These are the secret sayings that the
living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas
Thomas recorded.
1. And he said, "Whoever discovers
the interpretation of these sayings will
not taste death."
2. Jesus said, "Those who seek should
not stop seeking until they find. When
they find, they will be disturbed. When
they are disturbed, they will marvel,
and will reign over all. [And after they
have reigned they will rest.]"
3. Jesus said, "If your leaders say
to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is
in the sky,' then the birds of the sky
will precede you. If they say to you,
'It is in the sea,' then the fish will
precede you. Rather, the (Father's)
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 live in poverty,
and you are the poverty."
4. Jesus said, "The person old in
days won't hesitate to ask a little
child seven days old about the place of
life, and that person will live.
For many of the first will be last,
and will become a single one."
5. Jesus said, "Know what is in front
of your face, and what is hidden from
you will be disclosed to you.
For there is nothing hidden that will
not be revealed. [And there is nothing
buried that will not be raised.]"
6. His disciples asked him and said
to him, "Do you want us to fast? How
should we pray? Should we give to
charity? What diet should we observe?"
Jesus said, "Don't lie, and don't do
what you hate, because all things are
disclosed before heaven. After all,
there is nothing hidden that will not be
revealed, and there is nothing covered
up that will remain undisclosed."
7. Jesus said, "Lucky is the lion
that the human will eat, so that the
lion becomes human. And foul is the
human that the lion will eat, and the
lion still will become human."
8. And he said, "The person 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 discovered a fine large fish.
He threw all the little fish back into
the sea, and easily chose the large
fish. Anyone here with two good ears had
better listen!"
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 didn't
take root in the soil and didn't produce
heads of grain. Others fell on thorns,
and they choked the seeds and worms ate
them. And others fell on good soil, and
it produced a good crop: it yielded
sixty per measure and one hundred twenty
per measure."
10. Jesus said, "I have cast fire
upon the world, and look, I'm 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. During the days
when you ate what is dead, you made it
come alive. When you are in the light,
what will you do? On the day when you
were one, you became two. But when you
become two, what will you do?"
12. The disciples said to Jesus, "We
know that you are going to leave us. Who
will be our leader?"
Jesus said to them, "No matter where
you are you are to go to James the Just,
for whose sake heaven and earth came
into being."
13. Jesus said to his disciples,
"Compare me to something and tell me
what I am like."
Simon Peter said to him, "You are
like a just messenger."
Matthew said to him, "You are like a
wise philosopher."
Thomas said to him, "Teacher, my
mouth is utterly unable to say what you
are like."
Jesus said, "I am not your teacher.
Because you have drunk, you have become
intoxicated from the bubbling spring
that I have tended."
And he took him, and withdrew, and
spoke three sayings to him. When Thomas
came back to his friends they asked him,
"What did Jesus say to you?"
Thomas said to them, "If I tell you
one of the sayings he spoke to me, you
will pick up rocks and stone me, and
fire will come from the rocks and devour
you."
14. Jesus said to them, "If you fast,
you will bring sin upon yourselves, and
if you pray, you will be condemned, and
if you give to charity, you will harm
your spirits.
When you go into any region and walk
about in the countryside, when people
take you in, eat what they serve you and
heal the sick among them.
After all, what goes into your mouth
will not defile you; rather, it's what
comes out of your mouth that will defile
you."
15. Jesus said, "When you see one who
was not born of woman, fall on your
faces and worship. That one is your
Father."
16. Jesus said, "Perhaps people think
that I have come to cast peace upon the
world. They do not know that I have come
to cast conflicts upon the earth: fire,
sword, war.
For there will be five in a house:
there'll be three against two and two
against three, father against son and
son against father, and they will stand
alone."
17. Jesus said, "I will give you what
no eye has seen, what no ear has heard,
what no hand has touched, what has not
arisen in the human heart."
18. The disciples said to Jesus,
"Tell us, how will our end come?"
Jesus said, "Have you found the
beginning, then, that you are looking
for the end? You see, the end will be
where the beginning is.
Congratulations to the one who stands
at the beginning: that one will know the
end and will not taste death."
19. Jesus said, "Congratulations to
the one who came into being before
coming into being.
If you become my disciples and pay
attention to my sayings, these stones
will serve you.
For there are five trees in Paradise
for you; they 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 Heaven's kingdom is like."
He said to them, "It's like a mustard
seed, the smallest of all seeds, but
when it falls on prepared soil, it
produces a large plant and becomes a
shelter for birds of the sky."
21. Mary said to Jesus, "What 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 us back our
field.' They take off their clothes in
front of them in order to give it back
to them, and they return their field to
them.
For this reason I say, if the owners
of a house know that a thief is coming,
they will be on guard before the thief
arrives and will not let the thief break
into their house (their domain) and
steal their possessions.
As for you, then, be on guard against
the world. Prepare yourselves with great
strength, so the robbers can't find a
way to get to you, for the trouble you
expect will come.
Let there be among you a person who
understands.
When the crop ripened, he came
quickly carrying a sickle and harvested
it. Anyone here with two good ears had
better listen!"
22. Jesus saw some babies nursing. He
said to his disciples, "These nursing
babies are like those who enter the
(Father's) kingdom."
They said to him, "Then shall we
enter the (Father's) kingdom as babies?"
Jesus said to them, "When you make
the two into one, and when you make the
inner like the outer and the outer like
the inner, and the upper like the lower,
and when you make male and female into a
single one, so that the male will not be
male nor the female be female, when you
make 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, for we must seek
it."
He said to them, "Anyone here with
two ears had better listen! There is
light within a person of light, and it
shines on the whole world. If it does
not shine, it is dark."
25. Jesus said, "Love your friends
like your own soul, protect them like
the pupil of your eye."
26. Jesus said, "You see the sliver
in your friend's eye, but you don't see
the timber in your own eye. When you
take the timber out of your own eye,
then you will see well enough to remove
the sliver from your friend's eye."
27. "If you do not fast from the
world, you will not find the (Father's)
kingdom. If you do not observe the
sabbath as a sabbath you will not see
the Father."
28. Jesus said, "I took my stand in
the midst of the world, and in flesh I
appeared to them. I found them all
drunk, and I did not find any of them
thirsty. My soul ached for the children
of humanity, because they are blind in
their hearts and do not see, for they
came into the world empty, and they also
seek to depart from the world empty.
But meanwhile they are drunk. When
they shake off their wine, then they
will change their ways."
29. Jesus said, "If the flesh came
into being because of spirit, that is a
marvel, but if spirit came into being
because of the body, that is a marvel of
marvels.
Yet I marvel at how this great wealth
has come to dwell in this poverty."
30. Jesus said, "Where there are
three deities, they are divine. Where
there are two or one, I am with that
one."
31. Jesus said, "No prophet is
welcome on his home turf; doctors don't
cure those who know them."
32. Jesus said, "A city built on a
high hill and fortified cannot fall, nor
can it be hidden."
33. Jesus said, "What you will hear
in your ear, in the other ear proclaim
from your rooftops.
After all, no one lights a lamp and
puts it under a basket, nor does one put
it in a hidden place. Rather, one puts
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 of them will
fall into a hole."
35. Jesus said, "One can't enter a
strong person's house and take it by
force without tying his hands. Then one
can loot his house."
36. Jesus said, "Do not fret, from
morning to evening and from evening to
morning, [about your food--what you're
going to eat, or about your clothing--]
what you are going to wear. [You're much
better than the lilies, which neither
card nor spin.
As for you, when you have no garment,
what will you put on? Who might add to
your stature? That very one will give
you your garment.]"
37. His disciples said, "When will
you appear to us, and when will we see
you?"
Jesus said, "When you strip without
being ashamed, and you take your clothes
and put them under your feet like little
children and trample then, then [you]
will see the son of the living one and
you will not be afraid."
38. Jesus said, "Often 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 you
will not find me."
39. Jesus said, "The Pharisees and
the scholars have taken the keys of
knowledge and have hidden them. They
have not entered nor have they allowed
those who want to enter to do so.
As for you, be as sly as snakes and
as simple as doves."
40. Jesus said, "A grapevine has been
planted apart from the Father. Since it
is not strong, it will be pulled up by
its root and will perish."
41. Jesus said, "Whoever has
something in hand will be given more,
and whoever has nothing will be deprived
of even the little they have."
42. Jesus said, "Be passersby."
43. His disciples said to him, "Who
are you to say these things to us?"
"You don't understand who I am from
what I say to you.
Rather, you have become like the
Judeans, for 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, either on earth or in heaven."
45. Jesus said, "Grapes are not
harvested from thorn trees, nor are figs
gathered from thistles, for they yield
no fruit.
Good persons produce good from what
they've stored up; bad persons produce
evil from the wickedness they've stored
up in their hearts, and say evil things.
For from the overflow of the heart they
produce evil."
46. Jesus said, "From Adam to John
the Baptist, among those born of women,
no one is so much greater than John the
Baptist that his eyes should not be
averted.
But I have said that whoever among
you becomes a child will recognize the
(Father's) kingdom and will become
greater than John."
47. Jesus said, "A person cannot
mount two horses or bend two bows.
And a slave cannot serve two masters,
otherwise that slave will honor the one
and offend the other.
Nobody drinks aged wine and
immediately wants to drink young wine.
Young wine is not poured into old
wineskins, or they might break, and aged
wine is not poured into a new wineskin,
or it might spoil.
An old patch is not sewn onto a new
garment, since it would create a 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, "Congratulations to
those who are alone and chosen, for you
will find the kingdom. For you have come
from it, and you will return there
again."
50. Jesus said, "If they say to you,
'Where have you come from?' say to them,
'We have come 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
chosen of the living Father.'
If they ask you, 'What is the
evidence of your Father in you?' say to
them, 'It is motion and rest.'"
51. His disciples said to him, "When
will the rest for the dead take place,
and when will the new world come?"
He said to them, "What you are
looking forward to has come, but you
don't know it."
52. His disciples said to him,
"Twenty-four prophets have spoken in
Israel, and they all spoke of you."
He said to them, "You have
disregarded the living one who is in
your presence, and have spoken of the
dead."
53. His disciples said to him, "Is
circumcision useful or not?"
He said to them, "If it were useful,
their father would produce children
already circumcised from their mother.
Rather, the true circumcision in spirit
has become profitable in every respect."
54. Jesus said, "Congratulations to
the poor, for to you belongs Heaven's
kingdom."
55. Jesus said, "Whoever does not
hate father and mother cannot be my
disciple, and whoever does not hate
brothers and sisters, and carry the
cross as I do, will not be worthy of
me."
56. Jesus said, "Whoever has come to
know the world has discovered a carcass,
and whoever has discovered a carcass, of
that person the world is not worthy."
57 Jesus said, "The Father's kingdom
is like a person who has [good] seed.
His enemy came during the night and
sowed weeds among the good seed. The
person did not let the workers pull up
the weeds, but said to them, 'No,
otherwise you might 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 will be
pulled up and burned."
58. Jesus said, "Congratulations to
the person who has toiled and has found
life."
59. Jesus said, "Look to the living
one as long as you live, otherwise you
might die and then try to see the living
one, and you will be unable to see."
60. He saw a Samaritan carrying a
lamb and going to Judea. He said to his
disciples, "that person ... around the
lamb." They said to him, "So that he may
kill it and eat it." He said to them,
"He will not eat it while it is alive,
but only after he has killed it and it
has become a carcass."
They said, "Otherwise he can't do
it."
He said to them, "So also with you,
seek for yourselves a place for rest, or
you might become a carcass and be
eaten."
61. Jesus said, "Two will recline on
a couch; one will die, one will live."
Salome said, "Who are you mister? You
have climbed onto my couch and eaten
from my table as if you are from
someone."
Jesus said to her, "I am the one who
comes from what is whole. I was granted
from the things of my Father."
"I am your disciple."
"For this reason I say, if one is
whole, one will be filled with light,
but if one is divided, one will be
filled with darkness."
62. Jesus said, "I disclose my
mysteries to those [who are worthy] of
[my] mysteries.
doing.? is hand right your what know left let not Do
63 Jesus said, "There was a rich person
who had a great deal of money. He said,
'I shall invest my money so that I may
sow, reap, plant, and fill my
storehouses with produce, that I may
lack nothing.' These were the things he
was thinking in his heart, but that very
night he died. Anyone here with two ears
had better listen!"
64. Jesus said, "A person was
receiving guests. When he had prepared
the dinner, he sent his slave to invite
the guests.
The slave went to the first and said
to that one, 'My master invites you.'
That one said, 'Some merchants owe me
money; they are coming to me tonight. I
have to go and give them instructions.
Please excuse me from dinner.'
The slave went to another and said to
that one, 'My master has invited you.'
That one said to the slave, 'I have
bought a house, and I have been called
away for a day. I shall have no time.'
The slave went to another and said to
that one, 'My master invites you.' That
one said to the slave, 'My friend is to
be married, and I am to arrange the
banquet. I shall not be able to come.
Please excuse me from dinner.'
The slave went to another and said to
that one, 'My master invites you.' That
one said to the slave, 'I have bought an
estate, and I am going to collect the
rent. I shall not be able to come.
Please excuse me.'
The slave returned and said to his
master, 'Those whom you invited to
dinner have asked to be excused.' The
master said to his slave, 'Go out on the
streets and bring back whomever you find
to have dinner.'
Buyers and merchants [will] not enter
the places of my Father."
65. He said, "A [...] person owned a
vineyard and rented it to some farmers,
so they could work it and he could
collect its crop from them. He sent his
slave so the farmers would give him the
vineyard's crop. They grabbed him, beat
him, and almost killed him, and the
slave returned and told his master. His
master said, 'Perhaps he didn't know
them.' He sent another slave, and the
farmers beat that one as well. Then the
master sent his son and said, 'Perhaps
they'll show my son some respect.'
Because the farmers knew that he was the
heir to the vineyard, they grabbed him
and killed him. Anyone here with two
ears had better listen!"
66. Jesus said, "Show me the stone
that the builders rejected: that is the
keystone."
67. Jesus said, "Those who know all,
but are lacking in themselves, are
utterly lacking."
68. Jesus said, "Congratulations to
you when you are hated and persecuted;
and no place will be found, wherever you
have been persecuted."
69. Jesus said, "Congratulations to
those who have been persecuted in their
hearts: they are the ones who have truly
come to know the Father.
Congratulations to those who go
hungry, so the stomach of the one in
want may 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
build it [...]."
72. A [person said] to him, "Tell my
brothers to divide my father's
possessions with me."
He said to the person, "Mister, who
made me a divider?"
He turned to his disciples and said
to them, "I'm not a divider, am I?"
73. Jesus said, "The crop is huge but
the workers are few, so beg the harvest
boss to dispatch workers to the fields."
74. He said, "Lord, there are many
around the drinking trough, but there is
nothing in the well."
75. Jesus said, "There are many
standing at the door, but those who are
alone will enter the bridal suite."
76. Jesus said, "The Father's kingdom
is like a merchant who had a supply of
merchandise and found a pearl. That
merchant was prudent; he sold the
merchandise and bought the single pearl
for himself.
So also with you, seek his treasure
that is unfailing, that is enduring,
where no moth comes to eat and no worm
destroys."
77. Jesus said, "I am the light that
is over all things. I am all: from me
all came forth, and to me all attained.
Split a piece of wood; I am there.
Lift up the stone, and you will find
me there."
78. Jesus said, "Why have you come
out to the countryside? To see a reed
shaken by the wind? And to see a person
dressed in soft clothes, [like your]
rulers and your powerful ones? They are
dressed in soft clothes, and they cannot
understand truth."
79. A woman in the crowd said to him,
"Lucky are the womb that bore you and
the breasts that fed you."
He said to [her], "Lucky are those
who have heard the word of the Father
and have truly kept it. For there will
be days when you will say, 'Lucky are
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 discovered the body,
and whoever has discovered the body, of
that one the world is not worthy."
81. Jesus said, "Let one who has
become wealthy reign, and let one who
has power renounce <it>."
82. Jesus said, "Whoever is near me
is near the fire, and whoever is far
from me is far from the (Father's)
kingdom."
83. Jesus said, "Images are visible
to people, but the light within them is
hidden in the image of the Father's
light. He will be disclosed, 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
become visible, how much you will have
to bear!"
85. Jesus said, "Adam came from great
power and great wealth, but he was not
worthy of you. For had he been worthy,
[he would] not [have tasted] death."
86. Jesus said, "[Foxes have] their
dens and birds have their nests, but
human beings have no place to lay down
and rest."
87. Jesus said, "How miserable is the
body that depends on a body, and how
miserable is the soul that depends on
these two."
88. Jesus said, "The messengers and
the prophets will come to you and give
you what belongs to you. You, in turn,
give them what you have, and say to
yourselves, 'When will they come and
take what belongs to them?'"
89. Jesus said, "Why do you wash the
outside of the cup? Don't you understand
that the one who made the inside is also
the one who made the outside?"
90. Jesus said, "Come to me, for my
yoke is comfortable 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 have
not come to know the one who is in your
presence, and you do not know how to
examine the present moment."
92. Jesus said, "Seek and you will
find.
In the past, however, I did not tell
you the things about which you asked me
then. Now I am willing to tell them, but
you are not seeking them."
93. "Don't give what is holy to dogs,
for they might throw them upon the
manure pile. Don't throw pearls [to]
pigs, or they might ... it [...]."
94. Jesus [said], "One who seeks will
find, and for [one who knocks] it will
be opened."
95. [Jesus said], "If you have money,
don't lend it at interest. Rather, give
[it] to someone from whom you won't get
it back."
96. Jesus [said], "The Father's
kingdom is like [a] woman. She took a
little leaven, [hid] it in dough, and
made it into large loaves of bread.
Anyone here with two ears had better
listen!"
97. Jesus said, "The [Father's]
kingdom is like a woman who was carrying
a [jar] full of meal. While she was
walking along [a] distant road, the
handle of the jar broke and the meal
spilled behind her [along] the road. She
didn't know it; she hadn't noticed a
problem. When she reached her house, she
put the jar down and discovered that it
was empty."
98. Jesus said, "The Father's kingdom
is like a person who wanted to kill
someone powerful. While still at home he
drew his sword and thrust it into the
wall to find out whether his hand would
go in. Then he killed the powerful one."
99. The disciples said to him, "Your
brothers and your mother are standing
outside."
He said to them, "Those here who do
what my Father wants are my brothers and
my mother. They are the ones who will
enter my Father's kingdom."
100. They showed Jesus a gold coin
and said to him, "The Roman emperor's
people demand taxes from us."
He said to them, "Give the emperor
what belongs to the emperor, give God
what belongs to God, and give me what is
mine."
101. "Whoever does not hate [father]
and mother as I do cannot be my
[disciple], and whoever does [not] love
[father and] mother as I do cannot be my
[disciple]. For my mother [...], but my
true [mother] gave me life."
102. Jesus said, "Damn the Pharisees!
They are like a dog sleeping in the
cattle manger: the dog neither eats nor
[lets] the cattle eat."
103. Jesus said, "Congratulations to
those who know where the rebels are
going to attack. [They] can get going,
collect their imperial resources, and be
prepared before the rebels arrive."
104. They said to Jesus, "Come, let
us pray today, and let us fast."
Jesus said, "What sin have I
committed, or how have I been undone?
Rather, when the groom leaves the bridal
suite, then let people fast and pray."
105. Jesus said, "Whoever knows the
father and the mother will be called the
child of a whore."
106. Jesus said, "When you make the
two into one, you will become children
of Adam, and when you say, 'Mountain,
move from here!' it will move."
107. Jesus said, "The (Father's)
kingdom is like a shepherd who had a
hundred sheep. One of them, the largest,
went astray. He left the ninety-nine and
looked for the one until he found it.
After he had toiled, 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 person, and the hidden
things will be revealed to him."
109. Jesus said, "The (Father's)
kingdom is like a person who had a
treasure hidden in his field but did not
know it. And [when] he died he left it
to his [son]. The son [did] not know
about it either. He took over 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, "Let one who has
found the world, and has become wealthy,
renounce the world."
111. Jesus said, "The heavens and the
earth will roll up in your presence, and
whoever is living from the living one
will not see death."
Does not Jesus say, "Those who have
found themselves, of them the world is
not worthy"?
112. Jesus said, "Damn the flesh that
depends on the soul. Damn 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.
It will not be said, 'Look, here!' or
'Look, there!' Rather, the Father's
kingdom is spread out upon the earth,
and people don't see it."
[Saying probably added to the
original collection at a later date:]
114. Simon Peter said to them, "Make
Mary leave us, for females don't deserve
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."