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Chapter 1

1.Brothers,32 we must think of Jesus Christ as of God, as of “the Judge of the living and the dead.” And we ought not to undervalue our salvation,

2.for when we undervalue him, we also hope to receive little. And those who listen as if it is a little matter are sinning, and we also are sinning if we do not recognize from where and by whom and to what place we were called, and what great suffering Jesus Christ endured for our sake.

3.What repayment, then, should we give to him, or what fruit should we offer that is worthy of what he has given us? And what holy deeds do we owe him?

4.For he gave us the light, as a Father he called us “sons,” he saved us when we were perishing.

5.What praise, then, will we give him, or what repayment for what we received?

6.We were maimed in our understanding, worshiping stones and wooden objects and gold and silver and copper, the products of men, and our whole life was nothing else than death. We were thus covered with darkness, and our sight was filled with mist, but we have received our sight, and by his will we have cast off the cloud that covered us.

7.For he had pity on us and saved us by his mercy, even though he had seen in us great error and destruction, when we had no hope of salvation except what comes from him.

8.For he called us when we did not exist, and out of nothing he willed us into existence.

Chapter 2

1.“Rejoice, O barren woman, who bears no children. Break forth and cry, you who have no labor pains, because the deserted woman has more children than the one who has a husband.”33 In saying, “Rejoice, O barren woman, who bears no children,” he spoke about us, for our church was barren before children were given to her.

2.And when he said, “cry, you who have no labor pains,” he means this: that we should offer our prayers sincerely to God, and not grow weary like women who are giving birth.

3.And when he said, “the deserted woman has more children than the one who has a husband,” he meant that our people seemed to be deserted by God, but now we who have believed have become more than those who seem to have God.

4.And another scripture also says, “I came not to call righteous ones, but sinners.”34

5.He means that those who are perishing must be saved,

6.for that is a great and marvelous thing, namely, to support not those things that are standing but those that are falling.

7.So Christ also desired to save the perishing, and he saved many by coming and calling us who were already perishing.

Chapter 3

1.Seeing, then, because he has shown mercy towards us—first that we who are living do not sacrifice to the dead gods and do not worship them, but through him we have come to know the Father of Truth—what is the true knowledge about him if it is not refusing to deny him through whom we have come to know him?

2.And he himself also says, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge him before my Father.”35

3.This, therefore, is our reward, if we acknowledge him through whom we were saved.

4.But how do we acknowledge him? By doing what he says, and not disobeying his commandments, and honoring him not only with our lips, but “from all our heart and all our mind.”36

5.And he also says in Isaiah, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me.”37

Chapter 4

1.Let us, therefore, not just call him “Lord,” for this will not save us.

2.For he says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will be saved, but only the one who does righteousness.”38

3.So then, brothers, let us acknowledge him in our deeds by loving one another, by not committing adultery nor slandering one another nor being jealous, but by being self-controlled, compassionate, and good. And we ought to sympathize with one another, and not love money. By these actions we should acknowledge him and not by their opposites.

4.And we must not fear men but rather God.

5.Because of this, you who do these things, the Lord said, “If you have gathered with me in my breast but do not obey my commandments, I will throw you out, and I will say to you: ‘Depart from me; I do not know where you are from, you who commit iniquity.’”39

Chapter 5

1.For which reason, brothers, let us turn away from our temporary sojourn in this world, and do the will of him who called us, and let us not fear to depart from this world.

2.For the Lord says, “You will be like lambs among wolves.”40

3.But Peter answered and said to him, “What if the wolves tear apart the lambs?”

4.Jesus said to Peter, “Let the lambs have no fear of the wolves after their death, and have no fear of those who kill you and can do nothing more to you, but fear him who after your death has power to cast body and soul into the flames of hell.”41

5.And be assured, brothers, that our temporary stay in this world of the flesh is a little thing and lasts a short time, but the promise of Christ is great and wonderful, and brings us rest in the coming kingdom and eternal life.

6.What then will we do to secure these things except to live a holy and righteous life, and to regard these worldly things as not our own, and not desire them?

7.For when we desire to acquire these things, we fall away from the right way.

Chapter 6

1.Now the Lord says: “No servant can serve two masters.”42 If we desire to serve both God and Mammon, it is harmful to us.

2.“For what is the advantage if someone gains the whole world but loses his soul?”43

3.Now this age and the coming one are two enemies.

4.This age speaks of adultery and corruption and love of money and deceit, but that age renounces these things.

5.Therefore, we cannot be the friends of both, but we must renounce this age in order to make the most of that one.

6.We think that it is better to hate the things that are here, because they are insignificant and short-lived and corruptible, but to love those things that are good and incorruptible.

7.For if we do the will of Christ, we will find rest; on the other hand nothing will rescue us from eternal punishment if we disobey his commandments.

8.And the scripture also says in Ezekiel, “Even if Noah and Job and Daniel arise, they will not rescue their children in the captivity.”44

9.Now if even such righteous men as these are not able to save their children by their own righteous deeds, with what confidence will we enter the kingdom of God if we do not keep our baptism pure and undefiled? Or who will be our advocate if we are not found to have holy and righteous deeds?

Chapter 7

1.So then, my brothers, let us compete, knowing that the competition is at hand, and that many are arriving by boat for corruptible prizes, but not all are crowned, except those who have trained hard and competed well.

2.Let us therefore compete that we may all be crowned.

3.Let us run the straight course, the incorruptible competition, and let many of us sail to it and compete, that we may also be crowned. And if we all cannot receive the crown, let us at least come close to it.

4.We must remember that if someone taking part in the contest for a corruptible prize is found cheating, he is flogged, disqualified, and thrown out of the stadium.

5.What do you think? What will he suffer who cheats in the contest for what is incorruptible?

6.Concerning those who have not kept the seal he says: “Their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be a spectacle for all flesh.”45

Chapter 8

1.Therefore, while we are still on earth, let us repent.

2.For we are clay in the hand of the craftsman. For in the same way as the potter, if he makes a vessel, and it becomes misshapen or breaks while it is in his hand, he reshapes it; but if he has put it into the kiln, he no longer is able to mend it. So also, as long as we are in this world, let us repent from all our heart from the wicked things we have done in the flesh, so that we may be saved by the Lord while we still have time to repent.

3.For after we have departed the world, we are no longer able there to confess or to repent anymore.

4.So, brothers, if we have done the will of the Father and have kept the flesh pure and have obeyed the commandments of the Lord, we will receive eternal life.

5.For the Lord says in the Gospel, “If you have not observed what is small, who will give you what is great? For I tell you that whoever is faithful in what is little is faithful also in what is much.”46

6.He means this then: keep the flesh pure and the seal unstained so that we may receive life.

Chapter 9

1.And let none of you say that this flesh is not judged nor rises again.

2.Understand this. In what condition were you saved? In what condition did you receive your sight, if not while you were in this flesh?

3.We must therefore guard the flesh as a temple of God.

4.For just as you were called in the flesh, you will also come in the flesh.

5.If Christ the Lord who saved us, although he was originally spirit, became flesh and called us, so we will also receive our reward in this flesh.

6.Therefore, let us love one another, so that we all may come into the kingdom of God.

7.While we have time to be healed, let us give ourselves to God, who heals us, making a payback to him.

8.What sort? Repentance from a sincere heart.

9.For he is the one who knows all things beforehand and knows what is in our heart.

10.Therefore, let us then give him eternal praise, not only from the mouth, but also from the heart, so that he may receive us as sons.

11.For the Lord also said: “My brothers are these who do the will of my Father.”47

Chapter 10

1.So, my brothers, let us do the will of the Father who called us, that we may live, and let us rather pursue virtue, and let us give up malice as the forerunner of our sins, and let us flee ungodliness so that evil things not overtake us.

2.For if we are eager to do good, peace will pursue us.

3.For this reason it is not possible for a person to find peace when they bring in human fears and prefer the present pleasure to the coming promise.

4.For they do not know what great torment the present pleasure brings, and what delight the coming promise brings.

5.And if they alone were doing these things it could be endured, but now they continue teaching evil to innocent souls, not realizing that both themselves and their hearers will receive a double punishment.

Chapter 11

1.Let us therefore serve God with a pure heart, and we will be righteous; but if we do not serve him because we do not believe the promise of God, we will be miserable.

2.For the prophetic word also says: “Miserable are the double-minded who doubt in their heart, saying, ‘We heard all these things long ago and in the time of our fathers, but waiting day to day, we have seen none of them’.”

3.O foolish ones! Compare yourselves to a tree; consider a vine; first it sheds its leaves, then comes a bud, after these things a sour grape, then the full bunch.

4.So also my people have had turmoils and troubles, but then they will receive the good things.”48

5.Therefore, my brothers, let us not be double-minded, but let us endure in hope, so that we may also receive the reward.

6.For faithful is the one who promised to pay to each person the reward of his deeds.

7.Therefore if we do what is right before God, we will enter into his kingdom, and we will receive the promises “that ear has not heard, nor eye seen, nor has it entered the human heart.”49

Chapter 12

1.Therefore, let us wait hourly for the kingdom of God in love and righteousness, since we do not know the day of God’s appearing.

2.For when the Lord himself was asked by someone when his kingdom will come, he said: “When the two will be one, and the outside is like the inside, and the male with the female is neither male nor female.”50

3.Now “the two are one” when we speak to each other in truth, and there is one soul in two bodies with no hypocrisy.

4.And by “the outside is like the inside” he means this: “the inside” is the soul and “the outside” is the body. Therefore, just as your body is visible, so let your soul be evident by your good deeds.

5.And by “the male with the female is neither male nor female” he means this: that when a brother sees a sister he should not think of her as a female, nor she of him as a male.

6.When you do these things, he says, the kingdom of my Father will come.

Chapter 13

1.Therefore, brothers, let us at once repent. Let us exercise self-control for our good, for we are full of much foolishness and wickedness. Let us wipe off from ourselves our former sins and let us repent with all our soul so we may be saved. Let us not be people-pleasers, and let us not desire to please ourselves alone by our righteousness, but also those who are outside, so that the Name not be blasphemed because of us.

2.For the Lord says, “My name is always blasphemed among all the Gentiles,”51 and again, “Woe to him on whose account my name is blasphemed.”52 Why is it blasphemed? Because you do not do what I desire.

3.For the Gentiles, when they hear from our mouth the sayings of God, they are amazed at their beauty and greatness. Then, when they find out that our deeds are not worthy of the words we speak, they turn from then on to blasphemy, saying that it is a myth and a delusion.

4.For when they hear from us that God says: “It is no credit to you if you love those who love you, but it is a credit to you if you love your enemies and those who hate you.” When they hear these things, they are amazed at such extraordinary goodness. But whenever they see that we not only do not love those who hate us but do not even love those who love us, they laugh scornfully at us, and thus the Name is blasphemed.

Chapter 14

1.So then, brothers, if we do the will of God our Father, we will belong to the first church, the spiritual one which was created before the sun and moon. But if we do not obey the will of the Lord, we will be among those of whom the scripture says, “My house has become a den of bandits.”53 So let us choose, therefore, to belong to the church of life, so that we may be saved.

2.Now I do not imagine that you are ignorant that the living church is the body of Christ. For the Scripture says, “God made mankind male and female.”54 The male is Christ, the female is the Church. Also the scrolls and the apostles say that the church belongs not to the present, but has existed from the beginning. For she was spiritual, as was also our Jesus, but he was manifested in the last days so that he might save us.

3.And the church, which is spiritual, was manifested in the flesh of Christ, showing us that if any of us guard her in the flesh without corruption, he will receive her back again in the Holy Spirit. For this flesh is a copy of the Spirit. Therefore no one who has corrupted the copy will partake in the original. So, then, he means this, brothers: guard the flesh, so that you may partake of the Spirit.55

4.And if we say that the flesh is the church and the Spirit is Christ, then the one who abused the flesh has abused the church. Such a person, therefore, will not partake of the Spirit, who is Christ.

5.So great is the life and immortality this flesh is able to partake of, if the Holy Spirit is joined with it, that no one is able to express or to speak of the things “which the Lord has prepared” for his chosen ones.

Chapter 15

1.Now I think that I have not given unimportant advice about self-control, which if anyone follows he will have no regret, but will save both himself and me, his advisor. For it is no small reward to turn to salvation a wandering and perishing soul.

2.For this is the return which we can pay back to God who created us: if the one who speaks and hears both speaks and hears with faith and love.

3.Let us, therefore, remain righteous and holy in our faith, that we may boldly ask God, who says, “While you are speaking, I will say, ‘Behold, I am here’.”56

4.For this saying is the sign of a great promise, for the Lord says that he is more ready to give than we are to ask.

5.Let us then share in such great kindness, and not begrudge ourselves the gaining of such good things, for as great is the pleasure that these words bring to those who do them so severe is the condemnation they bring to those who disobey.

Chapter 16

1.So, brothers, as we have received no small opportunity to repent, while we have time, let us turn to the God who calls us, while we still have the one who accepts us.

2.For if we renounce these pleasures and conquer our soul by not doing its evil desires, we will receive Jesus’ mercy.

3.But you know that the day of judgment is already approaching like a burning oven, and some of the heavens will melt, and the whole earth will be like lead melting in a fire, and then both the hidden and the open deeds of people will be made visible.

4.Charitable giving is, therefore, as good as repentance from sin. Fasting is better than prayer, but charitable giving is better than both; and love “covers a multitude of sins,”57 but prayer from a good conscience rescues from death. Blessed is everyone who is found to be full of these things, for charitable giving lightens the burden of sin.

Chapter 17

1.Therefore, let us repent with our whole heart, so that none of us perish. For since we have commands that we should do this, to tear men away from idols and to instruct them, how much more must we save from perishing a soul who already knows God?

2.Let us then help one another, and restore those who are weak in goodness, so that we may all be saved, and turn each other around and admonish each other.

3.And let us not only appear to believe and pay attention now, while we are being admonished by the elders; but also when we have returned home, let us remember the commandments of the Lord, and let us not be dragged off by worldly desires. Rather by coming here more frequently, let us attempt to progress in the commands of the Lord, so that we may all think the same way and be gathered together for life.

4.For the Lord said, “I am coming to gather together all the nations, tribes, and languages.”58 Now by this he means the day of his appearance, when he will come and rescue us, each one according to his deeds.

5.And the unbelievers will see his glory and power, and they will be astonished when they see the sovereignty of the world given to Jesus; and they will say, “Woe unto us, because it was you, and we did not know it or believe it, and we did not obey the elders who proclaimed to us about our salvation.” “And their worm will not die and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be a spectacle for all flesh.”59

6.He means the day of judgment, when they will see those who were ungodly among us and who perverted the commands of Jesus Christ.

7.But the righteous who have done good, who endured torture, and who hated the pleasures of the soul, when they see those who have gone astray and denied Jesus by words or deeds punished with terrible torment in unquenchable fire, will give glory to their God, saying that there will be hope for the one who served God from his whole heart.

Chapter 18

1.Let us then also be among those who give thanks, who have served God, and not among the ungodly, who are judged.

2.For I myself am also completely sinful, and I have not yet fled from temptation, but while still in the midst of the devil’s tools, I am endeavoring to pursue righteousness, so that I may have the strength at least to come near to it, while in fear of the coming judgment.

Chapter 19

1.So then brothers and sisters, following the God of Truth, I am reading you an appeal to pay attention to what is written, so that you may both save yourselves and the one who is the reader among you. For as a compensation I ask you to repent from all your heart, giving yourselves salvation and life. For when we do this, we will set a goal for all the younger ones who wish to devote themselves to piety and the goodness of God.

2.And we should not be displeased or be indignant in our foolishness when anyone admonishes us and attempts to turn us away from unrighteousness to righteousness. For sometimes, when we do evil, we do not realize it because of the double-mindedness and faithlessness that is in our breasts, and we are darkened in our understanding by useless desires.

3.Let us then do righteousness, so we may be saved at the end. Blessed are those who obey these instructions; although they may suffer evil for a short time in this world, they will reap the immortal fruit of the resurrection.

4.So then, the godly person should not grieve if he endures misery at this present time; a blessed time awaits him. He will live again with the fathers above and will rejoice in an age when there is no sorrow.

Chapter 20

1.But neither let it disturb your mind that we see the unrighteous being wealthy and God’s servants being oppressed.

2.Let us then have faith, brothers and sisters. We are competing in the contest of the living God and being trained in the present life, so that we may be crowned in the coming one.

3.None of the righteous has received fruit quickly but waits for it.

4.For if God paid the wages of the righteous quickly, we would immediately be engaged in commerce and not in godliness, for we would appear to be righteous when we were pursuing not piety but gain. And because of this, divine judgment punishes a spirit that is not righteous and burdens it with chains.

5.To the only invisible God, the Father of Truth, who sent forth to us the Savior and Founder of immortality, through whom he revealed to us the truth and the heavenly life, to him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

32. I have preferred the translation “brothers” even though ἀδελφοί generically includes “and sisters.” This decision provides clarity to an authorial conscious choice in 19.1 and 20.2. There the author switches to “brothers and sisters.”

33. Isa 54:1; cf. Gal 4:27. Unless otherwise noted, canonical scriptures cited in this translation and commentary are the author’s translations.

34. Matt 9:13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32.

35. Matt 10:32; Luke 12:8.

36. Mark 12:30.

37. Isa 29:13.

38. Matt 7:21.

39. Source unknown; cf. Matt 25:41–43.

40. Cf. Matt 10:16.

41. Source unknown; cf. Matt 10:28.

42. Matt 6:24; Luke 16:13.

43. Matt 16:26; Mark 8:36; Luke 9:25.

44. Ezek 14:14–20.

45. Isa 66:24; cf. Mark 9:44, 46, 48.

46. Luke 16:10–12.

47. Matt 12:59; Mark 3:35; Luke 8:21.

48. Source unknown.

49. 1 Cor 2:9.

50. Cf. Gos. Thom. 22. Clement of Alexandria (Stromateis 3.13) attributes the words to the Gospel of the Egyptians (Gos. Eg.).

51. Isa 52:5.

52. Source unknown.

53. Jer 7:11; cf. Matt 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46.

54. Gen 1:27.

55. Possibly a quotation from an unknown source.

56. Isa 58:9.

57. 1 Pet 4:8; cf. Prov 10:12.

58. Isa 66:18.

59. Isa 66:24; cf. Mark 9:48.