The Gospel of Thomas
Authentic Translation from Nag Hammadi Codex II
Translated by Thomas O. Lambdin
From the Nag Hammadi Library, discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt (1945)
Dated to approximately the 2nd century CE
Introduction
The Gospel of Thomas is one of the most significant texts discovered in the Nag Hammadi Library in 1945. Unlike the canonical gospels, it contains no narrative of Jesus’ life, death, or resurrection. Instead, it presents 114 sayings (logia) attributed to Jesus, many of which are introduced with the phrase “Jesus said.”
This text is particularly important because some scholars believe it may preserve traditions independent of the New Testament gospels, possibly dating to the mid-1st century.
The gospel opens with the statement: “These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke and which Didymus Judas Thomas wrote down.”
The Sayings
Saying 1
And he said, “Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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 he found a large (and) good fish, that wise fisherman. He cast all the small fish down into the sea and chose the large fish without difficulty. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Saying 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, and did not take root in the soil and did not produce ears. And others fell on thorns; they choked the seed(s) and worms consumed 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.”
Saying 10
Jesus said, “I have cast fire upon the world, and see, I am guarding it until it blazes.”
Saying 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?”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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 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 spoke three sayings to him. Now when Thomas came back to his companions they asked him, “What did Jesus say to you?”
Thomas said to them, “If I tell you one of the sayings which he spoke to me, you will take up stones and throw them at me; a fire will come out of the stones and burn you up.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 15
Jesus said, “When you see one who was not born of woman, prostrate yourselves on your faces and worship. That one is your father.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 21
Mary said to Jesus, “Whom are your disciples like?”
He said, “They are like children who have settled in a field which does not belong to them. 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 kingdom to carry away his goods. You, then, be on your guard against the world. Arm yourselves against the great powers. Be aware, lest the brigands find you unprepared, and they slay you with a great slaughter, and they go away to their (own) region.”
Saying 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 male and 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].”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 25
Jesus said, “Love your brother like your soul, guard him like the pupil of your eye.”
Saying 26
Jesus said, “The mote which is in your brother’s eye you see, but the beam which is in your eye you do not see. When you cast the beam out of your eye, then you will see clearly to cast the mote from your brother’s eye.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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 this world, and empty too they seek to leave this world. But see, they are intoxicated. When they have shaken off their wine, then they will repent.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 30
Jesus said, “Where there are three gods, they are gods. Where there are two or one, I am with him.”
Saying 31
Jesus said, “No prophet is accepted in his own village; no physician heals those who know him.”
Saying 32
Jesus said, “A city being built on a high mountain and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden.”
Saying 33
Jesus said, “Preach from your housetops that which you will hear in your ear. For there is nothing hidden which will not become manifest, [and nothing hidden] which will not be uncovered.”
Saying 34
Jesus said, “If a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into a pit.”
Saying 35
Jesus said, “One cannot enter a strong man’s house and take it by force unless he binds his hands; then he will (be able to) ransack his house.”
Saying 36
Jesus said, “Do not be concerned from morning until evening and from evening until morning about what you will wear.”
Saying 37
His disciples said to him, “When will you become manifest 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 behold] the Son of the Living One, and you will not be afraid.”
Saying 38
Jesus said, “Many times have you desired to hear these words which I am saying to you, and you have no other from whom to hear them. There will be days when you will look for me and will not find me.”
Saying 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 want to enter to do so. But you, become wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”
Saying 40
Jesus said, “A vine was planted apart from the Father. Since it is not strong, it will be pulled up by its roots and will perish.”
Saying 41
Jesus said, “Whoever has something in his hand will receive more, and whoever has nothing will be deprived of even the little which he has.”
Saying 42
Jesus said, “Become passers-by.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 46
Jesus said, “From Adam to John the Baptist, among those born of women there is no one 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.”
Saying 47
Jesus said, “A man cannot mount two horses or stretch two bows. And a servant cannot 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.’”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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 ignored the one living in your presence and have spoken of the dead.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 54
Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor, for yours is the Kingdom of heaven.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.’”
Saying 58
Jesus said, “Blessed is the man who has suffered and found life.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 63
Jesus said, “There was a rich man who had much money. He said, ‘I shall use my money to sow and reap and plant and fill my storehouses with produce, with the result that I shall not be in need of anything.’ This was what he was thinking in his heart. But that night he died. Whoever has ears, let him hear.”
Saying 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. 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.”
Saying 65
He said, “A [good] man had a vineyard. He gave it to some tenants so that they might work it and he might receive 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 [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 it was he who was the heir to the vineyard, they seized him and killed him. Whoever has ears, let him hear.”
Saying 66
Jesus said, “Show me the stone which the builders have rejected. That one is the cornerstone.”
Saying 67
Jesus said, “If one who knows the all still feels a personal deficiency, he is completely deficient.”
Saying 68
Jesus said, “Blessed are you when you are hated and persecuted. Wherever you have been persecuted they will find no place.”
Saying 69
Jesus said, “Blessed are they who have been persecuted within themselves. They are the ones who have truly come to know the Father. Blessed are the hungry, for the belly of him who desires will be filled.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 71
Jesus said, “I shall destroy this house, and no one will be able to build it […].”
Saying 72
[A man sa]id 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?”
Saying 73
Jesus said, “The harvest is great but the laborers are few. Beseech the Lord, therefore, to send out laborers to the harvest.”
Saying 74
He said, “O Lord, there are many around the drinking trough, but there is nothing in the cistern.”
Saying 75
Jesus said, “Many are standing at the door, but it is the solitary who will enter the bridal chamber.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 78
Jesus said, “Why have you come out to the countryside? To see a reed shaken by the wind? And to see a man clothed in fine garments? Like your kings and your great men, they are clothed in fine [garments], and they will not be able to recognize the truth.”
Saying 79
A woman from the crowd said to him, “Blessed is 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 is the womb which has not conceived and the breasts which have not given milk.’”
Saying 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.”
Saying 81
Jesus said, “Let him who has grown rich be king, and let him who possesses power renounce it.”
Saying 82
Jesus said, “He who is near me is near the fire, and he who is far from me is far from the Kingdom.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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 nor become manifest, how much you will have to bear!”
Saying 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 tasted] death.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 87
Jesus said, “Wretched is the body that is dependant upon a body, and wretched is the soul that is dependent on these two.”
Saying 88
The angels and the prophets will come to you, and they will 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?’”
Saying 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?”
Saying 90
Jesus said, “Come unto me, for my yoke is easy and my lordship is mild, and you will find repose for yourselves.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 93
“Give not what is holy to dogs, lest they throw them on the dung-heap. Do not throw the pearls to swine, lest they […] it […].”
Saying 94
Jesus said, “He who seeks will find, and [he who knocks] will be let in.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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. Whoever has ears, let him hear.”
Saying 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, very distant 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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. They are the ones who will enter the Kingdom of my Father.”
Saying 100
They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, “Caesar’s men demand taxes from us.”
He said to them, “Give Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, give God the things that are God’s, and what is mine give to me.”
Saying 101
“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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 104
They said to Jesus, “Come, let us pray today and let us fast.”
Jesus said, “What then 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.”
Saying 105
Jesus said, “He who knows the father and the mother will be called the son of a harlot.”
Saying 106
Jesus said, “When you make the two one, you will become the sons of man, and if you say, ‘Mountain, move away,’ it will move.”
Saying 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.’”
Saying 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.”
Saying 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 that treasure). He inherited the field and sold [it]. And he who bought it went, plowed [the field], and found the treasure. He began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished.”
Saying 110
Jesus said, “Whoever finds the world and becomes rich, let him renounce the world.”
Saying 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?”
Saying 112
Jesus said, “Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul; woe to the soul that depends on the flesh.”
Saying 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.”
Saying 114
Simon Peter said to them, “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.”
Scholarly Notes
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Manuscript | Nag Hammadi Codex II, Section 2 |
| Language | Coptic (Sahidic dialect) |
| Date | Approximately 2nd century CE (possibly based on 1st century traditions) |
| Discovery | Found near Nag Hammadi, Egypt in 1945 |
| Translator | Thomas O. Lambdin |
| Current Location | Coptic Museum, Cairo, Egypt |
| Structure | 114 sayings (logia) of Jesus, no narrative |
Key Themes
- Gnosis (Knowledge) — Self-knowledge leads to knowledge of the divine
- The Kingdom Within — The Kingdom of Heaven is inside and outside, recognized through self-knowledge
- Non-duality — Making the two one, transcending opposites (male/female, inside/outside)
- The Light Within — The light of the Father dwells within each person
- Solitude — The solitary and elect will find the Kingdom
- Present Reality — The Kingdom is already present, but unrecognized
Comparison with Canonical Gospels
Many sayings in Thomas parallel those in the New Testament gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), but often with significant variations. Some scholars believe Thomas preserves independent, possibly earlier traditions about Jesus’ teachings.
Related Texts
- The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles
- The Gospel of Philip
- The Apocryphon of John
- The Gospel of Truth
- The Dialogue of the Savior
Other Versions
For different translations or interpretations:
- [Modernized Version] — A fluent, contemporary English adaptation (coming soon)
This text is presented for educational and spiritual study purposes. Translation courtesy of the Nag Hammadi Library.
Source: gnosis.org