The Gospel of Thomas
Coptic Version
Here are the private sayings which the Living Jesus spoke,
and which Didymus Jude Thomas wrote down.
1. And He said : "He who
understands the meaning of these words will not taste
death."
2. Jesus said : "Let him who seeks not cease to
seek until he finds : when he finds, he will become awed. When he is awed, he will wonder, and he
will reign over the universe."
3. Jesus said : "If those who seek to attract you say to you : 'See, the Realm is in heaven
!', then the birds of the sky will be there before you. If they say to you, 'It
is in the sea !', then the fish will be there before you. But the Realm is
within you and outside of you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known,
and you will know that you are the sons of the Living Father. But if you do
not know yourselves, then you are in poverty ; and you are that poverty."
4. Jesus said : "Let the old man burdened in days will not hesitate to ask a child of seven
days about the Place of Life, and he will live ! For it will be seen that many who are first will
become last, and they will become one and the same."
5. Jesus said : "Know that what is before your face, and what is hidden from you
will be revealed unto you. For nothing hidden will fail to be revealed."
6. His disciples asked and said to Him : "Do you want us to fast ? How shall we
pray and give alms ? What rules about diet shall we observe ?" Jesus said : "Tell no lie and
do not what you hate, for all things are plain to the face of Heaven. For
nothing hidden will fail to be revealed, and nothing covered will remain without
being exposed."
7. Jesus said : "Blessed is the lion which a man eats so that the lion
becomes a man ; but cursed is the man whom the lion eats so that the man becomes
a lion."
8. Then He said : "A man is like a skilled fisherman who casts his net into the
sea and brought it up out of the sea full of small fish, and among them he found
a fine big fish. He threw all the small fish back into the sea and without
hesitation chose the large fish. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
9. Jesus said : "See, the sower went out. He filled his hand, and scattered [ the
seed ]. Some fell on the road ; birds came and ate them. Some fell on rocky
ground, did not take root in the soil, and did not yield ears of corn. And some
fell among thorns ; these stifled the seeds and worms ate them. And some fell on
good soil and yielded a good crop : it bore sixty-fold and [ even ] a hundred and
twenty-fold."
10. Jesus said : "I have cast fire onto the world, and see, I watch over it
until it blazes up."
11. Jesus said : "This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass
away. Those who are dead will not live, and those who live will not die. Today you
consume dead things, you make them into something living. When you will be in Light, what
will you do then? For then you will become two instead of one, and when you become two, what
then will you do ?"
12. The disciples said to Jesus : "We know that you will leave us. Who is
to be our leader ?" Jesus said to them : "Where ever you go, you are to
turn to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came to be created."
13. Jesus said to His disciples : "Compare Me and tell Me whom I am like." Simon
Peter said to Him : "you are like a righteous angel." Matthew said to Him : "you
are like a wise philosopher." Thomas said to Him : "Master, my tongue
cannot find words to say who you are like." Jesus said : "I am
not your Master, because you
have drunk; you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring of
living water which is mine and I have sent forth." And He took him aside and spoke three
words to him. When Thomas came back to his companions, they asked him : "What
did Jesus say to you ?" Thomas answered them : "If I tell you a single one of the words
He said to me, you will take up stones and throw them at me and fire will come
out of the stones and burn you."
14. Jesus said to them : "If you fast, you will
beget sin for yourselves
; and if you pray, you will be condemned ; and if you give alms, you will harm
your spirit and when you enter any land and travel over the country, if they
receive you, eat what they will set before you, and heal the sick among them.
For what goes into your mouth will not defile you, but what comes out of your
mouth will defile you."
15. Jesus said : "When you see Him who has not
been born of woman, bow face down to the earth and worship. He is your Father."
16. Jesus said : "Men think, indeed, that it is peace which I have come to
bring to the world. They do not know that I have come to bring to the earth :
discord, fire, sword, and war. Indeed, if there are five in a house : three will
be against two, and two against three, the father against the son, and the son
against the father. And they will be raised alone."
17. Jesus said : "I shall give you what no eye has seen and what no ear has
heard and what no hand has touched and what never entered into the heart of man."
18. The disciples said to Jesus : "Tell us how our end will be." Jesus said :
"Have you deciphered the beginning, that you ask about the end ? For where the
beginning is, there the end will be. Blessed is he who stands at the beginning
; he will know the end and will not taste death."
19. Jesus said : "Blessed is the man who
existed before he came into being. If you become My
disciples and listen to My words, these stones will serve you. For there are
five trees for you in Paradise which remain unshaken summer and winter and their
leaves do not fall. He who knows them will not taste death."
20. The disciples said to Jesus : "Tell us what the
Realm of Heaven is like." He said to them : "It is like a mustard seed, the
smallest of all seeds. But when it falls on tilled land, it produces a large
stalk and becomes a shelter for the
birds of the sky."
21. Mary said to Jesus : "To who are your disciples like ?" He said : "They are
like children who have settled in a field which is not theirs. When the owners
of the field come, they will say : 'Get out of our field.' Then they will
give up the field to these, and let them have the field back . Therefore
I say to you, if the owner of a house knows that the thief is coming, he will
stay awake till he comes and will not let him break in the house of his domain
to carry away his goods. you, then, be on your guard against the world. Dress
for action with great energy so that the robbers find no way to come to you,
for they will find the advantage which you expect. Let there be among you a
smart man. When the fruit is ripe, he quickly came with his sickle in his hand
and harvests it. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
22. Jesus saw infants being nursed. He said to His disciples : "These infants
who nurse are like those who enter the Realm." They said to Him : "Shall we then
enter the Realm as infants ?" Jesus said to them : "When you make the two one,
and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside,
and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one, so
that the male will not be male nor the female female ; and when you fashion eyes
in place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a
foot, and a likeness in the place of a likeness ; then will you enter the
Realm."
23. Jesus said : "I shall choose you, one from a thousand, and two from ten
thousand, and they shall be raised, as being one."
24. His disciples said to Him : "Teach us
about the place where you are, since must know about it."
He said to them : "He who has ears, let him hear.
If a light exists within an enlightened one, then he gives light to the whole world.
But if he
does give light, there is darkness."
25. Jesus said : "Love your brother like your own soul,
regard him like the
reflection of oneself in your eye."
26. Jesus said : "you see the straw in your brother's eye, but you do not see the
beam in your own eye. When you cast out the beam of your own eye, then you will
see clearly enough to cast out the straw from your brother's eye."
27. "If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the Realm. If
you do make the Sabbath the true 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 of them thirsty. And My soul
ached for the sons of men, because they are blind in their heart and do not see
that they came empty into the world, and empty they seek to leave it. But for
the moment they are drunken. When they have slept off their wine, they will
repent."
29. Jesus said : "If the flesh was created for the sake of the spirit, it is
a miracle. But if the spirit came into being for the sake of the body, it is a
miracle of miracles. Indeed, I marvel at how this great wealth has made its home
in this poverty."
30. Jesus said : "There where there are three gods, they are gods. Where there are two,
or even one, I am with him."
31. Jesus said : "A prophet is not accepted in his own town ;
and no physician heals
those who know him."
32. Jesus said : "A city built on a high mountain,
and well protected, cannot possibly fall, nor can
it be hidden."
33. Jesus said : "Proclaim from your roof-tops that which you will hear in your
ear. For no one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel, nor does he put it in
a hidden place, but rather he sets it on a lamp-stand so that all who come in
and go out will see its light."
34. Jesus said : "If a blind man leads another blind man both fall into a
ditch."
35. Jesus said : "It is not possible for anyone to enter the house of a strong
man and take him by force unless he ties his hands ; then one can plunder his
house."
36. Jesus said : "Do not care from morning until evening and from
evening until morning about what you will put on."
37. His disciples said : "When will you reveal yourself to us and when will we
see you ?" Jesus said : "When you strip without being ashamed and take up your
clothes and place them under your feet like little children and trample on them,
then you will become children of the Living One, and you will not fear."
38. Jesus said : "Often you have desired to hear these words which I am saying
to you, and you did not have anyone else to hear them from. There will be days when you
will seek me and will not find me."
39. Jesus said : "The Pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of knowledge
and hidden them. They have not entered, nor have they allowed those who wish so
to enter. But you, be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves."
40. Jesus said : "A vine shoot was planted away from the Father. Because it
was
not strong, it will be plucked up from its roots and perish."
41. Jesus said : "To him who has in hand, more will be given. And from him who has
nothing will be taken away even the little he has."
42. Jesus said : "Be as passers-by."
43. His disciples said to Him : "Who are you, that you say these things to us ?"
Jesus said to them : "From what I say to you, you do not realize who I am. But
you have become like the Jews, for they like the tree and hate its fruit and
like 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 : "Grapes are not harvested from thorns, nor are figs gathered
from thistles, they do not give fruit. But someone good brings forth good
things from his storehouse ; someone evil brings forth evil things from the evil
storehouse, which is in the heart, and says evil things. For if one's heart is
filled with that, one brings forth evil things."
46. Jesus said : "Among those born of women, from Adam until John the Baptist,
there is none greater than John the Baptist that his eyes should not be lowered
before him. yet I have said, that if one of you becomes like a child he will
know the Realm and be higher than John."
47. Jesus said : "It is impossible for a man to
ride two horses nor draw two
bows. And it is impossible for a servant to serve two masters ; otherwise, he
will honor the one and ignore the other. No man drinks old wine and desires at
the same instant to drink new wine. And new wine is not put into old wineskins,
lest they should burst ; nor is old wine put into a new wineskin, lest it should
spoil it. An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment, for a tear would result."
48. Jesus said : "When two make peace with each other in the
same house, they
will say to the mountain, 'Move !' and it will move."
49. Jesus said : "Blessed are you, the alone and the elect, for you will find
the Realm. Because you came from it, you will also return to it again."
50. Jesus said : "If they say to you, 'Where did you come from ?', say to them :
'We came from the light, the place where the light came into being of itself,
established itself and revealed itself in their image. If they say to you : 'Who
are you ?', say : 'We are its sons. We are the elect of the Living Father.' If
they ask you : 'What sign of your Father is in you ?', say to them : 'It is
movement and rest.'
51. His disciples said to Him : "On what day will the rest come to those who are
dead, and on what day will the new world come ?" He said to them : "This
rest you
wait for has already come, but you do not recognize it."
52. His disciples said to Him : "Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel, and all
of them spoke about you."
He said to them : "you have passed over Him who is living,
who stands before you, 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 beget them already circumcised
from their mother. Rather, the true circumcision in spirit gives all profit."
54. Jesus said : "Blessed are the poor, for yours is the Realm of Heaven."
55. Jesus said : "He who does not hate his father and his mother cannot be
my
disciple. And he who does not hate his brothers and sisters and take up his
cross as I do will not be worthy of me."
56. Jesus said : "He who has come to know the world has found a corpse, and he
who has found a corpse, the world is not worthy of him."
57. Jesus said : "The Realm of the Father is like a man who had good seed. His
enemy came by night and sowed weeds among the good seed. The man did not allow
them to pull out the weeds ; he said to them : 'Do nothing ; so that you do not
pull out the wheat along with the weeds.' For on the day of the harvest the
weeds will be recognizable, and they will be pulled out and burnt."
58. Jesus said : "Blessed is the man who has suffered ; he
has found Life."
59. Jesus said : "Seek to see Him who is Living, while you are alive, lest you die and
then seek to see Him and are unable to see."
60. They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb on his way to Judea. He said to His
disciples : "Why does that man carry the lamb around ?" They said to Him : "So
that he may kill it and eat it." He said to them : "He will not eat it as long
as it is alive, but only if he kills it and it has become a corpse." They said
to Him : "He cannot do so otherwise." He said to them : "But you, seek for a
place for yourselves to rest, lest you become a corpse and be eaten."
61. Jesus said : "Two will rest on a bed : the one will die, and other will
live." Salome said : "Who are you, man ? you have taken a seat on my couch and
have eaten at my table." Jesus said to her : "I am He who exists from the
undivided. I was given some of the things of My Father." Salome said : "I am
your disciple." Jesus said to her : "Therefore I say, if somebody is one, he
will be full of light, but if he is divided, he will be full of darkness."
62. Jesus said : "It is to those who are worthy of
my mysteries that I tell my
mysteries. Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is about to do."
63. Jesus said : "There was a rich man who had a lot of money. He said : 'I
shall put all my wealth to use so that I may sow, reap, plant, and fill my barn
with harvest, with the result that I shall be in need of nothing.' Such were the thoughts
of his heart, but during that night he died. He who has ears to hear, let him
hear !"
64. Jesus said : "A man had guests. And when he had prepared the dinner, he sent
his servant to invite the guests.
He went to the first one and said to him : 'My
master invites you.' He said, 'I have claims against some merchants. They are
coming to me this evening. I must go and give them my orders. I ask to be
excused from the dinner.'
He went to another and said to him : 'My master has
invited you.' He said to him : 'I have just bought a house and am required for
the day. I shall not have any spare time.'
He went to another and said to him :
'My master invites you.'
He said to him : 'My friend is going to get married,
and I am to prepare the banquet. I shall not be able to come. I ask to be
excused from the dinner.'
He went to another and said to him : 'My master
invites you.'
He said to him : 'I have just bought a farm, and I am on my way to
collect the rent. I shall not be able to come. I ask to be excused.'
The servant
returned and said to his master : 'Those who you invited to the dinner have
asked to be excused.'
The master said to his servant : 'Go out into the streets
and those whom you happen to find, and bring in those that want to dine.' Buyers
and merchants will not enter the places of My Father."
65. He said : "There was an honorable man who owned a vineyard. He leased it to
tenant farmers so that they might work it and he might collect the fruit from
them. He sent his servant so that the tenants might give him the fruit of the
vineyard. They seized his servant and beat him, all but killing him. The servant
went back and told his master.
The master said : 'Perhaps they did not recognize
him.' He sent another servant. The tenants beat this one as well. Then the owner
sent his son and said : 'Perhaps they will show respect to my son.' Because the
tenants knew that he was the heir to the vineyard, they seized him and killed
him. Let him who has ears hear."
66. Jesus said : "Show me the stone which the builders have rejected. It is the
cornerstone."
67. Jesus said : "He who believes to know the All but not himself falls
completely short."
68. Jesus said : "Blessed are you when you are hated and persecuted. Where you
were persecuted they will find no place."
69. Jesus said : "Blessed are those who are persecuted in their hearts. It is
they who have truly come to know the Father. Blessed are those who are hungry,
for they will satisfy their bellies."
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 construct, and no one will be able to
rebuild it again."
72. A man said to Him : "Tell my brothers to divide my father's possessions with
me." He said to him : "Man, who has made me an arbitrator ?" He turned to His
disciples and said to them : "I am not a arbitrator, am I ?"
73. Jesus said : "The harvest is great but the laborers are few. Pray the Lord
to send out laborers for the harvest."
74. He said : "Lord, many are around the
opening but nobody is in the
well."
75. Jesus said : "Many stand around the door, but it is the
lone ones who
will enter the wedding feast."
76. Jesus said : "The Realm of the Father is like a man, a merchant, who owned
goods and discovered a pearl. This merchant was clever. He sold the merchandise
and bought the pearl alone. you also seek his enduring treasure where no moth
comes near to eat and no worm destroys."
77. Jesus said : "I am the Light that is on all things. I am the All. From
me
the All has gone out and to me the All came back. Cleave a piece of wood, and I
am there. Lift up a stone, and you will find Me there."
78. Jesus said : "Why did you go out into the desert ? To see a reed shaken by
the wind ? To see a man clothed in fine garments ? your kings and your great men
are the ones clothed in fine garments, and they are not able to know the truth."
79. A woman from the crowd said to Him : "Blessed is the womb which bore you
and the breasts which fed you." He said to her : "Blessed are those
who have heard the Word of the Father and kept it. For days are coming when you
will say : "Blessed the womb that has not conceived and the breasts which have not
nursed.'
80. Jesus said : "He who knew the world has mastered the body, but he who has
mastered the body is superior to the world."
81. Jesus said : "He who has grown wealthy will rule, and he who possesses power
will renounce it."
82. Jesus said : "Whoever is near me is near the fire, and whoever who is far
from me is far from the Realm."
83. Jesus said : "Images are visible to man, and the light which is in them is
hidden in the image of the Light of the Father. He will reveal Himself, and His
image will be veiled by His light."
84. Jesus said : "When you see your own likeness, you rejoice. But when you see
the images of yourselves which came into being before you, which do not die nor
become visible, how much then will you be able to bear ?"
85. Jesus said : "Adam came into being from a great power and a great wealth,
and he did not become worthy of you. For had he been worthy of you, he would not
have experienced death."
86. Jesus said : "The foxes have their holes and the birds have their nests, but
the Son of Man has no place to lay his head and rest."
87. Jesus said : "Poor is the body which depends on a body, and
poor is
the soul dependent on these two."
88. Jesus said : "The angels and the prophets will come to you and give you what
is yours. you, give them what is in your hands, and ask yourselves : 'One which
day will they come to receive what is theirs ?'
89. Jesus said : "Why do you wash the outside of the cup ? Do you not realize
that he who made the inside is the same one who made the outside ?"
90. Jesus said : "Come to me, for my yoke is easy and
my rule is mild, 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 discern the appearance of the sky and of the earth, but you have
not recognized he who stands in front of you, and you do not know how to
evaluate
this moment."
92. Jesus said : "Seek and you will find. yet, what you asked Me about in former
times and which I did not tell to you then, I now desire to tell you, but you do
not ask after it."
93. "Do not give what is holy to the dogs, lest they throw it on the dunghill.
Do not cast pearls to swine, lest they trample them."
94. Jesus said : "He who seeks will find, and he who knocks will be let in."
95. Jesus said : "If you have money, do not lend it at interest, but give it to
someone from whom you will not get it back."
96. Jesus said : "The Realm of the Father is like a woman who put a little yeast
in some flour, and made many loaves with it. He who has ears, let him hear
!"
97. Jesus said : "The Realm of the Father is like a woman who was carrying a jar
full of meal. While she was walking on a far road the handle of the jar broke
and the meal spilled all out behind her on the road. She did not know it, nor had
stopped it. When she reached her house, she put down the jar and found
it was empty."
98. Jesus said : "The Realm of the Father is like a man who wanted to kill a
powerful man. In his own house he drew his sword and stuck it into the wall in
order to find out whether his hand would be firm enough. Then he slew the
powerful man."
99. The disciples said to Him : "your brothers and your mother are standing
outside." He said to them : "Those here who do the will of my Father are
my
brothers and my mother. It is they who will enter the Realm of my Father."
100. They showed Jesus a coin and said to Him : "Caesar's men demand taxes
from us." He said to them : "Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar, give
God
what belongs to God, and give me what is mine."
101. "He who does not hate his father and his mother as I do cannot become a
disciple to Me. And he who does not love his father and his mother as I do
cannot become a disciple to me. For my mother [gave me death], but my true
Mother gave me life."
102. Jesus said : "Cursed are they the Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in the
manger of oxen, for neither does he eat nor does he let the oxen eat."
103. Jesus said : "Blessed is the man who knows where the robbers are going to
enter, so that he may get up, gather his {house}, and girds his loins before
they enter."
104. They said to Jesus : "Come, let us pray and fast." Jesus said : "What then
is the sin that I have committed, or wherein have I been at fault ? But when the
bridegroom leaves the bridal chamber, then let them fast and pray."
105. Jesus said : "He who knows his father and mother will he be called son of a
harlot ?"
106. Jesus said : "When you make the two one, you
will become sons of Man, and if you say : "move Mountain !", it will move."
107. Jesus said : "The Realm is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of
them, the largest, went astray. He left the ninety-nine and looked for that
single sheep until he found it. When he had gone to such trouble, he said to the
sheep : 'I love you more than the ninety-nine.'
108. Jesus said : "He who will drink from my mouth will become like
me. I myself
shall become like him, and the hidden will be revealed to him."
109. Jesus said : "The Realm is like a man who had a treasure hidden in his
field without knowing it. And after he died, he left it to his son. The son did
not know about the treasure. He accepted the field and sold it. And the one who
bought it went plowing and found the treasure. He began to lend money at
interest to those who wanted it."
110. Jesus said : "He who has found the world and become rich, let him renounce
the world."
111. Jesus said : "The heavens and the earth will be rolled up before you. And
whoever is living from the Living One will not see death." Jesus says this : "He
who finds himself, the world is not worthy of him."
112. Jesus said : "Cursed is the flesh that depends on the soul ;
cursed is the soul that
depends on the flesh."
113. His disciples said to Him : "When will the Realm come ?" Jesus said : "It
does not come by expecting it. It will not be a matter of saying : 'See, it is
here !' or : 'Look, it is there !'. Rather, the Realm of the Father is spread
over the earth and men do not see it."
114. Simon Peter said to them : "Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of
life." Jesus said : "Behold, I will guide her in order to make her male, so that
she too may become a living spirit like you males. For every female who will
make herself male will enter the Realm of Heaven."
English Translation
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