83 Jesus said, "Images are visible to people, but the light within them is hidden in the image of the Father's light. He will be disclosed, but his image is hidden by his light."
84 Jesus said, "When you see your likeness, you are happy. But when you see your images that came into being before you and that neither die nor become visible, how much you will have to bear!"
85 Jesus said, "Adam came from great power and great wealth, but he was not worthy of you. For had he been worthy, [he would] not [have tasted] death."
86 Jesus said, "[Foxes have] their dens and birds have their nests, but human beings have no place to lay down and rest."
87 Jesus said, "How miserable is the body that depends on a body, and how miserable is the soul that depends on these two."
88 Jesus said, "The messengers and the prophets will come to you and give you what belongs to you. You, in turn, give them what you have, and say to yourselves, 'When will they come and take what belongs to them?'"
89 Jesus said, "Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Don't you understand that the one who made the inside is also the one who made the outside?"
90 Jesus said, "Come to me, for my yoke is comfortable and my lordship is gentle, and you will find rest for yourselves."
91 They said to him, "Tell us who you are so that we may believe in you."
He said to them, "You examine the face of heaven and earth, but you have not come to know the one who is in your presence, and you do not know how to examine the present moment.
92 Jesus said, "Seek and you will find. In the past, however, I did not tell you the things about which you asked me then. Now I am willing to tell them, but you are not seeking them."
93 "Don't give what is holy to dogs, for they might throw them upon the manure pile. Don't throw pearls [to] pigs, or they might ... it [...]."
94 Jesus [said], "One who seeks will find, and for [one who knocks] it will be opened."
95 [Jesus said], "If you have money, don't lend it at interest. Rather, give [it] to someone from whom you won't get it back."
96 Jesus [said], "The Father's kingdom is like [a] woman. She took a little leaven, [hid] it in dough, and made it into large loaves of bread. Anyone here with two ears had better listen!"
97 Jesus said, "The [Father's] kingdom is like a woman who was carrying a [jar] full of meal. While she was walking along [a] distant road, the handle of the jar broke and the meal spilled behind her [along] the road. She didn't know it; she hadn't noticed a problem. When she reached her house, she put the jar down and discovered that it was empty."
98 Jesus said, "The Father's kingdom is like a person who wanted to kill someone powerful. While still at home he drew his sword and thrust it into the wall to find out whether his hand would go in. Then he killed the powerful one."
99 The disciples said to him, "Your brothers and your mother are standing outside." He said to them, "Those here who do what my Father wants are my brothers and my mother. They are the ones who will enter my Father's kingdom."
100 They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, "The Roman emperor's people demand taxes from us." He said to them, "Give the emperor what belongs to the emperor, give God what belongs to God, and give me what is mine."
101 "Whoever does not hate [father] and mother as I do cannot be my [disciple], and whoever does [not] love [father and] mother as I do cannot be my [disciple]. For my mother [...], but my true [mother] gave me life."
102 Jesus said, "Damn the Pharisees! They are like a dog sleeping in the cattle manger: the dog neither eats nor [lets] the cattle eat."
103 Jesus said, "Congratulations to those who know where the rebels are going to attack. [They] can get going, collect their imperial resources, and be prepared before the rebels arrive."
104 They said to Jesus, "Come, let us pray today, and let us fast." Jesus said, "What sin have I committed, or how have I been undone? Rather, when the groom leaves the bridal suite, then let people fast and pray."
105 Jesus said, "Whoever knows the father and the mother will be called the child of a whore."
106 Jesus said, "When you make the two into one, you will become children of Adam, and when you say, 'Mountain, move from here!' it will move."
107 Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of them, the largest, went astray. He left the ninety- nine and looked for the one until he found it. After he had toiled, he said to the sheep, 'I love you more than the ninety-nine.'"
108 Jesus said, "Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me; I myself shall become that person, and the hidden things will be revealed to him."
109 Jesus said, "The (Father's) kingdom is like a person who had a treasure hidden in his field but did not know it. And [when] he died he left it to his [son]. The son [did] not know about it either. He took over the field and sold it. The buyer went plowing, [discovered] the treasure, and began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished."
110 Jesus said, "Let one who has found the world, and has become wealthy, renounce the world."
111 Jesus said, "The heavens and the earth will roll up in your presence, and whoever is living from the living one will not see death."
Does not Jesus say, "Those who have found themselves, of them the world is not worthy"?
112 Jesus said, "Damn the flesh that depends on the soul. Damn the soul that depends on the flesh."
113 His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?" "It will not come by watching for it. It will not be said, 'Look, here!' or 'Look, there!' Rather, the Father's kingdom is spread out upon the earth, and people don't see it."
[Saying added to the original collection at a later date:] 114 Simon Peter said to them, "Make Mary leave us, for females don't deserve life." Jesus said, "Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of Heaven."
Translation: "The Scholars' Version," copyright Polebridge Press, used with permission.
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The Gospel of Thomas
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THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS
The following is a fresh translation, made from the Coptic text published by Messrs. Brill of Leiden. In the preparation of this versi the following six translations have been consulted, in addition to to published by Messrs. Brill: English by W. R. Schoedel, French by Doresse and R. Kasser, German by J. LeipoIdt and Hans Quecke Danish by S. Giversen. The numbering of the sayings is that of the Brill edition.
These are the secret words which the living Jesus spoke, and Didymus Judas Thomas wrote them down.
(1) And he said: He who shall find the interpretation of the words shall not taste of death.
(2) Jesus said: He who seeks, let him not cease seeking until: finds; and when he finds he will be troubled, and if he is troubled, he will be amazed, and he will reign over the All.
(3) Jesus said: If those who lead you say unto you: Behold, the Kingdom is in heaven, then the birds of the heaven will be before you. If they say unto you: It is in the sea, then the fish will be before you. But the Kingdom is within you, and it is outside of you. When you know yourselves, then shall you be known, and you shall know that you are the sons of the living Father. But if ye do not know yourselves, then you are in poverty, and you are poverty.
(4) Jesus said: The man aged in his days will not hesitate ask a little child of seven days about the place of life, and he shall live. For there are many first who shall be last, and they shall become a single one.
(5) Jesus said: Know what is before thy face, and what hidden from thee shall be revealed unto thee; for there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest.
(6) His disciples asked him and said unto him: Wilt thou that we fast? And how shall we pray? Shall we give alms? And what rules shall we observe in eating? Jesus said: Do not lie; and that which you hate, do not do. For all things are revealed before heaven. For there is nothing hidden which shall not be manifest, and there is nothing covered which shall remain without being uncovered.
(7) Jesus said: Blessed is the lion which the man shall eat, and the lion become man; and cursed is the man whom the lion shall eat, and the lion become man.
(8) And he said: Man is like a wise fisherman, who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of small fish. Among them the wise fisherman found a large good fish. He threw down all the small fish into the sea; he chose the large fish without trouble. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
(9) Jesus said: Behold, the sower went forth, he filled his hand, he cast. Some fell upon the road; the birds came and gathered them. Others fell on the rock, and sent no root down to the earth nor did they sprout any ear up to heaven. And others fell on the thorns; they choked the seed, and the worm ate them. And others fell on the good earth, and brought forth good fruit unto heaven, some sixty -fold and some an hundred and twenty -fold.
(10) Jesus said: I have cast fire upon the world, and behold I guard it until it is ablaze.
(11) Jesus said: This heaven shall pass away, and that which above it shall pass away; and they that are dead are not alive and they that live shall not die. In the days when you were eating that which is dead, you were making it alive. When you come in the light, what will you do? On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you have become two, what will you do?
(12) The disciples said to Jesus: We know that thou wilt go from us. Who is he who shall be great over us? Jesus said to them: In the place to which you come, you shall go to James the Just for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.
(13) Jesus said to his disciples: Make a comparison to me, and tell me whom I am like. Simon Peter said to him: Thou art like a righteous angel. Matthew said to him: Thou art like a wise man of understanding. Thomas said to him: Master, my mouth will no wise suffer that I say whom thou art like. Jesus said: I am not thy master, because thou hast drunk, thou hast become drunk from the bubbling spring which I have measured out. And he took him, went aside, and spoke to him three words. Now when Thomas came to his companions, they asked him: What did Jesus say unto thee? Thomas said to them: If I tell you one of the words which he said to me, you will take up stones and throw them me; and a fire will come out of the stones and burn you up.
(14) Jesus said to them: If you fast, you will beget a sin for yourselves; and if you pray, you will be condemned; and if you give alms, you will do an evil to your spirits. And if you go into any land and travel in its regions, if they receive you eat what they set before you. Heal the sick among them. For that which goes into your mouth will not defile you, but that which comes forth from your mouth, that is what will defile you.
(15) Jesus said: When you see him who was not born of woman, throw yourselves down upon your face and worship him. He is your Father.
(16) Jesus said: Perhaps men think that I am come to cast peace upon the world, and know not that I am come to cast divisions upon the earth, fire, sword, war. For there shall be five in a house; there shall be three against two, and two against three, the father against the son and the son against the father, and they shall stand as solitaries.
(17) Jesus said: I will give you that which eye has not seen, an ear has not heard, and hand has not touched, and which has not entered into the heart of man.
(18) The disciples said to Jesus: Tell us how our end shall be. Jesus said: Have you then discovered the beginning, that you seek after the end? For where the beginning is, there shall the end be. Blessed is he who shall stand in the beginning, and he shall know the end and shall not taste of death.
(19) Jesus said: Blessed is he who was before he came into being. If you become my disciples and hear my words, these stones shall minister unto you. For you have five trees in Paradise which do not move in summer or in winter, and their leaves do not fall. He who knows them shall not taste of death.
(20) The disciples said to Jesus: Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like. He said to them: It is like a grain of mustard-seed, smaller than all seeds; but when it falls on the earth which is tilled, it puts forth a great branch, and becomes shelter for the birds of heaven.
(21) Mary said to Jesus: Whom are thy disciples like? He said They are like little children dwelling in a field which is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say: Yield up to us our field. They are naked before them, to yield it up to them and to give them back their field. Therefore I say: If the master of the house knows that the thief is coming, he will keep watch before he comes, and will not let him dig into his house of his kingdom to carry off his vessels. You, then, be watchful over against the world. Gird up your loins with great strength, that the brigands may not find a way to come at you, since the advantage for which you look they will find. May there be among you a man of understanding! When the fruit was ripe, he came quickly, his sickle in his hand, and reaped it. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
(22) Jesus saw some infants at the breast. He said to his disciples: These little ones at the breast are like those who enter into the kingdom. They said to him: If we then be children, shall we enter the kingdom? Jesus said to them: When you make the two one, and when you make the inside as the outside, and the outside as the inside, and the upper side as the lower; and when you make the male and the female into a single one, that the male be not male and the female female; when you make eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then shall you enter [the kingdom].
(23) Jesus said: I shall choose you, one out of a thousand, and two out of ten thousand, and they shall stand as a single one.
(24) His disciples said: Teach us concerning the place where thou art, for it is necessary for us to seek after it. He said to them: He that hath ears, let him hear. There is a light within a man of light, and it gives light to the whole world. If it does not give light, there is darkness.
(25) Jesus said: Love thy brother as thy soul; keep him as the apple of thine eye.
(26) Jesus said: The mote which is in thy brother's eye, thou seest; but the beam which is in thine eye, thou seest not. When thou dost cast out the beam from thine own eye, then wilt thou see to cast out the mote from thy brother's eye.
(27) Jesus said: If you fast not from the world, you will not find the kingdom; if you keep not the Sabbath as Sabbath, you will not see the Father.
(28) Jesus said: I stood in the midst of the world, and I appeared to them in flesh. I found them all drunk, I found none among them thirsting; and my soul was afflicted for the sons of men, for they are blind in their heart and they do not see. For empty came they into the world, seeking also to depart empty from the world. But now they are drunk. When they have thrown off their wine, then will they repent.
(29) Jesus said: If the flesh has come into being because of the spirit, it is a marvel; but if the spirit (has come into being) because of the body, it is a marvel of marvels. But as for me, I marvel at this, how this great wealth has settled in this poverty.
(30) Jesus said: Where there are three gods, they are gods; where there are two or one, I am with him.
(31) Jesus said: No prophet is acceptable in his village; a physician does not heal those who know him.
(32) Jesus said: A city that is built on a high mountain and fortified cannot fall, nor can it remain hidden.
(33) Jesus said: What thou shalt hear in thine ear, proclaim to the other ear on your roof-tops. For no man lights a lamp and sets it under a bushel, nor does he put it in a hidden place; but he sets it upon the lamp-stand, that all who go in and come out may see its light.
(34) Jesus said: If a blind man lead a blind man, both fall into a pit.
(35) Jesus said: It is not possible for anyone to go into the strong man's house and take it (or him) by force, unless he bind his hands; then he will plunder his house.
(36) Jesus said: Be not anxious from morning to evening and from evening to morning about what you shall put on.
(37) His disciples said: On what day wilt thou be revealed us, and on what day shall we see thee? Jesus said: When you unclothe yourselves and are not ashamed, and take your garments and lay them beneath your feet like little children, and tread upon them, then [shall ye see] the Son of the living One, and ye shall not fear.
(38) Jesus said: Many times have you desired to hear these words which I speak unto you, and you have none other from whom to hear them. Days will come when you will seek after me, and you will not find me.
(39) Jesus said: The Pharisees and the scribes have receive the keys of knowledge; they have hidden them. They did not go in, and those who wanted to go in they did not allow. But you be ye wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
(40) Jesus said: A vine was planted apart from the Father, and since it is not established it will be pulled up by its roots and destroyed.
(41) Jesus said: He who has in his hand, to him shall be given; and he who has not, from him shall be taken even the little that he has.
(42) Jesus said: Become passers-by.
(43) His disciples said to him: Who art thou, that thou shouldst say these things to us? Jesus said to them From what I say unto you, you do not understand who I am, but you have become as the Jews; for they love the tree and hate its fruit, and they love the fruit and hate the tree.
(44) Jesus said: He who blasphemes against the Father will be forgiven, and he who blasphemes against the Son will be forgiven but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either on earth or in heaven.
(45) Jesus said: They do not gather grapes from thorns, no pluck figs from camel-thistles; they do not yield fruit. A good man brings forth a good thing from his treasure; a bad man bring forth evil things from his evil treasure which is in his heart, and he says evil things; for out of the abundance of his heart he brings forth evil things.
(46) Jesus said: From Adam to John the Baptist there is none born of woman who is higher than John the Baptist, so that his eyes will not be broken (?) But I have said, He who shall be among you as a little one shall know the kingdom, and shall be higher than John.
(47) Jesus said: It is not possible for a man to ride two horses or draw two bows, and it is not possible for a servant to serve two masters; or he will honour the one and insult the other. A man does not drink old wine and immediately desire to drink new wine; and they do not pour new wine into old skins, lest they burst, nor do they pour old wine into new skins, lest it spoil. They do not sew an old patch on a new garment, for a rent will come.
(48) Jesus said: If two make peace with one another in this or house, they shall say to the mountain: Be moved, and it shall be moved.
(49) Jesus said: Blessed are the solitary and the elect, for you shall find the kingdom; for you came forth thence, and shall go there again.
(50) Jesus said: If they say to you: Whence have you come?, tell them: We have come from the light, the place where the light came into being through itself alone. It [stood], and it re- vealed itself in their image. If they say to you: Who are you?, say: We are his sons, and we are the elect of the living Father. If they ask you: What is the sign of your Father in you?, tell them: It is a movement and a rest.
(51) His disciples said to him: On what day will the rest of the dead come into being? And on what day will the new world come? He said to them: That which ye await has come, but ye know it not.
(52) His disciples said to him: Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel, and they all spoke concerning (lit. in) thee. He said them: You have neglected him who is alive before you, and have spoken about the dead.
(53) His disciples said to him: Is circumcision profitable or not? He said to them: Were it profitable, their father would beget them from their mother circumcised. But the true circum- cision in spirit has proved entirely profitable (lit.: has found usefulness altogether).
(54) Jesus said: Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.
(55) Jesus said: He who shall not hate his father and his mother cannot be my disciple, and (he who does not) hate his brethren and his sisters and take up his cross like me shall not be worthy of me.
(56) Jesus said: He who has known the world has found corpse, and he who has found a corpse, the world is not worthy of him.
(57) Jesus said: The kingdom of the Father is like a man who had [good] seed. His enemy came by night, he sowed a weed among the good seed. The man did not allow them to pull up the weed. He said to them: Lest perhaps you go to pull up the weed, and pull up the wheat with it. For on the day of harvest the weeds will be manifest; they will be pulled up and burned.
(58) Jesus said: Blessed is the man who has suffered; he has found the life.
(59) Jesus said: Look upon the living One so long as you live, that you may not die and seek to see him, and be unable to see.
(60) They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb going into Judaea. He said to his disciples: Why does he carry the lamb? They said to him: That he may kill it and eat it. He said to them: So long as it is alive he will not eat it, but if he kill it and it become a corpse. They said: Otherwise he will not be able to do it. He said to them: You also, seek for yourselves a place within for rest, lest you become a corpse and be eaten.
(61) Jesus said: Two shall rest upon a bed; one shall die, the other live.
Salome said: Who art thou; O man? And whose son? Thou hast mounted my bed, and eaten from my table. Jesus said to her I am he who is from that which is equal; to me was given of the things of my Father. Salome said I am thy disciple. Jesus said to her Therefore I say, when it is equal it will be filled with light, but when it is divided it will be filled with darkness
(62) Jesus said: I tell my mysteries to those [who are worthy of my] mysteries. What thy right hand shall do, let not thy left hand know what it does.
(63) Jesus said: There was a rich man who had many possessions. He said: I will use my possessions that I may sow and reap and plant, and fill my barns with fruit, that I may have need of nothing. These were his thoughts in his heart. And in that night he died. He that hath ears, let him hear.
(64) Jesus said: A man had guests, and when he had prepared the dinner he sent his servant to summon the guests. He came to the first; he said to him: My master summons thee. He said: I have money with some merchants. They are coming to me in the evening. I will go and give them orders. I pray to be excused from he dinner. He went to another; he said to him: My master has summoned thee. He said to him: I have bought a house, and they ask me for a day. I shall not have time. He came to another; he aid to him: My master summons thee. He said to him: My friend is about to be married, and I am to hold a dinner. I shall not be able to come. I pray to be excused from the dinner. He went to another; he said to him: My master summons thee. He said him: I have bought a village; I go to collect the rent. I shall not be able to come. I pray to be excused. The servant came, he said to his master: Those whom thou didst summon to the dinner have excused themselves. The master said to his servant: Go out to the roads. Bring those whom thou shall find, that they may dine. The buyers and the merchants [shall] not [enter] the places of my Father.
(65) He said: A good man had a vineyard. He gave it to husbandmen that they might work it, and he receive its fruit their hand. He sent his servant, that the husbandmen might give him the fruit of the vineyard. They seized his servant, they beat him, and all but killed him. The servant came (and) told his master. His master said: Perhaps they did not know him. He sent another servant; the husbandmen beat the other also. Then the master sent his son. He said: Perhaps they will reverence my son. Those husbandmen, since they knew that he was the heir the vineyard, they seized him (and) killed him. He that hath ears, let him hear.
(66) Jesus said: Teach me concerning this stone which the builders rejected; it is the corner -stone.
(67) Jesus said: He who knows the All but fails (to know) him-self lacks everything.
(68) Jesus said: Blessed are you when they hate you, and persecute you, and do not find a place in the spot where they persecuted you.
(69) Jesus said: Blessed are they who have been persecuted in their heart; these are they who have known the Father in truth. Blessed are they that hunger, that they may fill the belly him who desires.
(70) Jesus said: When you bring forth that in yourselves, that which you have will save you. If you do not have that in yourselves, that which you do not have in you will kill you.
(71) Jesus said: I will des[troy this] house, and none shall able to build it [again].
(72) [A man said] to him: Speak to my brethren, that they may divide my father's possessions with me. He said to him: O man, who made me a divider? He turned to his disciples (and) said to them: I am not a divider, am I ?
(73) Jesus said: The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few; but pray the Lord, that he send forth labourers into the harvest.
(74) He said: Lord, there are many about the well, but no one in the well.
(75) Jesus said: There are many standing at the door, but the solitary are they who shall enter the bridal chamber.
(76) Jesus said: The kingdom of the Father is like a merchant was who had a load (of goods) and found a pearl. That merchant was wise. He sold the load, and bought for himself the pearl alone. You also, seek after his treasure which does not perish but endures, where moth does not enter to devour, nor does worm destroy.
(77) Jesus said: I am the light that is over them all. I am the All; the All has come forth from me, and the All has attained unto me. Cleave a (piece of) wood: I am there. Raise up the stone, an ye shall find me there.
(78) Jesus said: Why came ye forth into the field? To see reed shaken by the wind? And to see a man clothed in soft raiment? [Behold, your] kings and your great men are they who are clothed in soft [raiment], and they [shall] not be able to know the truth.
(79) A woman in the crowd said to him: Blessed is the womb which bore thee, and the breasts which nourished thee. He said to her: Blessed are they who have heard the word of the Father and have kept it in truth. For there shall be days when you will say: Blessed is that womb which has not conceived, and those breasts which have not given suck.
(80) Jesus said: He who has known the world has found the body, and he who has found the body, the world is not worthy of him.
(8 I ) Jesus said: He who has become rich, let him become king, and he who has power let him deny.
(82) Jesus said: He who is near to me is near the fire, and he who is far from me is far from the kingdom.
(83) Jesus said: The images are revealed to the man, and the light which is in them is hidden in the image of the light of the Father. He shall be revealed, and his image is hidden by his light.
(84) Jesus said: When you see your likeness, you rejoice; but when you see your images which came into being before you -- they neither die nor are made manifest -- how much will you bear?
(85) Jesus said: Adam came into being out of a great power and a great wealth, and yet he was not worthy of you. For if he tad been worthy, he would not have tasted of death.
(86) Jesus said: [The foxes have] the[ir holes] and the birds have [theirs nest, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head and rest.
(87) Jesus said: Wretched is the body which depends upon a body, and wretched is the soul which depends on these two.
(88) Jesus said: The angels come to you, and the prophets, and they shall give you what belongs to you; and you also, give the what is in your hands, and say to yourselves: On what day do they come and take what is theirs?
(89) Jesus said: Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Do you not understand that he who made the inside is also he who made the outside?
(90) Jesus said: Come unto me, for easy is my yoke and my lordship is gentle, and you shall find rest for yourselves.
(91) They said to him: Tell us who thou art, that we may believe in thee. He said to them: You test the face of the heaven and the earth, and him who is before you you do not know, and you know not to test this moment.
(92) Jesus said: Seek, and ye shall find; but those things concerning which ye asked me in those days, I did not tell you then. Now I wish to tell them, and ye seek not after them.
(93) Jesus said: Give not that which is holy to the dogs, lest they cast them on the dung- heap; cast not the pearls to the swine lest they grind it [to bits].
(94) Jesus [said]: He who seeks shall find, and he who knock to him it shall be opened.
(95) [Jesus said]: If you have money, do not lend at interest, but give [it] to him from whom you will not receive them back.
(96) Jesus [said]: The kingdom of the Father is like a woman who took a little leaven and [hid] it in meal; she made large loaves of it. He that hath ears, let him hear.
(97) Jesus said: The kingdom of the [Father] is like a woman; carrying a jar full of meal and walking a long way. The handle the jar broke; the meal poured out behind her on the road. She was unaware, she knew not her loss. When she came into her house, she put down the jar (and) found it empty.
(98) Jesus said: The kingdom of the Father is like a man who wanted to kill a great man. He drew the sword in his house and drove it into the wall, that he might know that his hand would be strong. Then he slew the great man.
(99) The disciples said to him: Thy brethren and thy mother are standing outside. He said to them: Those here who do the will of my Father, these are my brethren and my mother; these are they who shall enter into the kingdom of my Father.
(100) They showed Jesus a gold piece and said to him: They who belong to Caesar demand tribute from us. He said to them: What belongs to Caesar give to Caesar, what belongs to God give to God, and what is mine give unto me.
(101) Jesus said He who shall not hate his father and: mother like me cannot be my [disciple], and he who shall [not] love [his father] and his mother like me cannot be my [disciple]; for my mother [. ..] but my true [mother] gave me life.
(102) And Jesus said: Woe to them, the Pharisees! For they are like a dog sleeping in the manger of the cattle; for he neither eats, nor does he let the cattle eat.
(103) Jesus said: Blessed is the man who knows in what part the robbers are coming, that he may rise and gather his [domain] and gird up his loins before they come in.
(104) They said [to him]: Come, let us pray today and fast. Jesus said: What then is the sin that I have done, or wherein have I been vanquished? But when the bridegroom comes forth from the bridal chamber, then let them fast and pray.
(105) Jesus said: He who shall know father and mother shall be called the son of a harlot.
(106) Jesus said: When you make the two one, you shall become sons of man, and when you say: Mountain, be moved, it shall be moved.
(I07) Jesus said: The kingdom is like a shepherd who had hundred sheep. One of them, the biggest, went astray. He left the ninety-nine and sought after the one till he found it. When he had laboured, he said to the sheep: I love thee more than the ninety-nine.
(I08) Jesus said: He who shall drink from my mouth shall become like me; I myself will become he, and the hidden thing shall be revealed to him.
(109) Jesus said: The kingdom is like a man who had in his field a [hidden] treasure about which he did not know; and [after] he died he left it to his [son. The] son also did not know; he took (possession of) that field and sold it. The man who bough it came to plough, and [found] the treasure. He began to lend money at interest to whomsoever he chose.
(110) Jesus said: He who has found the world and become rich, let him deny the world.
(111) Jesus said: The heavens shall be rolled up and the earth before your face, and he who lives in the living One shall neither see death nor (fear); because Jesus says: He who shall find himself, of him the world is not worthy.
(112) Jesus said: Woe to the flesh which depends upon the soul; woe to the soul which depends upon the flesh.
(113) His disciples said to him: On what day will the kingdom come? <Jesus said>: It cometh not with observation. They will not say: Lo, here! or: Lo, there! But the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it.
(114) Simon Peter said to them: Let Mary go forth from among us, for women are not worthy of the life. Jesus said: Behold, I shall lead her, that I may make her male, in order that she also may become a living spirit like you males. For every woman who makes herself male shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
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GOSPEL OF THOMAS (Paterson
Brown's Translation)
These are the secret sayings which the living Yeshúa' has spoken and Didymos Judas Thomas inscribed. (Lk 8:10)
1. And he «says»: Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings shall not taste death. (Isa 25:8, Lk 9:27, Jn 8:51; this is apparently a meta-saying of Thomas himself, since it speaks of the following as a collection of sayings; thruout the Greek fragments of Thomas, 'x says' is in the present tense)
2. Yeshua says: Let him who seeks not cease seeking until he finds, and when
he finds he shall be troubled, and when he has been troubled he shall marvel and
he shall reign over everything «and find repose».
(Dan 7:27, Lk 1:29, Rev/Ap 1:6, 3:21, 5:10, 20:4)
3. Yeshua says: If those who would lead you, say to you: Behold, the kingdom
is in the sky!, then the birds of the sky would precede you. If they say to you:
It is in the sea!, then the fish «of the sea» would precede you. But the kingdom
«of God» is within you and it is without you. «Those who come to know themselves
shall find it, and when you come to know yourselves» then you shall know that
you are the Sons of the living Father. Yet if you do not know yourselves then
you are impoverished and you are poverty.
(Dt 30:11-14, Mal 2:10, Lk 17:21, Plato's Philebus 48c, 63c)
4. Yeshua says: The person old in days will not hesitate to ask a little
child of seven days concerning the place of life—and he shall live. For many who
are first shall become last, «and the last first». And they shall become a
single unity.
(Gen 2:2-3, 17:12, Mt 11:25-26, Lk 10:21)
5. Yeshua says: Recognize what is in front of thy face, and what is hidden from thee shall be revealed to thee. For there is nothing concealed which shall not be revealed «and nothing buried that shall not be raised».
6. His disciples ask him,* they say to him: How do thou want us to fast, and
how shall we pray? And how shall we give alms, and what diet shall we maintain?
| Yeshua says: Do not lie, and do not practice what you hate—for everything is
manifest before the face of the sky. For there is nothing concealed that shall
not be revealed, and there is nothing covered that shall remain without being
exposed.
(*asyndeton, or omission of conjunctions, characterizing Semitic languages but
not Greek or Coptic—thus signaling a Semitic source-language)
7. Yeshua says: Blest be the lion which the human eats—and the lion shall become human. And accursed be the human which the lion eats—and the [human] shall become [lion].
8. And he says: The [kingdom] is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea. He drew it up from the sea full of small fish. Among them he found a large good fish. That wise fisherman, he threw all the small fish back into the sea,* he chose the large fish without hesitation. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear! (*asyndeton)
9. Yeshua says: Behold, the sower came forth—he filled his hand, he threw.
Some indeed fell upon the road—the birds came, they gathered them. Others fell
on the bedrock—and they did not take root down into the soil, and did not sprout
grain skyward. And others fell among the thorns—they choked the seed, and the
worm ate them. And others fell upon the good earth—and it produced good fruit up
toward the sky, it bore 60-fold and 120-fold.
(multiple asyndeta; Mt 13:18-23)
10. Yeshua says: I have cast fire upon the world—and behold, I guard it until
it is ablaze.
(Lk 12:49)
11. Yeshua says: This sky shall pass away, and the one above it shall pass
away. And the dead are not alive, and the living shall not die. In the days when
you consumed the dead, you transformed it to life—when you come into the light,
what will you do? On the day when you were together, you became separated—yet
when you have become separated, what will you do?
(Mt 24:35)
12. The disciples say to Yeshua: We know that thou shall go away from us. Who
is it that shall be Rabbi over us? | Yeshua says to them: In the place that you
have come, you shall go to Jacob the Righteous, for whose sake the sky and earth
come to be.
(apparently a post-resurrection dialog; vide Jn 7:5 & Ac 1:14)
13. Yeshua says to his disciples: Make a comparison to me, and tell me whom I resemble. | Simon Peter says to him: Thou are like a righteous angel.| Matthew says to him: Thou are like a philosopher of the heart. | Thomas says to him: Teacher, my mouth will not at all be capable of saying whom thou are like. | Yeshua says: I'm not thy teacher, now that thou have drunk, thou have become drunken from the bubbling spring which I have measured out. And he takes him, he withdraws, he speaks three words to him:
ahyh ashr ahyh
I•Am Who I•Am
Now when Thomas comes to his comrades, they inquire of him: What did Yeshua
say to thee? | Thomas says to them: If I tell you even one of the words which he
spoke to me, you will take up stones to cast at me—and fire will come from the
stones to consume you. (the Name does not appear in the papyrus, but can be
inferred;
Ex 3:14, Lev 24:16, Mk 14:62, Lk 6:40, Jn 4:14, 15:1, Th 61b, 77, Odes of
Solomon 11:6-9)
14. Yeshua says to them: If you fast, you shall beget transgression for
yourselves. And if you pray, you shall be condemned. And if you give alms, you
shall cause evil to your spirits. And when you go into any land to sojourn in
the regions, if they receive you then eat what they set before you and heal the
sick among them. For what goes into your mouth will not defile you—but rather
what comes out of your mouth, that is what will defile you.
(Isa 58:6-9, Mt 6:6 + Jn 18:1, Th 6, 95, 104, Ph 74)
15. Yeshua says: When you see him who was not born of woman, prostrate yourselves upon your faces and worship him | he is your Father.
16. Yeshua says: People perhaps think that I have come to cast peace upon the world, and they do not know that I have come to cast divisions upon the earth—fire, sword, war. For there shall be five in a house—three shall be against two and two against three, the father against the son and the son against the father. And they shall stand as solitaries.
17. Yeshua says: I shall give to you what eye has not seen and what ear has
not heard and what hand has not touched and what has not arisen in the mind of
mankind.
(Isa 64:4)
18. The disciples say to Yeshua: Tell us how our end shall be. | Yeshua says: Have you then discovered the origin, so that you inquire about the end? For at the place where the origin is, there shall be the end. Blest be he who shall stand at the origin—and he shall know the end, and he shall not taste death.
19. Yeshua says: Blest be he who was before he came into being. If you become disciples to me and heed my sayings, these stones shall minister to you. For you have five trees in paradise, which in summer are unmoved and in winter their leaves do not fall—whoever is acquainted with them shall not taste death.
20. The disciples say to Yeshua: Tell us what the kingdom of the heavens is like. | He says to them: It resembles a mustard seed, smaller than all (other) seeds—yet when it falls on the tilled earth, it produces a great plant and becomes shelter for the birds of the sky.
21. Mary says to Yeshua: Whom are thy disciples like? | He says: They are like little children who are sojourning in a field which is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say: Leave our field to us! They take off their clothing in front of them in order to yield it to them and to give back their field to them. Therefore I say, if the householder ascertains that the thief is coming, he will be alert before he arrives and will not allow him to dig thru into the house of his domain to carry away his belongings. Yet you, beware of the system—gird up your loins with great strength lest the bandits find a way to reach you, for they will find the advantage which you anticipate. Let there be among you a person of awareness—when the fruit ripened, he came quickly with his sickle in his hand,* he reaped it. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear! (*asyndeton)
22. Yeshua sees little children who are being suckled. He says to his disciples: These little children who are being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom. | They say to him: Shall we thus by becoming little children enter the kingdom? | Yeshua says to them: When you make the two one, and you make the inside as the outside and the outside as the inside and the above as the below, and if you establish the male with the female as a single unity so that the man will not be masculine and the woman not be feminine, when you establish [an eye] in the place of an eye and a hand in the place of a hand and a foot in the place of a foot and an image in the place of an image then shall you enter [the kingdom].
23. Yeshua says: I shall choose you, one from a thousand and two from ten
thousand—and they shall stand as a single unity.
(Dt 32:30, Ecc 7:28, Jer 3:14)
24. His disciples say: Explain thy place to us, for it is compulsory for us
to seek it. | He says to them: Whoever has ears, let him hear! Within a person
of light there is light, and he illumines the entire world. When he does not
shine, there is darkness.
(Mt 5:14-16, Jn 12:36)
25. Yeshua says: Love thy brother as thy soul, protect him as the pupil of
thine eye.
(asyndeton; Dt 32:10, I-Sam 18:1, Ps 17:8, Jn 13:34-35)
26. Yeshua says: The mote, which is in thy brother's eye, thou see—but the
plank that is in thine own eye thou see not. When thou cast the plank out of
thine own eye, then shall thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's
eye.
27. (Yeshua says:) Unless you fast from the system, you shall not find the
kingdom «of God». Unless you keep the (entire) week as sabbath, you shall not
behold the Father.
(Mk 1:13, Jn 5:19!; see Paterson Brown, Novum Testamentum 1992)
28. Yeshua says: I stood in the midst of the world, and incarnate* I was
manifest to them. I found them all drunk, I found none among them athirst. And
my soul was grieved for the sons of men, for they are blind in their hearts and
do not see that empty they have come into the world and that empty they are
destined to come forth again from the world. (Ecc 6:15) However, now they are
drunk—when they have shaken off their wine, then shall they rethink.
(* re 'Gnosticism', Jn 1:14!—this appears to be a post-resurrection saying)
29. Yeshua says: If the flesh has come into being because of spirit, it is a marvel—yet if spirit because of the body, it would be a marvel among marvels. But I marvel at this, how this great wealth has inhabited this poverty.
30. Yeshua says: Where there are three gods, they are «godless. Where there
is only one, I say that» I myself am with him. «Raise the stone and there you
shall find me, cleave the wood and there am I.»
(cp. The Letter of Aristeas 15-16)
31. Yeshua says: No oracle is accepted in his own village, no physician heals those who know him. (asyndeton)
32. Yeshua says: A city being built upon a high mountain and fortified cannot fall nor can it be hidden.
33. Yeshua says: What thou shall hear in thy ear proclaim to other ears from your rooftops. For no one kindles a lamp and sets it under a bushel-basket nor puts it in a hidden place, but rather it is placed upon the lampstand so that everyone who comes in and goes out will see its light.
34. Yeshua says: If a blind person leads a blind person, both together fall into a pit.
35. Yeshua says: It is impossible for anyone to enter the house of the strong
to take it by force, unless he binds his hands—then he will ransack his house.
(Isa 49:24-25)
36. Yeshua says: Be not anxious in the morning about the evening or in the evening about the morning, «either for your [food] that you shall eat or for [your clothing] that you shall wear. You are much superior to the [windflowers] which neither comb (wool) nor [spin] (thread). Having one garment what do you [lack]? Or who can increase your stature? He himself shall give to you your garment.»
37. His disciples say: When will thou be revealed to us, and when shall we
behold thee? | Yeshua says: When you take off your clothing without being
ashamed, and take your clothes and place them under your feet to tread on them
as the little children do—then [shall you behold] the Son of the living-one, and
you shall not fear.
(Gen 2:25, 3:7; this appears to be a post-resurrection dialog)
38. Yeshua says: Many times have you yearned to hear these sayings which I
speak to you, and you have no one else from whom to hear them. There will be
days when you will seek me but you shall not find me.
(Prov 1:28, Lk 17:22)
39. Yeshua says: The clergy and the theologians have received the keys of
knowledge, but they have hidden them. They did not enter, nor did they permit
those to enter who wished to. Yet you—become astute as serpents and pure as
doves.
40. Yeshua says: A vine has been planted without the Father, and as it is not
viable it shall be pulled up by its roots and destroyed.
(Mt 15:13)
41. Yeshua says: Whoever has in his hand, to him shall (more) be given. And
whoever does not have, from him shall be taken even the trifle which he has.
(Mt 13:12, Lk 12:48)
42. Yeshua says: Become transients.
(Mt 10:1-23, 28:19-20, Jn 16:28)
43. His disciples say to him: Who are thou, that thou say these things to us?
| (Yeshua says to them:) From what I say to you, you do not recognize who I be,
but rather you have become as the Jews—for they love the tree but hate its
fruit, and they love the fruit but hate the tree.
(Mt 12:33)
44. Yeshua says: Whoever vilifies the Father, it shall be forgiven him. And whoever vilifies the Son, it shall be forgiven him. Yet whoever vilifies the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him—neither on earth nor in heaven.
45. Yeshua says: They do not harvest grapes from thorns, nor do they gather
figs from thistles—for they give no fruit. A good person brings forth goodness
out of his treasure. A bad person brings forth wickedness out of his evil
treasure which is in his heart, and he speaks oppressively—for out of the
abundance of the heart he brings forth wickedness.
(I-Sam 24:13)
46. Yeshua says: From Adam until John the Baptist there is among those born
of women none more exalted than John the Baptist—so that his eyes shall not be
broken. Yet I have said that whoever among you becomes childlike shall know the
kingdom, and he shall become more exalted than John.
(Lk 7:28, Th 15)
47. Yeshua says: It is impossible for a person to mount two horses or to stretch two bows, and it is impossible for a slave to serve two masters—otherwise he will honor the one and offend the other. No person drinks vintage wine and immediately desires to drink new wine, and they do not put new (wine) into old wineskins lest they burst, and they do not put vintage wine into new wineskins lest it sour. They do not sew an old patch on a new garment because there would come a split.
48. Yeshua says: If two make peace with each other in this one house, they shall say to the mountain: Be moved!—and it shall be moved.
49. Yeshua says: Blest be the solitary and chosen—for you shall find the
kingdom. You have come from it, and unto it you shall return.
(Jn 16:28)
50. Yeshua says: If they say to you: 'From whence do you come?', say to them:
'We have come from the light, the place where the light has originated thru
himself—he stood and he revealed himself in their imagery.' If they say to you:
'Who are you?', say: 'We are his Sons and we are the chosen of the living
Father.' If they ask you: 'What is the sign of your Father in you?', say to
them: 'It is movement with repose.'
(Lk 16:8, Jn 12:36)
51. His disciples say to him: When will the repose of the dead occur, and when will the new world come? | He says to them: That which you look for has already come, but you do not recognize it.
52. His disciples say to him: Twenty-four prophets proclaimed in Israel, and they all spoke in thee. | He says to them: You have ignored the living-one who is facing you, and you have spoken about the dead.
53. His disciples say to him: Is circumcision beneficial or not? | He says to them: If it were beneficial, their father would beget them circumcised from their mother. But the true spiritual circumcision has become entirely beneficial.
54. Yeshua says: Blest be the poor, for the kingdom of the skies is yours.
55. Yeshua says: Whoever does not hate his father and his mother will not be
able to become a disciple to me. And whoever does not hate his brothers and his
sisters and does not take up his own cross* in my way, will not become worthy of
me.
( Lk 14:26-27)
56. Yeshua says: Whoever has known the system has found a corpse—and whoever has found a corpse, of him the system is not worthy.
57. Yeshua says: The kingdom of the Father is like a person who has [good]
seed. His enemy came by night,* he sowed a weed among the good seed. The man did
not permit them to pull up the weed. He says to them: 'Lest perhaps you go forth
saying: "We shall pull up the weed!"—and you pull up the wheat along with it.'
For on the day of harvest the weeds will appear—they pull them and burn them.
(*asyndeton; II-Pt 3:15-17?!)
58. Yeshua says: Blest be the person who has suffered—he has found the life.
(asyndeton; Mt 5:10-12, Jas 1:12, I-Pt 3:14)
59. Yeshua says: Behold the living-one while you are alive, lest you die and seek to perceive him and be unable to see.
60. (They see) a Samaritan carrying a lamb, entering Judea. Yeshua says to them: Why does he (take) the lamb with him? | They say to him: So that he may kill it and eat it. | He says to them: While it is alive he will not eat it, but only after he kills it and it becomes a corpse. | They say: Otherwise he will not be able to do it. | He says to them: You yourselves seek a place for yourselves in repose, lest you become corpses and be eaten.
61a. Yeshua says: Two will rest on a bed the one shall die, the other shall
live.
(asyndeton; Lk 17:34)
61b. Salome says: Who are thou, man? As if (sent) from someone, thou laid
upon my bed and thou ate from my table. | Yeshua says to her: I•Am he who is
from equality. To me have been given the things of my Father. | (Salome says:)
I'm thy disciple.* | (Yeshua says to her:) Thus I say that whenever someone
equalizes he shall be filled with light, yet whenever he divides he shall be
filled with darkness.
(*'thy disciple': Coptic indicates a masculine possessive of a feminine noun;
see Plumley, Bibliography #3, §50, or the online grammar Bibliography #18,
lesson 5.1)
62. Yeshua says: I tell my mysteries to those [who are worthy of] my
mysteries. What thy right (hand) shall do, let not thy left (hand) ascertain
what it does.
(Mk 4:10-12)
63. Yeshua says: There was a wealthy person who possessed much money, and he said: I shall utilize my money so that I may sow and reap and replant, to fill my storehouses with fruit so that I lack nothing. This is what he thought in his heart—and that night he died. Whoever has ears, let him hear!
64a. Yeshua says: A person had houseguests, and when he had prepared the banquet he sent his slave to invite the guests. He went to the first, he says to him: My master invites thee. He replied: I have some business with some merchants, they are coming to me in the evening, I shall go to place my orders with them—I beg to be excused from the banquet. He went to another, he says to him: My master has invited thee. He replied to him: I have bought a house and they require me for a day, I shall have no leisure time. He came to another, he says to him: My master invites thee. He replied to him: My comrade is to be married and I must arrange a feast, I shall not be able to come—I beg to be excused from the banquet. He went to another, he says to him: My master invites thee. He replied to him: I have bought a villa, I go to receive the rent, I shall not be able to come—I beg to be excused. The slave came, he said to his master: Those whom thou have invited to the banquet have excused themselves. The master said to his slave: Go out to the roads, bring those whom thou shall find so that they may feast. (multiple asyndeta)
64b. (And he says:) Tradesmen and merchants shall not enter the places of my
Father.
(Ezek 27 28, Zech 14:21, Jn 2:13-16, Rev/Ap 18:11-20)
65. He says: A kind person had a vineyard. He gave it out to tenants so that they would work it and he would receive its fruit from them. He sent his slave so that the tenants would give to him the fruit of the vineyard. They seized his slave, they beat him—a little longer and they would have killed him. The slave went, he told it to his master. His master said: Perhaps [they] did not recognize [him]. He sent another slave—the tenants beat him as well. Then the owner sent his son. He said: Perhaps they will respect my son. Since those tenants knew that he was the heir of the vineyard, they seized him, they killed him. Whoever has ears, let him hear! (multiple asyndeta)
66. Yeshua says: Show me the stone which the builders have rejected—it is the
cornerstone.
(Isa 28:16)
67. Yeshua says: Whoever knows everything, but fails (to know) himself, lacks
everything.
(Th 3)
68. Yeshua says: Blest be you when you are hated and persecuted and find no place there where you have been persecuted.
69a. Yeshua says: Blest be those who have been persecuted in their heart—these are they who have known the Father in truth.
69b. (Yeshua says:) Blest be the hungry, for the stomach of him who desires shall be filled.
70. Yeshua says: When you bring forth that which is within you, this that you
have shall save you. If you do not have that within you, this which you do not
have within you will kill you.
(Mt 13:52)
71. Yeshua says: I shall destroy [this] house, and no one will be able to [re]build it.
72. [Someone says] to him: Tell my brothers to divide the possessions of my father with me. | He says to him: Oh man, who made me a divider? | He turned to his disciples,* he says to them: I'm not a divider, am I? (*asyndeton)
73. Yeshua says: The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the workers are few. Yet beseech the Lord that he send workers into the harvest.
74. He says: Lord, there are many around the reservoir, yet no one in the reservoir.
75. Yeshua says: There are many standing at the door, but the solitary are those who shall enter the bridal-suite.
76. Yeshua says: The kingdom of the Father is like a merchant possessing a
fortune, who found a pearl. That merchant was shrewd—he sold the fortune, he
bought the one pearl for himself. You yourselves, seek for [the treasure of his
face], which perishes not, which endures—the place where no moth comes near to
devour nor worm ravages.
(multiple asyndeta; Ps 11:7, 17:15)
77. Yeshua says: I•Am the light who is above them all, I•Am the all. All came
forth from me and all return to me. Cleave wood,* there am I. Lift up the stone
and there you shall find me.
(*asyndeton; Jn 8:12)
78. Yeshua says: Why did you come out to the wilderness—to see a reed shaken by the wind? And to see a person dressed in plush garments? [Behold, your] rulers and your dignitaries are those who are clad in plush garments, and they shall not be able to recognize the truth.
79. A woman from the multitude says to him: Blest be the womb which bore
thee, and the breasts which nursed thee! | He says to her: Blest be those who
have heard the meaning of the Father and have kept it in truth. For there shall
be days when you will say: Blest be the womb which has not conceived and the
breasts which have not nursed.
(Lk 1:42)
80. Yeshua says: Whoever has known the system has found the body—and whoever
has found the body, of him the system is not worthy.
(Th 56)
81. Yeshua says: Let whoever is enriched be made sovereign, and let whoever has power renounce it.
82. Yeshua says: Whoever is close to me is close to the fire, and whoever is far from me is far from the kingdom.
83. Yeshua says: The images are manifest to mankind, and the light which is within them is hidden. (Th 19) He shall reveal himself in the imagery of the light of the Father—[yet] his image is concealed by his light.
84. Yeshua says: When you see your reflection, you rejoice. Yet when you
perceive your images which come into being in front of you—which neither die nor
disguise—to what extent will they depend upon you?
(this is the epistemological hinge of the entire text; Ps 139:16, Jn 5:19, Th
19!)
85. Yeshua says: Adam came into existence from a great power and a great wealth, and yet he did not become worthy of you. For if he had been worthy, he would not have tasted death.
86. Yeshua says: [The foxes have their dens] and the birds have their nests, yet the son of mankind has no place to lay his head for rest.
87. Yeshua says: Wretched be the body which depends upon (another) body, and wretched be the soul which depends upon their being together.
88. Yeshua says: The angels and the oracles shall come to you, and they shall bestow upon you what is yours. And you yourselves, give to them what is in your hands, and say among yourselves: On what day will they come to receive what is theirs?
89. Yeshua says: Why do you wash the outside of the chalice? Do you not mind
that he who creates the inside is also he who creates the outside?
(Lk 11:39-41)
90. Yeshua says: Come unto me, for my yoga is natural and my lordship is gentle—and you shall find repose for yourselves.
91. They say to him: Tell us who thou are, so that we may believe in thee. |
He says to them: You examine the face of the sky and of the earth—yet you do not
recognize him who is facing you, and you do not know to inquire of him at this
moment.
(Th 5, 52, 76, 84)
92. Yeshua says: Seek and you shall find. But those things which you asked me in those days, I did not tell you then. Now I wish to tell them, and you do not inquire about them.
93. (Yeshua says:) Give not what is holy to the dogs, lest they throw it on the dungheap. Cast not the pearls to the swine, lest they cause it to become [...].
94. Yeshua [says:] Whoever seeks shall find. [And whoever knocks,] it shall be opened to him.
95. [Yeshua says:] If you have copper-coins,* do not lend at interest—but
rather give it to those from whom you will not be repaid.
(Lk 6:30-36; *here in the bound codex there is a single sheet blank on both
sides)
96. Yeshua says: The kingdom of the Father is like a woman who has taken a little yeast and has hidden it in dough—she produced large loaves of it. Whoever has ears, let him hear!
97. Yeshua says: The kingdom of the [Father] is like a woman who was carrying a jar full of grain. While she was walking on a distant road, the handle of the jar broke, the grain streamed out behind her onto the road. She did not know it, she had noticed no accident. When she arrived in her house, she set the jar down—she found it empty. (multiple asyndeta)
98. Yeshua says: The kingdom of the Father is like a person who wishes to slay a prominent man. He drew forth his sword in his house,* he thrust it thru the wall in order to ascertain whether his hand would prevail. Then he slew the prominent man. (*asyndeton)
99. His disciples say to him: Thy brothers-and-sisters and thy mother are
standing outside. | He says to them: Those here who practice the desires of my
Father—these are my brothers-and-sisters and my mother. It is they who shall
enter the kingdom of my Father.
(Th 15)
100. They show Yeshua a gold coin, and they say to him: The agents of Caesar
extort tribute from us. | He says to them: Give the things of Caesar to Caesar,
give the things of God to God, and give to me what is mine.
(Rev/Ap 13:18¬I-Ki 10:14?!—an extraordinary gematria)
101. (Yeshua says:) Whoever does not hate his father and his mother in my way shall not be able to become a disciple to me. And whoever does [not] love his [Father] and his Mother in my way shall not be able to become a disciple to me. For my mother [bore me], yet [