Translated by Alexander Bohlig and Frederik Wisse
The holy book of the Egyptians about the great invisible Spirit,
the Father whose name cannot be uttered, he who came forth from the
heights of the perfection, the light of the light of the aeons of
light, the light of the silence of the providence <and> the
Father of the silence, the light of the word and the truth, the light
of the incorruptions, the infinite light, the radiance from the aeons
of light of the unrevealable, unmarked, ageless, unproclaimable
Father, the aeon of the aeons, Autogenes, self-begotten,
self-producing, alien, the really true aeon.
Three powers came forth from him; they are the Father, the Mother,
(and) the Son, from the living silence, what came forth from the
incorruptible Father. These came forth from the silence of the
unknown Father.
And from that place, Domedon Doxomedon came forth, the aeon of the
aeons and the light of each one of their powers. And thus the Son
came forth fourth; the Mother fifth; the Father sixth. He was
[...] but unheralded; it is he who is unmarked among all the
powers, the glories, and the incorruptions.
From that place, the three powers came forth, the three ogdoads that
the Father brings forth in silence with his providence, from his
bosom, i.e., the Father, the Mother, (and) the Son.
The <first> ogdoad, because of which the thrice-male child came
forth, which is the thought, and the word, and the incorruption, and
the eternal life, the will, the mind, and the foreknowledge, the
androgynous Father.
The second ogdoad-power, the Mother, the virginal Barbelon,
epititioch[...]ai, memeneaimen[...], who presides
over the heaven, karb[...], the uninterpretable power, the
ineffable Mother. She originated from herself [...]; she came
forth; she agreed with the Father of the silent silence.
The third ogdoad-power, the Son of the silent silence, and the crown
of the silent silence, and the glory of the Father, and the virtue of
the Mother, he brings forth from the bosom the seven powers of the
great light of the seven voices. And the word is their
completion.
These are the three powers, the three ogdoads that the Father,
through his providence, brought forth from his bosom. He brought them
forth at that place.
Domedon Doxomedon came forth, the aeon of the aeons, and the throne
which is in him, and the powers which surround him, the glories and
the incorruptions. The Father of the great light who came forth from
the silence, he is the great Doxomedon-aeon, in which the thrice-
male child rests. And the throne of his glory was established in it,
this one on which his unrevealable name is inscribed, on the tablet
[...] one is the word, the Father of the light of everything,
he who came forth from the silence, while he rests in the silence, he
whose name is in an invisible symbol. A hidden, invisible mystery
came forth:
iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE oooooooooooooooooooooo
uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (the 7 vowels, 22 times each).
And in this way, the three powers gave praise to the great,
invisible, unnameable, virginal, uncallable Spirit, and his male
virgin. They asked for a power. A silence of living silence came
forth, namely glories and incorruptions in the aeons [...]
aeons, myriads added on [...], the three males, the three
male offspring, the male races ...
(IV 55, 5-7 adds: ... the glories of the Father, the glories of
the great Christ, and the male offspring, the races ...)
... filled the great Doxomedon-aeon with the power of the word of the
whole pleroma.
Then the thrice-male child of the great Christ, whom the great
invisible Spirit had anointed - he whose power was called 'Ainon' -
gave praise to the great invisible Spirit and his male virgin Yoel,
and the silence of silent silence, and the greatness that
[...] ineffable. [...] ineffable [...]
unanswerable and uninterpretable, the first one who has come forth,
and (who is) unproclaimable, [...] which is wonderful
[...] ineffable [...], he who has all the greatnesses
of greatness of the silence at that place. The thrice-male child
brought praise, and asked for a power from the great, invisible,
virginal Spirit.
Then there appeared at that place [...], who [...],
who sees glories [...] treasures in a [...] invisible
mysteries to [...] of the silence, who is the male virgin
Youel.
Then the child of the child, Esephech, appeared.
And thus he was completed, namely, the Father, the Mother, the Son,
the five seals, the unconquerable power which is the great Christ of
all the incorruptible ones. ...
... (one line unrecoverable)
... holy [...] the end, the incorruptible [...], and
[...], they are powers and glories and incorruptions
[...]. They came forth ...
... (5 lines unrecoverable)
... This one brought praise to the unrevealable, hidden mystery
[...] the hidden ...
... (4 lines unrecoverable)
... him in the [...], and the aeons [...] thrones,
[...] and each one [...] myriads of powers without
number surround them, glories and incorruptions [...] and
they [...] of the Father, and the Mother, and the Son, and
the whole pleroma, which I mentioned before, and the five seals, and
the mystery of mysteries. They appeared ...
... (3 lines unrecoverable)
... who presides over [...], and the aeons of [...]
really truly [...] and the ...
... (4 lines unrecoverable)
... and the really truly eternal aeons.
Then providence came forth from silence, and the living silence of
the Spirit, and the Word of the Father, and a light. She
[...] the five seals which the Father brought forth from his
bosom, and she passed through all the aeons which I mentioned before.
And she established thrones of glory, and myriads of angels without
number who surrounded them, powers and incorruptible glories, who
sing and give glory, all giving praise with a single voice, with one
accord, with one never-silent voice, [...] to the Father, and
the Mother, and the Son [...], and all the pleromas that I
mentioned before, who is the great Christ, who is from silence, who
is the incorruptible child Telmael Telmachael Eli Eli Machar Machar
Seth, the power which really truly lives, and the male virgin who is
with him, Youel, and Esephech, the holder of glory, the child of the
child, and the crown of his glory, [...] of the five seals,
the pleroma that I mentioned before.
There, the great self-begotten living Word came forth, the true god,
the unborn physis, he whose name I shall tell, saying,
[...]aia[...] thaOthOsth[...], who is the son
of the great Christ, who is the son of the ineffable silence, who
came forth from the great invisible and incorruptible Spirit. The son
of the silence and silence appeared ...
... (one line unrecoverable)
... invisible [...] man and the treasures of his glory. Then
he appeared in the revealed [...]. And he established the
four aeons. With a word he established them.
He brought praise to the great, invisible, virginal Spirit, the
silence of the Father, in a silence of the living silence of silence,
the place where the man rests ...
... (two lines unrecoverable)
Then there came forth at/from that place the cloud of the great
light, the living power, the mother of the holy, incorruptible ones,
the great power, the Mirothoe. And she gave birth to him whose name I
name, saying, ien ien ea ea ea, three times.
For this one, Adamas, is a light which radiated from the light; he is
the eye of the light. For this is the first man, he through whom and
to whom everything came into being, (and) without whom nothing came
into being. The unknowable, incomprehensible Father came forth. He
came down from above for the annulment of the deficiency.
Then the great Logos, the divine Autogenes, and the incorruptible man
Adamas mingled with each other. A Logos of man came into being.
However, the man came into being through a word.
He gave praise to the great, invisible, incomprehensible, virginal
Spirit, and the male virgin, and the thrice-male child, and the male
virgin Youel, and Esephech, the holder of glory, the child of the
child and the crown of his glory, and the great Doxomedon-aeon, and
the thrones which are in him, and the powers which surround him, the
glories and the incorruptions, and their whole pleroma which I
mentioned before, and the ethereal earth, the receiver of God, where
the holy men of the great light receive shape, the men of the Father
of the silent, living silence, the Father and their whole pleroma, as
I mentioned before.
The great Logos, the divine Autogenes, and the incorruptible man
Adamas gave praise, (and) they asked for a power and eternal strength
for the Autogenes, for the completion of the four aeons, in order
that, through them, there may appear [...] the glory and the
power of the invisible Father of the holy men of the great light
which will come to the world, which is the image of the night. The
incorruptible man Adamas asked for them a son out of himself, in
order that he (the son) may become father of the immovable,
incorruptible race, so that, through it (the race), the silence and
the voice may appear, and, through it, the dead aeon may raise
itself, so that it may dissolve.
And thus there came forth from above the power of the great light,
the Manifestation. She gave birth to the four great lights: Harmozel,
Oroiael, Davithe, Eleleth, and the great incorruptible Seth, the son
of the incorruptible man Adamas.
And thus the perfect hebdomad, which exists in hidden mysteries,
became complete. When she receives the glory, she becomes eleven
ogdoads.
And the Father nodded approval; the whole pleroma of the lights was
well pleased. Their consorts came forth for the completion of the
ogdoad of the divine Autogenes: the Grace of the first light
Harmozel, the Perception of the second light Oroiael, the
Understanding of the third light Davithe, the Prudence of the fourth
light Eleleth. This is the first ogdoad of the divine Autogenes.
And the Father nodded approval; the whole pleroma of the lights was
well pleased. The <ministers> came forth: the first one, the
great Gamaliel (of) the first great light Harmozel, and the great
Gabriel (of) the second great light Oroiael, and the great Samlo of
the great light Davithe, and the great Abrasax of the great light
Eleleth. And the consorts of these came forth by the will of the good
pleasure of the Father: the Memory of the great one, the first,
Gamaliel; the Love of the great one, the second, Gabriel; the Peace
of the third one, the great Samblo; the eternal Life of the great
one, the fourth, Abrasax. Thus were the five ogdoads completed, a
total of forty, as an uninterpretable power.
Then the great Logos, the Autogenes, and the word of the pleroma of
the four lights gave praise to the great, invisible, uncallable,
virginal Spirit, and the male virgin, and the great Doxomedon-aeon,
and the thrones which are in them, and the powers which surround
them, glories, authorities, and the powers, <and> the
thrice-male child, and the male virgin Youel, and Esephech, the
holder of glory, the child of the child and the crown of his glory,
the whole pleroma, and all the glories which are there, the infinite
pleromas <and> the unnameable aeons, in order that they may
name the Father the fourth, with the incorruptible race, (and) that
they may call the seed of the Father the seed of the great Seth.
Then everything shook, and trembling took hold of the incorruptible
ones. Then the three male children came forth from above, down into
the unborn ones, and the self-begotten ones, and those who were
begotten in what is begotten. The greatness came forth, the whole
greatness of the great Christ. He established thrones in glory,
myriads without number, in the four aeons around them, myriads
without number, powers and glories and incorruptions. And they came
forth in this way.
And the incorruptible, spiritual church increased in the four lights
of the great, living Autogenes, the god of truth, praising, singing,
(and) giving glory with one voice, with one accord, with a mouth
which does not rest, to the Father, and the Mother, and the Son, and
their whole pleroma, just as I mentioned <before>. The five
seals which possess the myriads, and they who rule over the aeons,
and they who bear the glory of the leaders, were given the command to
reveal to those who are worthy. Amen.
* * * Then the great Seth, the son of the incorruptible man Adamas,
gave praise to the great, invisible, uncallable, unnameable, virginal
Spirit, and the <male virgin, and the thrice-male child, and the
male> virgin Youel, and Esephech, the holder of glory and the
crown of his glory, the child of the child, and the great
Doxomedon-aeons, and the pleroma which I mentioned before; and asked
for his seed.
Then there came forth from that place the great power of the great
light Plesithea, the mother of the angels, the mother of the lights,
the glorious mother, the virgin with the four breasts, bringing the
fruit from Gomorrah, as spring, and Sodom, which is the fruit of the
spring of Gomorrah which is in her. She came forth through the great
Seth.
Then the great Seth rejoiced about the gift which was granted him by
the incorruptible child. He took his seed from her with the four
breasts, the virgin, and he placed it with him in the fourth aeon
(or, in the four aeons), in the third great light Davithe.
After five thousand years, the great light Eleleth spoke: "Let
someone reign over the chaos and Hades." And there appeared a cloud
whose name is hylic Sophia [...] She looked out on the parts
of the chaos, her face being like [...] in her form
[...] blood. And the great angel Gamaliel spoke to the great
Gabriel, the minister of the great light Oroiael; he said, "Let an
angel come forth, in order that he may reign over the chaos and
Hades." Then the cloud, being agreeable, came forth in the two
monads, each one of which had light. [...] the throne, which
she had placed in the cloud above. Then Sakla, the great angel, saw
the great demon who is with him, Nebruel. And they became together a
begetting spirit of the earth. They begot assisting angels. Sakla
said to the great demon Nebruel, "Let the twelve aeons come into
being in the [...] aeon, worlds [...]." [...]
the great angel Sakla said by the will of the Autogenes, "There shall
be the [...] of the number of seven [...]." And he
said to the great angels, "Go and let each of you reign over his
world." Each one of these twelve angels went forth. The first angel
is Athoth. He is the one whom the great generations of men call
[...]. The second is Harmas, who is the eye of the fire. The
third is Galila. The fourth is Yobel. The fifth is Adonaios, who is
called 'Sabaoth'. The sixth is Cain, whom the great generations of
men call the sun. The seventh is Abel; the eighth Akiressina; the
ninth Yubel. The tenth is Harmupiael. The eleventh is Archir-Adonin.
The twelfth is Belias. These are the ones who preside over Hades and
the chaos.
And after the founding of the world, Sakla said to his angels, "I, I
am a jealous god, and apart from me nothing has come into being,"
since he trusted in his nature.
Then a voice came from on high, saying, "The Man exists, and the Son
of the Man." Because of the descent of the image above, which is like
its voice in the height of the image which has looked out through the
looking out of the image above, the first creature was formed.
Because of this, Metanoia came into being. She received her
completion and her power by the will of the Father, and his approval,
with which he approved of the great, incorruptible, immovable race of
the great, mighty men of the great Seth, in order that he may sow it
in the aeons which had been brought forth, so that through her
(Metanoia), the deficiency may be filled up. For she had come forth
from above, down to the world, which is the image of the night. When
she had come, she prayed for (the repentance of) both the seed of the
archon of this aeon, and <the> authorities who had come forth
from him, that defiled (seed) of the demon-begetting god which will
be destroyed, and the seed of Adam and the great Seth, which is like
the sun.
Then the great angel Hormos came to prepare, through the virgins of
the corrupted sowing of this aeon, in a Logos-begotten, holy vessel,
through the holy Spirit, the seed of the great Seth.
Then the great Seth came and brought his seed. And it was sown in the
aeons which had been brought forth, their number being the amount of
Sodom. Some say that Sodom is the place of pasture of the great Seth,
which is Gomorrah. But others (say) that the great Seth took his
plant out of Gomorrah and planted it in the second place, to which he
gave the name 'Sodom'.
This is the race which came forth through Edokla. For she gave birth
through the word, to Truth and Justice, the origin of the seed of the
eternal life, which is with those who will persevere, because of the
knowledge of their emanation. This is the great, incorruptible race
which has come forth through three worlds to the world.
And the flood came as an example, for the consummation of the aeon.
But it will be sent into the world because of this race. A
conflagration will come upon the earth. And grace will be with those
who belong to the race, through the prophets and the guardians who
guard the life of the race. Because of this race, famines will occur,
and plagues. But these things will happen because of the great,
incorruptible race. Because of this race, temptations will come, a
falsehood of false prophets.
Then the great Seth saw the activity of the devil, and his many
guises, and his schemes, which will come upon his (Seth's)
incorruptible, immovable race, and the persecutions of his powers and
his angels, and their error, that they acted against themselves.
Then the great Seth gave praise to the great, uncallable, virginal
Spirit, and the male virgin Barbelon, and the thrice-male child
Telmael Telmael Heli Heli Machar Machar Seth, the power which really
truly lives, and the male virgin Youel, and Esephech, the holder of
glory and the crown of his glory, and the great Doxomedon-aeon, and
the thrones which are in him, and the powers which surround them, and
the whole pleroma, as I mentioned before. And he asked for guards
over his seed.
Then there came forth from the great aeons four hundred ethereal
angels, accompanied by the great Aerosiel and the great Selmechel, to
guard the great, incorruptible race, its fruit, and the great men of
the great Seth, from the time and the moment of Truth and Justice,
until the consummation of the aeon and its archons, those whom the
great judges have condemned to death.
Then the great Seth was sent by the four lights, by the will of the
Autogenes and the whole pleroma, through <the gift> and the
good pleasure of the great invisible Spirit, and the five seals, and
the whole pleroma.
He passed through the three parousias which I mentioned before: the
flood, and the conflagration, and the judgment of the archons and the
powers and the authorities, to save her (the race) who went astray,
through the reconciliation of the world, and the baptism through a
Logos-begotten body which the great Seth prepared for himself
secretly through the virgin, in order that the saints may be begotten
by the holy Spirit, through invisible, secret symbols, through a
reconciliation of the world with the world, through the renouncing of
the world, and the god of the thirteen aeons, and (through) the
convocations of the saints and the ineffable ones, and (through) the
incorruptible bosom, and (through) the great light of the Father, who
pre-existed with his Providence, and established through her the holy
baptism that surpasses the heaven, through the incorruptible,
Logos-begotten one, even Jesus the living one, even he whom the great
Seth has put on. And through him, he nailed the powers of the
thirteen aeons, and established those who are brought forth and taken
away. He armed them with an armor of knowledge of this truth, with an
unconquerable power of incorruptibility.
There appeared to them the great attendant Yesseus Mazareus
Yessedekeus, the living water, and the great leaders, James the great
and Theopemptos and Isaouel, and they who preside over the spring of
truth, Micheus and Michar and Mnesinous, and he who presides over the
baptism of the living, and the purifiers, and Sesengenpharanges, and
they who preside over the gates of the waters, Micheus and Michar,
and they who preside over the mountain, Seldao and Elainos, and the
receivers of the great race, the incorruptible, mighty men <of>
the great Seth, the ministers of the four lights, the great Gamaliel,
the great Gabriel, the great Samblo, and the great Abrasax, and they
who preside over the sun, its rising, Olses and Hypneus and
Heurumaious, and they who preside over the entrance into the rest of
eternal life, the rulers Mixanther and Michanor, and they who guard
the souls of the elect, Akramas and Strempsouchos, and the great
power Heli Heli Machar Machar Seth, and the great invisible,
uncallable, unnameable, virginal Spirit, and the silence, and the
(first) great light Harmozel, the place of the living Autogenes, the
God of the truth, and <he> who is with him, the incorruptible
man Adamas, the second, Oroiael, the place of the great Seth, and
Jesus, who possesses the life, and who came and crucified that which
is in the law, the third, Davithe, the place of the sons of the great
Seth, the fourth, Eleleth, the place where the souls of the sons are
resting, the fifth, Yoel, who presides over the name of him to whom
it will be granted to baptize with the holy baptism that surpasses
the heaven, the incorruptible one.
But from now on, through the incorruptible man Poimael, and they who
are worthy of (the) invocation, the renunciations of the five seals
in the spring-baptism, these will know their receivers as they are
instructed about them, and they will know them (or: be known) by
them. These will by no means taste death.
* * * IE ieus EO ou EO Oua! Really, truly, O Yesseus Mazareus
Yessedekeus, O living water, O child of the child, O glorious name!
Really truly, aiOn o On (or: O existing aeon), iiii EEEE eeee oooo
uuuu OOOO aaaa{a}. Really, truly, Ei aaaa OOOO, O existing one who
sees the aeons! Really, truly, aee EEE iiii uuuuuu OOOOOOOO, who is
eternally eternal! Really, truly, iEa aiO, in the heart, who exists,
u aei eis aei, ei o ei, ei os ei (or: (Son) forever, You are what you
are, You are who you are)!
This great name of yours is upon me, O self-begotten Perfect one, who
is not outside me. I see you, O you who are visible to everyone. For
who will be able to comprehend you in another tongue? Now that I have
known you, I have mixed myself with the immutable. I have armed
myself with an armor of light; I have become light! For the Mother
was at that place because of the splendid beauty of grace. Therefore,
I have stretched out my hands while they were folded. I was shaped in
the circle of the riches of the light which is in my bosom, which
gives shape to the many begotten ones in the light into which no
complaint reaches. I shall declare your glory truly, for I have
comprehended you, sou iEs ide aeiO aeie ois, O aeon, aeon, O God of
silence! I honor you completely. You are my place of rest, O Son Es
Es o e, the formless one who exists in the formless ones, who exists
raising up the man in whom you will purify me into your life,
according to your imperishable name. Therefore, the incense of life
is in me. I mixed it with water after the model of all archons, in
order that I may live with you in the peace of the saints, you who
exist really truly forever.
* * * This is the book which the great Seth wrote, and placed in high
mountains on which the sun has not risen, nor is it possible (that it
should do so). And since the days of the prophets and the apostles
and the preachers, the name has not at all risen upon their hearts,
nor is it possible (that it should do so). And their ear has not
heard it.
The great Seth wrote this book with letters in one hundred and thirty
years. He placed it in the mountain that is called 'Charaxio,' in
order that, at the end of the times and the eras, by the will of the
divine Autogenes and the whole pleroma, through the gift of the
untraceable, unthinkable, fatherly love, it may come forth and reveal
this incorruptible, holy race of the great savior, and those who
dwell with them in love, and the great, invisible, eternal Spirit,
and his only-begotten Son, and the eternal light, and his great,
incorruptible consort, and the incorruptible Sophia, and the
Barbelon, and the whole pleroma in eternity. Amen.
* * * The Gospel of <the> Egyptians. The God-written, holy,
secret book. Grace, understanding, perception, (and) prudence (be)
with him who has written it - Eugnostos the beloved, in the Spirit -
in the flesh, my name is Gongessos - and my fellow lights in
incorruptibility. Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior, Ichthus.
God-written (is) the holy book of the great, invisible Spirit.
Amen.
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