

The Apocryphon of John - Short Version - Translated by Waldstein & Wisse

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    of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, Claremont Graduate
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The Nag Hammadi Library

    The Apocryphon of John

    (The Secret Book of John  -- The Secret Revelation of
    Jon)

    Short Version

    Berlin Codex (BG 8502, 2) & Nag Hammadi Codex  III, 1

Translated
    by Michael Waldstein and Frederik Wisse

    Edited and Formatted by Lance Owens

The Apocryphon of
          John is commonly referenced by two other names: The Secret Book of
          John and The Secret Revelation of John,  each depending
            upon how the word "Apocryphon" is translated. The two surviving Coptic
            manuscripts of  the shorter version of The Apocryphon of
          John -- found in the Berlin Codex and Nag Hammadi Library Codex III --
            are very similar, but they are not identical. In this edition prepared for
            the Gnostic Society Library both manuscripts have been edited
              together. Where the reading of NHL Codex III,1 varies from the Berlin
              Codex BG 8502,2, the variant version of the passages from Codex III are
              shown with blue text enclosed in
                brackets {}.

Sectional
          numbering has been added following the system proposed by Karen King --
          for details, see Karen King, The Secret Revelation of John.
            In Dr. King's system, sectional numbers are based on the texts from all
            four existing manuscripts.  In the two "Short Version" manuscripts
            combined here, Berlin Codex and NHC III, some sections found in the "Long
              Version" are absent.  For example, the introductory text in
            section 1 appears only in the long versions, and not in the short version.
            Thus the short version manuscripts begins with section 2.

This internet
          resource has been edited and formatted by Lance Owens and is based on the
          Waldstein and Wisse translations:  Michael Waldstein and Frederik
          Wisse, The Apocryphon of John: Synopsis of Nag Hammadi Codices
          II,1;III,1; And IV,1 With BG 8502,2 (Nag Hammadi and Manichaean
            Studies), Brill Academic Pub, 1995.  Also see:  Karen King,
          The Secret Revelation of John , Harvard University Press, 2006.

For purposes of
          academic citation, please always refer to the print editions of the texts.

Visit
          the Apocryphon of John Collection for more
          information on this text.

2 Now it happened
          one day when John the brother of James, the sons of Zebedee, was going up
          to the temple, a Pharisee named Arimanios approached him. And he said to
          him, "Where is your teacher, the one whom you used to follow?"

He said to him, "He
          returned to the place from which he came." The Pharisee said to me, "This
          Nazorene deceived you (pl.) with error. [He filled [your (pl.) ears with
          lies], and he shut [your hearts]. He turned you (pl.) [from] the
          traditions of your fathers." When I heard these things, I turned from the
          temple to the mountain which was a place of desert. And I grieved greatly
          in my heart, saying, "How was the Savior appointed? Why was he sent into
          the world by his father who sent him? Who is his father? And of what sort
          is that aeon to which we will go? He told us that the aeon is modeled on
          that indestructible aeon, but he did not teach us about what sort the
          latter is."

3 Just then,
          while I was thinking these things, the heavens opened, and the whole
          creation below the heaven was illuminated with light [below] heaven. And
          the [whole] world [quak]ed.

I was afraid an[d I
          watch]ed. And behold a child [appeared to] me. Then [he changed himself]
          into the form of an old man [who had flight existing within him. [Although
          I was watch]ing him, I did not [understand this wonder, whether it is a
          [likeness] having numerous forms [in the flightfor its forms [appea]red
          through each oth[eror] if it is one [likeness th]at has three aspects.

[He sa]id [to me],
          "John, wh[y] are you doubting and [fearful]? For you are not a stranger
          [to this like]ness. Do not be faint[hearted]! I am the one who dwells with
          [you (pl.) al]ways. I am the [Father.] I am the Mother. [I] am [the S] on.
          I am the one who exists for ever, undefil[ed and un]mixed.

N[ow I have come] to
          instruct you [about what] exists and what [has come] into being and what
          mu[st] come into being, so that you will [understand] the things which are
          invisible a[nd those which] are visible, and to t[each you] about the
          perfe[ct Human].

Now then lift up your
          [face to] me and listen. [Receive the things that I] will tell you toda[y
          so that] you yourself will tell the[m to your fel]low spirits who are
          [from] the im[mov]able generation [of the] perfect Human."

4 And [I asked]
          to know.

He said to me, "[The
          Unit]y is a monarchy [with nothing] ruling over it. [It is] the Gold and]
          Father of the All, the [h]oly, the invisible, [who ex]ists over the All,
          the one who [. . .] incorruption, [exist­ing as] pure light, into which it
          is not possible for any light of the eye to gaze.

It is the Spirit.

It is not appropriate to
          think about It as god or that It is something similar. For It surpasses
          divinity. It is a dominion having nothing to rule over It. For there is
          nothing existing before It nor does It have need of them.

It does not need life.
          For It is eternal. It does not need anything. For It cannot be made
          perfect as though It were deficient and only required perfecting. Rather
          It is always totally perfect.

It is light. It cannot
          be limited because there is nothing before It to limit It. It is
          inscrutable for there is no one before It to scrutinize It.

It is immeasurable
          because there is no other to measure It as though (anything) exists before
          It. It is invisible because there is no one to see It. (It is) an eternity
          existing forever. (It is) ineffable because
            no one has comprehended It in order to speak about It. (It is) the one
            whose name cannot be spoken because no one exists before It to name It.

          It is the immeasurable light, the pure one
            who is holy and unpolluted, the ineffable one who is incorruptibly
            perfect. It is neither perfection nor blessedness nor divinity, but It is
            a thing far superior to these. It is not boundless nor is It limited, but
            It is a thing far superior to these.

          For It is neither corporeal nor incorporeal.
            It is neither large nor small. It is not a quantity. It is not a creature.
            Neither is it possible for anyone to know It. It is not something
            pertaining to the All which exists, rather It is a thing which is better
            than thesenot as being superior (to others as though It is comparable to
            them) but as that which belongs to Itself.

          It does not participate in an aeon (as a
            constitutive part of it). Time does not exist with regard to It. For
            whoever participates in an aeon would have to have had it prepared for It
            by others. And time was not delimited for It since It does not receive
            from another who sets limits. And It does not need (anything).

          Nothing from the All exists before It.

            All It asks for is Itself alone within the perfect light. It will
            contemplate the unmixed light, the immeasurable vastness.

            (It is) the eternity who gives eternalness, the light who gives light, the
            life who gives life, the blessed one who gives blessedness, the
            understanding
            which gives understanding, the
                ever good one who gives good, the one who does good-not such that It
                possesses but such that It givesthe mercy which gives mercy, the grace
            which gives grace.

            5
            What shall I say to you about the immeasurable light?

            What is incomprehensible (can only be expressed as) the likeness of the
            light. In this manner, I will speak to you as far as I will be able to
            know Itfor who could know It infinitely?

          His aeon is indestructible,
            being in a state of tranquility, at rest in silence. (It is) the one that
            exists before the All, for It is the head of all the aeons {(It
              is) the head of all the aeons because its goodness provides for
            all the aeons} if another thing does exist with It.

            For none of those among us understood the things which belong to the
            immeasurable one except the one who appeared in It. It is he who told
            these things to us.

            (It is) the one who knows Itself alone in the light-water that surrounds
            It, which is the spring of living water, the light which is full of
            purity. The spring of the Spirit flowed from the living water of the light
            and it abundantly supplied all the aeons and the worlds. {and
              the spring of the Spirit from which the [living] water flows. It
              abundantly supplied all the aeons and their worlds.}
              In every way It perceived Its own image,
              seeing It in the pure light-water which surrounds It.

            And Its thinking become a thing. She appeared. She stood in Its presence
            in the brilliance of the light; she is the power which is before the All.
            It is she who appeared, she who is the perfect Pronoia of the All, the
            light, the likeness of the light, the image of the Invisible, she who is
            the perfect power, Barbelo, the perfect aeon of the glory.

            She glorifies It because she appeared through It and she perceived It.
            {the
              glory who glorifies It because she appeared through] It. And she
                glorified [It].} She is the
                  primal Thought (Protennoia), Its image.

            She became a primal Human, which is the virginal Spirit, the triple male,
            the one belonging to the triple power, the triple na[med], the triple
            begotten one, the androgynous aeon which does not grow old, who came from
            Its Pronoia. {[the
              triple male, the triple] hymned, the [triple named, the tri]ple
              po[wer, the] androgynous aeon which does not grow o]ld, [which ca]me forth
              fr[om Its Pronoia].}

6 And Barbelo
          requested It to give to him Foreknowledge. It assented. When It had
          assented, Foreknowledge appeared. He stood with Thought, who is Pronoia.

She glorified the Invisible
          one and the perfect power, Barbelo, for they came into being through her.

          Again, this power requested (It) to give her
            Incorruption. And It assented. When It had assented, Incorruption appeared
            and she stood with Thought and Foreknowledge, glorifying the Invisible one
            and Barbelo since she had come into being because of her.
            {They
              glorified the invisible
                Spirit and Barbelon for they had come into being because of her.}

            She requested (It) to give her Eternal Life. It assented. When It had
            assented, Eternal Life appeared. And they stood
          {And
            he stood}, glorifying It and
              Barbelo for they had come into being because of her from the revelation of
            the invisible Spirit.

This is the pentad of the
          Aeons of the Father, who is the primal Human, the image of the Invisible
          one, namely: Barbelo, Thought, Foreknowledge, Incorruptibility, and
          Eternal Life. This is the androgynous pentad which is the decad of the
          Aeons, the Father from the unbegotten Father. {This
            is the androgynous pentad which is the decad of the Aeons of the Father.}

          7 Barbelo gazed intently into It, the
            pure light. She turned herself toward It. She gave birth to a spark of
            blessed light, but it was not equal to her in greatness. {She
              gave birth to a spark of light resembling the blessed light
            } This is the Only-begotten who appeared from the Father, the divine
            Autogenes, the first-born son of the All of the Spirit of pure light.

            The invisible Spirit rejoiced over the light which had come into being,
            the one who was the first to appear from the primal power, which is Its
            Pronoia, Barbelo. And It anointed him with Its goodness/ Christhood so
            that he became perfect. There was no lack of good/ Christ within him
            because he was anointed in the invisible Spirit's goodness/Christhood
            which It poured out for him. And he received the anointing through the
            virgi[nal Spirit. He stood in [Its pre]sence, glorying the invisible
            Spirit and the perfect Pronoi[a], from whom he had appeared. {He
              stood in Its presence, glorying the invisible Spirit and the one
            because of whom he had appeared.}

            And he asked to be given one single thing, Mind. {And
              he asked to be given a fellow worker, Mind.} The invisible
            Spirit assented. Mind appeared. He stood with Christ, glorifying him and
            Barbelo, for all these had come into being in silence and thought.

            The invisible Spirit willed to perform a work.
          {The
            invisible Spirit willed to perform a work through the Word.}
            Its will became a work. He appeared. He
              stood with Mind and Light, glorifying It. The Word followed the Will. For
              through the Word, Christ created everything. The divine Autogenes, Eternal
              Life and Will, Mind and Foreknowledge stood, glorifying the invisible
            Spirit and Barbelo since they had come into being through her.

            Through the Spirit, he perfected the divine eternal Autogenes, the son of
            Barbelo, so that he stood before the eternal virginal invisible Spirit.
            {The
            great invisible Spirit perfected the divine Autogenes, the son of
              Barbelon} It was the divine Autogenes
                Christ that It honored with great honor, namely he who had come into being
                from Its primal Ennoia. That one is the one whom the invisible Spirit
                appointed as god over the All, the true god. It gave to him all authority
                and It caused the truth which is in It to be subject to him in order that
                he might know the All.

            (He is) that one whose name they will speak among those who are worthy of
            it.

            8
            For from the light, which is the Christ, and Immortality, through the
            divine [Spirit], {For from the
                light, which is the Christ, and immortality, through the gift of the
                  invisible Spirit} the four great Lights appeared from the
            divine Autogenes so that they might stand before him.

            The three (are): Will [and] Thought and Life. And the four are: Grace,
            Understanding, Perception, and Prudence. Grace (belongs to) the primal
            Light Harmozel {Armozel},
            who is the angel of light in the primal Aeon; with him are three Aeons:
            Grace, Truth, Form. The second Light Oroiael is the one he placed over the
            second Aeon; with him are three Aeons: Pronoia, Perception, Memory The
            third Light Daveithe is the one he placed over the third Aeon; with him
            are three Aeons: Understanding, Lov[e, Likeness]. The fourth Light Eleleth
            is the one he placed over the fourth Aeon; with him are three Aeons:
            Perfection, Peace, Wisdom. These are the four Lights which stand before
            the divine Autogenetor, the twelve Aeons which are placed beside the
            Child, the great Autogenetor Christ, through the approval of the divine
            invisible Spirit.
          {These
            are the four Lights which stand before the divine Autogenes, the twelve
            Aeons which stand before the Child through the gift and approval of the
              great Autogenetor Christ, through the gift and the approval of
            the invisible Spirit.} The twelve
            Aeons belong to the Son of Autogenetos.

            9
            All things were firmly founded through the will of the holy Spirit,
            through Autogenes. And from the first Understanding and the perfect Mind,
            through God, through the approval of the great invisible Spirit and the
            approval of Autogenes, It named the true perfect Human, the primal
            revelation, Adam. {From
                the first Understanding and the perfect Mind through the gift and
            the approval of the great invisible Spirit in the presence of
            Autogenes, the perfect, true, holy Human, the first who appearedhe
                was called Adamas.}

            It set him over the primal Aeon beside the great divine Autogenetor
            Christ, being the primal Aeon of Harmozel and Its powers with him.

            And the invisible Spirit gave him an unconquerable intellectual power. {And
              the Invisible one gave him an unconquerable intellectual power.}
              He said, 'I glorify and I praise the
                  invisible Spirit for it is because of you that all things came into being
                  and all things (are) in you. And I praise you and Autogenes and the three
              Aeons: the Father and the Mother and the Child, the perfect power.'
              {"I praise you and Autogenes and
                  the aeon the triad: the Father and the Mother and the Child, the
                  perfect power."}

And It placed his Child
          Seth over the second Light Oroiael. {And his son Seth was placed in the
            second aeon with the second light Oroiael.}

          And in the third Aeon was placed the seed of
            Seth, the souls of the saints who dwell forever in the third Light
            Daveithe. {And in the third
              Aeon was placed the seed of Seth, the souls of the saints who dwell in
                the aeon with the third Light Daveithe.}

            And in the fourth Aeon were placed the souls who did understand their
            perfection yet they did not repent immediately but they persisted a while.
            In the end, however, they repented. They will remain in the fourth Light
            Eleleth, the one who yoked them to himself, glorifying the invisible
            Spirit. {having
              been gathered to that place,
            glorifying the invisible Spirit}.

            10
            Our fellow sister, Sophia, being an Aeon, thought a thought from within
            herself and in the thought of the Spirit and the Foreknowledge.

            She freely willed the likeness to appear from within herself although the
            Spirit had not agreed with her nor had It consented nor had her partner
            approved, the male virginal Spirit. {She
              freely willed the likeness to appear from within herself. Her thought
                was not idle and her product came forth imperfect, for it was not
                  patterned in her form for she had made it without her partner,
            (and) it was not patterned in the likeness of the Mother.}
            But she did not find her concord. As she was
                  about to acquiesce without the approval of the Spirit or the understanding
            of her own concord, she swelled out {she
            was complete}.

            Because of the audacity within her, her thought was not able to be idle
            and her product came forth, being imperfect, ugly in his appearance,
            because she had made it without her partner {and
              her product came forth, being imperfect, not being formed in her
            form, for she had made him without her partner}. And he did not
            resemble the likeness of the Mother, for he had another form. As she
            deliberated, she saw that he had become modeled after a different
            likeness, "having the face of a serpent and the face of a lion. His eyes
            were shining with fire. She cast him away from her outside of those places
            so that none of the immortals might see him, because she had given birth
            to him in ignorance.

            She united a luminous cloud with him. She placed a throne in the midst of
            the cloud so that no one might see him except the holy Spirit who is
            called Life, the mother of everyone
          {except
            the holy Spirit who is called the Mother of all the living}.
              And she named him Yaldabaoth. He is the Chief Ruler, the one who attained
            a great power from the Mother.

            11
            He removed himself from her. He abandoned the place in which he had been
            born. {He
                moved from place to place away from the place in which he
                had been born.} He seized another
                  place. He created for himself an aeon, which blazes with a shining fire,
                  in which he now dwells. {He
                    created for himself an aeon of fiery, luminous flame, in which he
                    now dwells.}

            And he copulated with Madness, who is in him {He
              copulated with Ignorance, who is in him}.
                He begat authorities who are under him, the twelve angels, each one of
                them to his own aeon following the model of the immortal Aeons. And he
                created for each one of them seven angels each and for the angels three
                powers-these are all under him, 360 angelic beings with his third power,
                following the likeness of the primal model which is prior to him.

          Now when the authorities appeared from the
            chief begetter, the chief ruler of the darkness, these were their names
            from the ignorance of he who had begotten them: The first is Yaoth. The
            second is Hermas, who is the eye of the fire. {The
              authorities who appeared from the chief begetter, the Chief Ruler of the
              darkness and ignorance, together with the authorities were in
            ignorance of the one who had begotten them. These are their names: the
            first is Haoth. The second is Harmas, who is the eye of the fire.}
            The third is Galila. The fourth is Yobel. The fifth is Adonaios. The sixth
            is Sabaoth. The seventh is Kainan and Kae, who is named Cain, who is the
            sun. The eighth is Abiressine. The ninth is Yobel. The tenth is
            Harmoupiael. {The seventh
              is Kainan Kasin, who is called the sun. The eighth is
              Abiressia. The ninth is Yobel. The tenth is Armoupiael.}
          The eleventh is Adonin. The twelfth is
            Belias. They all have double names: one set of names from desire and
            wrath, but yet other names which are given to them by the glory of heaven.
            The (latter) are the ones which reveal their nature in truth.

          Saklas called them by the names which are
            from illusion and their power. {Saklas
              called them by the names which are from illusion and their powers.}
          On the one hand, through (the names given by
            the glory of heaven), they are reproved and weakened, like the seasons,
            while on the other hand, through those (of Saklas) they grow strengthened
            and increase. And he commanded that seven kings should rule over the
            heavens and five over the chaos of Hades. {And
              he commanded that seven should rule over the heavens and five over
              the chaos of Hades.}

          12
            The names of the glories who are over the seven heavens are these: The
            first is Iaoth, the lion-faced {The
              first is Aoth, the lion-faced}. The second is Eloaios, the
            donkey-faced. The third is Astaphaios, the hyena-faced. The fourth is Iao,
            the snake-faced with seven heads {The
              fourth is Yaw, the serpent-faced and lion-faced}. The
            fifth is Adonaios, the serpent-faced. The sixth is Adoni the monkey-faced
            {The sixth is Adonin, the
              monkey-faced. The seventh is Sabbadaios, whose face is a shining
              fire}. The seventh is Sabbataios, whose face is a flame of fire
            that shines. This is the hebdomad of the week. These are those who rule
            the world. Yaldabaoth-Saklas (is) the one whose forms are without number
            such that he can appear with any face at will.

13 He allotted them
          (portions) out of his own fire, but he did not give them any of his power
          from the pure light of the power which he had drawn from the Mother.
          Because of the glory which is in him from the power of the light of the
          Mother, he became Christ to them. Because of that, he made them call him
          God, {Because of the glory which
            is in him from the power of the light of the Mother, he was lord
            over them. Because of this, he called him­self God over them}
          thus being disobedient to the reality from which he had come into being.

            And he joined with the authorities. When he spoke, the seven powers came
            into being, and he named them. {And
              he joined the powers with the authorities. When he spoke, they came to be.}
              Beginning with the highest, he placed
                  authorities (as follows): The first, then, is Pronoia with the first
                  (authority) Yaoth. The second is Divinity with the second one Eloaios. The
                  third is Goodness/Christhood with the third one Astaphoios. The fourth is
              Fire with the fourth one
              Yao. The fifth is Kingship
                      with the fifth one Sabaoth. The sixth is Understanding with the sixth one
                      Ad[oni. The] seven[th] is Sophia [wi]th the seventh one Sabbataios. These
                      are the ones who have a firmament corresponding to each heaven and aeon
              according to the
                        likeness of the Aeon which exists from the beginning, in the model of the
                        indestructible ones.

14 He saw the
          creation below him and the multitude of angels which are below him who
          came into being from him. And he said to them, `I am a jealous God;
          without me there is nothing.' already indicating to the angels who are
          below him that another God does exist. For if there were no other (god)
          over him, of whom would he be jealous? Then the Mother began to move to
          and fro as she understood her deficiency. It was her own perfection that
          had caused her to be blamed, because her partner had not been in concord
          with her."

          But I said, "Christ, what does it mean `to
            move to and fro?'

            He smiled and said, "You think it happened like Moses said 'upon the
            water.' But in fact, she saw the evil and rebellion which would happen
            through her offspring. She repented, and as she was coming and going in
            the ignorant darkness, she began to be ashamed and she did not dare to
            return but she continued coming and going. Now her coming and going is 'to
            move to and fro.'

            Now when the Arrogant one got a power from the Mother, he was ignorant of
            many beings who were superior to his Mother, for he said about his Mother
            that she alone existed. He saw the great multitude of angels that he had
            created. He was mighty over them. And when the Mother understood that the
            untimely birth of the darkness was not perfect because her partner had not
            been in concord with her, she repented. She wept great tears.

            And It heard the entreaty of her repentance and the brothers prayed for
            her. The holy invisible Spirit assented. When the invisible Spirit had
            assented, It poured upon her a Spirit from the perfection. When her
            partner came down to her to put right her deficiencies {her
              partner came down to put right their deficiencies},
                it was through Pronoia that he willed to put right her deficiencies. She
                was not, however, conveyed to her own Aeon, but, because of the great
                ignorance which had appeared in her, she dwelled in the Ninth until she
                puts right her deficiency.

            15
            A voice came to her, The Human exists and the Child of the Human.' The
              chief ruler Yaldabaoth heard, but he did not think that the voice had come
            [from the exalted height above].

            The holy, perfect Father, the first Human of human form, taught them about
            himself. The Blessed one revealed his likeness to them.

            And the whole dominion of the seven authorities bent down.

They saw the pattern of the
          image in the water. They said to each other,
            'Let us create a human in the image of God and with the likeness.'
          They created out of each other and all their powers.

They molded a form out of
          themselves and each one of (their) powers created from its power a soul.
          They created by imitating the image which they had seen, the image of the
          one who exists from the beginning, the perfect Human.

They said, 'Let us give him
          the name Adam so that that name and its power might illumine us.' And the
          powers began (creating their respective souls) from (the image) below: The
          first is Divinity; it is a soul of bone. The second is Christhood/Goodness
          {The second is [Lor]dship]};
          it is a soul of sinew. The third is Fire; it is a soul of flesh {[The
            third is bo]th Christhood/Goodness and Fire, it is a so[ul] of
            [fle]sh [and the whole foundation of the b]od[y]}. The
          fourth is Pronoia; it is a soul of marrow which is the whole foundation of
          the body. The fifth is Kingdom; it is a soul [of blood]. The sixth is
          Understanding it is a soul of skin. {The
            sixth is [Understanding]; it is a soul of tooth with the whole body.}
          The seventh is Wisdom; it is a soul of hair.

          And they set the whole body in order.
          {And they set the whole human
            in order.} And their angels stood
              before them. They created a substantial soul out of the things which had
              first been prepared by the authorities, the harmony of the joined parts.

            17
            {And he blew into it from his
                spirit, which is the power from the, Mother, out of the Chief Ruler
            into the body.} And they created the whole body, which was joined
            together by the multitude of angels.

            18
            And it remained inactive a long time because neither the seven authorities
            nor the 360 angels who had forged [the links of the chain] were able to
            awaken it.

            And (the Mother) wanted to retrieve the power which she had given to the
            ruler from (her) audacity. She went in innocence and entreated the Father
            of the All, whose mercy is great, and the luminous God. Following a holy
            design, he sent Autogenes and his four lights in the shape of angels of
            the Chief Ruler. They advised him with the goal of extracting the power of
            the Mother from within him.

            They said to him, 'Blow into his face from the spirit which is in you and
            the object will arise: And he blew into it from his spirit, which is the
            power from the Mother, into the body.

            And [at that moment] he moved.

            Immediately [the rest of the] authorities became jealous because he had
            come into being through them all and they had given the powers that
            existed within them to the human and he possessed the souls of the seven
            authorities and their powers. His wisdom was greater than them all and
            greater even than the Chief Ruler. And they knew that he was naked of evil
            because he was wiser than they and he had entered into the light. They
            lifted him and brought him down into the lowest region of all matter.

            But the blessed Father is a merciful benefactor. He had mercy on the
            [Mother's] power that had been taken [from] the [Chief] Ruler lest they
            might have power over the body. He and his mercy sent the good Spirit as a
            helper to the primal one who had gone down, who was named Adam. (His
            helper is) the Epinoia of the light, the one whom he named Life.

            It is she who labors for the whole creation by toiling with him, by
            setting him right in his own perfect temple {[by
              setting him] right [in his own] fullness},
                and by teaching him about the descent of his deficiency and instructing
                him about his ascent.

            And the Epinoia of the light was hidden within him so that the rulers
            might not know but our sister Sophia, who is like us, would set right her
            deficiencies through the Epinoia of the light.

            19
            And the human shone because of the shadow of the light which is in him.
            And his thinking was superior to those who had made him. {And
                his thinking was superior to those who had made him and, the [whole]
                  host of rulers of authorities.}
                  And they bent down. They saw that the human
                      was superior to them. They took counsel with the whole angelic host of the
                      rulers and the rest of their powers. Then they mixed fire and earth with
                      water and flame. They seized them and the four winds, blowing with fire,
                      joining them with each other, [making a] great disturbance; they brought
                  him down into the shadow of death.

            Yet again they made another form from earth, water, fire, and spirit which
            is from matter, darkness, desire, and the adversarial spirit. This is the
            chain. This is the tomb of the molded body with which they clothed the
            human, the fetter of the flesh.
          He is the primal one who came
            down and the primal partition. But it is the Thought of the primal light
            who dwells in him who awakens his thinking.
            {This is the chain. This is
                the tomb of the molded body with which the robbers clothed the
                human, the chain of oblivion. And in this way, the human become
                mortal. This is the primal desc[ent] and his Primal
                partition. But it is the Thought of the pre-existent light who
            dwells in him who awakens his thinking.}

20 The Chief Ruler
          took him and placed him in paradise, of which he said, 'It is [a] delight
          for him' but really so that he might deceive him. For their delight is
          bitter and their beauty is licentious. Their delight is a deception and
          their tree is iniquity. Their fruit is an incurable poison and their
          promise is death to him. {For
            [their flood was bitter and their [beauty] is licentious. Their
            food was a deception and their trees were [iniquity. Their
            fruit was an incurable poison] an[d their promise] is [death] to them.
          } Their tree which they planted is the tree of life.

For my part, I will teach
          you about the mystery of their life. It is their counterfeit spirit which
          dwells in them, whose purpose is to make him wander so that he does not
          know his perfection.

            That tree is of this sort: Its root is bitter. Its branches are shadows of
            death. its leaves are hate and deception. Its fragrance is an ointment of
            evil. And its fruit is the desire for death. Its seed drinks from darkness
            {[an]d
              its seed sprouted [from] darkness.}
            The dwelling place of those who taste it is
                Hades. But the tree which they call 'knowledge of good and evil' is the
                Epinoia of the light. Concerning her they commanded, 'Do not taste (of
                it),' which means 'do not listen to her.' They issued this commandment
                against him so that he might not look up to his per­fection and realize
            that he was naked of his perfection.

            But as for me, I set them right so that they would eat."

            I said to him, "Christ, was it not the serpent who instructed her?"

He laughed and said, "The
          serpent is the one who instructed her about the sowing of desire,
          pollution, and destruction because they are useful to it. Yet it knew that
          she would not obey it because she is wiser than it. {and
            [he said], "the serpent appeared to them [. .] sowing of desire,
            which is the pollution [...] darkness so that he might be
            useful [to it]. [For] it knew [that] he was disobedient to it
            because he was [wiser] than it.}

          21 And he wanted to bring out the
            power which had been given to him. And he cast a trance upon Adam."

            I said to him, "Christ, what is the trance?"

            He said, "It is not like Moses said that he caused him to sleep but it was
            his sensibility that he covered with a shroud. He weighed him down with
            insensibility. {"Are
              you thinking that it is as Moses said, 'He caused him to sleep'? No, but
              it was his sensibility that he covered with insensibility.
              } For indeed it is said by the prophet, 'I
                  will make the ears of their hearts heavy so that they might not understand
                  and might not see.'

            Then the Epinoia of the light hid herself in him.

            And according to his will, he wanted to bring her from the rib. But the
            Epinoia of the light is ungraspable. The darkness pursued her, but it was
            not able to lay hold of her.

            He wanted to bring the power from him (Adam) to make another kind of
            molded form in a woman's shape.

And he stood her up before
          him  not 'He took a rib' as Moses said.

            He created the woman beside him.

            Immediately he became sober from the drunkenness of the darkness. The
            Epinoia of the Light uncovered the shroud from his understanding.
            Immediately when he recognized his essence {Immediately
              he recognized his fellow essence who is like him}, he
            said, `Now this is bone from my bone and flesh from my flesh. Because of
            this man will leave his father and his mother and he will cling to his
            wife, and from two they will become a single flesh.' For the Mother's
            partner will be sent forth
          and she will be set right{For
            the Mother's consort was sent forth to rectify her deficiencies}.
            Because of this, Adam named her the mother
              of all the living by the authority of the exalted height and the
            revelation.

Epinoia taught him about
          knowledge. From the tree in the form of an
            eagle, she taught him to eat of knowledge so that he might remember his
            perfection {[so that they
              might] remember their Fullness} for
                both were in a fallen state of ignorance.

22 Yaldabaoth knew
          that they had withdrawn from him. He cursed them. Moreover, he adds
          concerning the female that the male should rule over her for he does not
          understand the mystery which came to pass from the design of the Holy
          Height. But they were afraid to curse him, thereby revealing his
          ignorance. All his angels cast them out of paradise {And
            he threw them out of paradise}. He clothed him with a dark
          gloom.

Then Yaldabaoth saw the
          virgin who stood beside Adam. He was full of senseless folly, desiring to
          sow a seed in her. He defiled her.

            He begat the first son, Yawe {Yawai
            } the bear face, and similarly the second, Eloeim the cat face. The
            one is righteous, while the other is unrighteous. Eloim is righteous; Yawe
            is unrighteous. He set the righteous one over fire and spirit, while (he
            set) the unrighteous one over water and earth. Among the generations of
            all humanity, these are called Cain and Abel.

Up to the present day,
          marital intercourse came about from the Chief Ruler. He planted a desire
          for seed in Adam so that from this essence (of desire) a likeness from
          their counterfeit spirit might be begotten. {And
            to the present day sex[ual intercourse continues, re­maining fro[m]
            the Chief Archon. And [He planted] in Adam a seed of desire so that
            through this essence their likeness could be begotten through the
            counterfeit spirit.} He set two rulers over the
          principalities so that they might rule over the tomb. He recognized his
          essence which is like him {He
            recognized his own lawlessness}.

Adam begot Seth just as it
          is in the generation which is above in the aeons. Likewise the Mother sent
          what belongs to her {Likewise
            they sent to the Mother her own Spirit to awaken those who
            are like it}; the Spirit came down to it (the generation) to
          awaken the essence that is like it (the Spirit) following the model of the
          perfection, to awaken them from forgetfulness and the wickedness of the
          tomb.

And it (the Spirit)
          remained like this for a while: it labored on behalf of her seed {And
            [thus] they re[mained for] a while, while she labored on
            behalf of the seed } so that when the Spirit from the holy
          aeon should come, it will set right the deficiency by (establishing) the
          uprightness of the aeon so that it might become a holy perfection; thus it
          would come to pass that there would be no deficiency in it."

23 I said, "Christ,
          will the souls of everyone live in the pure light?" {Then
            [I] said, Lord, "Will the souls of every one be saved [for the
            pu]re light?"}

He said to me, "You have
          arrived at an insight of great things such as are difficult to disclose to
          any others except those who are from that immovable generation. Those upon
          whom the Spirit of the Life descends, having been yoked with the power,
          they will be saved and become perfect. And they will be worthy to enter
          these realms of the great Lights. For they will be worthy to be purified
          there from all evil and the enticements of
            wickedness. {And they will
              be worthy of these great Lights. For there they are purified from all
              wickedness and the chains of evil.}

          For they do not give themselves to anything
            else except this incorruptible congregation and they attend to it without
            anger or envy or fear or desire or overindulgence. They are not restrained
            by any of these nor by anything else in them except only the flesh {and
              they attend to it without anger or envy or jealousy or desire or
              overindulgence. They are not restrained [by] any of these (except only the
              flesh] } to which they are subject while they are waiting fervently
            for (the time) when they will be brought forth and those who receive
            (them) will admit them into the honor of the imperishable eternal life and
            the calling, enduring all things, bearing all things so that they might
            complete the contest and inherit eternal life.

            I said, "Christ, what will the souls do, upon whom the power and the
            Spirit of Life descended but who did not do these things, in order that
            they might also be saved?" {And I
              said to him, Lord, "Where are the souls of those who do not do these
              things or where will those go into whom the Spirit of Life and the power
            entered? Will they be saved or not?}

            He said to me, "Those upon whom that Spirit comes will live in any case
            and come out from evil.
          {He
            said to, "Those into whom the Spirit of Life enters will be
            saved in any case, these ones flee from evil."}
            For the power enters into every human
              beingfor without it, it is not possible for them to stand upright. After
              it (the soul) is born, then the Spirit of Life is brought to it. If the
              powerful Spirit of Life comes, it strengthens the power, which is the
            soul, and it is not led astray into wickedness. {After
                the human is born, the Spirit of Life brings the counter­feit spirits.
                  If the Spirit of Life [comes], since it is strong, it
                [str]engthens [the soul], which is the power, and it is not led astray
                into wickedness.} But those into whom
            the counterfeit spirit enters are drawn by it and they are led astray."

            I said, "Christ, {I said, Lord,}
            when the souls [of those] leave the flesh, where will they go?"

            He laughed and said to me, "To a place of the soul, which is the power
            that is greater than the counterfeit spirit. This (soul) is powerful.
            It flees from
              the works of wickedness and it is saved by the incorruptible
              oversight and brought up to the repose of the aeons."

I said, "Christ, {I
          said, "Lord, } what about those who do not know the Allwhat are
          their souls or where will they go?"

He said to me, "In those, a
          counterfeit spirit proliferated by causing them to stumble. {He
            said to me, "It is these that the counterfeit spirit has burdened when
            they stumbled.} And in that way he burdens their soul and
          draws it into works of wickedness, and he leads it into forgetfulness.
          After it has become naked in this way, he hands it over to the authorities
          who came into being from the Ruler. And
            again they cast them into fetters. {And
              in this way after becoming [na]ked of the body, they are handed
              over to the authorities who came into being through the Ruler. Again [they
              cast] them into (bodily) parts.}
          And they consort with them until they are
            saved from forgetfulness and it receives some knowledge. And in this way,
            it becomes perfect and is saved."

            I said, "Christ, how does the soul become smaller and enter again into the
            nature of the mother or the human?"

            He rejoiced when I asked this, and he said, "Blessed are you for paying
            close attention! Because of this they submit themselves to another who has
            the Spirit of Life in it. By following and obeying him, it is saved, and
            of course it does not enter another flesh."

            I said to him, "Christ, where are the souls of those who understood but
            turned away?" {I
              said, "Lord, those who did understand yet they turned back, where are
              their souls or where will they withdraw?"}

            He said to me, "Those to whom repentance did not come will go to the place
            to which the angels of poverty will withdraw. And they will be guarded for
            the day when all those who blasphemed against
          the holy Spirit will be
            punished. They will be tortured in eternal punishment." {And
              [they] will be guarded for the day when all those who blasphemed against
            the holy Spirit with an eter[nal blasphemy] will be pun­ished.}

24 I said, "Christ,
          where did the counterfeit spirit come from?''

            He said to me, "(It all began) when the Mother whose mercy is great and
            the holy Spirit, the compassionate, who troubles herself with usthe seed
            that is, the Epinoia of the light awakened the thinking of human beings of
            the generation of the eternal, luminous, perfect Human. Then the Chief
            Ruler knew that they surpassed him in the excellence of their wisdom. He
            wanted to restrict their plan for he was ignorant. He did not understand
            [that] they were wiser than he. He made a plan with his powers. {He
              made a plan and begot Fate.}

They begot Fate
          and they bound the gods of heaven and angels
            and demons and human beings with measures and seasons and times in order
            to keep them all in its fetterfor it was lord over them all.

            He had a wicked and perverted thought, and he had regrets about all the
            things which had come into being through him. He planned to bring a flood
            over the whole erection of humanity.

            And the greatness of Pronoia, who is the Epinoia of light, instructed
            Noah. {And
              the greatness of Pronoia produced a Thought, which is Epinoia.
              She appeared to [Noah].} He
                  preached to people, but they did not believe him. It is not like Moses
                  said, that he hid himself in an ark, but she sheltered him somewhere not
                  Noah more (than others) but also some people from the immovable
                  generation.

            They entered a place. They were sheltered by a luminous cloud. And he
            recognized his sovereignty along with those who were with him in the light
            which illumined them, {And
            they recognized the sovereignty above [an]d those who
              were with him when the light illumined them}
              for darkness flowed out over everything upon
              the earth.

25 He made a plan
          with his angels. Their angels were sent to the daughters of men
          so that they might raise offspring from
            them, to be a respite for them. But at first they did not succeed. They
            all came together to make a plan to create the counterfeit spiritfor they
            remembered the Spirit which had descended.

And the angels altered
          their appearance into the likeness of their husbands and their 'husbands'
          sated them with the spirit, which molested them in the darkness out of
          wickedness.

            "They brought them gold, silver, gifts, and metals of copper, iron, and
            every sort. They beguiled them into temptation
          {And
            they [be]guiled them into distractions}
            so that they would not remember their immovable Pronoia.

They took them and begot
          children out of darkness through their counterfeit spirit. It closed their
          hearts. They became hard by the hardening of the counterfeit spirit until
          now.

            26
            So again the blessed Mother Father, whose mercy is great, takes form in
            her seed.

            27
            First I went up to this perfect aeon.
          And it is to you ( John) that
            I speak these things so that you might write them down and give them in
            secret to your fellow spirits. For this mystery belongs to the immovable
            generation.

            The Mother had come another time before me. These are also the things
            which she did in the world. She set her seed upright
            {She
                was [rectifying] her deficiency.}
                I will teach you about what will happen. For
                    indeed I gave these things to you so that you might write them down and
                keep them secure."

          Then he said to me, "Cursed be anyone who
            will exchange these things for a gift, whether for food or drink or
            clothing or anything else like these." {Then
              he said to me, "[Cur]sed be every one who will give these in exchange for
              a gift, whether silver or [gold or] in exchange for drink or
              for [things to] eat or clothing or anything else like these.}

            He handed over this mystery to him. Immediately he disappeared from him.

            And he ( John) went to his fellow disciples. He began telling them about
            the things which had been said to him by the Savior.

            The Secret Revelation of John.

      Based on the
      translations in:

      Michael Waldstein and Frederik Wisse,

      The Apocryphon of John: Synopsis of Nag Hammadi Codices II,1;III,1; And
      IV,1 With BG 8502,2 ,

      Brill Academic Pub, 1995

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