(3) And when we were a little farther onward, I heard a cry of, "Mary, pray for us!" A cry of, "Michael, Peter, and all Saints!" I do not think there walketh still on earth A man so hard, that he would not be pierced With pity at what afterward I saw. For when I had approached so near to them That manifest to me their acts became, Drained was I at the eyes by heavy grief. Covered with sackcloth vile they seemed to me, And one sustained the other with his shoulder, And all of them were by the bank sustained. Thus do the blind, in want of livelihood, Stand at the doors of churches asking alms, And one upon another leans his head, So that in others pity soon may rise, Not only at the accent of their words, But at their aspect, which no less implores. And as unto the blind the sun comes not, So to the shades, of whom just now I spake, Heaven's light will not be bounteous of itself; For all their lids an iron wire transpierces, And sews them up, as to a sparhawk wild Is done, because it will not quiet stay.

(89) And sometimes their eyes were opened, and sometimes blinded, till another sheep arose and led them and brought them all back, and their eyes were opened.

(89) And that sheep which led them again ascended to the summit of that rock, but the sheep began to be blinded and to wander from the way which he had showed them, but that sheep wot not thereof.

(90) And I saw till that man, who wrote down the names of the shepherds [and] carried up into the presence of the Lord of the sheep [came and helped it and showed it everything: he had come down for the help of that ram].

(89) And the Lord of the sheep was wrathful exceedingly against them, and that sheep discovered it, and went down from the summit of the rock, and came to the sheep, and found the greatest part of them blinded and fallen away.

(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."

(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."

(5) Then they came to the bank of a river of blood and crossed it without drinking its waters; they only went to the river bank and so they were not overcome. They went on until they came to where four roads joined, and there at the crossroads they were overcome. One of the four roads was red, another black, another white, and another yellow. And the black road said to them: "I am the one you must take because I am the way of the Lord." So said the road. And from here on they were already overcome. They were taken over the road to Xibalba and when they arrived at the council room of the Lords of Xibalba, they had already lost the match. Well, the first ones who were seated there were only figures of wood, arranged by the men of Xibalba. These they greeted first:

(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."

(89) And as touching all this the eyes of those sheep were blinded so that they saw not, and (the eyes of) their shepherds likewise; and they delivered them in large numbers to their shepherds for destruction, and they trampled the sheep with their feet and devoured them.

(63) But unto those Heathen, Jews, and Turks, blindness did befall, yet for all that they stand in an anxious birth, and seek for a rest; they desire grace, though they seek not for it at the right mark, or in the right place or limit: but God is everywhere, and looketh upon the ground of the heart.

(89) But the sheep escaped from that water and went forth into a wilderness, where there was no water and no grass; and they began to open their eyes and to see; and I saw the Lord of the sheep pasturing them and giving them water and grass, and that sheep going and leading them.

(18) And he said, " God will provide for himself a sheep for a burnt-offering, my son." And he drew near to the place of the mount of God.

(77) It was not needful that the Stone should be rolled away [from the Grave,] but to convince the blind Jews, that they might see it was but Folly in them to go about to detain or shut up God; also because of the Disciples weak Reason, that they might see that he was risen for certain; for [when the Stone was rolled away,] they could go into the Grave and see it themselves.

(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.

(34) Jesus said, "If a blind man leads a blind man, they will both fall into a pit."

(3) When then Jesus said this, he chanted a song of praise in the great name. The regions of the ways of the midst hid themselves, and Jesus and his disciples remained in an air of exceedingly strong light.

(7) Also when Christ went to heaven, two angels hovered in the clouds, [Acts i. 11] and said to the disciples, Ye men of Israel, what do you look after? This JESUS shall come again, as you have seen HIM go away to heaven.

(3) Then made he sign of holy rood upon them, Whereat all cast themselves upon the shore, And he departed swiftly as he came. The throng which still remained there unfamiliar Seemed with the place, all round about them gazing, As one who in new matters makes essay. On every side was darting forth the day. The sun, who had with his resplendent shafts From the mid-heaven chased forth the Capricorn, When the new people lifted up their faces Towards us, saying to us: "If ye know, Show us the way to go unto the mountain." And answer made Virgilius: "Ye believe Perchance that we have knowledge of this place, But we are strangers even as yourselves. Just now we came, a little while before you, Another way, which was so rough and steep, That mounting will henceforth seem sport to us." The souls who had, from seeing me draw breath, Become aware that I was still alive, Pallid in their astonishment became; And as to messenger who bears the olive The people throng to listen to the news, And no one shows himself afraid of crowding,

(89) And a sheep which had been saved from the wolves fled and escaped to the wild asses; and I saw the sheep how they lamented and cried, and besought their Lord with all their might, till that Lord of the sheep descended at the voice of the sheep from a lofty abode, and came to them and pastured them.