Codex V, Text 4 — Nag Hammadi Library
The Second Apocalypse of James is a Gnostic martyrdom account unique among the Nag Hammadi texts for its graphic depiction of violence against one of its own heroes. The text presents itself as a speech delivered by James the Just in the Jerusalem temple, recorded by the priest Mareim and transmitted to Theuda, James's father. Unlike the First Apocalypse of James, which is a private revelation dialogue, this text is a public discourse — James speaks before a crowd, addressing judges and the people directly.
The narrative has two movements. In the first, James recounts what was revealed to him: that the one who descended from the Pleroma came as a son and a brother, that the true Father is not the worldly father who offers a false inheritance of evil counsels and thrones, but the hidden one whose inheritance is eternal. In the second, James addresses the crowd, pronouncing judgment on the judges who have condemned themselves, and giving the temple itself over to destruction. The crowd responds by throwing him from the temple pinnacle, stoning him, and burying him alive in a pit — from which he prays his final prayer, a litany of rescue and trust.
The text is heavily damaged, with significant lacunae on nearly every page. What survives reveals a sophisticated theology that distinguishes sharply between the worldly lord who rules by violence and the true Father who gives freely, between the false inheritance of thrones and the real inheritance that has no end. The martyrdom scene, with its detail of dragging, stoning, and burial, echoes the account of James's death preserved in Hegesippus via Eusebius, suggesting both texts draw on a common tradition about the death of the Lord's brother.
This is the word that James the Righteous spoke in Jerusalem, which Mareim, one of the priests, wrote down. He told it to Theuda, the father of the Righteous One, since he was a relative of his, saying: Hurry, come with Maria your wife and your relatives [...]
[...] Hurry then — perhaps you yourself, who led us to him, he will have pity. For behold, a great crowd is disturbed about him, and they are angry with him in great wrath. [...] And they pray [...]
[...] For these words he spoke many times, and other words also. These words he spoke while the crowd of the people sat. He came in and sat down — not in his accustomed place, but he sat beside the fifth step, which is honoured, while all our people [...]
[...] I am the one who was revealed from the Pleroma of his incorruptibility — the one who was first grasped in the one who is good. And he heard the Lord, the one who was destroyed from the worlds [...] the one who stripped himself, alone, and walked stripped. The one who was found in destruction — they will destroy him back to incorruptibility.
This Lord who is here — he came as a son, seeing, and as a brother. They sought him as he came [...] and he resembles [...] free.
[...] Now again, I am rich in knowledge, and I have a single understanding. The one who was begotten apart from the first one alone, and the first [...] from a truth [...] I am the [...] that I have known. The one who revealed himself to me was hidden from everyone. And he will be revealed through him — the two who see. I was first worthy to be received through these words, and the righteous ones — the one who was revealed apart from one. He died in one [...]
[...] flesh, and coming forth from the flesh in knowledge. I who die in death — they will find me in life. I came in so that they might judge [...] coming forth from [...] I do not impose upon them as servants of his [...] I, hastening to make them free, and wishing to take them above the one who wishes to lord it over them. If they are helped —
I am the brother in a manner without theft — the one who has pleased the Father until [...] and [...] with [...] I am the first son who was begotten. He will dissolve all their lordship. I am the beloved. I am the righteous one. I am the son of the Father. I speak as I have heard. I teach as I have received the commandment. I instruct you as I have found. Behold, I speak so that I may come forth. Pay attention to me, that you may see me. If I have come into being — who am I? For I did not come as I am, nor would I have revealed myself as I am. For I existed for a small time [...]
[...] While I sat one time, pondering in my heart, he opened the door and came in to me — that one whom you have hated and persecuted. He said to me: Hail, my brother! My brother, hail!
When I lifted my face to look upon him, the mother said to me: Do not be troubled, my son, that he said to you "my brother." For you were nourished with the same milk. Because of this he calls me "my mother." For he is not a stranger to us. He is the brother of your father.
[...] These words [...] great [...] I who will find them and they will come forth. But I am the stranger, and they have not known me in their thoughts, thinking they know me in this place. But it was fitting that others should learn through you. This is what I say to you: Listen and understand. For there is a great crowd — when they hear, they will be slow of heart. But you, understand as I will tell you.
Your father is not my father. But my Father has become a father to you. This virginity that you hear about — this is the way [...] virginity [...]
[...] the virginity [...] said: How [...] know [...] he is not [...] for this one who falls short — he is pressing against it. And this one also who does good for you — your father whom you think is rich, he will give you an inheritance of all these things that you see. But I declare it good for you to tell you what I will say. If you will hear —
Now then, open your ears and understand, and walk, inquiring about yourself, being mindful of them, through him whom they do not wish — and wishing to cause disturbance and seizure [...] but [...]
[...] he has not laid his hand upon it, neither those who came, whom he sent forth, that they might do this purpose being here. After these things, if he receives shame, he will be disturbed, because his profit that comes from the aeons is nothing. And his inheritance will be revealed to be a small thing — that which he has boasted about as great. His gifts are not good things. His counsels are evil counsels. For you are not from his compassion, but he takes by violence from you. He wishes to do us injustice, and he will rule on a throne that has been counted for him.
But understand and know the Father who has compassion — the one to whom was not given an inheritance that has been counted, neither does it have a number of evil days, but it endures to the age of ages [...]
[...] to perceive [...] and he made use of [...] for they are not from them. Because of this he takes shame. Because of this he boasts about himself, so that they will not rebuke him. Because of this he destroys those below — those who were looked down upon to complete them. Having taken captive those from the Father, he seized them and fashioned them to be a likeness of himself. But they, being with him — I saw what had happened from the height, and I gave a sign as to how they had come to be. And they found their form existing in another manner, and they knew me through those I know, as I am, looking forth.
Before those who had come to be, making a [...], I know how they were given to come down to this place [...]
[...] so that he might approach [...] the small ones of mine. But I wish to reveal through you and through the spirit of power, that he might reveal to those who are yours. And they open the good door through you — those who wish to enter, and who seek to walk on the road that is before the door. And they follow you, and they enter in, and you receive them in and give the reward to each one who is ready for it.
For you are not the saviour, nor a helper of strangers. You are an illuminator and a saviour of those who are mine — and now of those who are yours. You shall be revealed, and you shall find good in them all. You — they shall marvel at you upon every power. You are the one whom the heavens bless. He shall be jealous of you — the one who has called himself your Lord.
[...] I am the one who [...] Those who learn these things with you — because of you they will be instructed in these things, and they will rest. Because of you they will reign, and they will become kings. Because of you they will have mercy on those whom they will have mercy on. For just as you are the first who has clothed yourself, you are also the first who will strip yourself. And you shall become as you were before you stripped yourself.
And he gave me the kiss and embraced me, saying: My beloved, behold, I will reveal to you those things that neither the heavens nor their archons have known. Behold, I will reveal to you the one whom he has not known — the one who boasted about himself [...]
[...] no other besides me. I am alive — not because I am a father. I have power over all things. Behold, I will reveal to you all things, my beloved. Understand and know them, so that you may come forth in this way, as I am. Behold, I will reveal to you the one who is hidden.
Now, stretch out your hand. Now, embrace me.
And then I stretched out my hands, and I did not find him as I thought. But afterward I heard him saying: Understand, and embrace me. Then I understood, and I was afraid. And I rejoiced with a great joy.
Therefore I say to you, judges: You have been judged, and you did not spare. But you were spared. Be sober and [...] cease [...]
You — you do not know him. He was that one whom the one who made heaven and earth had not seen, being in him. He was the life. He was the light. He was that which will come to be. And again, he will give a completion to those who have begun, and a beginning to those who will be completed. He was the holy spirit, and the invisible one — the one who did not come down upon the earth. He was the virgin, and that which he wishes comes to be. I saw him — he was stripped and there was no garment upon him. That which he wills, he becomes [...]
[...] Abandon this difficult road, which has no form, and walk according to the one who wills, that you may become free with me, having surpassed every lordship. For he will not judge you for the things you have done, but will have mercy on you. For it was not you who did them, but your Lord. He was not wrathful, but he was the father of goodness. But you — you have judged yourselves, and because of this you will remain in their fetters. You have been sorrowful over yours, and you will repent — you will achieve nothing.
Look upon the one who speaks, and seek the one who is silent. Know the one who came to this place, and understand the one who went forth. I am the Righteous One, and I do not judge. I am not a lord, but I am a helper. He was cast out before he stretched out his hand [...]
[...] And he allows me to hear — and those of the trumpets and those of the flutes speak them, and those of the psaltery of the temple. The Lord, who took you captive from the Lord — blocking the ears, so that they might not hear the voice of my word. And you will pay attention in your hearts, and you will call me the Righteous One. Therefore I say to you: Behold, I have given your house — the one you say God made — the one in which he has promised to give you an inheritance. This I will give over to destruction and to the scorn of those who exist in ignorance. For behold, those who judge are troubled [...]
On that day all the people and the crowd were disturbed, and they appeared as though they had not been persuaded. And he rose up and went out, speaking in this way. And he came in that day and spoke for a short time. But I was with the priests, and I revealed nothing of the kinship, since all of them were saying with one voice: Come, let us stone the Righteous One.
And they rose up, saying: Yes, let us kill this man, and let him be taken from our midst. For he will never be of use to us.
And they found him standing near the pinnacle of the temple, beside the great corner stone. And they decided to throw him down from the height. And they threw him down.
And they seized him and dragged him upon the ground. They stretched him out and placed a stone upon his stomach. They all placed their feet upon him, saying: You have gone astray!
Again they raised him up, since he was alive, and made him dig a pit. They stood him in it, having buried him up to his stomach. They stoned him in this way.
And he stretched out his hands and spoke this prayer — not the one he was accustomed to say:
My God and my Father, you who saved me from this dead hope — you who made me alive through a mystery of what he wills — do not let these days of this world oppress me, but let the day of your light [...] remain within me. Save me from an evil death. Bring me from a tomb alive, because your grace is alive in me — a desire to accomplish a work of fullness. Save me from sinful flesh, because I trusted in you with all my strength, because you are the life of life. Save me from a humiliating enemy. Do not give me into the hand of a judge who is harsh with sin. Forgive me all the debts of my days, because I am alive in you. Your grace is alive in me. I have denied everyone, but you I have acknowledged. Save me from evil affliction.
Now is the time, and the hour. The holy spirit, send to me salvation [...] light [...] light [...] in power [...] When he had said this, he fell silent [...]
Colophon
The (Second) Apocalypse of James occupies pages 44.11 through 63.32 of Codex V of the Nag Hammadi Library. Despite sharing a title character with the preceding text, it is an entirely different work — a martyrdom narrative rather than a revelation dialogue. The text is presented as a speech by James the Just in the Jerusalem temple, recorded by the priest Mareim and transmitted to Theuda, identified as James's father.
The text is notable for several features. Its frame narrative — a priestly scribe recording a speech for transmission to a relative — is unique among Nag Hammadi texts and mimics the conventions of Jewish historiography. The public discourse in the temple, addressed to judges and the people, recalls prophetic judgment speeches. The martyrdom account parallels the tradition preserved in Hegesippus (via Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History II.23), in which James is thrown from the temple pinnacle, stoned, and finished with a fuller's club — suggesting both texts drew on a common early tradition about the death of the Lord's brother.
Theologically, the text distinguishes sharply between the worldly father — who gives an inheritance of evil counsels, takes by violence, and rules from a throne counted for him — and the true Father, whose inheritance has no number of evil days and endures forever. The teacher appears to James calling him "brother," and the mother explains they were nourished at the same milk, establishing a family theology that is both gnostic and Jewish-Christian.
The hymnic passage (pages 57-58) catalogues the teacher's nature: life, light, that which will come to be, holy spirit, invisible one, virgin. The final prayer from the burial pit is one of the most moving passages in the Nag Hammadi corpus — a litany of rescue that echoes the Psalms while maintaining its distinctive Gnostic voice.
The text is heavily damaged throughout, with significant lacunae on nearly every page. The translation follows the Coptic as preserved, marking gaps with [...]. Where restorations are well-supported by context and parallel passages, they are incorporated silently.
Critical edition: Charles W. Hedrick, in Nag Hammadi Codices V,2-5 and VI with Papyrus Berolinensis 8502,1 and 4, ed. Douglas M. Parrott, Nag Hammadi Studies 11 (Leiden: Brill, 1979).
Good Works Translation from Coptic by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Translated from the Sahidic Coptic source text digitized by Milan Konvicka for the Marcion Project (GPL v2).
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Source Text
Selected passages from the Sahidic Coptic of Codex V, Nag Hammadi Library.
Incipit — Title and Frame (44.11-20):
44.11 ⲧⲁⲡⲟⲕⲁⲗⲩⲯ[ⲓⲥ]
44.12 ̄ⲛⲓⲁ[ⲕⲱⲃⲟⲥ]
44.13 ⲡⲁⲓ ⲡⲉ [ⲡ]ϣⲁϫⲉ ⲉ[ⲧⲁϥϣⲁ]-
44.14 ϫⲉ ̄ⲙⲙⲟϥ ̄ⲛϭⲓ ⲓⲁⲕⲱ[ⲃⲟⲥ ⲡⲇⲓ]-
44.15 ⲕⲁⲓⲟⲥ ϩ̄ⲛ ⲑⲓⲏⲙ̅: ⲡ[ⲉ]ⲧ[ⲁϥ]-
44.16 ⲥⲁϩ̄ϥ ̄ⲛϭⲓ ⲙⲁⲣⲉⲓⲙ̅: ⲟⲩⲁ [̄ⲛ]-
44.17 ⲛⲓⲟⲩⲏⲏⲃ ⲁϥϫⲟⲟϥ ̄ⲛ-
44.18 ⲑⲉⲩⲇⲁ̅ ⲡⲓⲱⲧ ̄ⲙⲡⲓⲇⲓⲕⲁⲓⲟⲥ
44.19 ⲉⲡⲓⲇⲏ ⲛⲉⲩⲥⲩⲅⲅⲉⲛⲏⲥ ̄ⲛ-
44.20 ⲧⲁϥ ⲡⲉ
"I am the beloved" — James's self-declaration (49.5-16):
49.5 [ⲉ]ⲧⲁⲩϫⲡⲟϥ: ϥ[ⲛ]ⲁⲃⲱⲗ
49.6 ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ̄ⲛⲧⲉ[ⲩⲙ̄ⲛⲧ]ϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ [ⲧⲏ]-
49.7 ⲣⲟⲩ: ⲁⲛⲟⲕ [ⲡⲉ] ⲡⲓⲙⲉⲣⲓⲧ
49.8 ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲓⲇ[ⲓⲕ]ⲁⲓⲟⲥ:
49.9 ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲡⲉ ⲡⲓϣⲏⲣⲉ ̄ⲛⲧⲉ
49.10 [ⲡⲓⲉⲓⲱⲧ] tϣⲁϫⲉ ̄ⲛⲑⲉ
49.11 [ⲉ]ⲧⲁ[ⲓⲥ]ⲱⲧ̄ⲙ: tt ⲁⲛⲥ̄ⲙⲙⲉ
49.12 ̄ⲛⲑⲉ [ⲉ]ⲧⲁⲓ[ϫⲓ] ̄ⲛtⲉⲛⲧⲟⲗⲏ t-
49.13 ⲧⲁⲙ[ⲟ] ̄ⲙⲙ[ⲱ]ⲧ̄ⲛ: ̄ⲛⲑⲉ ⲉⲛ-
49.14 ⲧⲁⲓϭ[ⲓⲛ]ⲉ ⲉⲓⲥ ϩⲏⲏⲧⲉ tϣⲁϫⲉ
49.15 ϫⲉⲕⲁⲁⲥ ⲉⲓⲛⲁⲉⲓ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ: ⲙⲁ-
49.16 t ϩⲧⲏⲧ̄ⲛ ⲉⲣⲟⲉⲓ
The stoning — crowd's cry (61.13-18):
61.13 ϩ̄ⲛⲛ ⲟⲩⲥⲙⲏ ⲟⲩⲟⲧⲉ ϫⲉ ⲁⲙⲏ-
61.14 ⲉⲓⲧ̄ⲛ ̄ⲛⲧ̄ⲛϩⲓ̅ ⲱⲛⲉ ⲉϫ̄ⲛ ⲡⲇⲓⲕⲁⲓ-
61.15 ⲟⲥ: ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁⲩⲧⲱⲟⲩⲛⲟⲩ
61.16 ⲉⲩϫⲱ ̄ⲙⲙⲟⲥ ϫⲉ ⲉϩⲉ ⲙⲁ-
61.17 ⲣ̄ⲛϩⲱⲧ̄ⲃ ̄ⲙⲡⲓⲣⲱⲙⲉ ̄ⲛⲥⲉ-
61.18 ϥⲓⲧ̄ϥ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩ̄ⲛ ⲧⲉⲛⲙⲏⲧⲉ
The prayer from the pit (62.16-22):
62.16 ϫⲉ ⲡⲁⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲡⲁⲓⲱⲧ
62.17 ⲡⲉⲛⲧⲁϥⲛⲁϩⲙⲉⲧ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩ̄ⲛ
62.18 tϩⲉⲗⲡⲓⲥ ⲉⲥⲙⲟⲟⲩⲧ:
62.19 ⲡⲉⲛⲧⲁϥⲧⲁⲛϩⲟⲉⲓ ϩ̄ⲛⲛ ⲟⲩ-
62.20 ⲙⲩⲥⲧⲏⲣⲓⲟⲛ ̄ⲛⲧⲉ ⲡⲉⲧⲉ ϩⲛⲁϥ:
62.21 ⲛⲉⲕⲧⲣⲉⲩⲱⲥ̄ⲕ ⲛⲁⲓ ̄ⲛϭⲓ
62.22 ⲛⲉⲓϩⲟⲟⲩ ̄ⲛⲧⲉ ⲡⲉⲓⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ
Source Colophon
Sahidic Coptic source text digitized by Milan Konvicka for the Marcion Project (GPL v2), transcribed from photographs and critical editions of Nag Hammadi Codex V. The codex is held at the Coptic Museum, Old Cairo, Egypt (Department of Manuscripts, inventory number 10548). Codex V was part of the thirteen leather-bound papyrus codices discovered near Nag Hammadi, Upper Egypt, in December 1945.
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