The Gospel of Thomas
Translated by Thomas O. Lambdin
The Gospel of Thomas was composed sometime before 100 A.D. in Syria,
Palestine, or Mesopotamia. The authorship of the Gospel of Thomas is
attributed to Didymos Judas Thomas, that is, Judas "the Twin," who was an
apostle of Jesus.
These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke and which
Didymos Judas Thomas wrote down.
(1) And he said, "Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings
will not experience death."
(2) Jesus said, "Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds.
When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will
be astonished, and he will rule over the All."
(3) Jesus said, "If those who lead you say to you, 'See, the 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 inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to 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 you will not know
yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty."
(4) Jesus said, "The man old in days will not 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 and the same."
(5) Jesus said, "Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is
hidden from you will become plain to you . For there is nothing hidden
which will not become manifest."
(6) His disciples questioned him and said to him, "Do you want us to
fast? How shall we pray? Shall we give alms? What diet shall we observe?"
Jesus said, "Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things
are plain in the sight of heaven. For nothing hidden will not become
manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered."
(7) Jesus said, "Blessed is the lion which becomes man when consumed by
man; and cursed is the man whom the lion consumes, and the lion becomes
man."
(8) And he said, "The 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 fine large fish. He threw all the small fish
back into the sea and chose the large fish without difficulty. Whoever has
ears to hear, let him hear."
(9) Jesus said, "Now the sower went out, took a handful (of seeds), and
scattered them. Some fell on the road; the birds came and gathered them
up. Others fell on the rock, did not take root in the soil, and did not
produce ears. And others fell on thorns; they choked the seed(s) and worms
ate them. And others fell on the good soil and it produced good fruit: it
bore sixty per measure and a hundred and twenty per measure."
(10) Jesus said, "I have cast fire upon the world, and see, I am
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. In the
days when you consumed what is dead, you made it what is alive. 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, "We know that you will depart from
us. Who is to be our leader?"
Jesus said to them, "Wherever you are, you are to go to James the
righteous, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being."
(13) Jesus said to his disciples, "Compare me to someone 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 mouth is wholly incapable of saying whom
you are like."
Jesus said, "I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have become
intoxicated from the bubbling spring which I have measured out."
And he took him and withdrew and told him three things. When Thomas
returned to his companions, they asked him, "What did Jesus say to you?"
Thomas said to them, "If I tell you one of the things which he told me,
you will pick up stones and throw them at me; a fire will come out of the
stones and burn you up."
(14) Jesus said to them, "If you fast, you will give rise to sin for
yourselves; and if you pray, you will be condemned; and if you give alms,
you will do harm to your spirits. When you go into any land and walk about
in the districts, 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 that which issues from your mouth - it is that which will
defile you."
(15) Jesus said, "When you see one who was not born of woman, prostrate
yourselves on your faces and worship him. That one is your father."
(16) Jesus said, "Men think, perhaps, that it is peace which I have
come to cast upon the world. They do not know that it is dissension which
I have come to cast upon the earth: fire, sword, and war. For there will
be 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
stand solitary."
(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 has never occurred to the
human mind."
(18) The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us how our end will be."
Jesus said, "Have you discovered, then, the beginning, that you look for
the end? For where the beginning is, there will the end be. Blessed is he
who will take his place in the beginning; he will know the end and will
not experience death."
(19) Jesus said, "Blessed is he who came into being before he came into
being. If you become my disciples and listen to my words, these stones
will minister to you. For there are five trees for you in Paradise which
remain undisturbed summer and winter and whose leaves do not fall. Whoever
becomes acquainted with them will not experience death."
(20) The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us what the kingdom of heaven
is like."
He said to them, "It is like a mustard seed. It is the smallest of all
seeds. But when it falls on tilled soil, it produces a great plant and
becomes a shelter for birds of the sky."
(21) Mary said to Jesus, "Whom 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, 'Let us have
back our field.' They (will) undress in their presence in order to let
them have back their field and to give it back to them. Therefore I say,
if the owner of a house knows that the thief is coming, he will begin his
vigil before he comes and will not let him dig through into his house of
his domain to carry away his goods. You, then, be on your guard against
the world. Arm yourselves with great strength lest the robbers find a way
to come to you, for the difficulty which you expect will (surely)
materialize. Let there be among you a man of understanding. When the grain
ripened, he came quickly with his sickle in his hand and reaped it.
Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."
(22) Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples, "These
infants being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom."
They said to him, "Shall we then, as children, enter the kingdom?"
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 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 to him, "Show us the place where you are, since
it is necessary for us to seek it."
He said to them, "Whoever has ears, let him hear. There is light within a
man of light, and he lights up the whole world. If he does not shine, he
is darkness."
(25) Jesus said, "Love your brother like your soul, guard him like the
pupil of your eye."
(26) Jesus said, "You see the mote in your brother's eye, but you do
not see the beam in your own eye. When you cast the beam out of your own
eye, then you will see clearly to cast the mote from your brother's eye."
(27) <Jesus said,> "If you do not fast as regards 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 place in the midst of the world, and I
appeared to them in flesh. I found all of them intoxicated; I found none
of them thirsty. And my soul became afflicted for the sons of men, because
they are blind in their hearts and do not have sight; for empty they came
into the world, and empty too they seek to leave the world. But for the
moment they are intoxicated. When they shake off their wine, then they
will repent."
(29) Jesus said, "If the flesh came into being because of spirit, it is
a wonder. But if spirit came into being because of the body, it is a
wonder of wonders. Indeed, I am amazed at how this great wealth has made
its home 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 accepted in his own village; no
physician heals those who know him."
(32) Jesus said, "A city being built on a high mountain and fortified
cannot fall, nor can it be hidden."
(33) Jesus said, "Preach from your housetops 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 lampstand so that
everyone who enters and leaves will see its light."
(34) Jesus said, "If a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall
into a pit."
(35) Jesus said, "It is not possible for anyone to enter the house of a
strong man and take it by force unless he binds his hands; then he will
(be able to) ransack his house."
(36) Jesus said, "Do not be concerned from morning until evening and
from evening until morning about what you will wear."
(37) His disciples said, "When will you become revealed to us and when
shall we see you?"
Jesus said, "When you disrobe without being ashamed and take up your
garments and place them under your feet like little children and tread on
them, then will you see the son of the living one, and you will not be
afraid"
(38) Jesus said, "Many times have you desired to hear these words which
I am saying to you, and you have no one else to hear them from. There will
be days when you will look for me and will not find me."
(39) Jesus said, "The pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of
knowledge (gnosis) and hidden them. They themselves have not entered, nor
have they allowed to enter those who wish to. You, however, be as wise as
serpents and as innocent as doves."
(40) Jesus said, "A grapevine has been planted outside of the father,
but being unsound, it will be pulled up by its roots and destroyed."
(41) Jesus said, "Whoever has something in his hand will receive more,
and whoever has nothing will be deprived of even the little he has."
(42) Jesus said, "Become passers-by."
(43) His disciples said to him, "Who are you, that you should say these
things to us?"
<Jesus said to them,> "You do not realize who I am from what I say to you,
but you have become like the Jews, for they (either) love the tree and
hate its fruit (or) love the fruit and 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 thorns, nor are figs
gathered from thistles, for they do not produce fruit. A good man brings
forth good from his storehouse; an evil man brings forth evil things from
his evil storehouse, which is in his heart, and says evil things. For out
of the abundance of the heart he brings forth evil things."
(46) Jesus said, "Among those born of women, from Adam until John the
Baptist, there is no one so superior to John the Baptist that his eyes
should not be lowered (before him). Yet I have said, whichever one of you
comes to be a child will be acquainted with the kingdom and will become
superior to John."
(47) Jesus said, "It is impossible for a man to mount two horses or to
stretch two bows. And it is impossible for a servant to 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 put into old wineskins, lest they burst; nor is old wine put
into a new wineskin, lest it spoil it. An old patch is not sewn onto a new
garment, because a tear would result."
(48) Jesus said, "If two make peace with each other in this one house,
they will say to the mountain, 'Move Away,' and it will move away."
(49) Jesus said, "Blessed are the solitary and elect, for you will find
the kingdom. For you are from it, and to it you will return."
(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 on its own accord and established itself and became manifest through
their image.' If they say to you, 'Is it you?', say, 'We are its children,
we are the elect of the living father.' If they ask you, 'What is the sign
of your father in you?', say to them, 'It is movement and repose.'"
(51) His disciples said to him, "When will the repose of the dead come
about, and when will the new world come?"
He said to them, "What you look forward to 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 in you."
He said to them, "You have omitted the one living in your presence and
have spoken (only) of the dead."
(53) His disciples said to him, "Is circumcision beneficial or not?"
He said to them, "If it were beneficial, their father would beget them
already circumcised from their mother. Rather, the true circumcision in
spirit has become completely profitable."
(54) Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of
heaven."
(55) Jesus said, "Whoever does not hate his father and his mother
cannot become a disciple to me. And whoever does not hate his brothers and
sisters and take up his cross in my way will not be worthy of me."
(56) Jesus said, "Whoever has come to understand the world has found
(only) a corpse, and whoever has found a corpse is superior to the world."
(57) Jesus said, "The kingdom 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 up the weeds; he said to them, 'I am afraid
that you will go intending to pull up the weeds and pull up the wheat
along with them.' For on the day of the harvest the weeds will be plainly
visible, and they will be pulled up and burned."
(58) Jesus said, "Blessed is the man who has suffered and found life."
(59) Jesus said, "Take heed of the living one while you are alive, lest
you die and seek to see him and be unable to do so."
(60) <They saw> a Samaritan carrying a lamb on his way to Judea. He
said to his disciples, "That man is round about the lamb."
They said to him, "So that he may kill it and eat it."
He said to them, "While it is alive, he will not eat it, but only when he
has killed it and it has become a corpse."
They said to him, "He cannot do so otherwise."
He said to them, "You too, look for a place for yourself within repose,
lest you become a corpse and be eaten."
(61) Jesus said, "Two will rest on a bed: the one will die, and the
other will live."
Salome said, "Who are you, man, that you ... have come up on my couch and
eaten from my table?"
Jesus said to her, "I am he who exists from the undivided. I was given
some of the things of my father."
<...> "I am your disciple."
<...> "Therefore I say, if he is destroyed, he will be filled with light,
but if he is divided, he will be filled with 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 doing."
(63) Jesus said, "There was a rich man who had much money. He said, 'I
shall put my money to use so that I may sow, reap, plant, and fill my
storehouse with produce, with the result that I shall lack nothing.' Such
were his intentions, but that same night he died. Let him who has ears
hear."
(64) Jesus said, "A man had received visitors. 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 whom you invited to
the dinner have asked to be excused.' The master said to his servant, 'Go
outside to the streets and bring back those whom you happen to meet, so
that they may dine.' Businessmen and merchants will not enter the places
of my father."
(65) He said, "There was a good man who owned a vineyard. He leased it
to tenant farmers so that they might work it and he might collect the
produce from them. He sent his servant so that the tenants might give him
the produce 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 he did not recognize them.' 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 it was he who
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.
That one is the cornerstone."
(67) Jesus said, "If one who knows the all still feels a personal
deficiency, he is completely deficient."
(68) Jesus said, "Blessed are you when you are hated and persecuted.
Wherever you have been persecuted they will find no place."
(69) Jesus said, "Blessed are they who have been persecuted within
themselves. It is they who have truly come to know the father. Blessed are
the hungry, for the belly of him who desires will be filled."
(70) Jesus said, "That which you have will save you if you bring it
forth from yourselves. That which you do not have within you will kill you
if you do not have it within you."
(71) Jesus said, "I shall destroy this house, and no one will be able
to build it [...]."
(72) 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?"
He turned to his disciples and said to them, "I am not a divider, am I?"
(73) Jesus said, "The harvest is great but the laborers are few.
Beseech the Lord, therefore, to send out laborers to the harvest."
(74) He said, "O Lord, there are many around the drinking trough, but
there is nothing in the cistern."
(75) Jesus said, "Many are standing at the door, but it is the solitary
who will enter the bridal chamber."
(76) Jesus said, "The kingdom of the father is like a merchant who had
a consignment of merchandise and who discovered a pearl. That merchant was
shrewd. He sold the merchandise and bought the pearl alone for himself.
You too, seek his unfailing and enduring treasure where no moth comes near
to devour and no worm destroys."
(77) Jesus said, "It is I who am the light which is above them all. It
is I who am the all. From me did the all come forth, and unto me did the
all extend. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up the stone, and
you will find me there."
(78) Jesus said, "Why have you come out into the desert? To see a reed
shaken by the wind? And to see a man clothed in fine garments like your
kings and your great men? Upon them are the fine garments, and they are
unable to discern the truth."
(79) A woman from the crowd said to him, "Blessed are the womb which
bore you and the breasts which nourished you."
He said to her, "Blessed are those who have heard the word of the father
and have truly kept it. For there will be days when you will say, 'Blessed
are the womb which has not conceived and the breasts which have not given
milk.'"
(80) Jesus said, "He who has recognized the world has found the body,
but he who has found the body is superior to the world."
(81) Jesus said, "Let him who has grown rich be king, and let him who
possesses power renounce it."
(82) Jesus said, "He who is near me is near the fire, and he who is far
from me is far from the kingdom."
(83) Jesus said, "The images are manifest to man, but the light in them
remains concealed in the image of the light of the father. He will become
manifest, but his image will remain concealed 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, and which neither die
not become manifest, how much you will have to bear!"
(85) Jesus said, "Adam came into being from a great power and a great
wealth, but he did not become worthy of you. For had he been worthy, 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, "Wretched is the body that is dependant upon a body,
and wretched is the soul that is dependent on these two."
(88) Jesus said, "The angels and the prophets will come to you and give
to you those things you (already) have. And you too, give them those
things which you have, and say to yourselves, 'When will they come and
take 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 unto me, for my yoke is easy and my lordship is
mild, and you will find repose for yourselves."
(91) They said to him, "Tell us who you are so that we may believe in
you."
He said to them, "You read the face of the sky and of the earth, but you
have not recognized the one who is before you, and you do not know how to
read 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 you then, now I do desire to
tell, but you do not inquire after it."
(93) <Jesus said,> "Do not give what is holy to dogs, lest they throw
them on the dung-heap. Do not throw the pearls to swine, lest they [...]
it [...]."
(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 one from whom you will not get it back."
(96) Jesus said, "The kingdom of the father is like a certain woman.
She took a little leaven, concealed it in some dough, and made it into
large loaves. Let him who has ears hear."
(97) Jesus said, "The kingdom of the father is like a certain woman who
was carrying a jar full of meal. While she was walking on the road, still
some distance from home, the handle of the jar broke and the meal emptied
out behind her on the road. She did not realize it; she had noticed no
accident. When she reached her house, she set the jar down and found it
empty."
(98) Jesus said, "The kingdom of the father is like a certain 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 could carry
through. 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 kingdom of my father."
(100) They showed Jesus a gold 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) <Jesus said,> "Whoever does not hate his father and his mother as
I do cannot become a disciple to me. And whoever does not love his father
and his mother as I do cannot become a disciple to me. For my mother
[...], but my true mother gave me life."
(102) Jesus said, "Woe to 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, "Fortunate is the man who knows where the brigands
will enter, so that he may get up, muster his domain, and arm himself
before they invade."
(104) They said to Jesus, "Come, let us pray today and let us fast."
Jesus said, "What is the sin that I have committed, or wherein have I been
defeated? But when the bridegroom leaves the bridal chamber, then let them
fast and pray."
(105) Jesus said, "He who knows the father and the mother will be
called the son of a harlot."
(106) Jesus said, "When you make the two one, you will become the sons
of man, and when you say, 'Mountain, move away,' it will move away."
(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
sheep and looked for that one until he found it. When he had gone to such
trouble, he said to the sheep, 'I care for you more than the
ninety-nine.'"
(108) Jesus said, "He who will drink from my mouth will become like me.
I myself shall become he, and the things that are hidden will be revealed
to him."
(109) Jesus said, "The kingdom is like a man who had a hidden treasure
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 inherited 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 whomever he wished."
(110) Jesus said, "Whoever finds the world and becomes rich, let him
renounce the world."
(111) Jesus said, "The heavens and the earth will be rolled up in your
presence. And the one who lives from the living one will not see death."
Does not Jesus say, "Whoever finds himself is superior to the world?"
(112) Jesus said, "Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul; woe to
the soul that depends on the flesh."
(113) His disciples said to him, "When will the kingdom come?" <Jesus
said,> "It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of
saying 'here it is' or 'there it is.' Rather, the kingdom of the father is
spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it."
(114) Simon Peter said to him, "Let Mary leave us, for women are not
worthy of life."
Jesus said, "I myself shall lead her in order to make her male, so that
she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman
who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven."
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