The Gospel of Thomas — The Encyclopedia Witness

History of the Gospel of Thomas (the witness’s front matter, printed pp. 472–473 — as printed)

In the winter of 1945, in Upper Egypt, an Arab peasant was gathering fertilizer and topsoil for his crops. While digging in the soft dirt he came across a large earthen vessel. Inside were codex-containing [?] ancient books.

According to local lore, the boy's father had recently been killed and the lad was preparing to chase the man who had murdered his father.

The scrolls were discovered near the site of the ancient town of Chenoboskion, at the base of a mountain named Gebel et-Tarif, near Hamra [?] in the vicinity of Nag Hammadi, about sixty miles from Luxor in Egypt. The texts were written in the Coptic language and preserved on papyrus sheets. The lettering style dated them as having been written around the third or fourth century A.D. The Gospel of Thomas is an [?] sayings gospel; the [?] of the volumes containing of 114 verses [as printed]. [?] study indicates that the original work of Thomas, of which the scrolls are copies, may predate the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The origin of The Gospel of Thomas is now thought to be from the first or second century A.D.

The word Coptic is an Arabic corruption of the Greek word Aigyptos, which in turn comes from the word Hikaptah, one of the names of the city of Memphis, the first capital of ancient Egypt.

There has never been a Coptic state or government per se, however, the word has [?] been used to generally define a culture and language present in the area of Egypt.

The known history of the Copts starts with King Mina the first King, who united the northern and southern kingdoms of Egypt since [about?] 3000 B.C. The ancient Egyptian civilization under the rule of the Pharaohs lasted over 3000 years. Saint Mark [?] after the King is one of the major Coptic saints. He was martyred in AD 62 [?].

The culture has come to be recognized as one containing distinctive art, architecture, and even a certain Christian church system.

The Coptic Church is based on the teachings of St. Mark, who introduced the region to Christianity in the first century A.D. The Copts take pride in the monastic flavor of their Church and the fact that the Gospel of Mark is thought to be the oldest of the Gospels. Now, lying before a peasant boy was a scroll written in the ancient Coptic tongue: The Gospel of Thomas, possibly older than and certainly quite different from any other Gospel.

The peasant boy who found the treasure of the Gospel of Thomas stood to be rewarded greatly. This could have been the discovery of a lifetime for his family, but the boy had no idea what he had. He took the scrolls home, where his mother burned some as kindling.

Because the young man had succeeded in his pursuit of his father's murderer, he himself was now a murderer. Fearing the authorities would soon come looking for him and not wanting to be found with ancient artifacts, he sold the codex to the black market antique dealers in Cairo for a little cash. It would be years until they found their way into the hands of a scholar.

Part of the thirteenth codex was smuggled from Egypt to America. In 1952 whispers of the existence of the codex had reached the ears of Gilles Quispel, a professor of religion and history in the Netherlands. The race was on to find and translate the scrolls.

The introduction of the collected sayings of Jesus refers to the writer as Didymos (Jude) Thomas. This is the name Thomas who doubted Jesus and was then told to place his hand within the beach [sic — as printed] in the side of the Savior. In the Gospel of St. John, he is referred to as Didymus, which means twin in Greek. In Aramaic, the name Jude (or Judas) also carries the meaning of twin. The use of this title led some in the apocryphal traditions to believe that he was the twin brother and confidant of Jesus. However, when applied to Jesus himself, the literal meaning of twin must be rejected by orthodox Christianity as it [or anyone adhering to the doctrine of the virgin birth of the only begotten Son of God — as printed]. The title is likely meant to signify that Thomas was a close confidant of Jesus, or more simply, he was part of a set of twins and in no way related to Jesus.

As mentioned earlier, church historians mention that Thomas evangelized India (Asia Minor or Central Asia). [For a comparative study of Buddhism's Tao Te Ching and The Gospel of Thomas, see the book The Tao of Thomas [?] — as printed.]

The Gospel of Thomas is actually not a gospel at all. It contains no narrative but is instead a collection of sayings which are said to be from Jesus himself as written (quoted) by Thomas. Although the codex found in Egypt is dated to the fourth century, most biblical scholars place the actual construction of the text of Thomas at about 70 - 150 A.D. although some place it slightly later.

The gospel was often mentioned in early Christian literature, but no copy was thought to have survived until the discovery of the Coptic manuscript. Since then, part of the Oxyrhynchus papyri have been identified as older Greek fragments of Thomas. The papyri were discovered in 1896 in the rubbish heaps of Oxyrhynchus, Egypt. This discovery yielded over thirty-five manuscript fragments for the New Testament. They have been dated the earliest codex found in the library about 40 A.D. As a point of reference, a fragment of papyrus from the Dead Sea Scrolls had been dated to before 40 [A.D.?]. This is not to say that the Gospel of Thomas was dated to these years, only that the oldest books found in the library date [to] this time area. Thus, the collection was a very old and select one.

There are marked differences between the Greek and Coptic texts of Thomas, as we will see.

The debate on the date of Thomas centers in part on whether Thomas is dependent upon the canonical gospels, or is derived from an earlier document that was simply a collection of sayings. Many of the passages in Thomas appear to be more authentic versions of the synoptic parables, and many have parallels in Mark and Luke. This has caused divisions of thought wherein some believe Thomas used common sources also used by Mark and Luke. Others believe Thomas was written independently after both Mark and Luke.

[?] examine Thomas's composition a little more [the lines at the head of this paragraph are soft in the photograph]. It would explain the mystical quality of the text, because most of Thomas's recorded quotes of Jesus are presented out of any natural context. [?] some speculation that the sayings found in Thomas could be more accurate to the original intent and wording of Jesus than the other gospels. This way some [readers?] may realize that Christianity itself is an Eastern religion, albeit Middle-Eastern, founded in Judea as it passed westward through many changes in [?] by Western [?]. Jesus was both mystical and Middle-Eastern. The Gospel of Thomas may not have seen as much "dilution" by Western society.

The Gospel of Thomas was most likely composed in Syria, where tradition holds that the church of Edessa was founded by Judas Thomas, The Twin (Didymus). The gospel may well be the earliest written tradition in the Syriac church. The Gospel of Thomas is sometimes called a Gnostic gospel, although it seems more likely Thomas was adopted by the Gnostic community and interpreted in the light of their beliefs.

Gnostics believe that knowledge is formed or found from a personal encounter with God brought about by inward or intuitive insight. It is this knowledge that brings salvation. The Gnostics believed they were privy to a secret knowledge about the divine. It is their focus on knowledge that leads to their name.

There are numerous references to the Gnostics in second century literature. Their form of Christianity was condemned heresy by the early church fathers. The intense resistance to the Gnostic belief system seems to be based on two main points. First, there was a general Gnostic belief that we were all gods, with heaven contained within us. Even, according to the Gnostics, [?] heirs as daughters of God, for God is both father and mother [?]. These concepts were in direct opposition to the newly developing orthodoxy. The second line of resistance was pointed. The resistance developed later and would have come from the fact that a faith based on a personal encounter flew in the face of the developing church political structure that placed priests and church as the keepers of heaven's gate with salvation through them alone.

It is from the writings condemning the group that we glean most of our information about the Gnostics. They are alluded to in the Bible in 1 Timothy 1:4 and 1 Timothy 4:20, and possibly the entirety of Jude, as the writers of the Bible defended their theology against that of the Gnostics.

The Coptic and Greek translations of The Gospel of Thomas presented herein are the result of a group [effort?] brought about by contrasting and comparing all of the foremost translations, where the best phrasing was chosen to follow the intent and meaning of the text.

Because there are differences between the Coptic manuscript and the Greek fragments of Thomas, each verse will have the following format for the reader to view: The Coptic text will be presented first, since we have the entire Gospel in this language. The Greek text will come next. If there is not a second rendition of the verse, the reader may assume there was no Greek fragment found for that verse or the Greek version of the verse was identical to the Coptic version. Lastly, obvious parallels found in the Bible are listed.

Let us keep in mind that some of the differences between the translations of the Greek and Coptic may be attributed in part to the choice of word or phrase of those translating. It is the differences in overall meaning of verses between Coptic and Greek on which we should focus.

In the document to follow, the Gospel of Thomas will appear as a bold text. If there are other relevant but divergent interpretations of phrases in Thomas, they are included in parentheses. Any parallels of text or meaning that exist in the Bible are placed below the verse in italicized text. Author's notes are in regular text. In this way the reader can easily identify which body of work is being referenced and observe how they fit together.

Since the deeper meanings within Thomas are both in metaphor and in plain, understandable language. It is hoped that once the words are read some new insight and treasure can be taken from them. As we change our perspective, we see the meaning of each verse differently. As one turns a single jewel to view each facet, we should study the Gospel of Thomas in the same way.

Let us begin.

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The Gospel Of Thomas

These are the secret sayings which the living Yeshua has spoken and Judas who is also Thomas (the twin) (Didymos Judas Thomas) wrote.

1. And he said: Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not taste death.

2. Yeshua said: Let him who seeks not stop seeking until he finds, and when he finds he will be troubled, and when he has been troubled he will marvel (be astonished) and he will reign over all and in reigning, he will find rest.

3. Yeshua said: If those who lead you say to you: Look, the Kingdom is in the sky, then the birds of the sky would reap [?] before you. If they say to you: It is in the sea, then the fish of the sea would come ahead of you. But the Kingdom of Yahweh exists within you and it exists outside of you. Those who come to know themselves will find it, and when you come to know yourselves, you will understand that it is you who are the sons of the living Father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty.

4. Yeshua said: The person of old age will not hesitate to ask a little child of seven days about the place of life, and he will live. For many who are first will become last, (and the last will be first). And they will become one and the same.

5. Yeshua said: Recognize what is in front of your face, and what has been hidden from you will be revealed to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed (become manifest), and nothing buried that will not be raised.

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6. His Disciples asked Him, they said to him: How do you want us to fast, and how will we pray? And how will we be charitable (give alms), and what laws of diet will we maintain? Yeshua said: Do not lie, and do not practice what you hate, for everything is in the plain sight of Heaven. For there is nothing concealed that will not become manifest, and there is nothing covered that will not be exposed.

7. Yeshua said: Blessed is the lion that the man will eat, for the lion will become the man. Cursed is the man that the lion shall eat, and still the lion will become man.

8. And he said: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea. He drew it up from the sea full of small fish. Among them he found a fine large fish. That wise fisherman threw all the small fish back into the sea [?] and chose the large fish without hesitation. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!

9. Yeshua said: Now, the sower came forth. He filled his hand and threw (the seeds). Some fell upon the road and the birds came and gathered them up. Others fell on the stone and they did not take root [?] enough roots in the soil, and so did not produce grain. Others fell among the thorns and they choked the seed, and the worms ate them. Others fell upon the good earth and it produced good fruit up toward the sky. It bore 60 fold and 120 fold.

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10. Yeshua said: I have cast fire upon the world, and as you see, I guard it until it is ablaze.

11. Yeshua said: This sky 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 united (one), you became separated (two). When you have become separated (two), what will you do?

12. The Disciples said to Yeshua: We know that you will go away from us. Who is it that will be our teacher?

Yeshua said to them: Wherever you are (in the place that you have come), you will go to James the Righteous, for whose sake Heaven and Earth were made (came into being).

13. Yeshua said to his Disciples: Compare me to others, and tell me who I am like. Simon Peter said to him: You are like a righteous messenger (angel) of Yahweh. Matthew said to him: You are like a (wise) philosopher (of the heart). Thomas said to him: Teacher, my mouth is not capable of saying who you are like.

Yeshua said: I'm not your teacher, now that you have drunk, you have become drunk from the bubbling spring which I tended (measured out). And he took him, and withdrew and spoke three words to him: [the three words are not printed here — as printed]

Now when Thomas returned to his comrades, they inquired of him: What did Yeshua say to you? Thomas said to them: If I tell you even one of the words which he spoke to me, you will take up stones and throw them at me; and fire will come from the stones to consume you.

14. Yeshua said to them: If you fast, you will give rise to transgression (sin) for yourselves. And if you pray, you will be condemned. And if you give alms, you will cause harm (evil) to your spirits. And when you go into the countryside and walk about in the country areas, if the people receive you, then eat what they set before you and heal the sick among them. For what goes into your mouth will not defile you. But rather what comes out of your mouth, that is what will defile you.

15. Yeshua said: When you see him who was not born of woman, bow yourselves down upon your faces and worship him [continues on page 477]

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[continued from page 476] for he is your Father.

16. Yeshua said: People think perhaps I have come to spread peace upon the world. They do not know that I have come to cast dissension (conflicts) 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 alone.

17. Yeshua said: I will give to you what eye has not seen, what ear has not heard, what hand has not touched, and what has not occurred to the mind of man.

18. The Disciples said to Yeshua: Tell us how our end will come. Yeshua said: Have you already discovered the beginning (Origin), that you ask about the end? Where the beginning (origin) is, there the end will be. Blessed is he who will take his place in the beginning (stand at the origin) for he will know the end, and he will not experience death.

19. Yeshua said: Blessed is he who came into being before he came into being. If you become my Disciples and heed my sayings, these stones will serve you. For there are five trees in paradise for you, which are unshaken by summer and winter and their leaves do not fall. Whoever knows them will not experience death.

20. The Disciples said to Yeshua: Tell us what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. He said to them: It is like a mustard seed, smaller than all other seeds and yet when it falls on the tilled earth, it produces a great plant and becomes shelter for the birds of the sky.

21. Mary said to Yeshua: Who are your Disciples like? He said: They are like little children who are living in a field that is not theirs. When the owners of the field come, they will say: Let us have our field! It is as if they were naked in front of them (They undress in front of them in order to let them have what is theirs) and they give back the field. Therefore I say, if the owner of the house knows that the thief is coming, he will be alert before he arrives and will not allow him to dig through into the house to carry away his belongings. You, must be on guard and beware of the world (system). Prepare yourself (arm yourself) with great strength or the bandits will find a way to reach you, for the problems you expect will come. Let there be among you a person of understanding (awareness). When the crop ripened, he came quickly with his sickle in his hand to reap. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!

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22. Yeshua saw little children who were being suckled. He said to his Disciples: These little children who are being suckled are like those who enter the Kingdom.

They said to him: Should we become like little children in order to enter the Kingdom?

Yeshua said to them: When you make the two one, and 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 (unified male and female), so that the male will not be masculine (male) and the female be not feminine (female); and when you establish an eye in the place of an eye and a hand in the place of a hand and a foot in the place of a foot and a likeness (an image) in the place of a likeness (an image), then will you enter the Kingdom.

23. Yeshua said: I will choose you, one out of a thousand and two out of ten thousand and they will stand as a single one.

24. His Disciples said: Show us the place where you are (your place), for it is necessary for us to seek it.

He said to them: Whoever has ears, let him hear! Within a man of light there is light, and he illuminates the entire world. If he does not shine, he is darkness (there is darkness).

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[An author's note stands printed here, after saying 24; it is held only as a summary in the transcription (its fine wording is soft in the photograph) and is not reproduced — nothing supplied. See the change log.]

25. Yeshua said: Love your friend (brother) as your soul; protect him as you would the pupil of your own eye.

26. Yeshua said: You see the speck in your brother's eye but the beam that is in your own eye you do not see. When you remove the beam out of your own eye, then will you see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

27. Yeshua said: Unless you fast (abstain) from the world (system), you will not find the Kingdom of Yahweh. Unless you keep the Sabbath (active week) as Sabbath, you will not see the Father.

28. Yeshua said: I stood in the midst of the world, in the flesh I appeared to them. I found them all drunk. I found none thirsty among them. My soul grieved for the sons of men, for they are blind in their hearts and do not see that they came into the world empty; they are destined (determined) to leave the world empty. However, now they are drunk. When they have shaken off their wine, then they will repent (change their ways).

29. Yeshua said: If the flesh came into being because of spirit, it is a marvel, but if spirit came into being because of the body, it would be a marvel of marvels. I marvel indeed at how great wealth has taken up residence in this poverty.

30. Yeshua said: Where there are three gods, they are gods [Where there are three gods they are without god(?) — as printed]. Where there are two or one, I say that I am with him. Lift the stone and there you will find me. Split the wood and there am I.

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Author's Note: Many scholars believe pages of the manuscript were misplaced and verses 30 and 77 should run together as a single verse.

77. Yeshua said: I Am the Light who is over all things. I Am the All. From me all came forth and to me all return (The All came from me and the All has come to me). Split wood, there am I. Lift up the stone and there you will find me.

31. Yeshua said: No prophet is accepted in his own village; no physician heals those who know him.

32. Yeshua said: A city being built (and established) upon a high mountain and fortified cannot fall nor can it be hidden.

33. Yeshua said: What you will hear in your ear preach from your rooftops. For no one lights a lamp and sets it under a basket nor puts it to a hidden place, but rather it is placed on a lamp stand so that everyone who comes and goes will see its light.

34. Yeshua said: If a blind person leads a blind person, both fall into a pit.

35. Yeshua said: It is impossible for anyone to enter the house of a strong man to take it by force unless he binds his hands, then he will be able to loot his house.

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36. Yeshua said: Do not worry from morning to evening nor from evening to morning about the food that you will eat nor about what clothes you will wear. You are much superior to the Lilies which neither card nor spin. When you have no clothing, what do you wear? Who can add time to your life (increase your stature)? He himself will give to you your garment.

37. His Disciples said: When will you appear to us, and when will we see you?

Yeshua said: When you take off your garments without being ashamed, and place your garments under your feet and tread on them as the little children do, then will you see the Son of the Living One, and you will not be afraid.

38. Yeshua said: Many times have you yearned to hear these sayings which I speak to you, and you have no one else from whom to hear them. There will be days when you will seek me but you will not find me.

39. Yeshua said: The Pharisees and the Scribes have received the keys of knowledge, but they have hidden them. They did not go in, nor did they permit those who wished to enter to do so. However, you be as wise (careful) as serpents and innocent as doves.

40. Yeshua said: A grapevine has been planted outside the (vineyard of the) Father, and since it is not viable (supported) it will be pulled up by its roots and destroyed.

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[Tail of the printed cross-reference belonging to saying 40, whose text stands on p. 481:]

Matthew 15:13 He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted."

41. Yeshua said: Whoever has (it) in his hand, to him will (more) be given. And whoever does not have, from him will be taken even the small amount which he has.

42. Yeshua said: Become passers-by.

43. His Disciples said to him: Who are you, that you said these things to us?

Yeshua said to them: You do not recognize who I am from what I said to you, but rather you have become like the Jews who either love the tree and hate its fruit, or love the fruit and hate the tree.

44. Yeshua said: Whoever blasphemes against the Father, it will be forgiven him. And whoever blasphemes against the Son, it will be forgiven him. Yet whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him neither on earth nor in heaven.

45. Yeshua said: Grapes are not harvested from thorns, nor are figs gathered from thistles, for they do not give fruit. A good person brings forth goodness out of his storehouse. A bad person brings forth evil out of his evil storehouse which is in his heart, and he speaks evil, for out of the abundance of the heart he brings forth evil.

46. Yeshua said: From Adam until John the Baptist there is none born of women who surpasses John the Baptist, so that his eyes should not be downcast (lowered). Yet I have said that whoever among you becomes like a child will know the Kingdom, and he will be greater than John.

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47. Yeshua said: It is impossible for a man to mount two horses or to draw two bows, and a servant cannot serve two masters, otherwise he will honor the one and disrespect the other. No man drinks vintage wine and immediately desires to drink new wine, and they do not put new wine into old wineskins or they would burst, and they do not put vintage wine into new wineskins or it would spoil (sour). They do not sew an old patch on a new garment because that would cause a split.

48. Yeshua said: If two make peace with each other in this one house, they will say to the mountain: Be moved! and it will be moved.

49. Yeshua said: Blessed is the solitary and chosen, for you will find the Kingdom. You have come from it, and unto it you will return.

50. Yeshua said: If they say to you: From where do you come? Say to them: We have come from the Light, the place where the Light came into existence of its own accord and he stood and appeared in their image. If they say to you: Is it you? (Who are you?), say: We are his Sons and we are the chosen of the Living Father. If they ask you: What is the sign of your Father in you? Say to them: It is movement with rest (peace in the midst of motion or chaos).

51. His Disciples said to him: When will the rest of the dead occur, and when will the New World come? He said to them: That which you look for has already come, but you do not recognize it.

52. His Disciples said to him: Twenty-four prophets preached in Israel, and they all spoke of you (in your spirit). He said to them: You have ignored the Living-One who is in your presence and you 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. However, the true spiritual circumcision has become entirely [continues on page 484]

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[continued from page 483] beneficial.

54. Yeshua said: Blessed be the poor, for yours is the Kingdom of the Heaven.

55. Yeshua said: Whoever does not hate his father and his mother will not be able to become my Disciple. And whoever does not hate his brothers and his sisters and does not take up his own cross in my way, will not become worthy of me.

56. Yeshua said: Whoever has come to understand the world (system) has found a corpse, and whoever has found a corpse is superior to the world (of him the system is not worthy).

57. Yeshua said: The Kingdom of the Father is like a person who has good seed. His enemy came by night and sowed a weed among the good seed. The man did not permit them to pull up the weed, he said to them: perhaps you will intend to pull up the weed and you pull up the wheat along with it. But, on the day of harvest the weeds will be very visible and then they will pull them and burn them.

58. Yeshua said: Blessed is the person who has suffered, for he has found life. (Blessed is he who has suffered to find life and found life).

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59. Yeshua said: Look to the Living-One while you are alive, otherwise, you might die and seek to see him and will be unable to find him.

60. They saw a Samaritan carrying a lamb, on his way to Judea. Yeshua said to them: Why does he take the lamb with him? 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 after he kills it and it becomes a corpse. They said: How could he do otherwise? He said to them: Look for a place of rest for yourselves, otherwise, you might become corpses and be eaten.

61. Yeshua said: Two will rest on a bed and one will die and the other will live. Salome said: Who are you, man? As if sent by someone, you laid upon my bed and you ate from my table. Yeshua said to her: I-Am he who is from that which is whole (the undivided). I have been given the things of my Father. Salome said: I'm your Disciple. Yeshua said to her: Thus, I say he will be filled with light, yet whenever he is divided (chooses) he will be filled with darkness.

62. Yeshua said: I tell my mysteries to those who are worthy of my mysteries. Do not let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.

63. Yeshua said: There was a wealthy person who had much money, and he said: I will use my money so that I may sow and reap and replant, to fill my storehouses with grain so that I lack nothing. This was his intention (is what he thought in his heart) but that same night he died. Whoever has ears, let him hear!

64. Yeshua said: A person had houseguests, and when he had prepared the banquet in their honor he sent his servant to invite the guests. He went to the first, he said to him: My master invites you. He replied: I have to do business with some merchants. They are coming to see me this evening. I will go to place my orders with them. I ask to be excused from the banquet. He went to another, he said to him: My master has invited you. He replied to him: I have just bought a house and they require me for a day. I will have no spare time. He came to another, he said to him: My master invites you. He replied to him: My friend is getting married and I must arrange a banquet for him. I will not be able to come. I ask to be excused from the banquet. He went to another, he said to him: My master invites you. He replied to him: I have bought a farm. I go to receive the rent. I will not be able to come. I ask to be excused. The servant returned, he said to his master: Those whom you have invited to the banquet have excused themselves. The master said to his servant: Go out to the roads, bring those whom you find so that they may feast. And he said: Businessmen and merchants will not enter the places of my Father.

[Printed pages 486–491 were not photographed; sayings 65–110 stand on those pages and are not held. Nothing has been supplied. The text resumes on printed page 492, with the tail of saying 110's printed cross-reference.]

Printed page 492 — the close of the Gospel of Thomas

[Tail of the printed cross-reference belonging to saying 110; the reference's heading stands on unphotographed p. 491. The words are Mark 10:21–23 as printed:]

...and give to the poor; and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Yeshua looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of Yahweh!

111. Yeshua said: Heaven and earth will roll up (collapse and disappear) before you, but he who lives within the Living-One will neither see nor fear death. For, Yeshua said: Whoever finds himself, of him the world is not worthy.

112. Yeshua said: Damned is the flesh which depends upon the soul. Damned is the soul which depends upon the flesh.

113. His Disciples said to him: When will the Kingdom come? Yeshua said: It will not come by expectation (because you watch or wait for it). They will not say: Look here! or Look there! But the Kingdom of the Father is spread upon the earth, and people do not realize it.

(Saying 114 was written later and was added to the original text.)

114. Simon Peter said to them: Send Mary away from us, for women are not worthy of this life. Yeshua said: See, I will draw her into me so that I make her male, in order that she herself will become a living spirit like you males. For every female who becomes male will enter the Kingdom of the Heaven.

[END OF THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS in this witness — the remainder of p. 492 is blank. The facing page, p. 493, opens the Gospel of Judas front matter — a separate work, transcribed in its own folder under the owner's isolation ruling.]