(42) And he said : " My son will not go down with you lest perchance he fall sick ; for their mother gave birth to two sons, and one hath perished, and this one also ye will take from me. If perchance he took a fever on the road, ye would iDring down my old age with sorrow unto death."

(107) And he arose in the hands of the midwife, and opened his mouth and blessed the Lord of heaven.

(107) And thereupon he arose in the hands of the midwife, opened his mouth, and †conversed with† the Lord of righteousness.

(28) Then He continued and said, That is why you become sick and die, for you are deprived of the one who can heal you.

(6) For the Son of Man clothed himself with their first-fruits; he went down to Hades and performed many mighty works. He raised the dead therein; and the world-rulers of darkness became envious of him, for they did not find sin in him. But he also destroyed their works from among men, so that the lame, the blind, the paralytic, the dumb, (and) the demon-possessed were granted healing. And he walked upon the waters of the sea. For this reason he destroyed his flesh from [...] which he [...]. And he became [...] salvation [...] his death ... ... (4 lines unrecoverable) ... everyone [...] how many they are! They are blind guides, like the disciples. They boarded the ship; at about thirty stadies, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. These are empty martyrs, since they bear witness only to themselves. And yet they are sick, and they are not able to raise themselves.

(4) He (knowing that his father had promised to give up all that he possessed, and therefore his son also) said to his father: 'Dear father, to whom wilt thou give me?' He said it a second and a third time. Then the father replied (angrily): 'I shall give thee unto Death.'

(18) And He said, " Take thy beloved8 son whom thou lovest, (even) Isaac, and go unto the high country, and offer him on one of the mountains which will point out unto thee."

(5) Therefore the Son came down from heaven, and was incarnate of a Virgin, and took upon Him all our bodily weaknesses, except sin and folly, into which Adam had cast us; and out of all His words and works and limbs and nerves, He made a cord, and drew us so skillfully, and so heartily, that the bloody sweat poured from His sacred Body. And when He had drawn men without ceasing for three and thirty years, He saw the beginnings of a movement and the redemption of all things that would follow. Therefore He said, "And I, if I be lifted up on the Cross, will draw all men unto Me." Therefore He was stretched upon the Cross, and laid aside all His glory, and whatever might hinder His drawing men.

(4) Therefore now, if we will speak of this most serious Article, we must go from Jerusalem to Jericho, and see how we lie among Murderers, who have so wounded us, and beaten us, that we are half dead, and we must look about us for the Samaritan with his Beast, that he may dress our Wounds, and bring us into his Inn. O how lamentable and miserable it is, that we are so beaten by the Murderer (the Devil) that we are half dead, and yet feel our Smart no more! O if the Physician would come, and dress our Wounds, that our Soul might revive and live, how should we rejoice! Thus speaks the Desire, and has such longing hearty Wishes; and although the Physician is present, yet the Mind can no where apprehend him, because it is so very much wounded, and lies half dead.

In their heart, the living book of the living was manifest, the book that was written in the thought and in the mind of the father and, from before the foundation of all, is in that incomprehensible part of him. This is the book that no one found possible to take, since it was reserved for him who will take it and be slain. No one could appear among those who believed in salvation as long as that book had not appeared. For this reason, the compassionate, faithful Jesus was patient in his sufferings until he took that book, since he knew that his death meant life for many. Just as in the case of a will that has not yet been opened, the fortune of the deceased master of the house is hidden, so also in the case of all that had been hidden as long as the father of all was invisible and unique in himself, in whom every space has its source. For this reason Jesus appeared. He put on that book. He was nailed to a cross. He affixed the edict of the father to the cross. Oh, such great teaching! He abases himself even unto death, though he is clothed in eternal life. Having divested himself of these perishable rags, he clothed himself in incorruptibility, which no one could possibly take from him. Having entered into the empty territory of fears, he passed before those who were stripped by forgetfulness, being both knowledge and perfection, proclaiming the things that are in the heart of the father, so that he became the wisdom of those who have received instruction. But those who are to be taught, the living who are inscribed in the book of the living, learn for themselves, receiving instructions from the father, turning to him again. Since the perfection of all is in the father, it is necessary for all to ascend to him. Therefore, if one has knowledge, he gets what belongs to him and draws it to himself. For one who is ignorant is deficient, and it is a great deficiency, since he lacks that which will make him perfect. Since the perfection of all is in the father, it is necessary for all to ascend to him and for each one to get the things that are his. He wrote these things first, having prepared them to be given to those who came from him.

(1) IT came to pass then, when Jesus our Lord had been crucified and had risen from the dead on the third day, that his disciples gathered round him, adored him and said: "Our Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have abandoned father and mother and the whole world and have followed thee."

(1) And when the disciples had heard this, they fell down, adored him and said: "Help us now, Lord, and have mercy upon us, in order that we may be preserved from these wicked chastisements which are prepared for the sinners. Woe unto them, woe unto the children of men! For they grope as the blind in the darkness and see not. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, in this great blindness in which we are. And have mercy upon the whole race of men; for they have lain in wait for their souls, as lions for their prey, making it [ sc. the prey] ready as food for their [ sc. the rulers'] chastisements because of the forgetfulness and unknowing which is in them. Have mercy then upon us, our Lord, our Saviour, have mercy upon us and save us in this great stupefaction."

(99) The disciples said to Him, "Your brothers and Your mother are standing outside." He said to them, "Those here who do the will of My Father are My brothers and My mother. It is they who will enter the Kingdom of My Father."

(78) Also the Angel appeared to them there, and comforted them. Thus will Christ comfort his afflicted ones, who are afflicted for his Sake; yea he is [present] with them, as he was with Mary Magdalen, and with the two Disciples going to Emmaus.

(13) Jesus said to His disciples, "Compare me to someone and tell Me whom I am like." Simon Peter said to Him, "You are like a righteous angel." Matthew said to Him, "You are like a wise philosopher." Thomas said to Him, "Master, my mouth is wholly incapable of saying whom You are like." Jesus said, "I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated by the bubbling spring which I have measured out." And He took him and withdrew and told him three things. When Thomas returned to his companions, they asked him, "What did Jesus say to you?" Thomas said to them, "If I tell you one of the things which he told me, you will pick up stones and throw them at me; a fire will come out of the stones and burn you up."

(1) It came to pass then, when Jesus had finished saying these words, that Philip came forward and said: "Jesus, my Lord, my thought is exalted, and I have understood the solution of the song which Pistis Sophia hath uttered. The prophet David hath prophesied concerning it aforetime in the one-hundred-and-sixth Psalm, saying: "'1. Give ye thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his grace is eternal. "'2. Let the delivered of the Lord say this, for it is he who hath delivered them out of the hand of their foes. "'3. He hath gathered them together out of their lands, from the east and from the west and from the north and from the sea. "'4. They wandered round in the desert, in a waterless country; they found not the way to the city of their dwelling-place. "'5. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. "'6. He saved them out of their necessities. They cried unto the Lord and he hearkened unto them in their affliction. "'7. He led them on a straight way, that they might go to the region of their dwelling-place. "'8. Let them give thanks unto the Lord for his graciousness and his wondrous works unto the children of men. "'9. For he hath satisfied a hungering soul; he hath filled a hungering soul with good things, "'10. Them who sat in darkness and the shadow of death, who were fettered in misery and iron. "'11. For they had provoked the word of God and made wroth the determination of the Most High. "'12. Their heart was humbled in their miseries; they become weak and no one helped them. "'13. They cried unto the Lord in their affliction; he saved them out of their necessities. "'14. And he led them out of the darkness and the shadow of death and brake their bonds asunder. "'15. Let them give thanks unto the Lord for his graciousness and his wondrous works unto the children of men. "'16. For he hath shattered the gates of brass and burst the bolts of iron asunder. "'17. He hath taken them unto himself out of the way of their iniquity. For they were brought low because of their iniquities. "'18. Their heart abhorred all manner of meat and they were near unto the gates of death. "'19. They cried unto the Lord in their affliction and he saved them out of their necessities. "'20. He sent his word and healed them and freed them from their miseries. "'21. Let them give thanks unto the Lord for his graciousness and his wondrous works unto the children of men.' "This then, my Lord, is the solution of the song which Pistis Sophia hath uttered. Hearken, therefore, my Lord, that I may say it clearly. The word in Booth which David hath spoken: 'Give ye thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his grace is eternal,'--it is the word which Pistis Sophia hath spoken: 'I will give thanks unto thee, O Light, for thou art a saviour and thou art a deliverer for all time.' "And the word which hath David spoken: 'Let the delivered of the Lord say this, for he hath delivered them out of the hand of their foes,'--it is the word which Pistis Sophia hath spoken: 'I will utter this song to the Light, for it hath saved me and saved me out of the hand of the rulers, my foes.' And the rest of the Psalm. "This then, my Lord, is the solution of the song which Pistis Sophia hath uttered in the midst of the four-and-twenty invisibles, desiring that they should know all the wondrous works which thou hast done for her, and desiring that they should know that thou hast given thy mysteries to the race of men." It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard Philip say these words, that he said: "Well said, blessed Philip. This is the solution of the song which Pistis Sophia hath uttered."

A voice came from heaven to Moses, saying, "O Moses why didst thou not visit me when I was sick?" Moses inquired the meaning of this dark saying, and the answer was, "When one of God's saints is sick, God regards his sickness as His own; and, therefore, he who desires to hold companionship with God must not forsake the saints." This is illustrated by a story of a gardener who saw three friends walking in his garden, and making free with his fruit. Knowing he could not prevail against them while they remained united, he contrived by tricks to separate them, and then proceeded to chastise them one by one. And this caused one of them to make the reflection that he had acted very foolishly in deserting his friends.

(2) He who is in heaven it was who made firm the fastening for him who was fainting upon his two haunches on that day when the fleece was shorn

(3) "The mystery of the raising of the dead and of the healing of the sick, on the other hand, give unto no one nor give instruction in it, for that mystery belongeth to the rulers, it and all its namings. For this cause, therefore, give it unto no one, nor give instruction in it until ye establish the faith in the whole world, in order that, if ye come into cities or into countries, and they do not receive you unto themselves, and do not have faith, and do not hearken unto your words, ye may raise the dead in those regions and heal the lame and the blind and manifold of sicknesses in those regions. And through all such they will have faith in you, that ye herald the God of the universe, and will have faith in all the words of you. For this cause, therefore, have I given unto you that mystery, until ye establish the faith in the whole world." When then the Saviour had said this, he continued again in the discourse and said unto Mary: "Now, therefore, hearken, Mary, concerning the word on which thou hast questioned me: Who constraineth the man until he sinneth? Now, therefore, hearken:

(31) And Isaac said : " Let my son Jacob come, and let me see him before I die." x