The Gospel of Thomas

1. He said, “Whoever discovers the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death.”

2. Jesus said, “Let the seeker keep seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will be troubled. When he is troubled, he will be astonished, and he will reign over the All. And once he has reigned, he will rest.”

3. Jesus said, “If your leaders say to you, ‘Look, the kingdom is in the sky,’ then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say, ‘It is in the sea,’ then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is within you and it is outside you. When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you dwell in poverty, and you are that poverty.”

4. Jesus said, “The man old in days will not hesitate to ask a little child seven days old about the place of life, and he will live. For many who are first will become last, and they will become one and the same.”

5. Jesus said, “Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.”

6. His disciples questioned him and said to him, “Do you want us to fast? How should we pray? Should we give alms? What diet should we observe?” Jesus said, “Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are disclosed before heaven. Nothing hidden will fail to be revealed, and nothing covered will remain undisclosed.”

7. Jesus said, “Blessed is the lion that the man will eat, so that the lion becomes a man. And cursed is the man whom a lion will eat, and the lion will become a man.”

8. And he said, “The human being is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of little fish. Among them the wise fisherman found a large, fine fish. He threw all the little fish back into the sea, and chose the large fish without difficulty. Whoever has ears to hear should hear.”

9. Jesus said, “Look, the sower went out, took a handful of seeds, and scattered them. Some fell on the road, and the birds came and gathered them. Others fell on rock and they did not take root in the soil and did not produce ears. Others fell among thorns, and they choked the seeds and worms ate them. And others fell on good soil, and it produced good fruit. It yielded sixty per measure and one hundred and twenty per measure.”

10. Jesus said, “I have cast fire upon the world, and look, I am guarding it until it blazes.”

11. Jesus said, “This heaven will pass away, and the one above it will pass away. The dead are not alive, and the living will not die. In the days when you consumed what is dead, you made it alive; when you come into the light, what will you do? On the day when you were one, you became two. But when you become two, what will you do?”

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

13. Jesus said to his disciples, “Compare me and tell me whom I am like.” Simon Peter said to him, “You are like a righteous messenger.” Matthew said to him, “You are like a wise philosopher.” Thomas said to him, “Teacher, my mouth is utterly unable to say whom you are like.” Jesus said, “I am not your teacher. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring I have measured out.” And he took him and withdrew and spoke three sayings to him. When Thomas returned to his companions, they asked him, “What did Jesus say to you?” Thomas said to them, “If I tell you even one of the sayings he spoke to me, you will pick up stones and throw them at me, and fire will come out of the stones and burn you up.”

14. Jesus said to them, “If you fast, you will bring sin upon yourselves; if you pray, you will be condemned; if you give alms, you will do harm to your spirits. When you go into any land and travel about in the countryside, if they receive you, eat what they set before you and heal the sick among them. For what goes into your mouth will not defile you; rather, what comes out of your mouth is what will defile you.”

15. Jesus said, “When you see one who was not born of woman, fall on your faces and worship him; that one is your Father.”

16. Jesus said, “People perhaps think I have come to cast peace upon the world, and they do not know that I have come to cast divisions upon the earth: fire, sword, war. For there will be five in a house: three will be against two and two against three, the father against the son and the son against the father, and they will stand as solitary ones.”

17. Jesus said, “I will give you what no eye has seen and what no ear has heard and what no hand has touched and what has not arisen in the human heart.”

18. The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us how our end will be.” Jesus said, “Have you discovered the beginning, that you are seeking the end? For where the beginning is, there the end will be. Blessed is the one who stands at the beginning: that one will know the end and will not taste death.”

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. For you have five trees in paradise which do not change, summer or winter, and their leaves do not fall. Whoever knows them will not taste death.”

20. The disciples said to Jesus, “Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like.” He said to them, “It is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds; but when it falls on plowed soil it produces a great plant and becomes a shelter for birds of the sky.”

21. Mary said to Jesus, “Whom are your disciples like?” He said, “They are like little children living in a field that is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say, ‘Give our field back to us.’ They take off their clothes in front of them to give it back and return their field to them. For this reason I say, if the owner of a house knows that a thief is coming, he will keep watch before he comes and will not let him break into the house of his kingdom and steal his goods. So you should keep watch against the world; gird your loins with great strength so that the robbers do not find a way to come to you, for the difficulties you expect will arise. Let there be among you a man of understanding. When the crop ripened, he came quickly with his sickle in hand and reaped it. Whoever has ears to hear should hear.”

22. Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples, “These little ones being suckled are like those who enter the kingdom.” They said to him, “Then shall we enter the kingdom as little ones?” Jesus said to them, “When you make the two one, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same—so that the male will not be male and the female not be female—when you fashion eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom].”

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

24. His disciples said, “Show us the place where you are, since it is necessary for us to seek it.” He said to them, “Whoever has ears should hear. There is light within a man of light, and it lights up the whole world. If he does not shine, he is darkness.”

25. Jesus said, “Love your brother like your soul; protect him like the pupil of your eye.”

26. Jesus said, “You see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but you do not see the beam that is in your own eye. When you remove the beam from your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

27. “If you do not fast from the world, you will not find the kingdom. If you do not make the Sabbath a Sabbath, you will not see the Father.”

28. Jesus said, “I stood in the midst of the world, and in flesh I appeared to them. I found them all drunk; none of them thirsted. My soul was pained for the children of humanity, because they are blind in their hearts and do not see. They came into the world empty, and they seek to go out of the world empty. But now they are drunk. When they shake off their wine, they will repent.”

29. Jesus said, “If the flesh came into being because of spirit, it is a wonder. But if spirit came into being because of the body, it is a wonder of wonders. Yet I marvel at this: how this great wealth has made its home in this poverty.”

30. Jesus said, “Where there are three gods, they are gods; where there are two or one, I am with him.”

31. Jesus said, “No prophet is accepted in his own village; no physician heals those who know him.”

32. Jesus said, “A city built on a high mountain and fortified cannot fall, nor can it be hidden.”

33. Jesus said, “What you will hear with your ear, proclaim from your rooftops. For no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket or in a hidden place; rather he sets it on a lampstand so that all who come and go will see its light.”

34. Jesus said, “If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit.”

35. Jesus said, “It is not possible for anyone to enter the house of a strong man and take it by force unless he first binds his hands; then he will be able to plunder his house.”

36. Jesus said, “Do not be anxious from morning to evening and from evening to morning about what you will wear.”

37. His disciples said, “When will you become revealed to us, and when shall we see you?” Jesus said, “When you strip without being ashamed, and you take your garments and place them under your feet like little children and trample them, then you will see the Son of the Living One, and you will not be afraid.”

38. Jesus said, “Many times you have desired to hear these sayings that I am speaking to you, and you have no one else from whom to hear them. There will be days when you will seek me and will not find me.”

39. Jesus said, “The Pharisees and the scribes have taken the keys of knowledge and have hidden them. They have not entered, nor have they permitted those who want to enter to do so. But you—be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves.”

40. Jesus said, “A grapevine has been planted apart from the Father, and since it is not strong, it will be pulled up by its roots and destroyed.”

41. Jesus said, “Whoever has something in his hand will be given more; and whoever has nothing, even the little he has will be taken away.”

42. Jesus said, “Be passersby.”

43. His disciples said to him, “Who are you to say these things to us?” “You do not realize who I am from what I say to you. Yet you have become like the Jews: they love the tree but hate its fruit, or they love the fruit but hate the tree.”

44. Jesus said, “Whoever blasphemes against the Father will be forgiven, and whoever blasphemes against the Son will be forgiven, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, neither on earth nor in heaven.”

45. Jesus said, “Grapes are not harvested from thorn trees, nor are figs gathered from thistles; for they do not produce fruit. Good people bring forth good from their treasure; bad people bring forth evil from their evil treasure in their heart and say evil things. For out of the abundance of the heart they bring forth evil.”

46. Jesus said, “From Adam to John the Baptist, among those born of women, no one is greater than John the Baptist so that his eyes should not be averted. Yet I have said that whoever among you will become a child will know the kingdom and will become greater than John.”

47. Jesus said, “It is impossible for a man to mount two horses or to stretch two bows; and it is impossible for a servant to serve two masters, for he will honor the one and treat the other contemptuously. No person drinks old wine and immediately desires to drink new wine. New wine is not put into old wineskins, or they might burst; and old wine is not put into a new wineskin, or it might spoil. An old patch is not sewn onto a new garment, because it would tear.”

48. Jesus said, “If two make peace with each other in a single house, they will say to the mountain, ‘Move from here,’ and it will move.”

49. Jesus said, “Blessed are the solitary and elect, for you will find the kingdom. For you have come from it, and to it you will return.”

50. Jesus said, “If they say to you, ‘Where did you come from?’ say to them, ‘We came from the light, from the place where the light came into being by itself, established itself, and appeared in their image.’ If they say to you, ‘Is it you?’ say, ‘We are its children, and we are the elect of the living Father.’ If they ask you, ‘What is the sign of your Father in you?’ say to them, ‘It is movement and repose.’”

51. His disciples said to him, “When will the repose of the dead come about, and when will the new world come?” He said to them, “What you look forward to has already come, but you do not recognize it.”

52. His disciples said to him, “Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel, and all of them spoke about you.” He said to them, “You have omitted the Living One who is in your presence and have spoken only of the dead.”

53. His disciples said to him, “Is circumcision beneficial or not?” He said to them, “If it were beneficial, their father would beget them already circumcised from their mother. Rather, the true circumcision in spirit has become entirely profitable.”

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

55. Jesus said, “Whoever does not hate his father and mother cannot be my disciple; and whoever does not hate his brothers and sisters and take up his cross as I do will not be worthy of me.”

56. Jesus said, “Whoever has come to understand the world has found a corpse; whoever has found a corpse is superior to the world.”

57. Jesus said, “The kingdom of the Father is like a man who had good seed. His enemy came at night and sowed weeds among the good seed. The man did not let them pull up the weeds; he said to them, ‘Lest you go to pull up the weeds and pull up the wheat along with them.’ For on the day of the harvest the weeds will be conspicuous, and they will be pulled up and burned.”

58. Jesus said, “Blessed is the man who has suffered; he has found life.”

59. Jesus said, “Look upon the Living One while you are alive, so that you do not die and then seek to see him, and you will not be able to see.”

60. They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb on his way to Judea. He said to his disciples, “Why is that man carrying the lamb?” They said to him, “So that he may kill it and eat it.” He said to them, “While it is alive, he will not eat it, but only when he has killed it and it has become a corpse.” They said, “Otherwise he cannot do it.” He said to them, “So also with you: seek for yourselves a place of rest, lest you become a corpse and be eaten.”

61. Jesus said, “Two will rest on a couch; one will die, one will live.” Salome said, “Who are you, man? As if from One, you have ascended onto my couch and eaten at my table.” Jesus said, “I am he who comes from the one who is whole. I was given from my Father’s things.” Salome said, “I am your disciple.” Jesus said, “For this reason I say, if one is whole, he will be filled with light; but if he is divided, he will be filled with darkness.”

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

63. Jesus said, “There was a rich man who had much money. He said, ‘I will use my money to sow and reap and to plant and to fill my storehouses with fruit so that I will lack nothing.’ These were the things he was thinking in his heart, and that night he died. Whoever has ears should hear.”

64. Jesus said, “A man had guests, and when he prepared the dinner, he sent his slave to invite the guests. He went to the first and said to him, ‘My master invites you.’ He said, ‘I have a claim against merchants; they are coming to me this evening. I must go and give orders. I ask to be excused from the dinner.’ He went to another and said, ‘My master invites you.’ He said to him, ‘I have bought a house and I am required for a day. I will not have time.’ He went to another and said, ‘My master invites you.’ He said to him, ‘My friend is getting married, and I am organizing the banquet. I cannot come. I ask to be excused.’ He went to another and said, ‘My master invites you.’ He said to him, ‘I have bought a farm; I am going to collect the rent. I will not be able to come. I ask to be excused.’ The servant returned and said to his master, ‘Those whom you invited to the dinner have asked to be excused.’ The master said to his servant, ‘Go out on the highways; bring those whom you meet, so that they may dine.’ Merchants and traders will not enter the places of my Father.”

65. He said, “A good man owned a vineyard and leased it to some farmers to work it and he might receive its fruit from them. He sent his servant so that the farmers might give him the fruit of the vineyard. They seized his servant, beat him, and almost killed him, and the servant returned and told his master. His master said, ‘Perhaps they did not recognize him.’ He sent another servant. The farmers beat that one as well. Then the owner sent his son and said, ‘Perhaps they will show respect to my son.’ The farmers knew that he was the heir of the vineyard. They seized him and killed him. Whoever has ears should hear.”

66. Jesus said, “Show me the stone that the builders rejected; that is the cornerstone.”

67. Jesus said, “Whoever knows all but lacks within himself lacks everything.”

68. Jesus said, “Blessed are you when you are hated and persecuted. But wherever they have persecuted you, they will find no place.”

69. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have been persecuted in their heart; they have truly come to know the Father. Blessed are the hungry, for the belly of the one who desires will be filled.”

70. Jesus said, “If you bring forth what is within you, what you have will save you. If you do not have that within you, what you do not have within you will kill you.”

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

72. A man said to him, “Tell my brothers to divide my father’s possessions with me.” He said to him, “Man, who has made me a divider?” He turned to his disciples and said to them, “I am not a divider, am I?”

73. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few; therefore, beg the Lord to send out laborers for the harvest.”

74. He said, “Lord, there are many around the well, but there is nothing in the well.”

75. Jesus said, “Many are standing at the door, but the solitary are the ones who will enter the bridal chamber.”

76. Jesus said, “The kingdom of the Father is like a merchant who had merchandise and found a pearl. That merchant was prudent; he sold the merchandise and bought the single pearl for himself. You too seek his unfailing treasure that is enduring, where neither moth approaches to devour nor worm destroys.”

77. Jesus said, “I am the light that is over all things. I am the All; the All came forth from me, and to me the All has come. Split a piece of wood, and I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there.”

78. Jesus said, “Why did you come out into the countryside? To see a reed shaken by the wind? And to see a man dressed in soft clothing? Look, your kings and your great men are those who wear soft clothing, and they cannot know the truth.”

79. A woman in the crowd said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that fed you.” He said to her, “Blessed are those who have heard the Father’s word and have truly kept it. For there will be days when you will say, ‘Blessed is the womb that has not conceived and the breasts that have not given milk.’”

80. Jesus said, “Whoever has come to know the world has found the body; whoever has found the body, the world is not worthy of him.”

81. Jesus said, “Whoever has become rich should become king; and whoever has power should renounce it.”

82. Jesus said, “Whoever is near me is near the fire, and whoever is far from me is far from the kingdom.”

83. Jesus said, “Images are visible to mankind, but the light within them is hidden in the Father’s light. He will be revealed, but his image is hidden by his light.”

84. Jesus said, “When you see your likeness you are happy. But when you see your images that came into being before you and that neither die nor are revealed, how much you will have to bear!”

85. Jesus said, “Adam came from great power and great wealth, but he did not become worthy of you. For had he been worthy, [he would] not [have tasted] death.”

86. Jesus said, “The foxes have their holes and the birds have their nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head and rest.”

87. Jesus said, “Wretched is the body that depends on a body, and wretched is the soul that depends on these two.”

88. Jesus said, “The angels and the prophets will come to you, and they will give you those things which you already have; and you yourselves, give them what is in your hands and say to yourselves: ‘When will they come and take what is theirs?’”

89. Jesus said, “Why do you wash the outside of the cup? Do you not realize that he who made the inside is the same one who made the outside?”

90. Jesus said, “Come to me, for my yoke is easy and my lordship is gentle, and you will find rest for yourselves.”

91. They said to him, “Tell us who you are so that we may believe in you.” He said to them, “You examine the face of heaven and earth, but you do not recognize the one who is before you, and you do not know how to examine this moment.”

92. Jesus said, “Seek and you will find. In the past I did not tell you the things about which you asked me then. Now I am willing to tell them, but you do not seek them.”

93. “Do not give what is holy to dogs, lest they throw it on the dung heap. Do not throw pearls to pigs, lest they… [trample it].”

94. Jesus said, “Whoever seeks will find, and whoever knocks, it will be opened for him.”

95. Jesus said, “If you have money, do not lend it at interest, but give it to one from whom you will not get it back.”

96. Jesus said, “The kingdom of the Father is like a woman carrying a jar full of meal. While she was walking on a distant road, the handle of the jar broke; the meal spilled out behind her on the road. She did not know it; she had not noticed a problem. When she reached her house, she put the jar down and found it empty.”

97. Jesus said, “The kingdom of the Father is like a woman who took a little yeast, hid it in dough, and made big loaves. Whoever has ears should hear.”

98. Jesus said, “The Father’s kingdom is like a man who wanted to kill a powerful man. In his own house he drew his sword and stabbed it into the wall to find out whether his hand would go in. Then he killed the powerful man.”

99. The disciples said to him, “Your brothers and your mother are standing outside.” He said to them, “Those here who do the will of my Father are my brothers and my mother; they are the ones who will enter the kingdom of my Father.”

100. They showed Jesus a gold coin and said to him, “Caesar’s men demand taxes from us.” He said to them, “Give Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; give God the things that are God’s; and give me what is mine.”

101. Jesus said, “Whoever does not hate his [father] and mother as I do cannot be my disciple; and whoever does not love his [father] and mother as I do cannot be my disciple. For my mother gave me falsehood, but my true mother gave me life.”

102. Jesus said, “Woe to the Pharisees, for they are like a dog lying in the manger of oxen; the dog neither eats nor allows the oxen to eat.”

103. Jesus said, “Blessed is the man who knows where and when the brigands will enter, so that he may rise, gather his domain, and gird his loins before they enter.”

104. They said to Jesus, “Come, let us pray today and let us fast.” Jesus said, “What sin have I committed, or in what have I been defeated? But when the bridegroom leaves the bridal chamber, then let them fast and pray.”

105. Jesus said, “Whoever knows the father and the mother will be called the child of a harlot.”

106. Jesus said, “When you make the two one, you will become children of man, and when you say, ‘Mountain, move!’ it will move.”

107. Jesus said, “The kingdom is like a shepherd who had a hundred sheep. One of them, the largest, wandered off. He left the ninety-nine and sought the one until he found it. After he had labored, he said to the sheep, ‘I love you more than the ninety-nine.’”

108. Jesus said, “Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me; I myself shall become that one, and the things that are hidden will be revealed to him.”

109. Jesus said, “The kingdom is like a man who had a treasure hidden in his field and did not know it. And [when] he died he left it to his son. The son did not know; he took possession of the field and sold it. The buyer went plowing, discovered the treasure, and began to lend money at interest to whomever he wished.”

110. Jesus said, “Whoever has found the world and become rich should renounce the world.”

111. Jesus said, “The heavens and the earth will roll up in your presence, and the Living One from the Living One will not see death.” Does not Jesus say, “Whoever has found himself, of him the world is not worthy”?

112. Jesus said, “Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul; woe to the soul that depends on the flesh.”

113. His disciples said to him, “When will the kingdom come?” “It will not come by watching for it. They will not say, ‘Look, here,’ or ‘Look, there.’ Rather, the kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it.”

114. Simon Peter said to them, “Let Mary leave us, for females are not worthy of life.” Jesus said, “Look, I will guide her to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every female who makes herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven.”