The Gospel of Thomas

Reading Translation

Compiled by Priest Sergey Koudy

The prologue and 114 sayings for continuous reading.

About this book

A standalone reading edition of the Gospel of Thomas. The Russian text reproduces the connected translation from Coptic in the study edition; the English text reproduces its English reading translation. The numbering of the sayings is preserved.

Use RU and EN to switch languages at the same saying. For the Coptic text, translation variants and commentary, open the study edition.

Prologue

These are the hidden sayings spoken by the living Jesus and written down by Didymus Judas Thomas.

Saying 1

And he said, “Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death.”

Saying 2

Jesus said, “Whoever seeks must keep searching until they find. When they find, they will be troubled; when they are troubled, they will be amazed and reign over everything.”

Saying 3

Jesus said, “If your leaders tell you, ‘Look, the kingdom is in the sky,’ the birds of the sky will get there ahead of you. If they tell you, ‘It is in the sea,’ the fish will get there ahead of you. But the kingdom is within you and outside you. When you come to know yourselves, you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. If you do not know yourselves, you live in poverty, and you yourselves are that poverty.”

Saying 4

Jesus said, “An old man will not hesitate to ask an infant 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.”

Saying 5

Jesus said, “Recognize what is in front of you, and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not come to light.”

Saying 6

His disciples asked him, “Do you want us to fast? How should we pray? Should we give to the poor? What should we pay attention to when we eat?” Jesus said, “Do not lie, and do not do what you hate, because everything lies open before heaven. For there is nothing hidden that will not come to light, and nothing covered will remain undisclosed.”

Saying 7

Jesus said, “Blessed is the lion that a person eats, and the lion will become human. And detestable is the person whom a lion eats, and the lion will become human.”

Saying 8

And he said, “A person is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and pulled it up full of small fish. Among them he found a large, fine fish. He threw all the small fish back [down] into the sea and chose the large one without difficulty. Whoever has ears to hear should listen.”

Saying 9

Jesus said, “Look, a sower went out, took a handful of seed and scattered it. Some seeds fell on the path, and birds came and picked them up. Others fell on rock; they put down no roots and sent up no heads of grain. Others fell among thorns, which choked the seed, and a worm ate them. Still others fell on good soil and produced a good crop, yielding sixtyfold and a hundred and twentyfold.”

Saying 10

Jesus said, “I have thrown fire onto the world, and now I am watching over it until it blazes.”

Saying 11

Jesus said, “This heaven will pass away, and so will the heaven above it. The dead are not alive, and the living will not die. When you ate what was dead, you made it alive. When you are in the light, what will you do? When you were one, you made two. But when you become two, what will you do?”

Saying 12

The disciples said to Jesus, “We know you will leave us. Who will be our leader?” Jesus told them, “Wherever you have come to, go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.”

Saying 13

Jesus said to his disciples, “Compare me with someone. Tell me who I am like.” Simon Peter told him, “You are like a righteous angel.” Matthew said, “You are like a wise philosopher.” Thomas said, “Teacher, I cannot possibly put into words who you are like.” Jesus said, “I am not your teacher. You have drunk from the bubbling spring I have measured out, and it has made you drunk.” He took Thomas aside and told him three sayings. When Thomas returned to his companions, they asked, “What did Jesus tell you?” Thomas replied, “If I told you even one of his sayings, you would pick up stones and throw them at me. Then fire would come out of those stones and burn you.”

Saying 14

Jesus told them, “If you fast, you will bring sin upon yourselves. If you pray, you will be condemned. If you give to the poor, you will harm your spirits. When you enter a country and travel through its villages, eat what is offered wherever people welcome you, and heal the sick there. What goes into your mouth will not defile you. What comes out of your mouth will.”

Saying 15

Jesus said, “When you see the one who was not born of a woman, fall facedown and worship him. He is your Father.”

Saying 16

Jesus said, “People may think I have come to bring peace to the world. They do not know I have come to bring division to the earth: fire, a sword, war. In one house, five will [be] divided, three against two and two against three, father against son and son against father. They will stand alone.”

Saying 17

Jesus said, “I will give you what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no hand has touched, and no human heart has imagined.”

Saying 18

The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us how our end will come.” Jesus said, “Have you discovered the beginning, that you are looking for the end? Where the beginning is, the end will be too. Blessed is the one who stands at the beginning. They will know the end and will not taste death.”

Saying 19

Jesus said, “Blessed is the one who existed before coming into being. If you become my disciples and listen to my words, these stones will serve you. You have five trees in paradise that do not change in summer or winter, and their leaves never fall. Whoever comes to know them will not taste death.”

Saying 20

The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like.” He told them, “It is like a mustard seed, smaller than all other seeds. When it falls on cultivated soil, it puts out a large branch and provides shelter for birds.”

Saying 21

Mary asked Jesus, “Who are your disciples like?” He replied, “They are like little children living in a field that does not belong to them. When its owners come, they will say, ‘Give us back our field.’ The children strip naked before them to surrender the field and give it back. So I tell you: if a householder knows a thief is coming, he will keep watch before the thief arrives and prevent him from breaking into the house he owns and carrying off his belongings. Be on your guard against the world. Brace yourselves with all your strength so that robbers cannot find a way to reach you, for the trouble you expect will come. Let there be someone among you who understands. When the crop was ripe, he came at once, sickle in hand, and harvested it. Anyone with ears to hear should listen.”

Saying 22

Jesus saw infants nursing and said to his disciples, “These nursing infants are like those who enter the kingdom.” They asked him, “Then shall we enter the kingdom as little children?” Jesus told them, “When you make the two one, the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and what is above like what is below; when you make male and female a single one, so that the male is no longer male and the female no longer female; when you put eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, and an image in place of an image—then you will enter [the kingdom].”

Saying 23

Jesus said, “I will choose you—one from a thousand and two from ten thousand—and they will stand as one.”

Saying 24

His disciples said, “Show us where you are, because we need to seek that place.” He told them, “Anyone with ears should listen. There is light within a person of light, and it lights up the whole world. If it does not shine, there is darkness.”

Saying 25

Jesus said, “Love your brother as your own life, and protect him as you would the pupil of your eye.”

Saying 26

Jesus said, “You see the speck in your brother’s eye but miss the beam in your own. When you remove the beam from your eye, you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother’s.”

Saying 27

“Unless you fast from the world, you will not find the kingdom. Unless you keep the Sabbath as a Sabbath, you will not see the Father.”

Saying 28

Jesus said, “I stood in the middle of the world and appeared to them in the flesh. I found everyone drunk and no one thirsty. My soul ached for humanity, because they are blind at heart and cannot see. They came into the world empty and seek to leave it empty again. For now they are drunk. Once they sober up, they will repent.”

Saying 29

Jesus said, “If flesh came into being because of spirit, that is a wonder. If spirit came into being because of the body, that is a wonder of wonders. But what amazes me is [how] such great wealth came to dwell in this poverty.”

Saying 30

Jesus said, “Where there are three gods, they are gods. Where there are two or one, I am with that one.”

Saying 31

Jesus said, “No prophet is welcomed in his own village, and no physician heals people who know him.”

Saying 32

Jesus said, “A city firmly built on a high mountain can neither fall nor be hidden.”

Saying 33

Jesus said, “Proclaim from your rooftops what you hear in one ear and in the other. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket or hides it away. They put it on a lampstand so that everyone coming and going can see its light.”

Saying 34

Jesus said, “If one blind person leads another, they both fall into a pit.”

Saying 35

Jesus said, “No one can force their way into a strong person’s house and take it without tying the owner’s hands. Then they will plunder the house.”

Saying 36

Jesus said, “Do not spend morning to evening and evening to morning worrying about what you will wear.”

Saying 37

His disciples asked, “When will you reveal yourself to us, and when will we see you?” Jesus said, “When you undress without shame, take your clothes and place them under your feet like little children, and trample on them, then [you will see] the Son of the Living One, and you will have no fear.”

Saying 38

Jesus said, “You have often longed to hear these words I am speaking to you, and you have no one else to hear them from. Days will come when you look for me and cannot find me.”

Saying 39

Jesus said, “The Pharisees and the scribes took the keys to knowledge and hid them. They did not go in themselves, and they would not let in those who wanted to enter. But you must be wise as snakes and innocent as doves.”

Saying 40

Jesus said, “A vine has been planted outside the Father. Because it has not taken firm hold, it will be uprooted and die.”

Saying 41

Jesus said, “Whoever has something in hand will receive something; whoever has nothing will lose even the little they have.”

Saying 42

Jesus said, “Be passersby.”

Saying 43

His disciples asked him, “Who are you to say these things to us?” “You do not recognize who I am from what I tell you. You have become like those Jews: they love the tree but hate its fruit, and they love the fruit but hate the tree.”

Saying 44

Jesus said, “Anyone who speaks blasphemy against the Father will be forgiven, and anyone who speaks blasphemy against the Son will be forgiven. But anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will receive no forgiveness, either on earth or in heaven.”

Saying 45

Jesus said, “Grapes are not gathered from thorns, nor figs from thorny plants; they do not bear fruit. A [good] person draws good from what they have stored. A [bad] person draws evil from the evil store within their heart and speaks evil. Out of their heart’s overflow, they bring out evil.”

Saying 46

Jesus said, “From Adam to John the Baptist, no one born of women is greater than John the Baptist, so John need not lower his eyes. But I have said that anyone among you who becomes little will know the kingdom and become greater than John.”

Saying 47

Jesus said, “No one can ride two horses at once or draw two bows. A slave cannot serve two masters: they will honor one and insult the other. No one drinks aged wine and immediately wants new wine. New wine is not poured into old wineskins, for fear they will burst. Old wine is not poured into a new wineskin either, because of the risk of spoilage. An old patch is not stitched onto a new garment, because it would tear.”

Saying 48

Jesus said, “If two people make peace with each other in this one house, they will tell the mountain to move away, and it will move.”

Saying 49

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who stand alone and are chosen: you will find the kingdom, because you are from it and will return there.”

Saying 50

Jesus said, “If you are asked, ‘Where did you come from?’ answer, ‘We came from the light, where light came into being on its own, [stood firm] and appeared in their image.’ If you are asked, ‘Are you the ones?’ answer, ‘We are its children, the chosen of the living Father.’ If you are asked, ‘What sign of your Father is within you?’ answer, ‘Movement and rest.’”

Saying 51

His disciples asked him, “When will the dead find rest, and when will the new world come?” He told them, “What you are waiting for has already arrived, but you do not recognize it.”

Saying 52

His disciples told him, “Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel, and all of them spoke about you.” He replied, “You have neglected the living one in front of you and spoken about the dead.”

Saying 53

His disciples asked him, “Does circumcision do any good?” He answered, “If it did, their father would bring them into the world from their mother already circumcised. But true circumcision in spirit has proved wholly beneficial.”

Saying 54

Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor: the kingdom of heaven is yours.”

Saying 55

Jesus said, “Anyone who does not hate their father and mother cannot be my disciple. Unless they hate their brothers and sisters and carry their cross as I do, they will not be worthy of me.”

Saying 56

Jesus said, “Anyone who has come to know the world has found a corpse. The world is not worthy of the person who has found that corpse.”

Saying 57

Jesus said, “The Father’s kingdom is like someone who had [good] seed. An enemy came at night and sowed [weeds] among the good [seed]. The owner would not let people pull up the weeds. He told them, ‘In going to pull up the weeds, you might pull up the wheat as well. At harvest the weeds will be recognizable, and they will be pulled up and burned.’”

Saying 58

Jesus said, “Blessed is the person who has endured hardship: they have found life.”

Saying 59

Jesus said, “Look for the living one while you are alive, so that you do not die and then seek to see him when you can no longer do so.”

Saying 60

⟨They saw⟩ a Samaritan carrying a lamb into Judea. He said to his disciples, “That man is occupied with the lamb.” They answered, “He means to kill it and eat it.” He told them, “He will not eat it while it is alive, only after killing it and turning it into a carcass.” They said, “There is no other way he can do it.” He told them, “You too should seek a place of rest for yourselves, so that you do not become dead bodies and get eaten.”

Saying 61

Jesus said, “Two people will rest on a couch; one will die and the other will live.” Salome asked, “Who are you, man? You have come onto my couch and eaten at my table as though you came from someone.” Jesus told her, “I come from the one who is equal. I have received something of what belongs to my Father.” “I am your disciple.” “That is why I say: when someone is desolate, they will be filled with light; when they are divided, they will be filled with darkness.”

Saying 62

Jesus said, “I disclose my mysteries to [those worthy] of [my] mysteries. Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”

Saying 63

Jesus said, “A rich person had a great deal of money. They said, ‘I will use my money to sow, reap, plant and fill my storehouses with crops, so that I need nothing.’ That was what they were thinking—but that very night they died. Anyone with an ear should listen.”

Saying 64

Jesus said, “Someone had invited guests. After preparing dinner, the host sent a slave to call them. The slave went to the first and said, ‘My master invites you.’ The guest replied, ‘I have money with some merchants. They are coming this evening, and I need to go and give them instructions. Please excuse me from dinner.’ The slave went to another and said, ‘My master has invited you.’ The reply was, ‘I have bought a house, and I am needed for a day. I will not have time.’ The slave came to another and said, ‘My master invites you.’ This guest answered, ‘My friend is getting married, and I am preparing the dinner. I cannot come. Please excuse me.’ The slave went to another and said, ‘My master invites you.’ The guest replied, ‘I have bought a farm and am going to collect its revenue. I cannot come. Please excuse me.’ The slave returned and told the master, ‘Your dinner guests have declined.’ The master said, ‘Go out to the roads and bring in anyone you find, so they can eat.’ Buyers and [merchants] [will not enter] my Father’s places.”

Saying 65

He said, “A [good] person [owned] a vineyard and gave it to tenant farmers to work, so that he could receive its produce. He sent a slave to collect the vineyard’s produce from them. The farmers seized the slave and beat him almost to death. The slave returned and told his master. The master said, ‘Perhaps he did not recognize them.’ He sent another slave, whom the farmers also beat. Then the owner sent his son, saying, ‘Perhaps they will show my son respect.’ Knowing that the son was the vineyard’s heir, the farmers seized him and killed him. Anyone with an ear should listen.”

Saying 66

Jesus said, “Show me the stone the builders rejected. That is the cornerstone.”

Saying 67

Jesus said, “Someone who knows everything but is lacking within themselves, ⟨they⟩ are lacking everywhere.”

Saying 68

Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people hate and persecute you. They will find no place where they persecuted you.”

Saying 69

Jesus said, “Blessed are those persecuted in their hearts. They are the ones who have truly known the Father. Blessed are the hungry: they will be satisfied as they desire.”

Saying 70

Jesus said, “When you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have it within [you], what you lack within you [will kill] you.”

Saying 71

Jesus said, “I will [destroy] [this house], and no one will be able to rebuild it. […]”

Saying 72

[Someone] [said] to him, “Tell my brothers to share my father’s possessions with me.” He answered, “Man, who appointed me to divide property?” Then he turned to his disciples and asked, “Am I a divider?”

Saying 73

Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the master to send workers out into the harvest.”

Saying 74

He said, “Lord, many people are around the well(?), yet it is empty.”

Saying 75

Jesus said, “Many stand at the door, but it is the solitary who will enter the bridal chamber.”

Saying 76

Jesus said, “The Father’s kingdom is like a merchant with merchandise who found a pearl. The merchant was wise: he sold his goods and bought that one pearl. You too should seek his lasting, imperishable treasure, where no moth comes to eat and no worm destroys.”

Saying 77

Jesus said, “I am the light above all. I am everything. Everything came from me, and everything has reached me. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift the stone, and you will find me there.”

Saying 78

Jesus said, “Why did you come out to the countryside? To see a reed [swaying] in the wind? And [someone wearing] soft clothes, [like your] kings and your nobles? They wear soft [clothes], yet they [cannot] know the truth.”

Saying 79

A [woman] in the crowd said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the [breasts] that nursed you.” He told [her], “Blessed are those who heard the Father’s word and faithfully kept it. Days are coming when you will say, ‘Blessed is the womb that never conceived and the breasts that never nursed.’”

Saying 80

Jesus said, “Whoever has come to know the world has found the body. The world is not worthy of the person who has found the body.”

Saying 81

Jesus said, “Whoever has grown rich should rule, and whoever has power should renounce.”

Saying 82

Jesus said, “Whoever is close to me is close to the fire. Whoever is far from me is far from the kingdom.”

Saying 83

Jesus said, “People can see images, but the light within them is hidden in the image of the Father’s light. It will be revealed, yet its image is concealed by its light.”

Saying 84

Jesus said, “You rejoice when you see your likeness. But when you see your images that came into being before you and neither die nor appear, how much will you be able to bear?”

Saying 85

Jesus said, “Adam came from great power and great wealth, yet he was not [worthy] of you. If he had been worthy, he [would not have tasted] death.”

Saying 86

Jesus said, “[Foxes have] their [dens], and birds have [their nests], but the Son of Man has [nowhere] to lay his head and [rest].”

Saying 87

Jesus said, “A body that depends on another body is wretched, and a soul that depends on both is wretched.”

Saying 88

Jesus said, “Angels and prophets are coming to you. They will give you what you already have. You, in turn, give them what you hold, and ask yourselves, ‘When are they coming to receive what belongs to them?’”

Saying 89

Jesus said, “Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Don’t you realize that whoever made the inside also made the outside?”

Saying 90

Jesus said, “Come to me. My yoke is kind, my rule is gentle, and you will find rest.”

Saying 91

They said to him, “Tell us who you are, so we can believe in you.” He replied, “You can interpret the appearance of the sky and the earth, yet you haven’t recognized the one in front of you, and you don’t know how to interpret the present time.”

Saying 92

Jesus said, “Seek, and you will find. But what you asked me about back then, which I didn’t tell you at the time, I now want to tell you—and you are no longer looking for it.”

Saying 93

“Don’t give what is holy to dogs, or they may throw it on the dungheap. Don’t throw [pearls] [to] pigs, or they may make them […]”

Saying 94

Jesus [said], “Whoever seeks will find, and [whoever knocks] will be let in.”

Saying 95

[Jesus said], “If you have money, don’t lend it at interest. Give [it] to [someone from whom] you won’t get it back.”

Saying 96

Jesus [said], “The Father’s kingdom [is like a] woman who took a little leaven, [hid it] in dough, and made [large] loaves. Anyone with ears should [listen].”

Saying 97

Jesus said, “The [Father’s] kingdom [is] like a woman carrying a [jar] full of flour. While she was traveling a long way [along the] road, the [jar’s] handle broke and the flour spilled out behind her [on] the road. She knew nothing of it and hadn’t noticed the trouble. When she got home, she put down the jar and found it empty.”

Saying 98

Jesus said, “The Father’s kingdom is like someone who wanted to kill a powerful man. At home he drew his sword and thrust it into the wall to test whether his hand was strong enough. Then he killed the powerful man.”

Saying 99

The disciples told him, “Your brothers and your mother are outside.” He said, “The people here who do what my Father wants are my brothers and my mother. They will enter my Father’s kingdom.”

Saying 100

They showed Jesus a gold coin and said, “Caesar’s people demand taxes from us.” He replied, “Give Caesar what belongs to Caesar, give God what belongs to God, and give me what belongs to me.”

Saying 101

“Anyone who does not hate their [father] and mother as I do cannot be my [disciple]. Anyone who does [not] love their [father] [and] mother as I do cannot be [my disciple]. For my mother […], but [my] true [mother] gave me life.”

Saying 102

Jesus said, “[Woe] to the Pharisees! They are like [a] dog asleep on a manger [for] cattle: it does not eat, and it will not [let] the cattle eat.”

Saying 103

Jesus said, “[Blessed] is someone who knows [where] the robbers will break in, so that [they can] get up, gather their [domain] together and gird themselves [before] the robbers enter.”

Saying 104

They said to [Jesus], “Come and pray and fast with us today.” Jesus replied, “What sin have I committed? How have I been overcome? When the bridegroom leaves the bridal chamber, then let them fast and pray.”

Saying 105

Jesus said, “Whoever comes to know the father and the mother will be called the son of a prostitute.”

Saying 106

Jesus said, “When you make the two one, you will become children of humanity. And when you say, ‘Mountain, move,’ it will move.”

Saying 107

Jesus said, “The kingdom is like a shepherd with a hundred sheep. The largest one wandered off. He left the ninety-nine and searched until he found it. After all that effort, he told the sheep, ‘I love you more than the ninety-nine.’”

Saying 108

Jesus said, “Anyone who drinks from my mouth will become like me. I too will become that person, and what is hidden will be revealed to them.”

Saying 109

Jesus said, “The kingdom is like a man who [had] a treasure [hidden] in his field without [knowing] it. [After] he died, he left it to his [son]. [The] son didn’t know about it either; he took the field and [sold it]. [The buyer] came to plow, [found] the treasure and began lending money at interest [to people who] wanted it.”