THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS.

A provisional translation by HD Kailin, (see endnote.)




These are the hidden sayings which the living Jesus spoke, and which Didymos Judas Thomas transcribed.

1.  And this he said, "Whoso penetrates the meaning of these sayings will not taste of death." 

2.  This Jesus said, "Let him not cease who seeks until seeking he finds and when he finds, he will be troubled, and being troubled, he will be astonished, and rule over the All, and, in so ruling, find rest." 

3.  This Jesus said, "If those who would attract you should say to you, 'Behold, the kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they should say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fishes will precede you.  Rather, the kingdom is within you, and outside of you. When you know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living Father.  But if ye know not yourselves, then you dwell in poverty and you are that poverty." 

4.  This Jesus said, "Let not the man old in days hesitate to ask a small child seven days old about the place of life, and he will live.  For many who are first will become last, and they will become one."
 

5.  This Jesus said, "Recognize that which is before thy face, and that which is hidden from thee will be revealed to thee.  For there is nothing hidden which will not become manifest, nor buried that is not raised up." 

6.  These questions his disciples asked him and said to him, "Would thou that we fast?   How shall we pray?  How shall we give alms?  What foods should we avoid?" Jesus said, "Tell no lies, and do not do that which you hate, for all things are plain in heaven's sight.  For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered remain undisclosed." 

7.  This Jesus said, "Blessed is the lion which when consumed by man
becomes man; and cursed is the man whom the lion consumes, and the lion becomes man." 

8.  And this he said, "A man is like a wise fisherman who cast forth his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of little fishes.  Amongst them the wise fisherman found a fine large fish. He threw back all the small fish into the sea and chose the large fish without difficulty.  Whoever hath ears to hear, let him hear."
  

9.  This Jesus said, "Behold, the sower went forth, took a handful of seeds, and broadcast them.  Some fell upon the road; the birds came and gathered them up. Others fell on rock and struck no root in the soil and sprouted no ears.  And others fell amongst thorns; they choked the seed and worms devoured them.  And others fell upon good soil and it brought forth good fruit: some sixty-fold and some a hundred and twenty-fold."
 

10.  This Jesus said, "I have cast fire upon the world, and behold, I stand guard until it blazes." 

11a.  Jesus said, "This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. The dead elements are not alive, and the living elements will not die.  In the days when you consumed the dead elements, you made them alive."

11b.  "When you come to dwell 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 this, "We know that thou wilt depart from us. Who then will be great among us?  Jesus said to them, "Wherever you are, repair to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being." 

13.  This Jesus said to his disciples, "Make 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, "You are like a man of wise understanding."  Thomas said to him, "Master, my mouth is utterly incapable of saying whom thou art like." Jesus said, "I am not thy master but thou hast imbibed, thou hast become intoxicated from the
bubbling spring which I have measured out." And taking him aside, spoke three words to him.  On Thomas' returning to his companions, they asked him, "What did Jesus say unto thee?"  Thomas said to them, "If I tell you a word of what he told me, you will take up stones and throw them at me, and fire will come forth from the stones and incinerate you."
 
14.  This Jesus said to them, "If you fast, you will give rise to sin within yourselves; and if you pray, you will be condemned; and if you give alms, you will injure your spirits.  When you go into any land and walk about its districts, if they receive you, eat what they set before you, and heal the sick amongst them.  For what goes into your mouth will not defile you, but that which comes out of your mouth, that is what will defile you." 

15.  This Jesus said, "When you see one who was not born of woman, fall on      your faces and worship him.  That one is your Father."

16.  This Jesus said, "Perhaps men suppose that it is peace which I have come to bring to the world.  They do not know that it is dissension which I have come to
sow upon the earth: fire, sword, and war.  For there will be five in a house: three
will be against two, and two against three, father against son, and son against father.  And they will stand alone."

17.  This Jesus said, "I shall give you that which eye hath not seen and that which ear hath not heard and that which no hand hath touched and what hath not occurred to the mind of man." 

18.  This the disciples asked Jesus, "Tell us what our end will be?"  Jesus said, "Have you discovered the beginning, that you look now for the end? For where the beginning is, there will the end be.  Blessed be he who will take his place at the
beginning; he will know the end and will not taste death."
    

9.  This Jesus said, "Blessed be he who was before he came into being.  If you become my disciples and hear my words, these stones will minister to you.  For there are five trees in Paradise; they change not summer and winter and their leaves do not fall.  Whoever comes to know them will not taste death." 

20.  This 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, the smallest of all cultivated seeds.  But when falling on tilled soil, it shoots up a great stalk and becomes a shelter for birds of the sky." 

21a.  This said Mary to Jesus, "Whom are your disciples like?"  He said, "They are like servants who have settled in a field not their own.  When the owners of the field come, they will say, 'Yield back to us our field.' Naked in their presence, they yield back to them their field."

21b.  "This I say, that if the housemaster knows a thief is coming, he will begin keeping vigil before he arrives and not let him dig through into his house to carry away the goods of his domain.  Be on your guard, therefore, against the world. Gird up your loins with great strength lest robbers find a way to come at you, for the expected difficulty will ultimately materialize."

21c.  "May there be among you a prudent man.  When the grain is ripened, he will come quickly with sickle in hand and harvest it.  Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear." 

22.  Jesus saw babes nursing.  This he said to his disciples, "These infants being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom."  They said to him, "Then shall we enter the kingdom as children?"  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 and the same, so that the male not be male nor the female female; and when you fashion eyes in the place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place of a likeness; then will you gain entrance."

23.  This 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.  This his disciples said to him, "Show us the place where thou art, that we might seek it."  He said to them, "Whoever has ears, let him hear.  There is light within a man of light, and he shines forth upon all the world.  If he does not shine forth, there is darkness." 

25.  This Jesus said, "Love thy brother like thy own soul, guard him like the apple of thine eye."
 
26.  This Jesus said, "Thou seest the splinter in thy brother's eye, but not the beam in thine own eye.  When thou hast cast out the beam from thine own eye, then thou wilt see clearly to remove the splinter from thy brother'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 Sabbath, you will not see the Father."  

28.  This Jesus said, "I took my stand in the midst of the world, and appeared to them in the flesh.  I found all of them inebriated; I found none of them were athirst. And my soul ached for the sons of men, for they are blind in their hearts and lacking in insight; for empty came they into the world, and empty too they seek to depart from the world.  But for the moment they are inebriated.  When they shake off their wine, then will they repent." 

29.  This Jesus said, "If the flesh came into being because of spirit, it is a marvel. But if spirit came into being because of the body, it is a marvel of marvels.  As for myself, I marvel how this great treasure has come to dwell in this poverty." 

30.  This Jesus said, "Where there are three gods, they are gods. Where there are two or one, I am with him." 

31.  This Jesus said, "No prophet is accepted in his own village; a physician does not heal those who know him." 

32.  This Jesus said, "A city built on a high mountain and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden." 

33.  This Jesus said, "That which thou hearest in thine one ear and in the other, proclaim from the rooftop.  For no man lights a lamp and places it under a bushel, nor does he set it in a hidden place, but, rather, he sets it on a lampstand so that all who come in or go out will see its light."  

34.  This Jesus said, "If the blind leads the blind both will fall into a pit."

35.  This Jesus said, "None can enter the house of a strong man and take it by force unless his hands are bound; only then can his house be plundered." 

36.  This Jesus said, "Fret not morning to evening and evening to morning about what you will wear."

37.  This his disciples asked, "When wilt thou be revealed to us and when shall we
see thee?"  Jesus said, "When you disrobe without shame and take your clothing and place them under your feet like little children and trample them, then will you see the son of the Living One, and ye will not be afraid" 

38.  This Jesus said, "Many times have you desired to hear these words which I
speak unto you, for you have none else from whom to hear them.  The days be a coming when you will look for me and find me not."

39.  This Jesus said, "The Pharisees and the scribes have taken away the keys of knowledge and have hidden them.  They entered not, and those who would enter in they have hindered.  You, however, be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves." 

40.  This Jesus said, "A vine has been planted apart from the father, but being not strong, it will be pulled up by its roots and destroyed." 

41.  This Jesus said, "To him who has something in his hand, more will be given, but from him who has not, the little he has will be taken." 

42.  Jesus said, "Become passers-by." 

43.  This his disciples said to him, "Who art thou to say such things to us?"  In reply Jesus said, "From what I say to you, do you not realize who I am?  But you have become like the Jews, for they love the tree but hate its fruit or else love the fruit and hate the tree." 

44.  This Jesus said, "He who blasphemed the Father, it will be forgiven him, and
he who blasphemed the Son, it will be forgiven him, but whoever blasphemed the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either on earth or in heaven."  

45.  This Jesus said, "Grapes are not harvested from thorns, nor are figs plucked from camel-thistles, for they yeild no fruit.  A good man brings forth good from his treasure; an evil man brings forth evil from his heart's store of evil, and has evil things to say.  For out of the abundance of the heart, he brings forth evil." 

46.  This Jesus said, "From Adam unto John the Baptist, among those born of women, none surpasses John the Baptist such that his eyes need be averted.  But I have said, 'Whoso among you becomes a child will know the kingdom and will surpass John." 

47.  This Jesus said, "A man cannot mount two horses or bend two bows.  Nor can a servant serve two masters; otherwise, he will honor the one and treat the other contemptuously.  No man drinks old wine and immediately desires to drink new wine.  And new wine is not poured into old wineskins, lest they burst; nor is old wine poured into a new wineskin, lest it spoil; nor is an old patch sewn onto a new garment, lest a tear should result." 

48.  This Jesus said, "If two make peace with each other in the self same house, then they will say to the mountain, 'Shove off,' and so shall it depart."  

49.  This Jesus said, "Blessed be the solitary and elect, for you will find the kingdom.  Frome hence you came, and to it you shall return." 

50.  This Jesus said, "If they ask you, 'From where did you come from?', say to them, 'We have come from the light, from the place where the light came into being of itself, and established itself and revealed itself in their image.'  If they ask you, 'Are you it?', say, 'We are the sons, we are the elect of the living Father.'  If they ask you, 'What is the sign of your Father among you?', reply to them, 'It is movement and repose.'" 

51.  This his disciples asked him, "On what day will repose come to those who are deceased, and on what day will the new world come?" He said to them, "This for which you are looking has come to pass already, only you fail to recognize it." 

52.  This his disciples said to him, "Twenty-four prophets have spoken in Israel, and all of them spoke of thee."  He said to them, "You have overlooked the living one before your eyes and have spoken only of the dead." 

53.  This his disciples said to him, "Is circumcision beneficial or not?"  He said to them, "If it were beneficial, their father would beget them circumcised from their mother.  But true, spiritual circumcision is profitable in all respects."      

54.  This Jesus said, "Blessed be the poor, for yours is the kingdom of heaven."  

55.  This Jesus said, "Whoso does not hate his father and his mother cannot be my disciple.  And whoso does not hate his brothers and sisters and take up his cross as I do, will not be worthy of me." 

56.  This Jesus said, "Whoso has come to know the world has found a corpse, and whoso has found a corpse, that is one for whom the world is not worthy." 

57.  This Jesus said, "The Father's kingdom is like unto a man who had good seed. His enemy came by night and sowed darnel among the good seed.  The man did not allow his servants to pull up the weeds, saying to them, 'Lest you remove the weeds and uproot the wheat along with them.'  For at harvest time the weeds will be plainly recognizable, and will be plucked up and burned." 

58.  This Jesus said, "Blessed be the man who has struggled; he has found life." 

59.  This Jesus said, "Heed the Living One so long as you live, lest you die and seek to see him and be unable to do so." 

60.  This they saw, a Samaritan carrying a lamb on his way to Judaea.  Jesus asked  his disciples, "Why is that man encumbered by the lamb?"  They replied, "That he may kill it and eat it."  He said to them, "While it is alive, he will not eat it, but only after he has killed it and it has become a lifeless body." They said to him, "He cannot do otherwise."  He said to them, "You too, look for a place of repose within, lest you become a corpse and be consumed."

61a.  This Jesus said, "Two will repose upon a couch: the one will die, and the other live."

61b.  This Salome said, "Who art thou, O man, that you have come upon my couch and eaten from my table?"  Jesus replied to her, "I am he who comes from the undivided for I was granted that which is of my Father." "I am your disciple."  "Therefore I say, if one become God-like, he will be filled with light, but if he is seperated from God, he will be filled with darkness." 


62.  This Jesus said, "To those worthy of my mysteries, I disclose my mysteries. Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand is doing." 

63.  This Jesus said, "There was a rich man who had many possessions.  He said, 'I shall put my wealth to use that I may sow, reap, plant, and fill my barns with produce, that I may have need of nothing.'  Such were his heart's intentions, but that same night he died.  Whoso has ears to hear, let him hear."     

64.  This Jesus said, "A man had received guests.  And when his dinner preparations were complete, he sent forth his servant to summon the guests.  To the first one he went and said, 'My master summons thee.'  He replied, 'I have a financial claim against certain merchants who are coming to me this evening.   I must go and present them my bill.  I beg to be excused from the dinner.'  To another, the servant went and said to him, 'My master has invited you.'  'I have just bought a house,' he replied,' and shall have no time for I am required for the day.'  To another the servant went and said to him, 'My master invites you.'  In reply he said, 'My friend is about to be married, and I am the one who will prepare the feast.  I am unable to come.  I pray to be excused from the dinner.'  To another the servant went and to him said, 'My master invites you.' His reply, 'I have just bought a property, and am on my way to collect the rent.  I shall not be able to come.  I ask to be excused.'  Returning, the servant told his master, 'Those whom thou hast invited to the dinner have asked to be excused.'  So replied the master to his servant, 'Go out to the byways and bring back whomever thou should happen to meet up with, that they may dine.' Dealers and merchandisers shall not enter the places of my Father."
 

65.  This he said, "There was a man who owned a vineyard which he let out to
tenant farmers that they might work it and he collect the fruit.  He sent forth his servant that the tenants might give to him the vineyard's fruit.  They seized his servant and beat him, all but killing him.  The servant went back and told his master.  Said the master, 'Perhaps they did not recognize him.'  He sent another servant.  The tenants beat this one also.  Then the owner sent his son and said, 'Perhaps they will respect my son.' But the tenants, knowing that he was the vineyard's heir, seized him and killed him.  Whoso has ears, let him hear."

66.  This Jesus said, "Show me the stone rejected by the builders.  That one is the cornerstone." 

67.  This Jesus said, "If one who knows the All but fails to know himself, he is completely deficient."  

68.  This Jesus said, "Blessed are you when they hated you and persecute you.  In the place where you have been persecuted, they will find no place of rest." 

69.  This Jesus said, "Blessed be those who have been persecuted in their hearts. These are they who have truly come to know the Father.  Blessed be the hungry, for the belly of him who desires will be filled." 

70.  This Jesus said, "That which you bring forth from within yourselves will save you.  That which is absent within will kill you if you have it not within you."      

71.  This Jesus said, "I shall destroy this house, and no one will be able to build it [again]." 

72.  This a man said to him, "Tell my brothers to divide my father's possessions with me."  He said to him, "O man, who has made me a divider?"  Turning to his disciples, he asked them, "I am not a divider, am I?" 

73.  This Jesus said, "Great is the harvest but the laborers are few.  Therefore, pray ask the Lord to send forth laborers into the harvest." 

74.  This he said, "O Lord, many there be about the well, but there is none in the well." 

75.  This Jesus said, "Many there be who stand at the door, but only the solitary ones will enter into the bridal chamber." 

76.  This Jesus said, "The kingdom of the Father is like a merchant with a load of goods who discovered a pearl.  Prudently, the merchant sold the merchandise and bought for himself the pearl.  You also, seek his imperishable, enduring treasure, which no moth comes near to devour, nor worm destroy." 

77.  This Jesus said, "I am the light that is over all.  I am the All.  From me the All issued forth, and unto me did the All extend.  Split the wood and I am there.  Lift the stone, and you will find me there." 

78.  This Jesus said, "For what purpose have you come out into the wilderness?  To see a reed shaken by the wind?  Or to see a man clothed in fine raiment like your kings and your great men?  Upon them are the fine garments, yet they are unable to discern truth." 

79.  This a woman from the crowd said to him, "Blessed be the womb which bore you and the paps which nourished you."  He replied to her, "Blessed be those who have heard the word of the Father and have truly kept it.  For there will be days when you will say, 'Blessed be the womb which has not conceived and the paps which have not given milk.'"

80.  This Jesus said, "Whoso has come to know the world has uncovered the dead body, but whoso has uncovered the body, of him the world is not worthy." 

81.  This Jesus said, "Whoso has grown rich, let him be king, and whoso possesses
power, let him renounce it." 

82.  This Jesus said, "Whoso is nigh unto me is nigh unto the fire, and whoso is far from me is far from the kingdom." 

83.  This Jesus said, "While images are visible to mankind, the light in them remains concealed.  While the light of the Father will manifest, his image will remain concealed by his light."

84.  This Jesus said, "When you see your likeness, you rejoice.  But when you see your likeness come into being before you, and they neither die nor are made manifest, how much you will have to bear?" 

85.  This Jesus said, "While Adam's being issued forth from a great power and from great wealth, he did not become worthy of you.  Had he been worthy, then he would not have tasted death."  

86.  This Jesus said, "Foxes have their holes and birds their nests, but the son of man has no place to lay down his head and rest."

87.  This Jesus said, "Wretched the body that is dependant upon a body, and
wretched the soul dependent on these two." 

88.  This Jesus said, "Messengers and prophets come before you and give to you
that which is yours.  And in turn, you give them that which is in your hands, and say to yourselves, 'When will they come and take that which is theirs?'"

89.  This Jesus asked, "Why wash ye the outside of the cup?  Know ye not that he who made the inside is also the one who made the outside?"

90.  This Jesus said, "Come unto me, for my yoke is light and my lordship mild, and you will find rest for yourselves."  

91.  This they asked him, "Tell us, who art thou that we might believe in thee?"  He replied, "You read the face of heaven and of earth, but the one who is before you, you know not, for you know not how to read this moment." 

92.  This Jesus said, "Seek and ye shall find.  Concerning, however, those things about which ye asked me in former days, which I did not tell you then, I desire to tell you now, but ye seek not after them." 

93.  This Jesus said, "Give not that which is holy to dogs, lest they throw them on the dung-heap, nor cast pearls to swine, lest they trample it into the mud." 

94.  This Jesus said, "He who seeks shall find, and he who knocks, to him it will be opened." 

95.  This Jesus said, "If you have money, do not lend it out at interest; rather, give it to one from whom you will not get it back."      

96.  This Jesus said, "The kingdom of the Father is like unto a certain woman who took a little leaven and hid it in some meal from which she made large loaves. He who hath ears, let him hear." 

97.  This Jesus said, "The kingdom of the Father is like unto a certain woman who was carrying a jar full of meal.  While walking on the way, when yet a distance from home, the handle of the jar broke and the meal poured out behind her on the road. She was unaware.  She knew not of her loss.  On coming into her dwelling, she put down the jar and found it empty." 

98.  This Jesus said, "The kingdom of the Father is like unto a certain man who wanted to kill a powerful man.  In his own house he drew his sword and drove it into the wall to test whether his hand would be strong enough.  Then he slew the powerful man."

99.  This the disciples said to him, "Your brothers and your mother are standing
outside."  To them he replied, "Those here who do my Father's will, these are my
brothers and my mother.  These are the ones who will enter into my Father's kingdom."

100.  They showed Jesus a gold piece and said to him, "Those who are of Caesar demand tribute from us."  He repied to them, "That which belongs to Caesar, give to Caesar; that which belongs to God, give to God, and that which is mine, give to me."

101.  This Jesus said, "Whoso does not hate his father and his mother as I do cannot be my disciple.  And whoso does not love his father and his mother as I do cannot be my disciple.  For my mother [...], but my true [mother] gave me life."

102.  This Jesus said, "Woe unto the Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in the oxen manger, for he neither eats, nor lets the oxen."

103.  This Jesus said, "Blessed be he who knows where the robbers will enter, that he might rise and collect his dominion, and gird his loins before they arrive."

104.  This they said to him, "Come, let us pray today and let us fast."  Jesus replied, "What sin have I committed, or wherein have I been overcome?  But when the bridegroom leaves the bridal chamber, then let them fast and pray." 

105.  This Jesus said, "He who knows the Father and the Mother will be called the son of a harlot."

106.  This Jesus said, "When you make the two one, you will become the sons of man, and when you say, 'Mountain, depart,' it will depart."

107.  This Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. The largest one of them went astray.   He left the ninety-nine and sought after the  one until he found it.  After his labors, he said to the sheep, 'I love thee more than the ninety-nine.'"

108.  This Jesus said, "Whoso drink from my mouth shall become like me.  I myself will become he, and to him the hidden things shall be revealed."

109.  This Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a man who had a treasure hidden in his field about which he knew nothing.  And after he died, he left it to his son.  The son also knew not about the treasure.  He took possession of the field and sold it.  And the one who acquired it came and plowed and found the treasure.  He began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished."

110.  This Jesus said, "Let one who has found the world and becomes wealthy, renounce the world."

111.  This Jesus said, "The heavens and the earth will be rolled up before your face and whoso is alive in the Living One, they will not see death," for does not Jesus say, "He who finds himself, of him the world is not worthy"?

112.  This Jesus said, "Woe be the flesh that depends on the soul; woe be the soul that depends on the flesh."

113.  This his disciples asked him, "On what day will the kingdom come?"  Jesus replied, "It will not come by observation.  Nor will it be a matter of saying 'Lo it is hear' or 'Lo, it is there.'  Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men see it not." 


(This final saying apparently was added later on and is not thought original to be a part of the original collection.  HK)


114.  This Simon Peter said to them, "Let Mary depart from us for women are unworthy of life."  Jesus replied, "Behold, I shall guide her myself in order to make her male, that she too might become a living spirit like unto you who are males.  For every female who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven."   


End note:  I urge anyone so inclined to make their own translation of the Gospel of Thomas.  After that, they will come to a place of conviction regarding whose voice they hear or whether this collection is Gnostic or Nazarene.  To be sure, some  sayings are not easily fathomed, whether because of their profoundity or else because they were garbled in the copying or translation process is an open question.   - HK Kailin

Additional sayings:

"I shall not judge men nor call them to acount
for their actions.  He who sent me will settle this
with them."
   (recorded by Abd-al-Jabbar, 10th Century)