The Secret Book of James: A Public Domain Transcription and Translation

Public-domain transcription and translation of NHC I,2. (ref)

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The Secret Book of James:
         A Public Domain Transcription and Translation
                                   by Mark M. Mattison

    This transcription and these translations have been committed to the public
domain. They may be freely copied and used, in whole or in part, changed or
unchanged, for any purpose.
    The Coptic text is based on NHC I,2 – that is, the second tractate of the first
volume of the Nag Hammadi Codices, a library of ancient Egyptian texts dating to the
fourth century. It’s the only surviving copy of this text to date. It begins on page 1,
line 1, and ends on page 16, line 30. Scholars widely agree that it’s a translation of an
earlier Greek manuscript, and that the text was initially composed in the second
century. Although this book doesn’t actually bear a title, it describes itself as an
“apocryphon” or “secret book” from James, so it’s widely known as “The
Apocryphon of James” or “The Secret Book of James.”
    Rather than a word-for-word interlinear, the exhibit which follows takes the more
traditional approach of placing an English rendition alongside the Coptic, line-by-line.
Although not always possible, I tried as often as possible to include the English words
on the same line as the Coptic, which makes for admittedly stilted prose but which
hopefully conveys something of the flavor of the Coptic (and hopefully also makes it
easier to identify Coptic equivalents of English terms). The most flagrant instances of
this awkward prose are those in which a subject is introduced after the verb. To cite
one example among many, a “literal” translation of NHC I,2,11.14 – 11.17 might
read, “You’ll be blessed, that is, those who’ve spoken out and acquired grace for
themselves.” With few exceptions, the antecedent pronoun to the term “that is” (Nqi)
isn’t usually the nearest pronoun, so a more natural English translation might read,
“Blessed will be those who’ve spoken out and acquired grace for themselves.”
    The reader will also note slightly different translation strategies and word choices
between the English rendition alongside the Coptic and the more intuitive translation
which follows. In part this is simply due to the fact that many passages can be
rendered in more than one way, so I haven’t felt obliged to slavishly align the two
English versions, although I’ve tried to remain as consistent as possible within each
translation.
    Particular thanks are due to Samuel Zinner, who reviewed and commented on this
document, and who assisted with some points of translation, especially as reflected in
the text notes.
    For additional reflections on the Secret Book of James, see my book, The Secret
Book of James: How to be Whole, available from Amazon.com.
    This document was first published on-line on July 5, 2022, and last updated on
July 26, 2024. Please forward notices of errors or suggested corrections to:

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Principal Sources

   Cameron, Ron. Sayings Traditions in the Apocryphon of James. Fortress Press, 1984.

   DeConick, April. Voices of the Mystics: Early Christian Discourse in the Gospels of John
   and Thomas and Other Ancient Christian Literature. Sheffield Academic Press, 2001.

   Kirchner, Dankwart. Epistula Jacobi Apocrypha. Die zweite Schrift aus Nag-Hammadi-
   Codex I. TUGAL 136. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1989.

   The Facsimile Edition of the Nag Hammadi Codices: Codex I. Brill, 1977.

   Meyer, Marvin, ed. The Nag Hammadi Scriptures. HarperOne, 2007.

   Miller, Robert J., ed. The Complete Gospels, Fourth Edition. Polebridge Press, 2010.

   Robinson, James M., ed. The Coptic Gnostic Library: A Complete Edition of the Nag
   Hammadi Codices, Volume I. Brill, 2000.

   Robinson, James M., ed. The Nag Hammadi Library in English, 4th rev. ed. Brill, 1996.

   Schenke, Hans-Martin. “Der Jakobusbrief aus dem Codex Jung.” Orientalistische
   Literaturzeitung, 66, 1971, 117-130.

   Schneemelcher, Wilhelm, ed., New Testament Apocrypha Volume One: Gospels and
   Related Writings, Revised Edition. Westminster John Knox Press, 1991 [2003].

   Van Der Vliet, J. “Spirit and Prophecy in the Epistula Iacobi Apocrypha (NHC
   I,2).” Vigiliae Christianae 44, 1990, 25-53.

Sigla

  .     Uncertain letter
 ()     Letter implied
 []     Lacuna
< >     Editorial correction of a scribal error
{ }     Letter erroneously added by the scribe
 ‘ ’    Letter inserted above the text by the scribe
 ; :    Scribal deletion

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1:1    [iakkwbos p]et?[sx]eei M-       [James writes] to

1:2    […]cos +?rhne                   […]thos: Peace

1:3    [nek abal xnn] o?ueirhnh        [to you from] peace,

1:4    o?u[agaph abal x]N? ouagaph     [love from] love,

1:5    ouy?[aris abal x]nn ouyaris.    [grace] from grace,

1:6    oup[istis ab]a?l xn? oupistis   [faith] from faith,

1:7    ouwnX abal xN ouwnX             life from life

1:8    efouaaf. epidh akR a-           holy! Since you

1:9    3iou mmaei. atratN-             asked me to send

1:10   nau nek NouapokruvO             to you a secret book

1:11   eauqalP<f> abal Nnhei.          revealed to me

1:12   m?n? petros x!tM pja!s          and Peter by the Lord,

1:13   [m]piqMqam men. Ntstak          I was unable to turn you away

1:14   [a]b?al oute N$eje xarak        or speak to you

1:15   [axisa]xF de xN xensxeei.       but [I have written] it in letters

1:16   mmN?txebraiois ax!-             Hebrew

1:17   tNnaouf nek. nek men            (and) I sent it to you, you

1:18   ouaeetK alla xws nTK            alone. But as

1:19   ouxuphreths Mpouje-             a minister of the salvation

1:20   e!. Nnetouaaf eri apato-        of the saints, try

1:21   otK auw Ngarhx. atMjou          and take care not to speak

1:22   Mpijwme axax peei               of this book to many, this

1:23   ete.MpepSWR ouw$.               that the Savior didn’t wish

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1:24   [a]joof aran thrN pfmNT-             to tell us all, the

1:25   snaus Mmachths sena-                 twelve disciples.

1:26   $wpe ‘de’ Mmakarios. Nqi             But blessed will be

1:27   netnaoujeei xrh! xN                  those who will be saved through

1:28   tpistis Mpilogos. ax!-               the faith of this message.

1:29   tNnau de $arak xach                  But I sent to you

1:30   Mmht Nebat. Nkeapo-                  ten months ago, another

1:31   kruvon eafqalpF nh!                  secret book he revealed to me,

1:32   abal nqi pswthr. alla                that is, the Savior. But

1:33   ph men meue araf x!                  that one think of

1:34   neeI. xws NtaxouqalpF                as revealed

1:35   ara! !akwbos. peei N-                to me, James. This one

2:1    de xw?[…]                            but […]

2:2    taxo? [a]b?al p?[…]                  stand […]

2:3    nete? nou[…]                         those who […]

2:4    qe. Ngkwt? […]                       then, build […]

2:5    teei te c?[e…ou]                     this is [as … be]

2:6    jeei. mN? […]                        saved and […]

2:7    ekaou?[…neux]masT ‘n’’de?            you, but [… they were] sitting

2:8    axrh! throu x?i? o?u[sa]p? mN neu-   all of them [at the same time] and

2:9    erhu. Nqi pmNTsnaous M-              together, that is, the twelve

2:10   machths. auw eueire Mpme-            disciples, and they were remembering

2:11   eue. Nnentaxapswthr joou             what the Savior told them,

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2:12   apoueei poueei. Mmau eite         each one of them, whether

2:13   Mpetchp. eite Mpetou-             hidden or in public.

2:14   anX abal. auw euR tas?s?e? M.-    And they were [arranging]

2:15   mau axNjwwme. a[nak de]           them in books, [but I]

2:16   neeisxeei NnetxM p[ajwme]         was writing what was in [my book].

2:17   eis pSWR afouwnX? a?b?[al e]-     Behold, the Savior appeared, [after]

2:18   afei abal x!too[tn] e?[nq]w$[t]   he went away from [us, while we were expecting]

2:19   Nswf. auw mNNsa +ou N$e           him and after five hundred

2:20   taeiou Nxoou NtareftwoU           fifty days after he rose

2:21   abal xN netmaout. pajen           from the dead. We said

2:22   nef je akbwk akouaeie aran        to him, “You went away and left us!”

2:23   IHS de pajef je mpe. alla         But Jesus said, “No, but

2:24   +nabwk aptopos Ntax!ei M-         I will go to the place from which I came.

2:25   meu $pe tetNouw$e. eei            If you want to come

2:26   nMmhei amhtN axouw$B              with me, come!” Answered

2:27   throu pajeu je $pe kR? k?e?-      all of them and said, “If you

2:28   leue nen tNNhou pajef j?[e]       command us, we will come.” He said,

2:29   xamhn +jou Mmas nhtN j?[e]        “Truly I tell you,

2:30   mn laaue anhxe nabwk axou[n]      no one will ever enter

2:31   atmntRro nMphue. eei$an?[r]       the kingdom of heaven if I

2:32   keleuei nef. alla abal je?        command him, but because

2:33   tetNmhx NtwtN. ari sugywri        you yourselves are full. Permit

2:34   nh! N!akwbos mN petros            me (to have) James and Peter

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2:35   jekase eeinamaxou auw?        so that I will fill them.” And

2:36   Ntarefmoute apisneu           after he called these two,

2:37   afjitou Nsa ousa. afouexsa-   he took them aside and commanded

2:38   xne Mpke.$wjP. atrousRfe?     the others to keep doing

2:39   anetousrabt. arau pajef N?-   what they were doing. He said,

2:40   qi pswr. je axounae nhtN      that is, the Savior, “You’ve received mercy.

3:1    […] $wpe                      […] become.

3:2    […]hs a?[x]ousxe              […] they wrote

3:3    […]jame. xws.                 […] took, as

3:4    […a]rwtN an                   […] to you

3:5    […]leth. auw                  […] and

3:6    [.]ce?[…]o?uswtM              […] just as […] hear

3:7    auw n[… mp]ouR no!            and […] they haven’t understood.

3:8    xie te?[t]n?ouw$e amoux.      Don’t you want, then, to be full?

3:9    en. auw petNxht taxS x!e.     And your hearts are drunk.

3:10   tetNouw$e. en aR nhve.        Don’t you want, then, to become sober?

3:11   $ipe qe loipon eretNraeis     Then be ashamed! From now on, awake

3:12   auw eretNNkatke. eri pme-     or asleep, remember

3:13   eue. je NtwtN. xatetNneu      that you’ve seen

3:14   ap$hre. Mprwme. auw peei      the Son of Humanity, and

3:15   atetN$eje nMmef auw           have talked to him in person, and

3:16   peei atetNswtM araf           have listened to him in person.

3:17   o?ua?ei Nnentaxneu ap$h-      Woe to those who’ve seen the

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3:18   r[e Mpr]w?me. sena$wpe         Son [of] Humanity! They’ll be

3:19   Mmakarios Nqi neteM-           blessed, that is, those who

3:20   pouneu aprwme. auw ne-         haven’t seen that man, and

3:21   teMpoutwx nMmef au-            those who haven’t mixed with him, and

3:22   w neteMpou$eje nMmef           those who haven’t spoken with him,

3:23   auw neteMpouswtM a-            and those who haven’t heard

3:24   laaue NtootF pwtN pe           a thing from him. Yours is

3:25   pwnX Mme qe je afR pa-         life! Know, then, that he

3:26   xre arwtN eretN$wne            healed you when you were sick,

3:27   [j]ekas eretnaR Rro. oua-      so that you might reign. Woe

3:28   e!. NnentaxMtan abal.          to those who’ve found relief

3:29   xM peu$wne. je senat-          from their sickness, for they will

3:30   stau an ap$wne. neeie-         relapse into sickness. Blessed are

3:31   tou neteMpou$wne auw           those who haven’t been sick, and

3:32   axousouwn pMtan empa-          have known relief before

3:33   tou$wne. twtN te tmNT-         getting sick. Yours is the

3:34   {t}Rro Mpnoute. etbe peei +-   kingdom of God! So I

3:35   jou Mmas nhtN je $wpe ere-     tell you, be

3:36   tMmhx auw MpRke topos xN       full and leave no space within

3:37   thne ef$oueit. efa$ swbe       you empty, for he can mock

3:38   NswtN Nqi petNnhu tote         you, that is, the one who’s coming.” Then

3:39   apetros ouw$B je eis $a-       Peter replied, “Look,

3:40   mNT Nsap. akjoos nen           three times you’ve told us,

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4:1    je $[w]p?e er?[etmmhx alla]            ‘Be full,’ but

4:2    tNmh?x. xap?[SWR ouw$b pa-]            we are full.” The [Savior replied]

4:3    jef je etb?[e peei axijoos]            and said, “That’s why I [told]

4:4    nhtN. je [$wpe eretmmhx je-]           you, [‘be full’],

4:5    kas Nne?[tnqwjf netqwjf]               So that you won’t [be lacking. Those who are lacking],

4:6    Nde. sen?[aoujeei] en. nano?[u]        however, won’t [be saved]. For it’s good

4:7    pmoux gar a?[u]w? [pqw]jF. xau. kata   to be full, [and] bad to be [lacking]. So just

4:8    txe qe enanou trek?qwjF auw            as it’s good for you to be lacking and

4:9    trekmoux xwwf xau teei te              bad for you to be full,

4:10   txe. $afqwjB Nqi petmhx auw            whoever is full is also lacking, and

4:11   maumoux Nqi petqajF. Nce               one who’s lacking isn’t full like

4:12   e$afmoux Nqi petqajF auw               one who’s lacking is full, and

4:13   petmhx xwwf $afjwk abal                one who’s full completes

4:14   Mprw$e. $$e qe aqwjB                   sufficiency. So it’s right to be lacking

4:15   xws euN qam. amoux thne auw            while it’s possible to fill you, and

4:16   amoux. xws euN qam aqwjB?              to be filled while it’s possible to be lacking,

4:17   jekas eretnaqmqa?[m] N?m?[oux] a?-     so that you can [fill]

4:18   rwtN Nnouxouo. $w?[pe] qe              yourselves more. So [be]

4:19   eretMmhx abal xM ppneuma               full of the Spirit

4:20   eretNqajF nde abal xM                  but lacking in

4:21   plogos plogos Ngar pe t2u-             reason, for reason is of the soul.

4:22   yh. ou2uyh an te ax!ouw-               again, it is soul.” But I replied

4:23   $B de pajh! nef je pjaeis              and said to him, “Lord,

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4:24   ouN qam Mman apice nek           we can obey you

4:25   $pe xnek axNkwe gar N-           if you want, for we’ve forsaken

4:26   swn nneneia+ Nxaout.             our fathers

4:27   mN nenmeeu mN nen+me             and our mothers and our villages

4:28   axNouaxN Nswk + cxe q?[e]        and have followed you. So grant us

4:29   nen atMtroupiraze Mman           not to be tempted

4:30   abal x!tootF Mpdiabolos. e-      by the devil, the

4:31   cau. afouw$B Nqi pjaeis          evil one.” He replied, that is, the Lord,

4:32   pajef je e$ pe petNxmat          and said, “What’s your merit

4:33   eretNeire Mpouw$e Mpiwt.         if you do the will of the Father,

4:34   eutM+ nhtN abal x!tootF xN       and he doesn’t give it to you

4:35   oumeros Ndwrea. xM ptrou-        as a gift while

4:36   piraze MmwtN abal x!tootF        you’re tempted by

4:37   Mpsatanas e$wpe. de              Satan? But if

4:38   eulwjX MmwtN abal x!to-          you’re oppressed by

4:39   otF Mpsatanas. auw eu-           Satan and

4:40   pht. nsa thne auw NtetNR pef-    persecuted and you do his

5:1    o?u?w?$e. +[jou] Mma?s je fna-   will, I [say] that he’ll

5:2    mRre thne auw fna$w$             love you, and make you equal

5:3    thne? n?M?hei auw fnameu-        to me, and he’ll regard

5:4    e a[rwt]n?. je xatetN$wpe        [you] as having become

5:5    Mm[rre]i?t? xrh! xN tefpronoia   beloved through his forethought

5:6    kata tetN[p]roxairesis x!e.      by your own choice. So

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5:7    NtetNnalo? en. eretNoei             won’t you stop loving

5:8    Mmaeisar3 auw eretNR                the flesh and being

5:9    xa+e xhtf NMpacos h Nte-            afraid of sufferings? Or

5:10   tNsaune. en je MpatouR xu-          don’t you know that you have yet

5:11   brize MmwtN. auw Mpatou-            to be abused and to be

5:12   R kathgori MmwtN xnn ouji           accused and to receive

5:13   NqanS. oude MpatouwtP               violence, nor to be locked up

5:14   thne axoun. au$teko. oute           in prison and

5:15   empatouqaeie thutN xN ou-           condemned

5:16   mNTanomos. oute Mpatou-             illegally and

5:17   R s7o?[u] MmwtN xNn oumNT-          crucified by

5:18   logos. oute MpatoutwmS              reason, and buried

5:19   thne. xNn ou$ou Ntaxe xwwt          in sand as I myself was

5:20   abal x!tootF MPponhros.             by the evil one?

5:21   tetNtolma. a+ so ausar3             Do you dare to spare the flesh,

5:22   w nete pPNA oei NsabT ef-           you for whom the Spirit is a wall

5:23   kwte arau eretN$anmak-              surrounding? If you consider

5:24   mK. apkosmos je ouhr. pe            How long the world existed

5:25   <x>atetNx<h>{aeie}. auw je mNNsw-   <before> you, and how long

5:26   tN an. ouhr pe. tetnaqntS.          it will existafter you, you’ll find

5:27   erepetnbios ouxoou Nouwt            your life is a single day

5:28   pe auw netMpacos eu{n}ou-           and your sufferings a single hour.

5:29   nou Nouwt. te. Nagacos gar.         For the good

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5:30   Nsenaei en axoun apkosmos.          won’t come into the world.

5:31   eri katavroni qe Mpmou              So scorn death

5:32   auw NtetNfi raou$ apwnex            and take thought for life!

5:33   ari pmeeue Mpastauros               Remember my cross

5:34   auw pamou auw tetNna-               and my death, and you’ll

5:35   wNX ax!ouw$B Nde pa-                live!” But in response I

5:36   jh! nef je pjaeis M-                said to him, “Lord,

5:37   pwr. ateuo aran Mps7os              don’t teach us about the cross

5:38   mN pmou neei gar seouhou            and death, for they’re far

6:1    Mmak afo?[uw]$B Nqi p?jae?i?s       from you.” In response he, that is, the Lord,

6:2    pajef je xamhn +jou Mmas            said, “Truly I tell

6:3    nhtN je m?N laaue n?aouje-          you, no one will be saved

6:4    ei eimhti Nsepis?t?[eue] a?pas7os   unless they [believe] in my cross,

6:5    nenta[x]pisteue? [ga]r? apas-       [for] those who’ve believed in my

6:6    7os. twou te tmNt?ero Mp-           cross, theirs is the kingdom

6:7    pnoute $w?pe qe eretN$i-            of God. So become those who seek

6:8    ne Nsa pmou Ncxe nnetma-            death, like the

6:9    out. et$ine Nsa pwnX $af-           dead who seek life,

6:10   ouwnX gar anetMmeu Nqi pe-          for it’s revealed to them, that is,

6:11   tou$ine Nswf. eu Nde peto-          those who seek. So what is there

6:12   ei neu Nraou$ xM p<t>retetNkw-      to trouble them? When you turn

6:13   te NtwtN xa pra Mpmou fna-          to death, it will

6:14   tamwtN atmNTswtP. emmA              teach you election. Truly

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6:15   +jou Mmas nhtN je {ne}mN laue            I say to you, no one

6:16   naoujeei. NnetR xa+e xhtF?               will be saved who fears

6:17   Mpmou. tmNTR<r>o N?g?ar Mp;n:{m}<n>ou<te> death, for the kingdom of <God>

6:18   ta netoumouout. Mmau te                  belongs to those who are put to death.

6:19   $wpe eretNsatP araei. tN-                Become better than I;

6:20   tN thne ap$hre MpePNA et-                be like the son of the Holy Spirit.”

6:21   ouaab. tote ax!$NTF anak                 Then I asked him,

6:22   je pja!s Ne$ Nsmat. ena$R’’              “Lord, how can we

6:23   provhteue. Nneei etR a3i-                prophesy to those who ask

6:24   ou. Mman atrNR provhteue                 us to prophesy

6:25   neu. na$wou gar Nqi netR ai-             to them? For there are many who

6:26   ti Mman. auw etqw$T abal                 ask us and who look

6:27   xhtN atrouswtM aulogos                   to us to hear a message

6:28   abal x!tootN axapjaeis                   from us.” The Lord

6:29   ouw$B pejaf. je NtetN-                   responded and said, “You

6:30   saune en. je aunouxe Ntape               know not that the head

6:31   Nte provhtia mN !wxannhs                 of prophecy was cut off with John?”

6:32   anak Nde pajh! je pja!s                  But I said, “Lord,

6:33   {je} mhti ouN $qam. afei N-              surely it’s not possible to remove

6:34   tape Nteprovhtia paje                    the head of prophecy?” Said

6:35   pjaeis nh! je xotan eretN-               The Lord to me, “When you

6:36   $anMme je eu pe ape auw                  realize what ‘head’ means, and

6:37   je $aretprovhtia R pbL Nta-              that prophecy comes from the head,

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6:38   pe. eri noei je eu pe axoufi    understand the meaning of ‘remove

7:1    tesap?e. ax?[ir] $arp? eei$e-   its head.’ At first I spoke

7:2    je nMmhtN xrh! xN xMpara-       to you in parables,

7:3    bolh. a?uw neretNr noei         and you didn’t understand.

7:4    en. +[n]o?u an +$eje nM-        Now I speak to

7:5    mht?[n x]N? ouwnX abal auw      you openly, and

7:6    Nte?t?Nr aiscane en alla        you don’t understand. But

7:7    NtwtN neretN$oop nh!            you were to me

7:8    Nnouparabolh xrh! xN xM-        a parable among

7:9    parabolh. auw Mvaneros          parables and something manifest

7:10   xrh! xN nouwnX abal. qeph       out in the open. Hasten

7:11   atretNoujeei. eusapsp           to be saved without being urged.

7:12   en MmwtN alla NtwtN             Rather, be

7:13   ourat. ouaet. thne auw          eager on your own and,

7:14   *pe ouN qam ari $arP ara-       if possible, be first before

7:15   ei. xwwt. teei gar te cxe.      me, for thus

7:16   eterepiwt. namRre thne          the Father will love you.

7:17   $wpe? eretNmaste Ncu-           Become those who hate

7:18   pokrusis auw pmeue Nxht.        hypocrisy and intention that’s

7:19   ecau pmeue gar Nxht. Ntaf       evil, for intention

7:20   pe e$afjpe. cupokrisis.         is what produces hypocrisy,

7:21   cupokrisis xwws ouhou a-        and hypocrisy is far from

7:22   bal Ntmhe. Mpwr axwkM           truth. Don’t let

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7:23   NtmNtRro NMphue.                   the kingdom of heaven

7:24   estNtant. ngar auwlX nBN-          wither, for it’s like a date palm shoot

7:25   ne. entaxanefkarpos xe+e           whose fruit has poured down

7:26   Mpefkwte. afteuo abal N-           around it. It sent out

7:27   xenqwbe. auw Ntarou+ ouw           some leaves, and after they sprouted,

7:28   axoutretate $aueie. te-            they made their productivity dry up.

7:29   ei an te ce Mpkarpos Ntax-         This is also what happened with the fruit that

7:30   $wpe. abal xN +noune N-            came from this single root;

7:31   ouwt. NtaroutakNF au-              when it was picked,

7:32   jpo NxNkarpos x!tN xax.            many acquired fruit. Wouldn’t it

7:33   nenanous Mmen pe. ene              truly be good

7:34   ouN $qam +nou aR nitw-             if you could produce the

7:35   qe BbRre. nek <nek>aqntS. epee     new plants now? <You> would find it. Since

7:36   ax!ji eau x! neei xach Mpi-        I’ve already been glorified like this,

7:37   ouaei$. etbe eu tetNR ka-          why do you hold me back

7:38   teye Mmaei eeiqeph abwk            in my eagerness to go?

8:1    mNNs?a? px[is]e g?ar xatetN+       For after the [labor], you’ve

8:2    anagkh araei. atraqw xatN th-      made me continue with you

8:3    ne. nkemNT$mh<n> Nxoou e-          another eighteen days

8:4    tbe Mparabolh n?e?srw$e pe         because of the parables. It was enough

8:5    Nxenrwme. a<tro>usw[tm] Nsa tse-   for some people <to listen> to the teaching

8:6    bo. auw nseR no! NN$[o]os auw      and understand ‘The Shepherds,’ and

8:7    jpo auw pkw?t. auw NxBS NM-        ‘The Seed,’ and ‘The Building,’ and ‘The Lamps of

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8:8    parcenos. auw pbeke Nner-        The Virgins,’ and ‘The Wage of the Workers,’

8:9    gaths auw nekeia+. auw tsx!-     and ‘The Silver Coins and the Woman.’

8:10   me. $wpe Nrefqeph xa pra         Be eager about

8:11   Mplogos plogos Ngar $a-          The message! For the message’s

8:12   rP men. pefra pe tpistis         first part is faith,

8:13   pmaxsneu pe tagaph pmax-         the second, love; the

8:14   $amNT pe nexbhue. e$af$w-        third, works;

8:15   pe gar abal xN neei Nqi pwnX     for from these comes life.

8:16   plogos Ngar eftNtwn au-          For the message is like a

8:17   bLbile Nsouo. pe?ei Ntareou-     Grain of wheat. When someone

8:18   eei jaf. aftanxoutF. auw N-      sowed it, they believed in it, and

8:19   tarefrwt afmRritF. eafneu        when it sprouted, they loved it, because they saw

8:20   axax BbLbile. apma Noueie. auw   many grains in place of one. And

8:21   NtarefR xwb. afoujeei. eaf-      after they worked, they they were saved,

8:22   tsenaf Nnouxre. palin af-        Because they prepared it for food, then

8:23   $wjP. ajo. teei an te. ce        left enough over to sow. This also is

8:24   ete ouN qam MmwtN Nji a-         how you yourselves can receive

8:25   rwtN NtmntRro NMphue.            the kingdom of heaven.

8:26   teei eretNtMjitS. x!tN ougnw-    Unless you receive it through knowledge,

8:27   sis. Ntetna$ qiNTS en. etbe      you won’t be able to find it. So

8:28   peei +jou Mmas NnhtN je          I say to you,

8:29   eri nhve. Mpwr. aR plana         Be sober! Don’t be deceived.

8:30   auw xax Nsap ax!joos nhtN mN     And many times I’ve said to you

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8:31   netNerhu. auw an Ntak oua-      all together, and also to you alone,

8:32   eetK w !akkwbos ax!jo-          O James, I’ve said

8:33   os je oujeei. auw ax!xwn        ‘Be saved!’ And I’ve commanded

8:34   atootK. atrekouaxK Nswei        you to follow me,

8:35   auw ax!tsebe eietk abal         and I’ve taught you

8:36   acupocesis NnaxrN Nnarywn       what to do in the face of the rulers.

8:37   eneu je anak ax!eI apitN        See that I’ve come down,

8:38   auw ax!$eje auw ax<!>R skulle   and have spoken, and have been torn,

8:39   Mmaei. auw ax!fi Mpaklam.       and have taken my crown

9:1    NtarinouxM MmwtN ax!-           when I saved you,

9:2    ei gar apitN atraouwx NM-       for I came down to dwell with

9:3    mhtN jekase. etrenaou-          you so that you’ll dwell

9:4    wx nMmh! xwt. thne auw          with me. And

9:5    Ntariqine. NnetNhei. e-         when I found your houses

9:6    mN melwt? x!wou Ntax!ou-        without ceilings, I set up

9:7    hx xNn nhei etna$ $apT          in houses which could receive

9:8    arau Mpsap eei$anei a-          Me at the time when I came

9:9    pitN etbe peei peice            down. About this trust me,

9:10   nhei w nasnhu eri noei je       my brothers.Understand

9:11   eu pe pnaq Nouaein piwt.        what is the great light. The Father

9:12   R yria en Mmaei. mare-          doesn’t need me,

9:13   !wt gar R yreia N$hre al-       for a father doesn’t need a son, but

9:14   la p$hre pe e$afR yreia         it’s the son who needs

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9:15   Mpiwt eeipht. aretF M-        the father. I’m going to him,

9:16   petMmeu Nf$aat. Ngar          for the Father

9:17   MmwtN en Nqi piwt. Mp$h-      of the Son doesn’t need you.

9:18   re. swtM Nsa plogos           Listen to the message,

9:19   eri noei Ntgnwsis. mRre pw-   understand knowledge, love

9:20   wnX auw mN laue napwt         life, and no one will persecute

9:21   Nsa thne. oute mN laue        You, nor anyone

9:22   nalwjX MmwtN x!bal            oppress you,

9:23   Nsabhl arwtN ouaet. thne      except you yourselves.

9:24   w Ntalaipwros w N-            O you wretches! O

9:25   kakodaimwn w N-               you poor devils! O

9:26   xupokr!ths Ntmhe.             you hypocrites of the truth!

9:27   w NrMNnouj Ntgnwsis.          O you falsifiers of knowledge!

9:28   w <m>parabaths M<pe>pneuma    O you sinners against the Spirit!

9:29   x!e $a +nou an tetNR xupo-    Can you still now bear

9:30   mine aswtM e$$e arw-          to listen, when you should have been

9:31   tN a$eje jin N$arP x!e        speaking from the first?

9:32   +nou an tetNR xupomine. an-   Can you still bear to

9:33   katke. e$$e arwtN ara!s       sleep, when you should’ve been awake

9:34   jin N$arP jekase esna.        from the first so that it might

9:35   $ep thne. aras Nqi tmNtRro    receive you, that is, the kingdom

9:36   nmphue                        of heaven?

10:1   se. Mman +j?ou Mmas nhtN?     Truly I say to you,

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10:2    je smatN atreoupetoua-        it’s easier for a holy person

10:3    ab. ei apitN aujwxM auw N-    to fall into defilement, and

10:4    teourMNouaein eI apitN        for an enlightened person to fall

10:5    apkekei Nxouo arw?tN aR R-    into darkness than for you to

10:6    ro H atMeire. ax!R pmeue      reign – or not reign. I’ve remembered

10:7    NnetNRmeie?. mN petNxhbe      your tears, and your grief,

10:8    auw tetNluph. seouhou M-      and your pain. They’re far

10:9    man +nou qe w net$oop         from us. But now, you who are

10:10   MpbL Nteklhronomia M-         outside of the inheritance of

10:11   piwt. rime xM pma ete$$e      the Father, weep in the place it’s necessary,

10:12   auw NtetNR xhbe auw Nte-      and grieve and

10:13   tNta$e aei$ MPpetnanouf       proclaim what’s good,

10:14   xws erep$hre nna. axrh! ka-   as the Son is going up

10:15   lws. se. Mman. +jou Mmas      appropriately. Truly I say

10:16   nhtN je enentaxoutNnaout.     to you, if I had been sent (only)

10:17   $a netswtM araei. auw e-      to those who would listen to me, and

10:18   nentaei$eje mN netM.          spoken to them,

10:19   meu. neeinabwk en axrhei      I wouldn’t ever have gone

10:20   anhxe x!jM pkax tenou qe      up from the earth. Now,

10:21   loipon $ipe ajN netMmeu       then, be ashamed for these things!

10:22   eis xhhte +naouaeie. arwtN    Look, I’ll leave you

10:23   N+bwk auw n+ouw$e en.         and go away, and don’t want

10:24   aqw apexouo xatN thne. Nce    to continue with you anymore, just as

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10:25   xwt thutN eteMpetNou-          you yourselves don’t

10:26   w$e. +nou qe ouwx thne         want that. Now, then,

10:27   Nsw! xN ouqeph. etbe peei      follow me quickly. This is why

10:28   +jou Mmas nhtN etbe thne       I say to you that for you

10:29   Ntaxiei apitN NtwtN pe         I came down. You’re

10:30   Mmere+. NtwtN pe ne-           Beloved; you’re those

10:31   tna$wpe Naitios MpwnX          who’ll become responsible for life

10:32   xN xax. eri parakalei Mpiwt    in many. Call on the Father.

10:33   twbX Mpnoute. Nxax Nsap        Pray to God often,

10:34   auw fna+ nhtN oumakarios       and he’ll give to you. Blessed

10:35   pe pentafn.eu arwtN nMmef      is the one who has seen you with him

10:36   euta$e aei$ Mmaf xN Nag-       when he was proclaimed among the angels,

10:37   gelos auw eu+ eau nef xN       and given glory among

10:38   netouaab. pwtN pe pwnX         the holy ones; yours is life.

10:39   re$e auw telhl MmwtN xws       Rejoice and be glad as

11:1    $hre Mpnoute. toujo M[pf]ou-   sons of God. Keep his will

11:2    w$e. jekase eretnaouje-        so that you may be saved.

11:3    ei. ji jpio abal x!toot. auw   Accept my warning and

11:4    NtetNtouje thne. +sapsP        save yourselves. I’m pleading

11:5    xarwtN xatM piwt. auw fna-     for you with the Father, and he will

11:6    ke xax nhtN abal. auw NtarN-   forgive you much.” And when we

11:7    swtM aneei an$wpe N$ila-       heard these things, we were cheerful,

11:8    ros neaxMwkM ‘N’gar pe. a-     for we were unhappy

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11:9    xrh! ajN nentanjoou N$a-        about the words we spoke of before.

11:10   rP Ntarefneu de aran eN-        But when he saw us

11:11   re$e pajef je ouaei nhtN        rejoicing, he said, “Woe to you,

11:12   w net$aat. Nnouparaklh-         O you who need an advocate!

11:13   tos. ouaei nhtN w netR yria     Woe to you, O you who need grace!

11:14   .Nnouxmat. sena$wpe M-          You’ll be

11:15   makarios Nqi nenta‘x’ouR par-   blessed, that is, those who’ve

11:16   xhsiaze Mmau auw axoujpo        spoken out and acquired

11:17   neu Mpxmat. ouaetou. tNtN       grace for themselves.

11:18   thne axN$Mmaei je eu$o-         Be like foreigners.

11:19   op Nne$ Nxe. NnaxrN tetN-       How are they viewed in your

11:20   polis. etbe eu tetN$tRtarT      city? Why are you disturbed

11:21   eretNnouje MmwtN abal.          when you cast yourselves out

11:22   ouaet. thne. auw tetNou-        on your own and

11:23   aeie. atetNpolis. axrwtN        separate yourselves from your city? Why

11:24   petMma N$wpe tetNkwe.           do you leave your dwelling

11:25   Mmaf abal ouaet. thne ere-      on your own

11:26   tNsabte Mmaf Nnetouw$e          and make it available for those who want

11:27   aouhx. NxhtF w netoua-          to live in it? O you

11:28   at. auw netpht. abal. ouaei     outcasts and runaways! Woe

11:29   nhtN je senatexe thne. H        to you, because you’ll be caught! Or

11:30   me$eke. eretMmeue apiwt.        do you think that the Father

11:31   je oumaeirwme pe H e$af<R>      is a lover of humanity, or is

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11:32   pice ajN xNsapsP h e$afR        persuaded by prayers, or grants

11:33   yarize Noueei xa oueei. h e-    grace to one on behalf of another, or

11:34   $afR aneye Noueei. ef$i-        puts up with one who seeks?

11:35   ne fsaune gar Mpouw$e. auw      For he knows about desire and

11:36   mN peteretsar3 R yria M-        what the flesh needs.

11:37   maf. je Ntas en pe. etepicu-    It’s not this (flesh) that desires

11:38   mi at2uyh ajN t2uyh gar.        the soul, for without the soul,

11:39   marepswma R nabei Ncxe.         the body doesn’t sin, just as

12:1    et?emaret2uyh oujeei ajM?[p]-   the soul isn’t saved without the

12:2    P?NA ere$aNt2uyh de ou-         spirit. But if the soul is

12:3    jeeI ajM pecau auw Nfou-        saved without evil, and

12:4    jeei Nqi pkePNA $arepswma       it, that is, the spirit is saved, then the body

12:5    $wpe Natnabei pePNA Ngar pe     becomes sinless. For it’s the spirit that

12:6    e$aftaxo Nt2uyh pswma xw-       raises the soul, but the body

12:7    wf pe. e$afmouout. Mmas         that kills it;

12:8    ete Ntas MmN Mmas petmouout     that is, it’s it (the soul) that kills

12:9    Mmas xamhn +jou Mmas nhtN je    itself. Truly I say to you,

12:10   Nfnaka pnabei en abal. Nt2u-    he’ll never forgive the sin of the soul

12:11   yh. Nlaue. oute taitia N-       nor the guilt of

12:12   tsar3 mN laue gar. xN nentax-   the flesh, for no one who’s

12:13   R vori Ntsar3 naoujeei ere-     worn the flesh will be saved.

12:14   tMmeue Ngar je Ntaxaxax qi-     For do you think that many have

12:15   ne NtmNtero NMphue. neei-       found the kingdom of heaven? Blessed

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12:16   etF Mpentafneu araf efoei       is the one who’s seen oneself as a

12:17   Mmaxftau Nxrh! xN Mphue ne-     fourth in heaven.”

12:18   ei NtarNsatmou axNR lupi Nta-   When we heard these things, we were depressed.

12:19   refneu de aran je axNR lupei    But when he saw that we were depressed,

12:20   pajef. je etbe peei +jou M-     he said, “I’m saying this

12:21   mas NnhtN jekas eretna-         to you so that you may

12:22   souwn thne. tmNtero gar         know yourselves. For the kingdom

12:23   nmphue eseine NnouxMS e-        of heaven is like an ear of grain

12:24   afrwt xNn ousw$e. auw pe-       after it had sprouted in a field. And

12:25   ei Ntarefjete. afsite Mpef-     when it had ripened, it scattered its

12:26   karpos auw an afmoux Ntsw-      fruit and again it filled the field

12:27   $e NxNxMS. akerampe. Ntw-       With ears of grain for another year. You,

12:28   tN xwt. thne qeph. atretNwXS    too, hasten to reap

12:29   nhtN NnouxMS. NwNX. jeka.-      an ear of the grain of life so that

12:30   se eretnamoux abal. xN tmNT-    You may be filled with the kingdom!

12:31   Rro. auw evoson men eei$oop     And as long as I’m

12:32   xate thne. proseye araei        with you, hold to me

12:33   auw NtetNpeice nhei. psa-       and trust in me,

12:34   P Nde. e+naouaeie arwtN         but when I leave you,

12:35   eri pameeue. eri pameeue de     remember me. And remember me

12:36   abal je neei$oop xatN thne      because when I was with you,

12:37   MpetNsouwnt. sena$w-            you didn’t know me.

12:38   pe Mmakarios Nqi nentax-        Blessed are those, that is,

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12:39   souwnT. ouaei Nneei Ntax-          those who’ve known me. Woe to those who’ve

12:40   swtM auw MpouR pisteue. se-        heard and haven’t believed!

12:41   na$wpe. Mmakarios Nqi ne-          Blessed will those be, that is,

13:1    te Mpouneu a[ll]a? au?[…]          those who haven’t seen, [but …]!

13:2    auw eti an +r? [pi]ce? m?m?[w]-    And again I [appeal to]

13:3    tN +ouwnX ga[r] abal NnhtN?        you, for I’m revealed to you

13:4    eeikwt. Nnouhe! efR $eu?           building a house valuable

13:5    nhtN. Mp$a. [.] e?retNji xaei-     to you when you take shelter

13:6    bes xaraf. Nc?[x]e etfna$ w-       under it, just as it will be able

13:7    xe aretF Mphe[!] N?netx!touwtN     to support your neighbor’s house

13:8    efR kinduneue [a]x?aeie. se M-     when it dares to fall.

13:9    man +jou Mm[as] NnhtN je ou-       Truly I say to you,

13:10   aei Nneei. N[ta]xoutNnaout.        woe to those for whom I was sent

13:11   apitN apeeim[a] etbhtou. sena-     down to this place! They will

13:12   $wpe Mmakar[io]s? Nqi netNnh-      be blessed, that is, those who

13:13   ou axrh! aretF M?piwt. eti +-      go up to the Father. Again, I

13:14   jpio MmwtN w net$oop. tN-          warn you, O you who are.

13:15   tN thne anete Nse$oop. en          Be like those who are not

13:16   jekas eretna$wpe. mN nete          so that you you may be with those

13:17   Nse$oop en. Mpwr. atre.-           who are not. Don’t let

13:18   tmNtRro nMphue R jaeie N-          the kingdom of heaven become a desert

13:19   xht. thne. Mpwr ajise Nxht.        within you. Don’t be haughty

13:20   ajM piouaein Nref‘R’ ouaein alla   because of the light that enlightens, but

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13:21   $wpe Nteeimine. axoun arw-    be to yourselves

13:22   tN ouaet. thne Ntaxe xwwt.    as I myself am

13:23   axoun arwtN ax!teeit. nh-     to you. For you I’ve placed myself

13:24   tN. xa psaxoue jekase Ntw-    under the curse, so that you

13:25   tN eretnaoujeei:              may be saved.”

13:26   petros Nde af?o?uw$B N-       But Peter, in response

13:27   naxrN neei pa[j]ef je xN-     to these (comments) said,

13:28   sap men kR pro?trepe M-       “Sometimes you urge

13:29   man axoun atmNtRro NM-        us on to the kingdom of

13:30   phue xenkesap an ksto         Heaven, and again at other times you turn

13:31   Mman abal. pjaeis xNsap.      us away, Lord. Sometimes

13:32   men kR pice auw kswk. Mman    you persuade and draw us

13:33   axoun atpistis auw k$pwp      to faith and promise

13:34   nen MpwnX xnkesap an kxbar-   us life, and again at other times you cast

13:35   bR Mman abal NtmNtero         us out of the kingdom

13:36   NMphue a.pjaeis de ouw-       of heaven.” But the Lord in response

13:37   $B pajef nen je ax!+ nhtN     said to us, “I have given you

13:38   Ntpistis Nxax Nsap. Nxouo     faith many times. Moreover,

13:39   de ax!ouanexT nek abal        I’ve revealed myself to you,

14:1    [w ia]kk[w]bos auw MpetN-     [O James], and and you haven’t

14:2    s?o?u?wnT palin an +tnou +-   known me. Now again, I see

14:3    neu arw[t]N. eretNre$e Nxax   you rejoicing many

14:4    Nsap auw? eretN$anR $ilaros   times. And when you’re cheerful

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14:5    axrh! ajM [p]$pwp Mpwnex          about the promise of life,

14:6    $aretNw[k]M de. auw NtetNR        you’re unhappy and you’re

14:7    lupi eu$[a]n?tsebe thne abal      depressed when you’re taught about

14:8    atmNtRr[o] NtwtN Nde Nxrh!        The kingdom. But you, through

14:9    xN tpistis [mn] psaune xatetNji   Faith and knowledge, have received

14:10   arwtn. Mp?wnX. eri katavroni      Life. Despise

14:11   qe. Mpts?[t]o? abal. eretN$an-    Rejection when you

14:12   swtM ara[f] NtetNswtM Nde         hear it, but when you hear

14:13   ape$pwp? t?elhl MmwtN Nxouo       the promise, rejoice all the more.

14:14   se. Mma[n] +jou Mmas nhtN         Truly I say to you,

14:15   je petnaji araf MpwnX auw         whoever will receive life and

14:16   nFpisteue. atmNtRro NfNa-         believe in the kingdom will

14:17   ei en abal NxhtS. anhxe. oute     never leave it – not even

14:18   kan ere$anpiwt ouw$e              if the Father wants

14:19   apwt Nswf neei +najoou N-         to banish them! I will say these (things)

14:20   nhtN $a pima. +nou de eeina-      to you up to his point, but I will

14:21   bwk axrh! aptopos Ntax!ei M-      go up to the place from which I came.

14:22   maf. ntwtN ‘n’de Ntariqeph        But you, when I was eager

14:23   abwk xatetNnajT abal. auw         to go, you cast me out, and

14:24   apma NtetNtxpaei abal xa-         in place of accompanying me,

14:25   tetNR diwke NsweI. eri            you’ve chased me away.

14:26   proseye de apeau etqw$T           But hold to the glory that awaits

14:27   abal xht auw exatetNouhn          me, and when you’ve opened

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14:28   apetNxh?t?. swtM anxumnos       Your hearts, listen to the hymns

14:29   etqw$T axrh! Nxrh! xN Mphue     that await me up in heaven,

14:30   anagkh? g?ar. araei Mpoou a-    for today I’m compelled to

14:31   tramoux. Nsa ounem Mpa!wt.      fill the right hand of the Father.

14:32   pxae de N$eje ax!joof nh-       Now I’ve spoken (my) last word to

14:33   tN +napwrJ arwtN axaou-         you, and I’ll separate from you,

14:34   xarma gar MPNA fi Mmaei axrh!   for a chariot of the Spirit has taken me up,

14:35   auw jiN +nou +nakaakT a-        and from now on I’ll strip myself

14:36   xhu. jekase eeina+ x!wwt.       so that I may clothe myself.

14:37   eri proseye de. xMmakarios      But pay attention: Blessed

14:38   ne neei NtaxR euaggelize        are those who’ve proclaimed

14:39   Mp$hre empatFeI apitN           the Son before his coming down

14:40   jekase. ei$aneI eeinabwk        so that when I come, I might go

14:41   axrh! xMmakarios N$amNT         Up. Blessed three

15:1    Nsap ne;ei: neei? nt[axou]-     times over are those who [were]

15:2    ta$e aei$ Mmau x!tN p$h?[re]    proclaimed by the Son

15:3    empatou$wpe. jekase er?[e]-     before they came to be, so that

15:4    oumeros $wpe nhtN nM-           you might have a portion with

15:5    meu. neei Ntarefjoou            them.” When he said these things,

15:6    afbwk anan Nde anqwlJ pet       he left. But we bent the knee,

15:7    anak mN petros an$wp xmat       I and Peter, gave thanks,

15:8    auw axNjau MpNxht. axrhei       and sent our hearts up

15:9    amphoue answtM xrhei xN         to heaven. We heard with

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15:10   nenme$je auw anneu xrh!         our ears and saw with

15:11   xN nenbel. apxrau NxMpole.-     our eyes the sound of wars

15:12   mos auw ousmh Nsalpig3          and a voice of a war-trumpet

15:13   mN ounaq N$tartR. auw N-        and a great disturbance. And

15:14   tarN{ou}ouwtB axrh! MpbL M-     when we passed beyond

15:15   pma etMmeu axNjau MpN-          that place, we sent our

15:16   nous axrh! Nxouo auw axN-       minds up higher and

15:17   neu xN nenbel. auw answtM       saw with our eyes and heard

15:18   xrh! xn nenme$je. axNxumnos     with our ears hymns

15:19   mN xNsmou Nnag.gelos auw        and angelic praises and

15:20   eutelhl Nxen.aggelos auw        angelic rejoicing. And

15:21   xenmNtnaq. nmphue neu-          heavenly majesties

15:22   R xumnei pe auw an.an xwwn      were singing hymns, and we also

15:23   antelhl Mman mNNsa neei         rejoiced. After this,

15:24   an axNouw$e. ajau Mpen-         again we wanted to send our

15:25   PNA. apsa ntpe. aretF Ntmnt-    spirit up to the

15:26   naq. auw Ntarn$e. axrh! Mpou-   majesty. And after we went up, we weren’t

15:27   kaan. aneu. oute aswtM a-       permitted to see nor hear

15:28   laue. xapke$wjP gar M-          anything, for the other

15:29   machths moute aran axou-        disciples called us and they

15:30   $intN je eu pe NtaxatetN-       asked us, “What did you

15:31   swtM araf abal x!tootf M-       hear from the

15:32   psax. auw je eu pe Ntaf-        Teacher?” And, “What did he

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15:33   joof nhtN auw je Ntafbwk              say to you?” And, “Where did he go?”

15:34   aton anan Nde axNouw$B                But we responded,

15:35   neu je afbwk axrh! auw je             “He went up.” And,

15:36   af+ nen Nnoude3ia auw                 “He’s given us his right hand and

15:37   af$pwp nen thrN MpwnX auw             promised us all life, and

15:38   afqwlp nen abal NxN$hhre              revealed to us children

15:39   euNnhu mNNswn eafR keleue             to come after us, after commanding

16:1    [nen] a[tr]e?nmeritou xws enao?[u]-   [us] to love them, as we’d be

16:2    [j]e?[ei] etbe netMmeu auw Nta-       [saved] for them.” And

16:3    rouswtM axouR pisteue men a-          when they heard, they indeed believed

16:4    pouwnX axounouqs. Nde etbe            the revelation, but were angry about

16:5    netounajpau eeiouw$e qe               those to be born. So, not wanting

16:6    en. anajou aumNTskandalos             to give them a scandal,

16:7    ax!jau Mpoueei poueei ake-            I sent each one to another

16:8    ma. anak Nde xwwt. ax!bwk             place. But I myself went up

16:9    axrh! ecIHLM eei$lhl. atri-           To Jerusalem, praying to

16:10   jpe oumeros mN NmRre+                 acquire a portion among the beloved ones

16:11   neei etnaouwnX abal.                  who will be revealed.

16:12   +R pros.euyescai de atrete-           And I pray that the

16:13   xoueite $wpe abal Mmak                beginning may come from you,

16:14   teei gar te ce e+na$ ouje-            for this is how I’ll be able to be saved,

16:15   eI xws erenetMmeu naji ou-            since they’ll receive

16:16   aein Nxrh! Nxht. xN tapistis          light through me, by my faith –

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16:17   auw Nxrh! xN keoueie. es-    and through another (faith) that’s

16:18   satP atwei +ouw$e gar        better than mine, for I want

16:19   atretwei $wpe esqajB.        mine to be the lesser.

16:20   eri apotootK. qe. atrektN-   So do your best to be

16:21   twnG anetMmeu auw nG-        like them, and

16:22   $lhl atrekjpo Nnoumeros      pray that you acquire a portion

16:23   nMmeu abal Ngar Nnen-        with them. For apart from what

16:24   ta!joou +apokalu2is Mpe?-    I’ve said, the Savior didn’t reveal

16:25   pSWR qalpS nen abal. etbe    a revelation to us for

16:26   netMmeu enta$e aei$          them. We do proclaim

16:27   men Nnoumeros mN neei N-     indeed a portion with those

16:28   taxouta$e aei$ neu neei N-   for whom the proclamation was made –

16:29   taxapjaeis eeitou nef N-     those whom the Lord has made his

16:30   $hre >>>> >>>>> > >>>>       sons.

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                       The Secret Gospel of James:
                       A Public Domain Translation
                                  by Mark M. Mattison
Salutation

   1 [James writes] to […]: Peace [to you from] peace, [love from] love, [grace] from
grace, [faith] from faith, life from holy life!

Prologue

    Since you asked me to send you a secret book revealed to Peter and me by the
Lord, and I could neither turn you down nor talk to you (directly), [I’ve written] it in
Hebrew letters and have sent it to you – and to you alone. But as a minister of the
salvation of the saints, take care not to tell too many people about this book, which
the Savior didn’t want to tell all twelve of us, the disciples. But blessed are those who
will be saved through the faith of this message.
    Ten months ago, I sent you another secret book that the Savior revealed to me.
But think of that one as revealed 2 to me, James. And this one […]

The Savior Appears

    Now all twelve disciples [were] sitting together [at the same time] recalling what
the Savior had told each of them, whether privately or publicly, and organizing it in
books. [But I] was writing what went into [my book]. Look! The Savior appeared,
[after] he had left [us, while we were watching] for him. Five hundred and fifty days
after he had risen from the dead, we told him, “You went away and left us!”
    But Jesus said, “No, but I’ll return to the place from which I came. If you want to
come with me, come on!”
    They all replied and said, “We’ll come if you tell us to.”
    He said, “Truly I tell you, no one will ever enter the kingdom of heaven because I
ordered it, but because you yourselves are full. Leave James and Peter to me so that I
may fill them.”
    After he called these two, he took them aside and told the rest to keep doing what
they were doing.

Being Filled

   The Savior said, “You’ve received mercy. 3 […] they [haven’t] understood. Don’t
you want to be filled? Your hearts are drunk. Don’t you, then, want to be sober? Then

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be ashamed! From now on, awake or asleep, remember that you’ve seen the Son of
Humanity, and have talked to him in person, and have heard him in person.
     “Woe to those who’ve seen the Son of Humanity! Blessed are those who haven’t
seen that man, mingled with him, spoken to him, or heard a thing he’s said. Yours is
life! Know, then, that he healed you when you were sick, so that you might reign.
     “Woe to those who’ve found relief from their sickness, because they’ll relapse into
sickness. Blessed are those who haven’t been sick and have found relief before getting
sick. Yours is the kingdom of God! So I tell you, be full and leave no space within you
empty, because the one who is coming will be able to mock you.”
     Then Peter replied, “Three times you’ve told us 4 to be [full, but] we are full.”
In [response the Savior] said, “That’s why I [told] you [‘be full’] – so that you won’t
[be lacking. Those who are lacking] won’t [be saved]. It’s good to be full [and] bad [to
be lacking]. So just as it’s good for you to be lacking and bad for you to be full,
whoever is full is also lacking. One who’s lacking isn’t filled the same way that
someone who’s lacking is filled, and anyone who’s full gets everything they need. So
it’s right to be lacking while it’s possible to fill you, and to be filled while it’s possible
to be lacking, so that you can [fill] yourselves more. So [be] full of the Spirit but
lacking in reason, because reason is of the soul – in fact, it is soul.”

The Cross and Death

    In response I told him, “Lord, we can obey you if you want us to, because we’ve
abandoned our fathers, our mothers, and our villages, and have followed you. So help
us not to be tempted by the devil, the evil one.”
    In response the Lord said, “What good is it to you if you do the will of the Father,
and he doesn’t give it to you as a gift when you’re tempted by Satan? But if you’re
oppressed by Satan and persecuted and do (God’s) 5 will, I [say] that he’ll love you,
make you my equal, and regard [you] as having become beloved through his
forethought by your own choice. So won’t you stop loving the flesh and being afraid
of sufferings? Or don’t you know that you haven’t yet been abused, unjustly accused,
locked up in prison, illegally condemned, crucified by reason, nor buried in the sand
as I myself was by the evil one? Do you dare to spare the flesh, you for whom the
Spirit is a surrounding wall? If you consider how long the world existed <before>
you, and how long it will exist after you, you’ll find that your life is a single day and
your sufferings a single hour. For the good won’t come into the world. So scorn death
and take thought for life! Remember my cross and my death, and you’ll live!”
    But in response I told him, “Lord, don’t teach us about the cross and death,
because they’re far 6 from you.”
    In response the Lord said, “Truly I tell you, no one will be saved unless they
[believe] in my cross, [because] the kingdom of God belongs to those who’ve believed
in my cross. So become those who seek death, like the dead who seek life; because

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what they seek is revealed to them. So what do they have to worry about? When you
turn to the subject of death, it will teach you about election. Truly I tell you, no one
who’s afraid of death will be saved, because the kingdom of <God> belongs to those
who are put to death. Become better than I; be like the child of the Holy Spirit.”

Prophecies and Parables

    Then I asked him, “Lord, how can we prophesy to those who ask us to prophesy
to them? Because there are many who ask us, and who look to us to hear a message
from us.”
    In response the Lord said, “Don’t you know that the head of prophecy was cut off
with John?”
    But I said, “Lord, is it possible to remove the head of prophecy?”
    The Lord told me, “When you realize what ‘head’ means, and that prophecy comes
from the head, understand what ‘its head was removed’ means. 7 At first I spoke to
you in parables, and you didn’t understand. Now I speak to you openly, and you still
don’t perceive. But to me you were a parable among parables and something visible
out in the open.
    “Be eager to be saved without being urged. Rather, be ready on your own and, if
possible, get there before me, because the Father will love you.
    “Come to hate hypocrisy and evil intention, because intention is what produces
hypocrisy, and hypocrisy is far from the truth.
    “Don’t let the kingdom of heaven wither, because it’s like a date palm shoot whose
fruit has poured down around it. It sent out some leaves, and after they sprouted, they
made their productivity dry up. This is also what happened with the fruit that came
from this single root; when it was picked, many acquired fruit. Wouldn’t it truly be
good if you could produce the new plants now? <You> would find it.
    “Since I’ve already been glorified like this, why do you hold me back in my
eagerness to go? 8 For after the [labor], you’ve made me stay with you another
eighteen days because of the parables. For some people, it was enough <to listen> to
the teaching and understand ‘The Shepherds,’ ‘The Seed,’ ‘The Building,’ ‘The Lamps
of the Young Women,’ ‘The Wage of the Workers,’ and ‘The Silver Coins and the
Woman.’
    “Be eager about the message! The first stage of the message is faith, the second is
love, and the third is works, because from these comes life.
    “The message is like a grain of wheat. When someone sowed it, they believed in it,
and when it sprouted, they loved it, because they saw many grains in place of one.
And after they worked, they were saved because they prepared it as food, then kept
enough left over to be sown. This is also how you yourselves can receive the kingdom
of heaven. Unless you receive it through knowledge, you won’t be able to find it.

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Be Saved

    “So I tell you, be sober! Don’t be deceived. And many times I told you all together
– and also to you alone, James, I’ve said – ‘Be saved!’ And I’ve commanded you to
follow me, and I’ve taught you what to do in the face of the rulers.
    “See that I’ve come down, spoken, been torn, and taken my crown 9 when I saved
you, because I came down to dwell with you so that you’ll dwell with me. And when I
found your houses without ceilings, I lived in the houses that could receive me at the
time I came down.
    “Trust me about this, my brothers (i.e., Peter and James). Understand what the
great light is. The Father doesn’t need me, because a father doesn’t need a son, but it’s
the son who needs the father. I’m going to him, because the Father of the Son doesn’t
need you.
    “Listen to the message, understand knowledge, love life, and no one will persecute
or oppress you other than you yourselves.
    “You wretches! You poor devils! You hypocrites of the truth! You falsifiers of
knowledge! You sinners against the Spirit! Can you still bear to listen, when you
should’ve been speaking from the beginning? Can you still bear to sleep, when you
should’ve been awake from the beginning so that the kingdom of heaven might
receive you?
    10 “Truly I tell you, it’s easier for a holy person to fall into defilement, and for an
enlightened person to fall into darkness, than for you to reign – or not reign.
    “I’ve remembered your tears, your grief, and your pain. They’re far from us. But
now, you who are outside of the Father’s inheritance, weep where it’s necessary,
grieve, and proclaim what’s good as the Son is ascending as he should.
    “Truly I tell you, if I had been sent (only) to those who would listen to me and had
spoken to them (alone), I wouldn’t ever have gone up from the earth. Now, then, be
ashamed for these things!
    “Look, I’ll leave you and go away. I don’t want to continue with you anymore, just
as you yourselves don’t want that. Now, then, follow me eagerly. That’s why I tell you
that I came down for you. You’re beloved; you’ll bring life for many. Call on the
Father. Pray to God often, and (God) will be generous with you.
    “Blessed is the one who has seen you with (God) when (God) was proclaimed
among the angels and given glory among the holy ones; yours is life. Rejoice and be
glad as 11 children of God. Keep (God’s) will so that you may be saved. Accept my
warning and save yourselves. I’m pleading for you with the Father, who will forgive
you much.”

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Few Have Found the Kingdom

    And when we heard these things, we were delighted, because we had been
depressed about the things we mentioned before.
    But when he saw us rejoicing, he said, “Woe to you who need an advocate! Woe to
you who need grace! Blessed will be those who’ve spoken out and acquired grace for
themselves!
    “Be like foreigners. How are they viewed in your city? Why are you disturbed
when you cast yourselves out on your own and separate yourselves from your city?
Why do you leave your dwelling on your own and make it available for those who
want to live in it? You outcasts and runaways! Woe to you, because you’ll be caught!
    “Or do you think that the Father is a lover of humanity, or is persuaded by
prayers, or grants grace to one on behalf of another, or puts up with one who seeks?
    “(God) knows about desire and what the flesh needs. It’s not this (flesh) which
desires the soul, because without the soul, the body doesn’t sin, just as 12 the soul isn’t
saved without the spirit. But if the soul is saved without evil, and the spirit is also
saved, then the body becomes sinless. For it’s the spirit that raises the soul, but the
body that kills it; that is, (the soul) kills itself.
    “Truly I tell you, (God) won’t ever forgive the sin of the soul or the guilt of the
flesh, because no one who’s worn the flesh will be saved. Do you think that many
have found the kingdom of heaven? Blessed is the one who’s seen oneself (at) the
fourth (stage) in heaven.”

Know Yourselves

   When we heard these things, we felt depressed. But when he saw that we were
depressed, he said, “I’m telling you this so that you may know yourselves. For the
kingdom of heaven is like an ear of grain after it had sprouted in a field. And when it
had ripened, it scattered its fruit, and again it filled the field with ears of grain for
another year. You, too, be eager to reap an ear of the grain of life for yourselves so
that you may be filled with the kingdom!
   “And as long as I’m with you, pay attention to me and trust in me, but when I
leave you, remember me. And remember me because when I was with you, you didn’t
know me. Blessed are those who’ve known me. Woe to those who’ve heard and
haven’t believed! Blessed will be those who 13 haven’t seen, [but …]!
   “And once again I [appeal to] you, because I’m revealed to you building a house
very valuable to you when you take shelter under it, just as it will be able to support
your neighbors’ house when it threatens to fall. Truly I tell you, woe to those for
whom I was sent down to this place! Blessed will be those who go up to the Father.
Again I warn you, you who are. Be like those who are not so that you may be with
those who are not.

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   “Don’t let the kingdom of heaven become a desert within you. Don’t be haughty
because of the light that enlightens, but behave toward yourselves the way that I’ve
behaved toward you. I’ve put myself under the curse for you, so that you may be
saved.”

Final Words

    But in response to these comments Peter said, “Sometimes you urge us on to the
kingdom of heaven, and again at other times you turn us away, Lord. Sometimes you
persuade and draw us to faith and promise us life, and again at other times you cast us
out of the kingdom of heaven.”
    But in response the Lord told us, “I’ve given you faith many times. Moreover, I’ve
revealed myself to you, 14 James, and you haven’t known me. Now again, I see you
rejoicing often. And when you’re delighted about the promise of life, nevertheless
you’re sad and depressed when you’re taught about the kingdom.
    “But through faith and knowledge, you’ve received life. Despise rejection when
you hear it, but when you hear the promise, rejoice all the more. Truly I tell you,
whoever will receive life and believe the kingdom will never leave it – not even if the
Father wants to banish them!
    “This is all I’m going to tell you up to this point, but now I’ll go up to the place
from which I came. But when I was eager to go, you cast me out, and instead of
accompanying me, you’ve chased me away. But be attentive to the glory that awaits
me, and when you’ve opened your hearts, listen to the hymns that await me up in
heaven, because today I need to sit at the right hand of the Father.
    “Now I’ve spoken (my) last word to you, and I’ll leave you, because a chariot of
the Spirit has taken me up, and from now on I’ll strip myself so that I may clothe
myself. But pay attention: Blessed are those who’ve proclaimed the Son before his
coming down so that when I’ve come, I might go up. Blessed three 15 times over are
those who [were] proclaimed by the Son before they came to be, so that you may have
a portion with them.”

Heavenly Ascent

   When he said these things, he left. But Peter and I knelt down, gave thanks, and
sent our hearts up to heaven. We heard with our ears, and saw with our eyes, the
cacophony of wars and a trumpet blare and a great commotion.
   And when we passed beyond that place, we sent our minds up higher and heard
with our ears hymns and angelic praises and angelic rejoicing. And heavenly majesties
were singing hymns, and we rejoiced too.
   After this again, we wanted to send our spirit up to the Majesty. And after we went
up, we weren’t allowed to see or hear anything, because the other disciples called us

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and asked us, “What did you hear from the Teacher?” And, “What did he tell you?”
And, “Where did he go?”
    But in response we told them, “He went up.” And, “He’s given us his right hand
and promised us all life, and he revealed to us children who are to come after us, after
telling 16 [us] to love them, as we’d be [saved] because of them.”

Conclusion

    And when they heard, they believed the revelation indeed, but were angry about
those to be born. So, not wanting to give them a scandal, I sent each of them to a
different place. But I myself went up to Jerusalem, praying to acquire a portion with
the beloved ones who will be revealed.
    And I pray that the beginning may come from you, because this is how I can be
saved, since they’ll be enlightened through me, by my faith – and through another
(faith) that’s even better than mine, because I want mine to be the lesser.
    So do your best to be like them, and pray that you acquire a portion with them.
Apart from what I’ve said, the Savior didn’t disclose a revelation for them. We do
indeed proclaim a portion with those for whom the proclamation was made – those
whom the Lord has (accepted as) children.

Text Notes

Page 2: “No.” Possibly an asseverative particle.

Page 5: crucified by reason (logos). Other translators propose emending the text to
“crucified <without> reason” by adding an alpha (oumNT<a>logos), but the
emendation is unnecessary. “Reason” (logos) is “of the soul” according to page 4, not
“of the Spirit.” Cf. Wis. Sol. 9:14,15: “For the reasoning of mortals is worthless, and
our designs are likely to fail; for a perishable body weighs down the soul, and this
earthy tent burdens the thoughtful mind” (NRSV).

Page 6: the kingdom of <God>. “Literally: ‘the kingdom of death’, but the emendation is
probable, cf. F.E. Williams, in NHS 23, 17; there seem to be, moreover, traces of a
correction in the manuscript (see ed. Pr., 54, bottom) which are, however, invisible in
the facsimile.” J. Van Der Vliet, “Spirit and Prophecy in the Epistula Iacobi
Apocrypha (NHC I,2),” Vigiliae Christianae 44 (1990), 48, n. 53. Williams’ note in turn
reads in part, “kingdom of God: The original Coptic text would have read Mpnoute ta
netoumouout. The syllable te would have been omitted by homoeoarcton, and
the meaningless Mpnou later corrected to Mpmou, ‘of death.’” Frances E. William in
Robinson, James M., ed. The Coptic Gnostic Library: A Complete Edition of the Nag
Hammadi Codices, Volume I. Brill, 2000, 17. The proposed emendation, then, involves

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adding back in the last two letters and backing out a scribal emendation of the original
n to an m.

Page 10: I wouldn’t ever have gone up from the earth. Alternatively, “I wouldn’t ever have
come down to the earth.” The former reading, which seems to fit the context well,
would indicate frustration with the disciples’ lack of understanding (cp. pages 7 and 8:
“why do you hold me back in my eagerness to go? … you’ve made me stay with you
another eighteen days because of the parables”). The latter reading would indicate the
purpose of his coming to earth in the first place. Chapter 39 of the Epistle of the
Apostles contains a similar ambiguity; the Ethiopic version reads “for those who keep
and do (my commandment), for their sake I came down from heaven,” whereas the
Coptic version reads “on account of those who pervert my words I have come down
from heaven.” Wilhelm Schneemelcher, ed., New Testament Apocrypha Volume One:
Gospels and Related Writings, Revised Edition (Westminster John Knox Press, 1991
[2003]), 272. Blessed is the one who has seen you with (God) when (God) was proclaimed among
the angels and given glory among the holy ones. The parenthetical insertions replace the
pronoun “he.” April DeConick renders this differently: “So important is the ascent of
the disciples that Jesus blesses the believer who has ‘seen’ the disciples in God’s
presence when the believer is ‘proclaimed among the angels and glorified among the
saints.” Voices of the Mystics: Early Christian Discourse in the Gospels of John and Thomas and
Other Ancient Christian Literature (Sheffield Academic Press, 2001), 152.

Page 11: Persuaded by prayers. Alternatively, “not persuaded by prayers.”

Page 12: (at) the fourth (stage). Arguably, the first three stages (or “parts”) are described
on page 8: Faith, love, and works. Cf. Hans-Martin Schenke, “Der Jakobusbrief aus
dem Codex Jung,” Orientalistische Literaturzeitung, 66, 1971, 129.

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References

1. Mark M. Mattison, "The Secret Book of James: A Public Domain Transcription and Translation." Academia.edu. The Secret Book of James: A Public Domain Transcription and Translation (download: Direct Download).
2. Public-domain transcription and translation of NHC I,2.
3. Academia page: The Secret Book of James: A Public Domain Transcription and Translation.
4. Direct download: Direct Download.
5. Translation: English-only PDF (same text as the Translation section above).

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