Psalms of Thomas

The Psalms of Thomas 13-20, from Allberry (1938), are given below.

The Psalms of Thomas 1-12 are hosted online at the Gnosis Archive.

XIII: ... the Church unto (?) the Apostle

Thou (?).... chooser of the righteous,

all thy sons seeking after thee,

all thy sons seeking after thee.

thy beloved ones expecting thee....

thy sons seek after thee,

thy beloved ones expect thee daily,

thy disciples seek after thee,

looking for thy form in their midst.

I went forth to plant a garden beyond the confines of this world,

choosing and planting in it the plants that grew in the Living ones.

I will give orders to the gardener:

"Attend to my trees, my new plants;

attend to my new plants that

they sleep not nor slumber,

they sleep not nor slumber,

(that) they forget not the order that has been given them."

For the years pass like months.

The months fly away like moments (?).

These are houses which are given on lease;

years they are, taken on loan.

I am not sick at heart for the bodies,

but for the treasure of the Living ones that is lodged in them.

I am expecting the Living ones to send aid after me:

the Living ones shall send me power,

my brethren shall bring the Light

.... How long therefore....,

that they may....

(line 30 illegible)

.... with (?) me before the Mighty one.

The Mighty one questions me.

The Great one of the Brightnesses examines me:

"O Righteous one.

the world whence thou art come,

- what aspect has it, how does it fare?"

I said, "The world whence I am come

is all full of evil, envy, hatred, and strife.

They all kill one another,

they destroy their flesh with the sword.

There is creation (?), conception, and creation.

A soul thrusts down a soul.

They are prostrated,

they lie on their faces,

their faces are not turned to the land of....

They increase greatly in evil,

they do not....

the Living ones at all...."

"Before (?) the evil waxed greatly,

O Righteous one, how did the world fare?

When the evil waxed greatly.

did the chremata lean one upon another?"

"The chremata supported one another through the Mind of Truth which preached to us."

"When the evil again became worse and worse,

how didst thou dwell in their midst?"

When the evil again became worse,

I lifted up my eyes to the Land of Light.

A man called down unto the world, saying:

"Blessed is he that shall know his soul.

Therefore am I troubled for my soul,

lest it faint and stray and itself become worse.

For the world shall pass and come to nought

and its works also shall perish with it."

Do you therefore, ye great Elect,

lift up your eyes to the land of Light;

you shall see the friend of the righteous standing beyond the world;

you shall see the Great one of the Brightnesses from whom every soul has....,

the tree which is life entire,

having power (?) over his beloved ones,

calling to.... ferrying across all his faithful.

My brethren, love me with your heart.

Do not please me with your lips:

the children of the lip are blotted out,

the children of the heart abide.

Do not be like the pomegranate,

whose rind is gay outside:

its rind is gay outside

but (be) its inside is full of ashes (?).

My brethren, ye have not been healthy.

Do not please me with your lips:

the children of the lip are blotted out,

the children of the heart abide.

Do not be like the tombs of the corpses,

which are whited indeed outside but its inside is full of carrion.

....which eat

the.... and use it up and sleep and slumber themselves.

My brethren, ye have not been healthy.

Do not please me with your lips:

the children of the lip are blotted out,

the children of the heart abide.

Do not be like the saddles of horses,

for outside indeed it wears fine trappings,

they wear fine trappings outside.

but (be) inside they are full of etre.

My brethren, ye have not been healthy.

Do not please me with your lips:

the children of the lip are blotted out.

the children of the heart abide.

I would have you be like a jar of wine,

firmly set upon its stand:

for the outside indeed is a piece of pottery covered with pitch,

while inside it is a fragrant wine.

XIV: I heard the cry of a physician

I heard the cry of a physician,

the cry of a exorcist coming (?) to me.

I heard the cry of a physician healing his poor ones (?).

He stands, he heals his beloved ones,

perfecting (?) all his believers.

The cry of a.... that is about to open,

imploring in the presence (?)....

O physician (?), heal me, loose my....

O charm-looser;

for thy healing is not of the earth.

Thy cures are not of this world.

Thy healing is of the Land of the Living ones.

Thy good cures are of the princes.

"How shall I heal thee,

O Matter the.... the Mother of this world?

For I am the physician that heals

but thou art the wounder that wounds.

I am the.... up

but thou art the striker, the layer low.

Thou art the bitter...:

what hast thou to do with the wealth of the Land of Light?'

If thou wilt not heal me...

(line 11 illegible)

.... a single day an hour only,

and I will take my arrows....and bring

them up to the world,

and I will take my silent (?) arrows

and shoot them from brink to brink

and wound the sons of men...

not...to him that.... it to them,

that there is death,

there is life,

there is also the Land of Truth.

I will give thee not a single day.

I will not allow thee an hour only.

For what ceases for 1 day shall cease for 22 years,

what ceases for 2 days has ceased for 44 years,

what ceases for (3) days shall be wiped out to the end of the world.

The ox that.... his stall, with his horns,

who shall buy him?

.... that.... his eyes with his fingers,

who shall.... to him?

He into whose ears they shall call,

if he hears not.... shall be divided (?) in all the worlds.

He shall suffer what the corpses suffer,

for they called into his ears,

he did not hear.

XV: For a table has been set in the house

let us....,

for a table has been set in the house,

a table was set in the house

for souls that they might not wander,

that they might not wander,

that souls might not be wiped out

and be destroyed in the world,

whose desire is great,

great are the

....O man in whose hands is the Richness,

why wilt thou slumber in this sleep?

Wherefore wilt thou not divide for thyself

the night into three parts

and sleep for one,

and watch for one,

and ruminate with the rumination of the Living for one?

Wherefore wilt thou [not] rise (?) betimes

that thou mayest glorify the great Lives,

before the....

....,

before the...his wings,

before ...drug-box spread out in it,

before he....,

even the lawless judge,

and sits upon the throne (?) of lawlessness,

before the accuser comes forth

and sits at the side of the magistrate

....word of the accuser

and they take [thee] away in disgrace

and katomizein [thee]?

XVI: Salome built a tower

Salome built a tower upon the rock of truth and mercy.

The builders that built it are the righteous,

the masons that hew stones for it are the angels.

The floor (?) of the house is Truth,

the beams of the roof are alms,

faith is [the]....

the Mind is the.... of its door.

They that go into it rejoice,

they that come out of it,

- their heart seeks after gladness.

She built it and gave it a roof,

Salome gave a parapet to the tower,

she took (?) an anēsh of storax to purify (?) it,

she took the.... of incense into the palm of her hand....forth,

she set it upon her head,

she went into it,

she called my Lord Jesus,

saying.... "mayest thou answer me, Jesus,

mayest thou hear me,

for I am not double-minded,

one is my heart and one my intention,

there is no thought in my heart that is split or divided."

Garland (?) me with the Brightnesses

and take me up [to the] house of peace.

The governors and rulers,

- their eyes looked upon me,

they wondered and marvelled

that the Righteous belonged to a single Lord.

XVII: The Little one made music by night

The Little one made music by night,

he mocked at... at (?) him:

"O World that... life ever.

O World.... of whom?

Of ...,

it has been said that they shall perish and pass,

of the ...,

it has been said that they shall perish and retire,

[of the Darkness] and the Fire,

it has been said that they shall perish and pass,

of the.... the sphere,

it has been said that they shall be destroyed and pass,

of the crowned ones of the kingdom,

it has been said that they shall perish and pass,

of the creation and the creator,

it has been said that they shall perish and pass."

The Little one makes music by night,

Matter answered him with a word:

"O Little one that makest music,....

thou it is art not of this world".

He said, "I indeed [am] in this world,

but I shall not dwell in it from henceforth.

I have tried the world and known it,

that there is not a tittle of life in it.

Since I have known the world it has hated me,

even the whole world;

when I saw that it hated me,

I in my turn hated it, .... feet (?).

I cast the whole world forth."

"O world, what have I to do

with thy perdition?

May they suffer (?),

even thy kings;

thy powers and the principalities,

- may they be counted (?) [to the] part of destruction."

O my heart, remember the house of [thy Father]:

I will go to the house of the Living

.... my Father,

out of the Land of them that are far.

I run, they run after me,

until I readied the Land of the Living,

I bent down,

I sat,

I rose,

I went my way:

I, the Living one,

from them that are far;

I, the Truth that....

I will ascend,

I will ascend,

until I reach holy (?).

When I readied the Land of....before me,

they brought a brightness forth...

they brought [a] Light,

they clothed me in it,

and (?) the garland of victory,

they brought it and set it upon my head;

the Living numbered me in their number

and set me down among them,

Amen.

XVIII: I reached the door of the garden

I reached the door of the garden,

the fragrant smell of the trees spread to me.

I lifted up my face, saying:

"Who will take from me 10 talents

and take me in to the garden?

20 silver staters in all,

who will take them from me and make me sit beneath the shade of the garden?

30 silver staters in all,

who wil take them from me and make me stand in its midst?

57 in all,

who will take them from me and take me in to their midst?

A full 100 entire,

who will take them from me, that I may be counted worthy to be one of them?"

They came from the height of Truth,

they said to me,

even the victorious Elect (?):

"What hast thou to do with 10 silver staters?

... porter...

What hast thou to do with 20,

what hast thou to do with 30,

standing at the door of the...?

What hast thou to do with this whole 100?"

"Thou shalt be put to the torture by thy enemies;

but if thou fastest with fasting,

thou shalt be taken into the garden;

if thy eyes glance not evilly,

they will make thee sit beneath the shadow of the garden;

if thy mouth speaks truly,

they will show thee their Image;

if thy hands are pure (?) from....,

they will hear the accents of thy pleading....

if thy heart is firm,

they will.... and make thee stand in their midst;

if thy feet walk in the path of Truth,

they will make thee one of them.

If thou doest these things indeed and steepest not,

thou shalt go up and see the Land of Light."

XIX: The vine which grew from the Living ones

They brought forth from my heart,

the vine which grew from the Living ones.

The smell of the vine is pleasant,

sweet also is the taste of the tree.

Its clusters (?) are gathered,

they are entwined;

its grapes also are gathered.

[Good is the] wine that is pressed (?),

all full of good wisdom.

He that shall drink of it,

- his eyes shine in his head,

his thought is firm in his heart,

his thought is firm in his heart.

He remembered the great.,

he remembered...vine,

they planted it...

(lines 29-30 destroyed)

up to the city of mockery.

They that (?)....,

when they saw me,

they wagged their heads....,

they sneered (?) at me,

they turned up the nose in mockery, saying:

"O man, come forth from among men (?),

thou didst set fire to our city.

I spoke unto my..., saying:

"Weave a garland (?) and encircle (?) my head,

weave a garland (?) and encircle (?) my head.

Let them fall down into my lap,

even thy... let them fall down into my lap,

[even thy...,

that I may see who it is that thou hast....

and that they may come] within,

even the righteous,

and may give them as

a gift strong in their power.

The women (?) whose hearts are firm are garlanded with petals

and sent up to the Land of Light."

XX: The cry of Pamoun

The cry of Pamoun,

the ox... mercy,

making the worlds to weep:

"What have the generations done to me?

Unto what have the sons of men delivered me?

They took two-edged axes,

they put them up in the marshes,

they felled the thick (?) trees

and the thin (?) ones they did not leave alone.

The thick (?) tree indeed they made into a plough,

the thin they made a goad,

they took it to the craftsmen,

they made (?)... his hand forth upon it,

they fashioned a yoke and mounted it on my neck,

they hung the plough behind me,

they hooked the plough and hung it behind me,

they pierced my sides with the goad....

.... they delivered me to the son of the Butcher,

the fattener of oxen took me,

his.... took me,

the son of the butcher,

the son of the butcher,

he chopped me up,

he scattered me abroad piecemeal,

they scattered me abroad,

[they] hung me in the markets in the presence of...

threw (?) my bones to the....

Therefore release (?) me from these things

and from the others,....

....after me....-ly

...and they do not buy it.

The... of the....

... the ox....

burning (?).... inside....

... he (?) called,

even the....,

he that....

Do not strike,

O Pamoun, the ox,

and shake the vessels that are in thee.

I will make thee sit upon the place of the....

the generations pass away through thee... to thee,

and thou shalt make...wherein they planted (?) thee,

and repay it to..., thou (?) living.

They are free, even they that....

my brethren, from the day of the great....,

Amen.

Thou art sweet and pleasant,

thou..., all of them.

Thou [givest] sweetness to my heart,

thou art....

my mouth.

Thou art sweet.

Thou didst.... in (?) the Father,

thou didst.... the Maiden.

.... the Elements....

.... Omophorus....

Thou didst obey the Mother....

.... and her Image.

Thou didst.... sin.

Thou art sweet.

Thou didst see with thy eyes the scattering....in it.

Thou art sweet.

Image up to them that....

all of them, [in] the flesh.

Thou didst appear (?) to the Archon....

his companion (?) whom he begot.

Thou didst.... his helpers and the ministers of his iniquity

...with him and four that lead him forth.

(lines 25-24 illegible)

And (?) the three arouse the....men.

(lines 27-32 fragmentary)

External links

• Translation of Psalms 1-12 (Allberry 1938, hosted at the Gnosis Archive)