View source for Psalms of Thomas

The '''Psalms of Thomas''' 13-20, from Allberry (1938), are given below.<ref>Allberry, C. R. C. (Charles Robert Cecil). 1938. ''[https://archive.org/details/manichaeanpsalmb0000allb	A Manichaean psalm-book: Part II]''. Stuttgart, W. Kohlhammer.</ref>

The [http://gnosis.org/library/manithomas.htm Psalms of Thomas 1-12] are hosted online at the [[Gnosis Archive]].

==XIII: ... the Church unto (?) the Apostle==
:Thou (?).... chooser of the righteous,
:all thy sons seeking after thee,
:all thy sons seeking after thee.
:thy beloved ones expecting thee....
:thy sons seek after thee,
:thy beloved ones expect thee daily,
:thy disciples seek after thee,
:looking for thy form in their midst.
<br>
:I went forth to plant a garden beyond the confines of this world,
:choosing and planting in it the plants that grew in the Living ones.
<br>
:I will give orders to the gardener:
:"Attend to my trees, my new plants;
:attend to my new plants that
:they sleep not nor slumber,
:they sleep not nor slumber,
:(that) they forget not the order that has been given them."
<br>
:For the years pass like months.
:The months fly away like moments (?).
<br>
:These are houses which are given on lease;
:years they are, taken on loan.
<br>
:I am not sick at heart for the bodies,
:but for the treasure of the Living ones that is lodged in them.
<br>
:I am expecting the Living ones to send aid after me:
:the Living ones shall send me power,
:my brethren shall bring the Light
:.... How long therefore....,
:that they may....
<br>
::(line 30 illegible)
<br>
:.... with (?) me before the Mighty one.
:The Mighty one questions me.
:The Great one of the Brightnesses examines me:
<br>
:"O Righteous one.
:the world whence thou art come,
:- what aspect has it, how does it fare?"
<br>
:I said, "The world whence I am come
:is all full of evil, envy, hatred, and strife.
:They all kill one another,
:they destroy their flesh with the sword.
:There is creation (?), conception, and creation.
:A soul thrusts down a soul.
:They are prostrated,
:they lie on their faces,
:their faces are not turned to the land of....
:They increase greatly in evil,
:they do not....
:the Living ones at all...."
<br>
:"Before (?) the evil waxed greatly,
:O Righteous one, how did the world fare?
:When the evil waxed greatly.
:did the ''chremata'' lean one upon another?"
<br>
:"The ''chremata'' supported one another through the Mind of Truth which preached to us."
<br>
:"When the evil again became worse and worse,
:how didst thou dwell in their midst?"
<br>
:When the evil again became worse,
:I lifted up my eyes to the Land of Light.
<br>
:A man called down unto the world, saying:
:"Blessed is he that shall know his soul.
:Therefore am I troubled for my soul,
:lest it faint and stray and itself become worse.
:For the world shall pass and come to nought
:and its works also shall perish with it."
<br>
:Do you therefore, ye great Elect,
:lift up your eyes to the land of Light;
:you shall see the friend of the righteous standing beyond the world;
:you shall see the Great one of the Brightnesses from whom every soul has....,
:the tree which is life entire,
:having power (?) over his beloved ones,
:calling to.... ferrying across all his faithful.
<br>
::My brethren, love me with your heart.
::Do not please me with your lips:
::the children of the lip are blotted out,
::the children of the heart abide.
<br>
:Do not be like the pomegranate,
:whose rind is gay outside:
:its rind is gay outside
:but (be) its inside is full of ashes (?).
<br>
::My brethren, ye have not been healthy.
::Do not please me with your lips:
::the children of the lip are blotted out,
::the children of the heart abide.
<br>
:Do not be like the tombs of the corpses,
:which are whited indeed outside but its inside is full of carrion.
:....which eat
:the.... and use it up and sleep and slumber themselves.
<br>
::My brethren, ye have not been healthy.
::Do not please me with your lips:
::the children of the lip are blotted out,
::the children of the heart abide.
<br>
:Do not be like the saddles of horses,
:for outside indeed it wears fine trappings,
:they wear fine trappings outside.
:but (be) inside they are full of ''etre''.
<br>
::My brethren, ye have not been healthy.
::Do not please me with your lips:
::the children of the lip are blotted out.
::the children of the heart abide.
<br>
:I would have you be like a jar of wine,
:firmly set upon its stand:
:for the outside indeed is a piece of pottery covered with pitch,
:while inside it is a fragrant wine.

==XIV: I heard the cry of a physician==
:I heard the cry of a physician,
:the cry of a exorcist coming (?) to me.
:I heard the cry of a physician healing his poor ones (?).
<br>
:He stands, he heals his beloved ones,
:perfecting (?) all his believers.
:The cry of a.... that is about to open,
:imploring in the presence (?)....
<br>
:O physician (?), heal me, loose my....
:O charm-looser;
:for thy healing is not of the earth.
:Thy cures are not of this world.
:Thy healing is of the Land of the Living ones.
:Thy good cures are of the princes.
<br>
:"How shall I heal thee,
:O Matter the.... the Mother of this world?
:For I am the physician that heals
:but thou art the wounder that wounds.
:I am the.... up
:but thou art the striker, the layer low.
:Thou art the bitter...:
:what hast thou to do with the wealth of the Land of Light?'
:If thou wilt not heal me...
<br>
::(line 11 illegible)
<br>
:.... a single day an hour only,
:and I will take my arrows....and bring
:them up to the world,
:and I will take my silent (?) arrows
:and shoot them from brink to brink
:and wound the sons of men...
:not...to him that.... it to them,
:that there is death,
:there is life,
:there is also the Land of Truth.
<br>
:I will give thee not a single day.
:I will not allow thee an hour only.
:For what ceases for 1 day shall cease for 22 years,
:what ceases for 2 days has ceased for 44 years,
:what ceases for (3) days shall be wiped out to the end of the world.
<br>
:The ox that.... his stall, with his horns,
:who shall buy him?
:.... that.... his eyes with his fingers,
:who shall.... to him?
<br>
:He into whose ears they shall call,
:if he hears not.... shall be divided (?) in all the worlds.
<br>
:He shall suffer what the corpses suffer,
:for they called into his ears,
:he did not hear.

==XV: For a table has been set in the house==
:let us....,
:for a table has been set in the house,
:a table was set in the house
:for souls that they might not wander,
:that they might not wander,
:that souls might not be wiped out
:and be destroyed in the world,
:whose desire is great,
:great are the
<br>
:....O man in whose hands is the Richness,
:why wilt thou slumber in this sleep?
:Wherefore wilt thou not divide for thyself
:the night into three parts
:and sleep for one,
:and watch for one,
:and ruminate with the rumination of the Living for one?
<br>
:Wherefore wilt thou [not] rise (?) betimes
:that thou mayest glorify the great Lives,
:before the....
:....,
:before the...his wings,
:before ...drug-box spread out in it,
:before he....,
:even the lawless judge,
:and sits upon the throne (?) of lawlessness,
:before the accuser comes forth
:and sits at the side of the magistrate
:....word of the accuser
:and they take [thee] away in disgrace
:and ''katomizein'' [thee]?

==XVI: Salome built a tower==
:Salome built a tower upon the rock of truth and mercy.
:The builders that built it are the righteous,
:the masons that hew stones for it are the angels.
<br>
:The floor (?) of the house is Truth,
:the beams of the roof are alms,
:faith is [the]....
:the Mind is the.... of its door.
<br>
:They that go into it rejoice,
:they that come out of it,
:- their heart seeks after gladness.
<br>
:She built it and gave it a roof,
:Salome gave a parapet to the tower,
:she took (?) an ''anēsh'' of storax to purify (?) it,
:she took the.... of incense into the palm of her hand....forth,
:she set it upon her head,
:she went into it,
<br>
:she called my Lord Jesus,
:saying.... "mayest thou answer me, Jesus,
:mayest thou hear me,
:for I am not double-minded,
:one is my heart and one my intention,
:there is no thought in my heart that is split or divided."
<br>
:Garland (?) me with the Brightnesses
:and take me up [to the] house of peace.
:The governors and rulers,
:- their eyes looked upon me,
:they wondered and marvelled
:that the Righteous belonged to a single Lord.

==XVII: The Little one made music by night==
:The Little one made music by night,
:he mocked at... at (?) him:
<br>
:"O World that... life ever.
:O World.... of whom?
<br>
:Of ...,
::it has been said that they shall perish and pass,
:of the ...,
::it has been said that they shall perish and retire,
:[of the Darkness] and the Fire,
::it has been said that they shall perish and pass,
:of the.... the sphere,
::it has been said that they shall be destroyed and pass,
:of the crowned ones of the kingdom,
::it has been said that they shall perish and pass,
:of the creation and the creator,
::it has been said that they shall perish and pass."
<br>
:The Little one makes music by night,
:Matter answered him with a word:
:"O Little one that makest music,....
:thou it is art not of this world".
<br>
:He said, "I indeed [am] in this world,
:but I shall not dwell in it from henceforth.
:I have tried the world and known it,
:that there is not a tittle of life in it.
:Since I have known the world it has hated me,
:even the whole world;
:when I saw that it hated me,
:I in my turn hated it, .... feet (?).
:I cast the whole world forth."
<br>
:"O world, what have I to do
:with thy perdition?
:May they suffer (?),
:even thy kings;
:thy powers and the principalities,
:- may they be counted (?) [to the] part of destruction."
<br>
:O my heart, remember the house of [thy Father]:
:I will go to the house of the Living
:.... my Father,
:out of the Land of them that are far.
<br>
:I run, they run after me,
:until I readied the Land of the Living,
:I bent down,
:I sat,
:I rose,
:I went my way:
<br>
:I, the Living one,
:from them that are far;
:I, the Truth that....
:I will ascend,
:I will ascend,
:until I reach holy (?).
:When I readied the Land of....before me,
:they brought a brightness forth...
:they brought [a] Light,
:they clothed me in it,
:and (?) the garland of victory,
:they brought it and set it upon my head;
:the Living numbered me in their number
:and set me down among them,
:Amen.

==XVIII: I reached the door of the garden==
:I reached the door of the garden,
:the fragrant smell of the trees spread to me.
<br>
:I lifted up my face, saying:
<br>
:"Who will take from me 10 talents
::and take me in to the garden?
:20 silver staters in all,
::who will take them from me and make me sit beneath the shade of the garden?
:30 silver staters in all,
::who wil take them from me and make me stand in its midst?
:57 in all,
::who will take them from me and take me in to their midst?
:A full 100 entire,
::who will take them from me, that I may be counted worthy to be one of them?"
<br>
:They came from the height of Truth,
:they said to me,
:even the victorious Elect (?):
<br>
:"What hast thou to do with 10 silver staters?
::... porter...
:What hast thou to do with 20,
:what hast thou to do with 30,
::standing at the door of the...?
:What hast thou to do with this whole 100?"
<br>
:"Thou shalt be put to the torture by thy enemies;
:but if thou fastest with fasting,
::thou shalt be taken into the garden;
<br>
:if thy eyes glance not evilly,
::they will make thee sit beneath the shadow of the garden;
<br>
:if thy mouth speaks truly,
::they will show thee their Image;
<br>
:if thy hands are pure (?) from....,
::they will hear the accents of thy pleading....
<br>
:if thy heart is firm,
::they will.... and make thee stand in their midst;
<br>
:if thy feet walk in the path of Truth,
::they will make thee one of them.
<br>
:If thou doest these things indeed and steepest not,
::thou shalt go up and see the Land of Light."

==XIX: The vine which grew from the Living ones==
:They brought forth from my heart,
:the vine which grew from the Living ones.
:The smell of the vine is pleasant,
:sweet also is the taste of the tree.
<br>
:Its clusters (?) are gathered,
:they are entwined;
:its grapes also are gathered.
:[Good is the] wine that is pressed (?),
:all full of good wisdom.
<br>
:He that shall drink of it,
:- his eyes shine in his head,
:his thought is firm in his heart,
:his thought is firm in his heart.
<br>
:He remembered the great.,
:he remembered...vine,
:they planted it...
<br>
::(lines 29-30 destroyed)
<br>
:up to the city of mockery.
<br>
:They that (?)....,
:when they saw me,
:they wagged their heads....,
:they sneered (?) at me,
:they turned up the nose in mockery, saying:
<br>
:"O man, come forth from among men (?),
:thou didst set fire to our city.
<br>
:I spoke unto my..., saying:
:"Weave a garland (?) and encircle (?) my head,
:weave a garland (?) and encircle (?) my head.
:Let them fall down into my lap,
:even thy... let them fall down into my lap,
:[even thy...,
:that I may see who it is that thou hast....
:and that they may come] within,
:even the righteous,
:and may give them as
:a gift strong in their power.
:The women (?) whose hearts are firm are garlanded with petals
:and sent up to the Land of Light."

==XX: The cry of Pamoun==
:The cry of Pamoun,
:the ox... mercy,
:making the worlds to weep:
<br>
:"What have the generations done to me?
:Unto what have the sons of men delivered me?
<br>
:They took two-edged axes,
:they put them up in the marshes,
:they felled the thick (?) trees
:and the thin (?) ones they did not leave alone.
<br>
:The thick (?) tree indeed they made into a plough,
:the thin they made a goad,
:they took it to the craftsmen,
:they made (?)... his hand forth upon it,
<br>
:they fashioned a yoke and mounted it on my neck,
:they hung the plough behind me,
:they hooked the plough and hung it behind me,
:they pierced my sides with the goad....
<br>
:.... they delivered me to the son of the Butcher,
:the fattener of oxen took me,
:his.... took me,
:the son of the butcher,
:the son of the butcher,
:he chopped me up,
:he scattered me abroad piecemeal,
:they scattered me abroad,
:[they] hung me in the markets in the presence of...
:threw (?) my bones to the....
<br>
:Therefore release (?) me from these things
:and from the others,....
:....after me....-ly
:...and they do not buy it.
:The... of the....
:... the ox....
:burning (?).... inside....
:... he (?) called,
:even the....,
:he that....
<br>
:Do not strike,
:O Pamoun, the ox,
:and shake the vessels that are in thee.
:I will make thee sit upon the place of the....
:the generations pass away through thee... to thee,
:and thou shalt make...wherein they planted (?) thee,
:and repay it to..., thou (?) living.
:They are free, even they that....
:my brethren, from the day of the great....,
:Amen.
<br>
:Thou art sweet and pleasant,
:thou..., all of them.
:Thou [givest] sweetness to my heart,
:thou art....
:my mouth.
:Thou art sweet.
:Thou didst.... in (?) the Father,
:thou didst.... the Maiden.
:.... the Elements....
:.... Omophorus....
:Thou didst obey the Mother....
:.... and her Image.
:Thou didst.... sin.
:Thou art sweet.
:Thou didst see with thy eyes the scattering....in it.
:Thou art sweet.
:Image up to them that....
:all of them, [in] the flesh.
:Thou didst appear (?) to the Archon....
:his companion (?) whom he begot.
:Thou didst.... his helpers and the ministers of his iniquity
:...with him and four that lead him forth.
<br>
::(lines 25-24 illegible)
<br>
:And (?) the three arouse the....men.
<br>
::(lines 27-32 fragmentary)

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://gnosis.org/library/manithomas.htm Translation of Psalms 1-12] (Allberry 1938, hosted at the [[Gnosis Archive]])

[[Category:Gnosticism]]