Gospel of Thomas

Gospel of Thomas

These are the hidden words

that the Living Yeshua spoke,

and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded.

Whoever finds the meaning of these words

shall not taste death.

Yeshua said,

“Whoever seeks should not stop seeking until they find.

When they find, they will be disturbed.

When they are disturbed, they will be astonished.

And having been astonished, they will reign.

And once they reign, they will find rest.”

Yeshua said,

“If those who lead you say,

‘Look, the kingdom is in the sky,’

then the birds will get there before you.

If they say, ‘It is in the sea,’

then the fish will get there before you.

But the kingdom is within you

and it is around 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,

you dwell in poverty —

and you are that poverty.”

Yeshua said,

“If your leaders say to you,

‘Look, the kingdom is in the sky,’

then the birds will precede you.

If they say it is beneath the earth,

then the fish will go before you.

But the kingdom is within you and all around you.

When you come to know yourselves,

you will be known,

and you will realize

you are sons of the Living One.”

Yeshua said,

“A person old in days

will not hesitate to ask a little child about the place of life,

and he will live.

Many who are first will be last,

and the last, first —

and they will become one.”

Yeshua said,

“Know what is in front of your face,

and what is hidden from you will be revealed.

For nothing hidden will not be made manifest,

and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered.”

His disciples asked Him,

“Do you want us to fast? How should we pray?

Should we give to the poor? What rules should we follow?”

Yeshua said,

“Do not lie,

and do not do what you hate.

For all things are revealed before heaven.

There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed,

and nothing covered that will not be exposed.”

Yeshua said,

“Blessed is the lion

that a human eats,

so that the lion becomes human.

And cursed is the human

whom a lion eats,

so that the human becomes lion.”

He said,

“The human being is like a wise fisherman

who cast his net into the sea.

When he pulled it up,

it was full of little fish.

Among them, the wise fisherman found a large, excellent fish.

He threw all the others back into the sea

and chose the big fish without hesitation.

Whoever has ears,

let them hear.”

Yeshua said,

“Look, a sower went out, filled his hand, and cast seed.

Some fell on the road — birds came and ate it.

Some fell on rock — it could not take root.

Some fell among thorns — the thorns choked it.

Some fell on good soil — it yielded fruit: sixty, a hundred, or more.”

Yeshua said,

“I have cast fire upon the world,

and see — I am guarding it until it blazes.”

Yeshua said,

“This heaven will pass away,

and the one above it will also pass away.

The dead do not live,

and the living will not die.

In the days when you consumed what is dead,

you made it alive.

When you dwell in the Light,

what will you do then?

When you were one,

you became two.

But when you become two,

what will you do?”

The disciples said to Yeshua,

“We know You will leave us.

Who will lead us?”

Yeshua said,

“Go to James the Just,

for his sake heaven and earth came into being.”

Yeshua said to His disciples,

“Compare Me to someone and tell Me who I am like.”

Simon Peter said,

“You are like a righteous messenger.”

Matthew said,

“You are like a wise philosopher.”

Thomas said,

“Master, my mouth cannot say what You are like.”

Yeshua said,

“I am not your Master.

Because you have drunk and become drunk

from the bubbling spring I tended.”

Then He took Thomas aside and said three words.

When Thomas came back, his friends asked,

“What did He say?”

Thomas said,

“If I tell you even one word,

you will pick up stones and kill me —

and fire will come from those stones and consume you.”

Yeshua said,

“If you fast, you will give birth to sin.

If you pray, you will be condemned.

If you give, you will harm your soul.

When you go into any region and walk through the land,

if they welcome you, eat what is set before you.

If they do not welcome you,

leave — shake the dust from your feet,

and depart in peace.”

Yeshua said,

“When you see one who was not born of a woman,

bow and worship —

for that one is your Father.”

Yeshua said,

“People may think I came to bring peace to the world.

No — I came to bring division:

fire, sword, and war.

There will be five in a house:

three against two, and two against three.

Father against son,

and son against father.

They will stand and become single.”

Yeshua said,

“I will give you what no eye has seen,

no ear has heard,

no hand has touched,

and no mind has conceived.”

The disciples said to Yeshua,

“Tell us how our end will come.”

Yeshua said,

“Have you found the beginning,

that you now seek the end?

Blessed is the one who stands at the beginning —

for that one will know the end

and not taste death.”

Yeshua 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 there are five trees in Paradise that never change —

their leaves do not fall,

and whoever knows them will not taste death.”

The disciples said to Yeshua,

“Tell us what the kingdom of heaven is like.”

He said,

“It is like a mustard seed —

the smallest of all seeds.

But when it falls on prepared soil,

it produces a great plant

and becomes shelter for the birds of heaven.”

Mary said to Yeshua,

“What are Your disciples like?”

He said,

“They are like children living in a field

that is not theirs.

When the owners return, they will say,

‘Give back our field.’

They will strip naked and give it back

and return it joyfully.”

Yeshua said,

“When you make the two one,

and make the inside like the outside

and the outside like the inside,

and the above like the below,

when you make male and female into a single one —

then you will enter the kingdom.”

Yeshua said,

“I shall choose you,

one from a thousand and two from ten thousand.

And you will stand as a single one.”

His disciples said,

“Show us the place where You dwell.”

He said,

“Whoever has ears, let them hear.

There is light within a person of light —

and it shines upon the whole world.

If it does not shine, it is darkness.”

Yeshua said,

“Love your brother like your soul.

Protect him like the pupil of your eye.”

Yeshua said,

“You see the speck in your brother’s eye,

but you do not see the beam in your own.

When you remove the beam from your own eye,

then you will see clearly

to remove the speck from your brother’s.”

“If you do not fast from the world,

you will not find the kingdom.

If you do not observe the Sabbath as a Sabbath,

you will not see the Father.”

Yeshua said,

“I stood in the midst of the world,

and I appeared to them in the flesh.

I found them all drunk.

None of them was thirsty.

My soul was troubled for the children of humanity,

for their hearts are blind,

and they do not see their emptiness.”

Yeshua said,

“If the flesh came into being for the spirit, it is a wonder.

But if the spirit came for the body, it is a greater wonder.

I am amazed how such wealth has made its home in such poverty.”

Yeshua said,

“Where there are three gods, they are gods.

Where there are two or one, I am there with them.”

Yeshua said,

“No prophet is accepted in his own village.

No doctor heals those who know him.”

Yeshua said,

“A city built on a high hill and fortified

cannot fall —

nor can it be hidden.”

Yeshua said,

“What you hear in your ear,

proclaim on the rooftops.

No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket.

They place it on a stand

so all who come and go may see the light.”

Yeshua said,

“If one who is blind leads another who is blind,

they both fall into a pit.”

Yeshua said,

“None can enter the strong man’s house and take it by force

unless he first binds the strong man.

Then he may take all that is in the house.”

Yeshua said,

“Do not worry from morning until evening

or from evening until morning

about what you will wear.”

His disciples said,

“When will You be revealed to us,

and when shall we see You?”

Yeshua said,

“When you strip naked without shame,

and trample your garments underfoot like children,

and are not ashamed —

then you will see the Son of the Living One,

and you will not be afraid.”

Yeshua said,

“Many times you have desired to hear these words I speak,

and you have no one else to hear them from.

There will be days when you seek Me,

and you will not find Me.”

Yeshua said,

“The Pharisees and the scribes

have taken the keys of knowledge

and hidden them.

They did not enter themselves,

and they did not allow those who wished to enter.

But you —

be wise as serpents,

and pure as doves.”

Yeshua said,

“A grapevine was planted apart from the Father.

Since it is not rooted in Him,

it will be pulled up by the root and destroyed.”

Yeshua said,

“Whoever has something in his hand,

more will be given to him.

But whoever has nothing,

even what he has will be taken away.”

Yeshua said,

“Become passersby.”

His disciples said to Him,

“Who are You to say these things to us?”

Yeshua said,

“Do you not recognize who I am

from what I say to you?

You have become like those who love a tree

but hate its fruit,

or love the fruit

but hate the tree.”

Yeshua said,

“Whoever blasphemes against the Father

will be forgiven.

Whoever blasphemes against the Son

will be forgiven.

But whoever blasphemes against the Set-Apart Spirit

will not be forgiven —

either on earth or in heaven.”

Yeshua said,

“Grapes are not harvested from thorns,

nor figs from thistles.

They yield no fruit.

A good person brings forth good

from the treasure of the heart.

An evil person brings forth evil

from what is within.”

Yeshua said,

“From Adam to John the Baptist,

no one born of woman is greater than John.

But I say to you:

Whoever becomes least among you

shall know the kingdom

and be greater than John.”

Yeshua said,

“A person cannot mount two horses

or stretch two bows.

And a servant cannot serve two masters,

or he will honor one and despise the other.

No one drinks old wine

and desires new,

nor does he pour new wine into old skins.”

Yeshua 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.”

Yeshua said,

“Blessed are the solitary and the chosen,

for you will find the kingdom —

because you came from it,

and you will return there.”

Yeshua said,

“If they say to you,

‘Where did you come from?’ say:

‘We came from the Light,

from the place where the Light came into being

on its own and was revealed

through the Word.’

If they ask,

‘Are you it?’

say, ‘We are its children,

and we are chosen by the Living Father.’

If they ask,

‘What is the sign of your Father in you?’

say, ‘It is movement and rest.’”

His disciples said,

“When will the rest for the dead occur?

And what will the new world be like?”

Yeshua said,

“What you look for has come,

but you do not recognize it.”

His disciples said to Him,

“Twenty-four prophets spoke in Israel,

and they all spoke of You.”

He said to them,

“You have ignored the Living One who is before you,

and you speak of the dead.”

His disciples said to Him,

“Is circumcision useful or not?”

He said to them,

“If it were useful,

their Father would have made them so from birth.

But true circumcision is of the heart,

and in the Spirit.”

Yeshua said,

“Blessed are the poor,

for yours is the kingdom of heaven.”

Yeshua said,

“Whoever does not hate his father and mother

cannot be My disciple.

And whoever does not hate his brothers and sisters,

and even his own life,

cannot be My disciple.”

(Note: "Hate" in Hebrew idiom often means "detach from," not enmity.)

Yeshua said,

“Whoever has come to understand the world

has found a corpse.

And whoever has found a corpse

is greater than the world.”

Yeshua said,

“The kingdom of the Father is like a person

who had good seed.

At night, his enemy came and sowed weeds among it.

In the morning, he saw the weeds growing with the wheat.

He said to his servants,

‘Pull up the weeds — but be careful,

lest you uproot the wheat with them.’”

Yeshua said,

“Blessed is the person who has suffered.

He has found life.”

Yeshua said,

“Look to the Living One

while you are alive,

lest you die

and seek Him

and not find Him.”

They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb on the way to Judea.

Yeshua said to His disciples,

“Why is he carrying the lamb?”

They said,

“So he may kill it and eat it.”

He said,

“As long as the lamb is alive,

he will not eat it.

Only when it is slaughtered will it become food.”

They said,

“He will not do it otherwise.”

Yeshua said,

“You too, seek for yourselves a resting place,

or you will become a corpse and be devoured.”

Yeshua said,

“Two will rest on a couch: one will die, the other will live.”

Salome said,

“Who are You, Man, that You have come upon my bed

and eaten from my table?”

Yeshua said to her,

“I am the One who exists equally in all.

I was given from what is My Father's.”

Salome said,

“I am Your disciple.”

Yeshua said to her,

“Therefore I say,

if one is whole, they will be full of light.

But if divided, they will be filled with darkness.”

Yeshua said,

“I tell My secrets

to those who are worthy

of My secrets.”

Yeshua said,

“There was a rich man who had many possessions.

He said, ‘I will store my crops and fill my barns,

and then I will rest and enjoy my goods.’

But that very night,

he died with nothing in hand.

Whoever has ears,

let them hear.”

Yeshua said,

“A man was preparing a feast.

He sent his servant to invite guests.

One said, ‘I have money to collect.’

Another said, ‘I bought a house and must tend to it.’

Another, ‘I have just married.’

The servant returned and told his master.

The master said,

‘Go out to the roads.

Bring those who are willing.

The feast is ready,

but those invited were not worthy.’”

Yeshua said,

“A good man had a vineyard,

and he leased it to tenants.

When harvest time came,

he sent a servant — but they beat him.

He sent another — they killed him.

Finally he sent his son.

They killed the son,

thinking they would inherit the vineyard.

What will the Lord of the vineyard do?

He will come, destroy the tenants,

and give the vineyard to others.”

Yeshua said,

“Show Me the stone

which the builders rejected —

that one is the cornerstone.”

Yeshua said,

“Whoever knows all things

but does not know himself

is lacking in everything.”

Yeshua said,

“Blessed are you when you are hated and persecuted.

They will find no place in you

to rest their lies.”

Yeshua said,

“Blessed are the hungry,

for the belly of him who desires

will be filled.”

Yeshua said,

“If you bring forth what is within you,

what you have will save you.

If you do not bring it forth,

what you do not have within you

will destroy you.”

Yeshua said,

“I will destroy this house,

and no one will rebuild it.”

A man said to Him,

“Tell my brothers to divide my father’s inheritance with me.”

Yeshua said,

“Who made Me a divider?”

He turned to His disciples:

“I am not a divider, am I?”

Yeshua said,

“The harvest is great,

but the laborers are few.

Ask the Master to send workers into the harvest.”

He said,

“Master, there are many around the well,

but no one goes down into it.”

Yeshua said,

“Many are standing at the door,

but only the solitary shall enter the bridal chamber.”

Yeshua said,

“The kingdom of the Father

is like a merchant who found a pearl.

He sold all and bought the pearl alone.”

Yeshua said,

“The kingdom is like a net cast into the sea.

It gathered every kind.

When it was full,

they drew it to shore.

They chose the good,

and threw away the bad.”

Yeshua said,

“I am the Light

that is above all.

I am the All —

the All came forth from Me,

and the All returns to Me.

Split a piece of wood —

I am there.

Lift a stone —

you will find Me.”

Yeshua said,

“Why did you go out to see a reed shaken by the wind,

and a man clothed in fine garments?

Your true king is within you

and beyond you.”

A woman said to Him,

“Blessed is the womb that bore You

and the breasts that nursed You.”

He said,

“Blessed are those who hear My word

and guard it in truth.”

Yeshua said,

“Whoever has known the world

has found the body.

But whoever has found the body

is greater than the world.”

Yeshua said,

“Let the one who has become rich

be king.

And let the one who has power

renounce it.”

Yeshua said,

“The one who is near Me

is near the fire.

The one far from Me

is far from the kingdom.”

Yeshua said,

“Images are visible to people,

but the light within them is hidden

in the image of the Father’s light.

He will be revealed,

but His image is hidden in light.”

Yeshua said,

“When you see your reflection, you rejoice.

But when you see your true self,

you will marvel — and be troubled.”

Yeshua said,

“Adam came from great power and great wealth,

but he did not recognize his origin

and he died.”

Yeshua said,

“Foxes have their dens,

and birds their nests.

But the Son of Humanity has nowhere to rest His head.”

Yeshua said,

“Wretched is the body

that depends on another body.

And wretched is the soul

that depends on them both.”

Yeshua said,

“Messengers and prophets will come to you.

They will give you what is yours.

Take it.

But if they give you what is not yours,

reject it.”

Yeshua said,

“Why do you wash the outside of the cup?

Do you not understand that He who made the inside

also made the outside?”

Yeshua said,

“Come to Me,

for My yoke is easy

and My burden is light.”

They said to Him,

“Tell us who You are

so we may believe in You.”

He said,

“You read the signs of the sky and the earth,

but you do not recognize the One before you —

and you do not know this moment.”

Yeshua said,

“Seek, and you will find.

But the things you asked about in the past —

I did not tell you then.

Now I want to tell you,

but you do not ask.”

Yeshua said,

“Do not give what is holy to dogs,

for they might throw it on the dung heap.

Do not throw pearls to pigs,

or they might grind them into mud.”

Yeshua said,

“One who seeks will find.

One who knocks will be let in.”

Yeshua said,

“If you have money,

do not lend it with interest.

Rather, give it to those from whom you will not get it back.”

Yeshua said,

“The kingdom of the Father is like a woman

who took a little yeast,

hid it in dough,

and made it rise into large loaves.

Whoever has ears,

let them hear.”

Yeshua said,

“The kingdom of the Father is like a woman

carrying a jar full of flour.

As she walked, the jar cracked,

and the flour spilled behind her on the road.

She did not notice it was empty

until she arrived at her house

and set the jar down.”

Yeshua said,

“The kingdom of the Father is like a man

who wanted to kill a powerful man in his house.

First, he drew his sword

and stabbed it into the wall

to test his strength.

Then he killed the ruler.”

The disciples said,

“Your brothers and mother are standing outside.”

Yeshua said,

“Those here who do the will of My Father

are My brothers and My mother.

They are the ones who will enter My Father’s kingdom.”

They showed Yeshua a gold coin and said,

“Caesar’s men demand taxes from us.”

He said,

“Give Caesar what is Caesar’s.

Give God what is God’s.

And give Me what is Mine.”

Yeshua said,

“Whoever does not hate his 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 gave Me falsehood,

but My true Mother gave Me life.”

Yeshua said,

“Woe to the Pharisees.

They are like a dog lying in a manger —

it neither eats

nor lets the ox eat.”

Yeshua said,

“Blessed is the one who knows where bandits enter,

so he can rise and gather his strength

and not let them enter.”

They said to Yeshua,

“Come, let us pray and fast today.”

Yeshua said,

“What wrong have I done?

Or how have I failed?

When the groom leaves the wedding chamber,

then let them fast and pray.”

Yeshua said,

“Whoever knows the Father and the Mother

will be called a child of a harlot.”

(Note: Likely ironic — mocking religious judgment toward spiritual intimacy.)

Yeshua said,

“When you make the two one,

you will become sons of man.

And when you say, ‘Mountain, move!’

it will move.”

Yeshua said,

“The kingdom is like a shepherd

who had 100 sheep.

One wandered off —

the shepherd left the 99

and went after the one

until he found it.

After so much labor,

he said to the sheep,

‘I love you more than the others.’”

Yeshua said,

“Whoever drinks from My mouth

will become like Me.

And I will become that one.

And what is hidden

will be revealed to him.”

Yeshua said,

“The kingdom is like a person

who had a treasure hidden in his field

but did not know.

When he died, he left it to his son.

The son found the treasure

and sold the field.

He bought it and rejoiced.”

Yeshua said,

“Whoever has found the world

and become rich —

let him renounce the world.”

Yeshua said,

“Heaven and earth will pass away,

but the one who lives from the Living One

will not see death.”

Yeshua said,

“Woe to the flesh

that depends on the soul.

Woe to the soul

that depends on the flesh.”

His disciples said to Him,

“When will the kingdom come?”

Yeshua said,

“It will not come by watching and waiting.

They will not say, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’

The kingdom of the Father

is spread out upon the earth —

but people do not see it.”

Simon Peter said,

“Let Mary leave us,

for women are not worthy of life.”

Yeshua said,

“I Myself will lead her

to become male,

so that she too may become a living spirit

resembling you men.

For every woman who becomes male

will enter the kingdom of heaven.”

(Note: “Male” symbolically means “unified, whole, spiritual” in some early texts — not gendered superiority.)

This is the end of the sayings of the Living Yeshua.

He did not speak to satisfy religion

but to awaken sons and daughters of the Light.

Let the one who hears, hear.

Let the one who seeks, find.

Let the one who finds, rejoice —

for they have found rest.