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Pistis SophiaCHAPTER 1
I. But it happened that after Jesus had risen from the dead he spent eleven years speaking with his disciples. And he taught them only as far as the places of the first ordinance and as far as the places of the First Mystery, which is within the veil which is within the first ordinance, which is the 24th mystery outside and below , these which are in the second space of the First Mystery, which is before all mysteries the Father in the form of a dove . And Jesus said to his disciples : "I have come forth from that First Mystery which is the last mystery, namely the 24th". And the disciples did not know and understand that there was anything within that mystery. But they thought that that mystery was the head of the All , and the head of all the things that exist . And they thought that it was the completion of all completions, because Jesus had said to them concerning the mystery, that it surrounded the first ordinance and the five incisions and the great light and the five helpers (parastatai) and the whole Treasury of Light. And moreover Jesus had not spoken to his disciples of the whole extent of the places of the great invisible one and the three triple powers and the 24 invisible ones and all their places and their aeons and all their ranks, how they extend - these which are the emanations of the great invisible one - and their unbegotten ones and their self-begotten ones and their begotten ones and their luminaries and their unpaired ones and their archons and their powers (exousiai) and their lords and their archangels and their angels and their decans and their ministers and all the houses of their spheres and all the ranks of each one of them.
And Jesus had not told his disciples of the whole extent of the emanations of the treasury, nor their ranks how they extend, nor had he told them of their saviours, according to the rank of each one, how they are. Nor had he told them which watcher is over each of the doors of the Treasury of Light. Nor had he told them of the place of the twin saviour who is the child of the child. Nor had he told them of the place of the three amens, in which places they extend, and he had not told them in which places the five trees are spread, nor of the seven other amens, namely the seven voices, which their place is and how they extend. And Jesus had not told his disciples of what type are the five helpers (Parastatai). Or into which places they are brought. Nor had he told them in what manner the great light extends, or into which places it is brought- Nor had he told them of the five incisions, nor concerning the first ordinance, into which places they are brought.
Because of this they thought now of that mystery that it was the completion of all completions, and that it was the head of the All, and that it was (the) whole pleroma, since Jesus had said to his disciples : "That mystery surrounds the totalities of which I have told you all from the day on which I met you until today". Because of this the disciples thought now that there was nothing existing within that mystery.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 2. It happened as the disciples were sitting with one another upon the Mount of Olives, as they spoke these words they rejoiced with great joy, and they were very jubilant, and they said to one another: "We are blessed beyond all men who are on earth because the Saviour has revealed these things to us, and we have received the pleroma and the whole completion". As they were saying these things to one another, Jesus was sitting at a short distance from them.
It happened, however, on the 1sth of the moon in the month of Tôbe, which is the day on which the moon becomes full, now on that day when the sun had risen on its path , there came forth after it a great power of light, giving a very great light, and there was no measure to its accompanying light , for it came forth from the Light of Lights, exceedingly, with (a) light to which there was no measure. And the disciples gazed after him, and not one of them spoke until he had reached heaven, but they all kept a great silence. Now these things happened on the 15th of the moon, on the day on which it is full in the month of Tôbe. Now it happened when Jesus went up to heaven, after three hours all the powers of the heavens were disturbed, and they all shook against one another, they and all their aeons, and all their places and all their ranks and the whole earth moved with all who dwelt upon it. And all the men in the world were agitated, and also the disciples. And they all thought : "Perhaps the world will be rolled up". And all the powers which are in the heavens did not cease from their agitation, they and the whole world, and they all moved against one another from the third hour of the 15th of the
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Now it happened when the light-power had come down upon Jesus, it gradually surrounded him completely. Then Jesus rose or ascended to the height, giving light exceedingly, with (a) light to which there was no measure. And the disciples gazed after him, and not one of them spoke until he had reached heaven, but they all kept a great silence. Now these things happened on the 1sth of the moon, on the day on which it is full in the month of Tôbe. Now it happened when Jesus went up to heaven, after three hours all the powers of the heavens were disturbed, and they all shook against one another , they and all their aeons, and all their places and all their ranks and the whole earth moved with all who dwelt upon it. And all the men in the world were agitated, and also the disciples. And they all thought : "Perhaps the world will be rolled up". And all the powers which are in the heavens did not cease from their agitation, they and the whole world, and they all moved against one another from the third hour of the 1sth of the moon in (the month on Tôbe until the ninth hour of the following day. And all the angels and their archangels and all the powers of the height all sang praises to the innermost of the inner , so that the whole world heard their voices, and they did not cease until the ninth hour of the following day.
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The disciples, however, sat with one another in fear, and were greatly agitated. ( They were afraid, however, on account of the great earthquake which happened, and they wept together, saying: "What will happen now? Perhaps the Saviour will destroy all the places". As they were saying these things and were weeping to one another, on the ninth hour of the following day the heavens opened, and they saw Jesus coming down, giving light exceedingly, and there was no measure to the light in which he was. For he gave more light than in the hour -that he went up to heaven, so that the men in the world were not able to speak of the light which was his, and it cast forth very many rays of light, and there was no measure to its rays. And his light was not equal throughout, but it was of different kinds, and it was of different types, so that some were many times superior to others, and the whole light together was in three forms, and the one was many
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It happened, however, when the disciples saw these they were greatly afraid and agitated. Now Jesus, the com-
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Now it happened when the disciples heard these words, they said : "Lord, if it be thou, draw thy light-glory to thyself so that we can stand, otherwise our eyes are darkened and we are agitated, and also the whole world is agitated 1, because of the great light which is thine". Then Jesus drew to himself the glory of his light. And when this had happened all the disciples took courage, they came before Jesus, they all prostrated themselves at the same time, they worshipped him, rejoicing with great joy. They said to him : "Rabbi, where didst thou go, or what was thy service in which thou didst go, or for what reason were all these disturbances and all these earthquakes which happened ?" Then Jesus, the compassionate, said to them : "Rejoice and be glad from this hour because I have been to the places from whence I came forth. From today onwards now I will speak with you openly from the beginning of the truth until its completion. And I will speak with you face to face, without parable . I will not conceal from you, from this hour onwards, anything of the things of the height and of the place of the truth . For I have been given authority, through the Ineffable and through the First Mystery of all the mysteries, that I should speak with you from the beginning until the pleroma, and from within outwards, and from without inwards. Hear now, so that I tell you all things. It happened as I was sitting at a short distance from you
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It happened when the sun rose in the East now afterwards, through the First Mystery which had existed from the beginning, because of which ( the All existed, from which I myself have come just now - not prior to my crucifixion , but now - it happened through the command of that mystery, it sent me my garment of light, which it had given to me from the beginning, which I had left behind in the last mystery which is the 24th mystery from within outwards, these (24 mysteries) which are in the ranks of the second space of the First Mystery. That garment (of light) now I had left behind in the last mystery until the time was completed that I should put it on me, and that I should begin to speak with the race of mankind, and reveal to them all things from the beginning of the truth until its completion, and speak to them from the innermost of the inner to the outermost of the outer, and from the outermost of the outer to the innermost of the inner. Rejoice and be glad , and rejoice still more, that it is given to you that I should speak with you first from the beginning of the truth until its completion. Because of this indeed I have chosen you from the beginning ( through the First Mystery. Rejoice now and
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Jesus continued again speaking and said: "Now it happened after this, through the command of the First Mystery, I looked down again upon the world of mankind, I found Mary, who is called my mother according to the material body. I spoke to her in the type of Gabriel , and when she turned to the height towards me, I cast into her the first power which I had received from the Barbelo, which is the body which I wore in the height. And in place of the soul, I cast into her the power which I received from the great Sabaoth, the Good , who is in the place of the right. And the twelve powers of the twelve saviours of the Treasury of the Light, which I received from the twelve servers which are in the Midst, I cast into the sphere of the archons. And the decans of the archons and their ministers thought that they were souls of the archons, and the ministers brought them, they bound them in the bodies of your mothers. And when your times were completed, they bore you into the world without there being souls of the archons in you. And you have received your parts from the power which the last helper (parastates) had breathed into the mixture, this (power) which is mixed with all the invisible
Now Jesus was saying these things to his disciples upon the Mount of Olives. Jesus now continued again in the discourse with his disciples: "Rejoice and be glad , and add joy to your joy, because the times are completed that I should put on my garment which was prepared for me from the beginning, which I left behind in the last mystery until the time of its completion. But the time of its completion is the time when I am commanded by the First Mystery to speak to you from the beginning of the truth to its fulfilment, and from the innermost of the inner (to the outermost of the outer), because the world will be saved by you. Rejoice and be glad because you are blessed beyond all men upon earth, because it is you who will save the whole world."
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It happened now when Jesus finished saying these words to his disciples, he continued again with the discourse, and he said to them : "Behold, I have put on my garment and all authority is given to me through the First Mystery. Yet a little time, and I will tell you ( the mystery of the All and the pleroma of the All, and I will not hide anything from you from this hour, but in completion I will complete you in every pleroma and in every completion and in every mystery ; these are the completion of all completions and the Pleroma of all Pleromas and the gnosis of all gnoses, these which are in my garment. I will tell you all the mysteries from the outermost of the outer to the innermost of the inner. Hear, nevertheless, and I will tell you everything which has happened to me.
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It happened now when the sun rose in the East, a great power of light came down, in which was my garment which I had left in the 24th mystery, as I have just been telling you. And I found a mystery in my garment, written in the manner of writing of those of the height : But we all with thee alone, we and thou are one and the same. Thou art the First Mystery which has existed from the beginning in the Ineffable One, before he went forth, and the name of that one is all of us. Now all together we will approach thee at the last boundary , which is the last mystery from within, itself a part of us. Now we have sent thee thy garment which has belonged to thee from the beginning, which thou didst leave in the last boundary, which is the last mystery from within, until its time was completed according to the command of the First Mystery.
Behold, the time is completed. Put it on, come to us, that we all approach thee to put on thee the First Mystery with all his glory, through his own command; as the First Mystery, having two garments , has given it to us that we should put it on thee, apart from this which we have sent thee because thou art worthy, since thou art first among us and thou didst exist before us . Because of this the First Mystery has sent to thee through us the mystery of his whole glory, having two garments. That is, in the first is all the glory of all the names of all the mysteries and all the emanations and the ranks of the spaces of the Ineffable One. And in the second garment is the whole glory of the name of all the mysteries and all the emanations which are in the ranks of the two spaces of the First Mystery. And in this garment which we have now sent thee is the glory of the name of the mystery of the informer, which is the first ordinance, and the mystery of the five incisions, and the mystery of the great messenger of the Ineffable, who is the great light, and the mystery of the five leaders who are the five helpers (parastatai). And furthermore, there is in that garment the glory of the name of the mystery of all the ranks of the emanations of the Treasury of the Light, and their saviours, and (the mystery on the ranks of the ranks,
Come to us that we approach thee to put on thee thy two garments, through the command of the First Mystery they having been for thee with the First Mystery since the beginning until the time appointed by the Ineffable One which contained their name. They were exceedingly afraid and all their bonds in which they were bound were loosened, and each one abandoned his rank. And they all prostrated themselves in my presence, they worshipped, saying : 'How
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 11 It happened now, when I saw the mystery, of all these words in the garment which was sent to me, I put it on in that hour, and I gave light exceedingly, and I flew to the height, and I came before the gate of the firmament, shining exceedingly, there being no measure to the light which I had. And the gates of the firmament were agitated against one another, and they all opened at the same time. And all the archons and all the powers (exousiai) and all the angels therein were all agitated at the same time because of the great light which I had. And they looked upon the shining garment of light which I wore, they saw the mystery is completed. Behold the time is completed. Come now quickly to us that we put them on thee, until thou hast completed the whole service of the completion of the First Mystery, which is appointed by the Ineffable One. Come now quickly to us that we put them on thee, according to the command of the First Mystery. For yet a little time, an insignificant one, and thou wilt come to us and leave the world. Come now quickly, and thou shalt receive the whole glory which is the glory of the First Mystery
ii. It happened now, when I saw the mystery, of all these words in the garment which was sent to me, I put it on in that hour, and I gave light exceedingly, and I flew to the height, and I came before the gate of the firmament, shining exceedingly, there being no measure to the light which I had. And the gates of the firmament were agitated against one another, and they all opened at the same time. And all the archons and all the powers (exousiai) and all the angels therein were all agitated at the same time because of the great light which I had. And they looked upon the shining garnient of light which I wore, they saw the mystery of their name within it. And they were increasingly agitated and they were in great fear, saying : "How has the Lord of the All passed through without our knowing?" And all their bonds were loosened, and their places and their ranks. And each one abandoned his rank. And they all prostrated themselves at the same time, they all worshipped in my presence or in the presence of my garment. And they all sang praises at the same time to the innermost of the inner, being in great fear and great agitation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 12. Nevertheless I left that place behind me, I came up to the first sphere shining exceedingly, 49 times more than when I gave light within the firmament. Now it happened when I reached the gate of the first sphere, its gates were agitated and they opened of themselves at the same time. I came into the houses of the spheres shining exceedingly, there being no measure to the light which I had. And all the archons and all those who were in that sphere were agitated together. And they saw the great light which I had. And they looked upon my garment, they saw the mystery of their name within it. And they were increasingly agitated, and they were in great fear, saying: 'How, has the Lord of the All passed through us without our knowing?' And all their bonds were loosened, and their places and their ranks. And each one abandoned his rank. And they all prostrated themselves at the same time, they all worshipped in my presence or in the presence of my garment. And they all sang praises at the same time to the innermost of the inner, being in great fear and great agitation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 13. And I left that place behind me, I came to the gate of the second sphere, which is the Heimarmene. But all its gates were agitated and they opened of themselves . And I entered into the houses of the Heimarmene, shining exceedingly, there being no measure to the light which I had, for I was shining in the Heimarmene 49 times more than in the sphere. And all the archons and all those who are in the Heimarmene were agitated and they fell upon one another, and were in very great fear as they saw the great light which I had. And they looked at my garment of light, they saw the mystery of their name in my garment, and they were increasingly agitated. They were in great fear, saying : 'How has the Lord of the All passed through us without our knowing?' And all the bonds of their places and their ranks and their houses were loosened. They all came at the same time, they prostrated themselves, they worshipped in my presence. And they all sang praises at the same time to the innermost of the inner, being in great fear and great agitation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 14.
And I left that place behind me, I came upwards to the great aeons of the archons, I came before their veils and their gates shining exceedingly, and there was no measure to the light which I had. Now it happened when I reached the twelve aeons , their veils and their gates were agitated against one another. The veils drew themselves aside and the gates opened of themselves , and I entered into their aeons shining exceedingly, there being no measure to the light which I had, 49 times greater than the light with which I was shining in the houses of the Heimarmene. And all the angels of the aeons and their archangels and their archons and their gods and their lords and their powers (exousiai) and their tyrants and their powers and their light-sparks and their luminaries and their unpaired ones and their invisible ones and their forefathers and their triple-powered glories, they saw me shining exceedingly, there being no measure to the light which I had. And they were agitated against one another, and great fear came upon them as they saw the great light which I had. And their great agitation and their great fear reached to the place of the great invisible forefather and the three great triple-powered ones. However, because of the great fear from their agitation, the great forefather continued to run from side to side in his place,
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Now it happened when all those that were in the twelve aeons saw the great light which I had, they were all agitated against one another, and they ran from side to side in the aeons. And all the aeons and all the heavens and their whole order moved against one another, because of the great fear which they had because they did not know the mystery which had happened. And Adamas, the great tyrant , and all the tyrants which are in all the aeons began to wage war in vain against the light. And they did not know against whom they waged war, because they saw nothing except the greatly surpassing light. Now it happened when they waged war against the light, they were all exhausted together, and they were cast down into the aeons, and they became like the earth-dwellers who are dead and have no breath in them. And I took a third part of all their power so that they should not work their wicked actions, and in order that when men who are in the
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 16 Now it happened when I came to their place, they rebelled and waged war against the light. And I took a third part of their power, so that they should not be able to complete their wicked actions. And (as for) the Heimarmene and the sphere over which they rule, I turned them, I placed them looking to the left for six months, as they complete their (periods of) influence, and I placed them for another six months turning to the right, as they complete their (periods of) influence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 17.
Now when he had said these things to his disciples, he said to them : "He who has ears to hear, let him hear". Now it happened when Mariam heard these words as the Saviour was saying them, she stared for one hour into
Jesus, the compassionate, answered and said to Mariam : "Mariam, thou blessed one, whom I will complete in all the
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Then Mariam said to the Saviour: "My Lord, the word which thou hast spoken to us : 'Who has ears to hear, let him hear', thou say so that we may understand the word which thou hast spoken. Hear now, my Lord, for I will speak openly. The word which thou hast spoken: 'I have taken a third part of the power of the archons of all the aeons, and I have turned their Heimarmene and their sphere over which they rule, so that when the race of mankind call upon them in their mysteries - these which the transgressing angels have taught them for the completion of their evil and iniquitous deeds in the mystery of their magic - from this hour now they should not be able to complete their iniquitous deeds, because thou hast taken their power from them and from their astrologers and from their soothsayers and from those who tell men who are in the world all things which will happen, so that from this hour they will not understand anything which will happen
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 19. Now it happened when Maria finished saying these words, he said : "Excellent, Maria. Thou art blessed beyond all women upon earth, because thou shalt be the pleroma of all Pleromas and the completion of all completions."
But when Maria heard the Saviour saying these words, she rejoiced greatly and she came before Jesus, she prostrated
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She said : "My Lord, all men who know the mystery of the magic of all the archons of all the aeons, and the magic
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It happened, however, when Jesus finished speaking these words, Maria answered again and said : "My Lord, will the astrologers and the soothsayers not tell men, from this hour, what will happen?" Jesus answered, however, and said to Maria : "When the astrologers find the Heimarmene and the sphere turned to the left, according to their first distribution, then their words concur and they will say what is due to happen. But when they meet the Heimarmene or the sphere turned to the right, they do not speak anything of the truth, because I have turned their (periods of) influence and their quadrangles and their triangles and their figures of eight , since their (periods of) influence remained turned to the left from the beginning, together with their quadrangles and their triangles and their figures of eight. However, I have now caused them to spend six months turned to the left, and six months turned to the right. He who now will find their reckoning from the time when I turned them, placing them to spend six months looking to their left hand parts, and six months looking to
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It happened when Jesus finished saying these words, Philip sat writing every word as Jesus said them. Now after this it happened that Philip came forward, he prostrated himself and worshipped at the feet of Jesus, saying : "My Lord, Saviour, give me authority that I speak in thy presence and that I question thee on this discourse before thou speakest with us of the places to which thou hast gone for the sake of thy service". The compassionate Saviour answered, he said to Philip : "The authority is given to thee to deliver the discourse which thou dost wish". Then Philip answered and spoke to Jesus: "My Lord, for the sake of what mystery hast thou turned the bondage of the archons and their aeons and their Heimarmene and their sphere and all their places, and in confusion hast thou caused them to be confused in their paths, and to wander in their course? Hast thou now done this for the sake of the salvation of the world or not?"
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Jesus answered, however, and said to Philip and all the disciples together : "I have turned their paths for the salvation of all souls. Truly, truly, I say to you : unless I had turned their paths a multitude of souls would have been destroyed. And they would have spent a long period if the archons of the aeons and the archons of the Heimarmene and the sphere and all their places and all their heavens and all their aeons were not dissolved. And the souls would have spent a great (period of) time outside. And there would have been delay in the completion of the number of perfect souls, which will be accounted among the inheritance of the height, through the mysteries, and will be in the Treasury of Light. Because of this, I have turned their paths so that they are confused and agitated, and give up the power which is in the matter of their world, which they make into souls, so that those that will be saved with all the power are purified quickly and ascend, and those who will not be saved are quickly dissolved".
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It happened now when Jesus finished speaking these words to his disciples, Maria, the beautiful in her speech, came forward. The blessed one prostrated herself at the feet of Jesus and said : "My Lord, suffer me that I speak in thy presence, and be not angry with me because I trouble thee many times, questioning thee". The Saviour answered
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However Jesus answered and said to Maria : "Excellent, Maria. Thou dost ask well with an excellent question and thou dost seek everything with certainty and with accuracy. Now indeed I will not conceal anything from you from this hour, but I will reveal everything to you with certainty and openly. Hear now, Maria, and give ear, all you disciples. Before I preached to all the archons of the aeons, and all the archons of the Heimarmene and the sphere, they were all bound with their bonds, in their spheres and their seals, according to the manner in which Jeu, the Overseer of the Light, had bound them from the beginning. And each one of them was continuing in his rank and each one was proceeding according to his course, according to the manner in which Jeu, the Overseer of the Light, had settled it. And when the time came of the number of Melchizedek, the great Paralemptor of Light, he came to the midst of the aeons, and to all the archons which were bound in the sphere and in the Heimarmene, and he took away what is purified of the light from all the archons of the aeons, and from all the archons of the Heimarmene, and from those of the sphere, for he took away that which agitated them. And he moved the hastener that is over them and made their cycles turn quickly, and he (Melchizedek) took away
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These things were now fully completed before their power diminished within them, and they declined and they weakened or they became powerless. It happened when they became weak, their power began to cease within them, and they became weak in their power. And their light, which was in their place, ceased. And their kingdom dissolved. And the All was quickly carried up. It happened now when these things in their time were known, and when the number of the cipher of Melchizedek, the Paralemptor (of the Light), occurred, he came forth, and he went into the midst of the archons of all the aeons, and to the midst of all the archons of the Heimarmene and those of the sphere. And he agitated them, and he caused them quickly to abandon their circles, and immediately they were afflicted, and they cast the power out of themselves, out of the breath of their mouths, and out of the tears of their eyes, and out of the sweat of their bodies. And Melchizedek, the Paralemptor of the Light purified them, according to the manner in which he did so continually. And he took their light to the Treasury of the Light. And the matter of their dregs was surrounded and swallowed by all the archons of the aeons and the archons of the Heimarmene and those of the sphere, and they did not allow them to go and become souls in the world. They now swallowed their matter, that they might not become powerless and weak, that their
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It happened now as the archons of the aeons and those of the Heimarmene and those of the sphere continued acting after this type; as they turned themselves they ate the dregs of their matter, they did not allow them to become souls in the world of mankind, so that they might be retarded as rulers. And the powers, namely the powers within them which were souls, spent a great time outside this. Now these remained making two cycles continually. It happened now when I came to go forth for the service for the sake of which I was appointed, through the command of the First Mystery, I came forth to the midst of the tyrants of the archons of the twelve aeons. And my garment of light was upon me, and I was shining exceedingly, there being no measure to the light which I had. Now it happened, when those tyrants saw the great light
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 28. Jesus continued again with the discourse, he said to his disciples : "Hear [hear] concerning the things which happened to me among the archons of the twelve aeons, and all their archons and their lords and their powers (exousiai) and their angels and their archangels. Now when they saw the garment of light which was upon me, they and their unpaired ones, each one of them saw the mystery of his name which was in the garment of light which was upon me. They all prostrated themselves together, they worshipped the garment of light which was upon me. And they all cried out at once, saying : 'How has the Lord of All passed through us without our knowing?' And they all sang praises at once to the innermost of the inner. And all their triple-powered ones and their great forefathers and their unbegotten ones and their self-begotten ones and their begotten ones and their gods and their light-sparks and their luminaries, in a word, all their great ones saw the tyrants of their place, that their power was diminished within them, and that they were in a state of weakness. And they were in great fear, to which there was no measure. And they contemplated the mystery of their name in my garment and they tried to come to worship the mystery of their name in my garment, and they were not able, on account of the great light which I had. But they worshipped at a little distance from me. However, they worshipped the light of my garment, and they all cried out at once as they sang praises to the innermost of the inner.
It happened moreover, when these things happened to the tyrants which are among the archons, they were all enfeebled,
It happened now after this, when I came forth from those aeons, each one of all those who are in the twelve aeons were all bound within their ranks, and they completed their works according to the manner in which I had disposed it, that they should spend six months turned to the left, doing their works in their quadrangles, and their triangles and those in their aspects; and furthermore that they should spend another six months looking to the right, and to their triangles and their quadrangles and those in their aspects. Furthermore, this is the manner in which those who are in the Heimarmene and the sphere will proceed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 29.
Now it happened after these things I came to the height to the veils of the thirteenth aeon. Now it happened that when I reached their veils, they drew themselves and they opened to me. I entered into the thirteenth aeon, I found the Pistis Sophia below the thirteenth aeon alone, none of them being with her. But she dwelt in that place, sorrow and grieving because she had not been taken to the thirteenth aeon, her place in the height. And furthermore she was sorrowful on account of the torments which the Authades inflicted on her, he being one of the three triple-powered ones. But when I tell you about their extent, I will tell you the mystery of how these things happened. Now it happened, when the Pistis Sophia saw me shining exceedingly, there being no measure to the light which I had, she was in great agitation and she looked at the light of my garment. She saw the mystery of her name in my garment and the whole glory of its mystery because she
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It happened now when Jesus said these things to his disciples, Mariam came forward and said : "My Lord, I heard thee at the time when thou didst say that the Pistis Sophia herself is one of the 24 emanations. How is she not in their place? Moreover thou hast said : 'I found her below the thirteenth aeon'." Jesus answered and said to his disciples : "It happened as the Pistis Sophia was in the thirteenth aeon in the place of all her brethren, the invisible ones who are the 24 emanations of the great invisible one it happened now, through the ordinance of the First Mystery, the Pistis Sophia looked to the height, she saw the light of the veil of the Treasury of the Light, and she desired to go to that place. And she was not able to go to that place. Moreover she ceased performing the mystery of the thirteenth aeon, but she sang praises to the light of the height which she saw in the light of the veil of the Treasury of the Light. Now it happened, as she sang praises to the place of the height, all the archons which are in the twelve aeons beneath hated her because she ceased from their mystery, and because she wished to go to the height and to make herself above them all. Now on account of these things
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 31.
It happened now after this she looked down. She saw his power of light in the parts below, and she did not know that it was that of the triple-powered Authades. But she thought that it was from the light which she had seen from the beginning in the height, which was from the veil of the Treasury of the Light. And she thought to herself : "I will go to that place without my partner, and take the light, and create of it for myself aeons of light, so that I shall be able to go to the Light of Lights which is in the highest height." Now as she was thinking these things, she came forth from her place in the thirteenth aeon, and she came out to the twelve aeons . The archons of the aeons persecuted her, and they were angry with her, because she had thought to have greatness . However, she came forth from the twelve aeons, she came to the places of the Chaos. And she made her way to the light-power with a lion-face in order to swallow it. But all the material emanations of the Authades surrounded her. And the great light-power with a lion-face swallowed the light-powers in the Sophia. And it purified her light and swallowed it, and her matter was cast forth to the Chaos. There existed an archon with a lion-face in the Chaos, whose one half was fire and whose other half was darkness, namely Jaldabaoth, of whom I have spoken to you many times. Now when these things had happened, the Sophia became very greatly weakened. And
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 32. The Pistis Sophia cried out very much. She cried out to the Light of Lights which she had seen from the beginning, in which she had believed, and she said this repentance, speaking thus : 1. 'O Light of Lights, in whom I have believed from the beginning, hear my repentance now at this time, O Light; save me, O Light, for wicked thoughts have entered into me. 2. I looked, O Light, to the parts below. I saw a light in that place, and I thought : I will go to that place to receive that light. And I went, and I came to be in the darkness which is in the Chaos below. And I was not able to proceed out to go to my place, because I was oppressed among all the emanations of the Authades. And the lion-faced power took away my inner light. 3. And I cried out for help, and my voice did not penetrate the darkness. And I looked to the height, so that the Light in which I had believed might help me. 4. And when I looked to the height, I saw all the archons of the aeons , that they were numerous and they looked down upon me, rejoicing over me, although I had done nothing evil to them, but they had hated me without cause. And when the emanations of the Authades saw the archons of the aeons rejoicing over me, they knew that the archons of the aeons would not help me. And those emanations which oppressed me without cause were encouraged. And they took from me the light which I did not take from them. 5. Now at this time, O true Light, thou knowest that I have done these things in my simplicity, thinking that the lion-faced light belonged to thee, and the sin which I have committed is manifest in thy presence. 6. Do not now let me be lacking, O Lord, for I have believed in thy light from the beginning, O Lord, Light of the powers, do not let me now lack my light. 7. For on account of thee and thy light I have come to be in this oppression, and shame has covered me. 8. And because of the delusion of thy light, I have become a stranger to my brothers, the invisible ones, and also to the great emanations of the Barbelo.
9. These things happened to me, O Light, because I was eager for thy dwelling-place. And the anger of the Authades
10. And all the archons of the aeons mocked me. 11. And I was in that place, sorrowing and seeking the light which I had seen in the height. 12. And the watchers of the gates of the aeons were seeking me, and all those who continued in their mystery mocked me. 13. But I looked up to the height to thee, O Light. And I believed in thee. Now at this time, O Light of Lights, I am oppressed in the darkness of the Chaos. If now thou dost wish to come to save me - great is thy compassion - hear me truly and save me. 14. Save me out of the matter of this darkness, so that I shall not be immersed in it, and that I shall be saved from the emanations of the deity, Authades, which oppress me, and from their evils.
15. Do not allow this darkness to immerse me, and do not allow this lion-faced power to swallow up all my power
16. Hear me O Light, for thy mercy is precious, and look down upon me, according to the great compassion of thy light. 17. Do not turn away thy face from me, for I am greatly afflicted. 18. Hear me quickly and save my power. 19. Save me, on account of the archons which hate me, for thou knowest my affliction and my torment, and the torment of my power which they have taken from me. Those who have put me into all these evils are in thy presence. Deal with them according to thy will. 20. My power looked forth from the midst of the Chaos, and from the midst of the darkness. I looked for my partner, that he should come and fight for me, and he did not come. And I looked that he should come and give power to me, and I did not find him. 21. And when I sought for light, I was given darkness. And when I sought for my power, I was given matter .
22. Now at this time, O Light of Lights, let the darkness and the matter which the emanations of the Authades have brought upon me become a snare for them, and let them be ensnared therein. And do thou repay them and bring
23. Let them remain in darkness and not see the light. Let them look at the Chaos at all times, and do not let them look at the height. 24. Bring down upon them their vengeance, and let thy judgement seize them. 25. Do not let them go to their place from this time, to their deity, Authades. And do not let his emanations go to their places from this time. Because their god is impious and insolent, because he thought that he had done these wicked things of himself, not knowing that, unless I was humbled according to thy ordinance, he would have had no power over me.
26. But when thou didst humble me, according to thy ordinance, I was persecuted the more. And their emanations
27. And they took a light-power from me. And further- more they began to torment me greatly , in order to take away all the light that was in me. On account of these things into which I was put, do not let them go up to the thirteenth aeon, the place of righteousness. 28. And do not let them be numbered within the portion of those who purify themselves and their light. And do not let them be numbered among those who will repent quickly, so that they will quickly receive mysteries in the light. 29. For they have taken my light from me. And my power has begun to decrease within me. And I lack my light. 30. Now at this time, O Light which art in thee and with me, I sing praises to thy name, O Light, in glory.
31. And may my song of praise, O Light, please thee, like an excellent mystery which is received into the gates of light,
32. Now at this time, let all material things rejoice; seek the light, all of you, so that the power of your souls, which is within you, may live. 33. Because the Light has heard the material things, and it will not leave any material things which it has not purified. 34. Let the souls and the material things bless the Lord of all the aeons ; the material things and all things in them.
35. For God will save their souls out of all matter, and a city will be prepared in the light; and all souls which will
36. And the soul of those who will receive mysteries will be in that place, and they who have received mysteries in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 33. Now it happened, as Jesus said these words to his disciples, he said to them : "This is the song of praise which the Pistis Sophia spoke in the first repentance, as she repented for her sin. And she spoke of all the things which had happened to her. Now at this time, he who has ears to hear, let him hear ."
Maria came forward again and said : "My Lord, there are ears to my man of light , and I hear in my light-power, and thy Spirit, which is with me, has made me sober. Hear now, that I may speak concerning the repentance which the Pistis Sophia said, as she spoke of her sin, and all the things which had happened to her. Thy light-power once prophesied
1. 'Save me, O God, for the waters have come in to my soul. 2. I have sunk or been immersed by the mire of the abyss, and there was no power. I came to the depths of the sea ; a storm wind overwhelmed me. 3. I have suffered as I cried out. My throat has gone. My eyes have failed as I waited upon God. 4. Those who hate me without cause have become more numerous than the hairs of my head. My enemies that persecute me with violence have become strong. They deprived me of those things which I did not steal. 5. O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hidden from thee. 6. Let not them that wait on thee be ashamed on my account, O Lord, Lord of the powers. Let not those that seek thee be put to shame on my account, O Lord, God of Israel, God of the powers. 7. For I have borne disgrace on thy account; shame has covered my face. 8. I have become a stranger to my brothers, a stranger to the sons of my mother. 9. For the zeal of thy house has eaten me up. The reproaches of those who reproach thee have fallen upon me. 10. I bowed down my soul with fasting; it became a reproach to me.
11. I put sackcloth upon myself; I became a proverb to them.
12. They that sat in the gates talked against me ; and they that drink wine sang against me.
13. But I was praying in my soul to thee, O Lord ; it is the time of thy pleasure, O God ; in the magnitude of thy mercy,
14. Save me from this mire, that I do not sink in it. Let me be saved from those that hate me and from the depths of the waters. 15. Let not the water flood immerse me. Let not the abyss swallow me up ; let not a pit close its mouth over me. 16. Hear me, O Lord, for beneficent is thy mercy; according to the magnitude of thy compassion look down upon me. 17. Turn not away thy face from thy servant, for I am afflicted. 18. Hear me quickly; give heed to my soul and save it.
19. Save me on account of my enemies; for thou knowest my reproach and my shame and my infamy. All that afflict
20. My heart has looked for reproach and wretchedness ; I have looked for one to be sorrowful with me, I did not find
21. They gave me gall for my food; they made me drink vinegar for my thirst. 22. Let their table become a snare in their presence; and a stumbling block and a retribution and a disgrace. 23. Do thou bend their backs at all times. 24. Pour out upon them thy wrath, and let the fury of thy wrath take hold of them. 25. Let their dwelling-place be made desolate and let there be no inhabitant in their dwelling-places. 26. For they have persecuted him whom thou hast smitten ; they have added to the pain of their blow . 27. They have added iniquity to their iniquities; let them not come into thy righteousness. 28. Let them be effaced from the book of the living, and let them not be written with the righteous. 29. I am a poor man and also a sorrowful one; the salvation of thy face, O God, is that which has accepted me. 30. I will bless the name of God in song, and raise him up in blessing. 31. It will please God more than a young bull which carries horns and hoofs. 32. Let the poor see and rejoice ; seek God that your souls may live. 33. For the Lord has heard the poor and he has not despised those in fetters . 34. Let the heavens and the earth bless the Lord, the sea and all that are within it. 35. For God will save Zion ; and the cities of Judaea will be built, and (men) will dwell there and inherit it. 36. The seed of his servants will take possession of it, and they that love his name will dwell in it'." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 34. Now it happened when Mariam finished saying these words to Jesus in the midst of the disciples, she said to him ; "My Lord, this is the interpretation of the mystery of the repentance of the Pistis Sophia". It happened now when Jesus heard Mariam saying these words, he said to her : "Excellent, Mariam, thou blessed one, thou Pleroma or thou all-blessed Pleroma, who will be blessed among all generations" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 35. Jesus continued again with the discourse. He said : "The Pistis Sophia continued again, she also sang a second repentance, in which she spoke thus : 1. 'O Light of Lights, I have believed in thee. Do not leave me in the darkness until the completion of my time. 2. Help me and save me in thy mysteries. Incline thy ear to me and save me.
3. Let the power of thy light save me and carry me to the aeons on high, for it is thou who savest me and takest me to
4. Save me, O Light, from the hand of this lion-faced power, and from the hands of the enianations of the deity, Authades. 5. For thou, O Light, art the one in whose light I have believed and in whose light I have trusted from the beginning.
6. And I have believed in it from the hour that it emanated me forth. And thou indeed art he who caused me to be
7. And when I believed in thee, the archons of the aeons mocked me, saying : she has ceased in her mystery. It is thou
8. My mouth has been filled with glory, so that I might tell the mystery of thy greatness at all times. 9. Now, O Light, do not leave me in the Chaos during the completion of my whole time. Do not abandon me, O Light. 10. For my whole light-power has been taken away from me. And all the enianations of the Authades have surrounded me. They wanted to take all my light from me completely, and they watched for my power. 11. They were saying at the same time to one another : the light has left her ; let us seize her and take away all the light within her.
12.
13. May those who want to take away my power fall and become powerless. May those who want to take away my
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 36.
It happened now, when Jesus finished saying these words to his disciples, he said : "Do you understand in what
1. 'O God, my God, I have trusted in thee; let me never be put to shame. 2. Save me in thy righteousness and deliver me. Incline thy ear to me and save me. 3. Be to me a strong God and a fortified place to save me ; for thou art my strength and my place of refuge. 4. My God, save me from the hand of the sinner, and from the hand of the lawless and the impious. 5. For thou, O Lord, art my endurance; O Lord, thou art my hope from my youth. 6. I have relied upon thee from the womb; thou hast brought me forth from my mother's womb; my memory is of thee at all times. 7. I have become for many like the crazy; thou art my help and my strength, thou art my Saviour, O Lord. 8. My mouth has been filled with blessings, so that I might bless the glory of thy greatness all the day. 9. Cast me not out in the time of my old age; when my soul diminishes, do not forsake me. 10. For my enemies have spoken evil against me; and they who lie in wait for my soul have taken counsel against my soul. 11. Saying at the same time : God has forsaken him ; run and seize him, for there is none to save him. 12. O God, give heed to my help.
13. Let those that slander my soul be brought to shame and diminished; let those who seek evil against me be clothed with shame and disgrace.' This now is the interpretation of the second repentance which the Pistis Sophia said."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 37. The Saviour answered and said to Peter : " Well done, Peter, this is the interpretation of her repentance. You are blessed beyond all men upon earth, for I have revealed to you these mysteries. Truly, truly, I say to you : I will fulfill you in every pleroma, from the mysteries of the inner to the mysteries of the outer. And I will fill you with Spirit so that you are called Pneumatics, fulfilled in every pleroma. And truly, truly, I say to you that I will give you all the mysteries of all the places of my Father, and all the places of the First Mystery, so that he whom you receive on earth will be received into the light of the height. And he whom you cast out upon earth will be cast out of the Kingdom of my Father which is in heaven . Nevertheless now hear and give ear to all the repentances which the Pistis Sophia said. She continued again and spoke the third repentance, saying : 1. 'O Light of the powers, give heed and save me. 2. May those that want to take away my light from me fail and he in darkness. Let them return to the Chaos, and may those who want to take away my power be put to shame. 3. May those that persecute me and say : we have become lords over her, return quickly to the darkness. 4. May all those who seek after the light rejoice and flourish and may they who want thy mystery say at all times : let the mystery be raised up. 5. Do thou now at this time save me, O Light, for I am lacking in my light, which has been taken away. And I need my power which has been taken from me. Thou, O Light, thou art my Saviour, and thou art my rescuer, O Light. Save me quickly out of this Chaos'." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 38. It happened, however, when Jesus finished saying these words to his disciples, saying: "This is the third repentance which the Pistis Sophia said", he said to them : "Let him in whom the Spirit of perception has arisen, come forward and speak with understanding of the repentance which the Pistis Sophia said". It happened now, before Jesus had finished speaking, Martha came forward, she prostrated herself at his feet, she kissed them. She cried out, she wept aloud in humility, saying: "My Lord, have mercy on me, and be compassionate towards me, and allow me to say the interpretation of the repentance which the Pistis Sophia said".
And Jesus gave Martha his hand , he said to her : "Blessed is every man who humbles himself, for to him will mercy be
1. O Lord God, give heed to my help. 2. Let those that seek after my soul be put to shame and disgraced. 3. May those that say to me : excellent, excellent, be turned back immediately and put to shame. 4. May all those that seek after thee be glad and rejoice over thee; and may those that love thy salvation say at all times : let God be exalted. 5. But I am poor and I am needy. O Lord, help me ; thou art my help and my defence. O Lord, do not delay.' This now is the interpretation of the third repentance which the Pistis Sophia said, singing praises to the height." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER 39.
It happened now when Jesus heard Martha saying these words, he said : "Excellent, Martha, and well done." Jesus continued again with the discourse. He said to his disciples : "The Pistis Sophia continued again with the fourth repentance, saying it when the lion-faced power and all the material emanations with it, which the Authades had sent to
1. 'O Light whom I have trusted, hear my repentance; and let my voice come into thy dwelling-place. 2. Do not turn thy image of light away from me, but give heed to me. If they oppress me, save me quickly at the time when I cry to thee. 3. For my time has vanished like a breath, and I have become matter. 4. My light has been taken from me, and my power has dried up. I have forgotten my mystery which I performed at first. 5. Through the voice of fear and the power of the Authades, my power has diminished within me. 6. I have become like a peculiar demon, which dwells in matter, in whom is no light. And I have become like a spirit counterpart which is in a material body, in which there is no light-power. 7. And I have become like a decan, which is upon the air alone. 8. The emanations of the Authades have afflicted me greatly; and my partner has spoken of it thus : in place of the light within her, they have filled her with Chaos . 9. I have swallowed the sweat of my matter myself and the anguish of the tears of the matter of my eyes, lest those that oppress me take away these things also. 10. All these things have happened to me, O Light, through thy ordinance and with thy command. And it is thy ordinance that I should be among these things. 11. Thy ordinance has brought me down, and I have come down like a power of the Chaos.; and my power has congealed within me. 12. But thou, O Lord, art eternal light; and at all times thou dost seek those who are oppressed. 13. Now at this time, O Light, arise and seek after my power and my soul within me. Thy ordinance is completed, which thou hast ordained for me in my affliction. My time has come, that thou shouldst seek after my power and my soul, and this is the time which thou hast ordained to seek me ; 14. For thy saviours have sought after the power which is in my soul, because the number is completed, and that they should save its matter also. 15. And then in that time all the archon. of the material aeons will fear before thy light: and all the emanations of the thirteenth material aeon will fear before the mystery of thy light, that the others may put on themselves what is purified of their light. 16. For the Lord will seek after the power of your souls; he has revealed his mystery. 17. For he will look at the repentance of those who are in the places below; and he has not overlooked their repentance.
18. This is that mystery which has become a type for the race which will be born ; and the race which will be born will
19. For the light has looked forth from the height of his light. He will look down upon all matter ; 20. To hear the groaning of those that are bound; to release the power of the souls whose power is bound. 21. To place his name in the soul, and his mystery in the Power | ||||
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