Codex VI
A revelation discourse spoken by a divine feminine voice through cascading paradoxes — she is the first and the last, the honoured and the scorned, the wife and the virgin. Nag Hammadi Codex VI, pages 13–21.
The Thunder, Perfect Mind.
I was sent forth from the Power,
and I have come to those who think of me,
and I was found among those who seek me.
Look at me, you who think of me,
and you hearers, hear me.
You who are waiting for me, take me to yourselves.
And do not chase me from before your eyes,
and do not let your voice and your hearing
hate me.
Do not be ignorant of me, in any place
or at any time.
Be careful: do not be ignorant of me.
For I am the first and the last.
I am the honoured and the scorned.
I am the harlot and the holy one.
I am the wife and the virgin.
I am the mother and the daughter.
I am the members of my mother.
I am the barren one
whose children are many.
I am she whose wedding is great,
and I have not taken a husband.
I am the midwife
and she who has not given birth.
I am the consolation of my labour pains.
I am the bride
and the bridegroom,
and it is my husband who begot me.
I am the mother of my father
and the sister of my husband,
and he is my offspring.
I am the slave of him who prepared me.
I am the ruler
of my offspring. But he is the one who begot me
before the time, on a birthday,
and he is my offspring in time,
and my power is from him.
I am the staff of his power in his youth,
and he is the rod of my old age,
and whatever he wills happens to me.
I am the silence that cannot be grasped,
and the thought whose remembrance is great.
I am the voice whose sounds are many,
and the word whose forms are many.
I am the utterance of my name.
Why, you who hate me, do you love me
and hate those who love me?
You who deny me, confess me,
and you who confess me, deny me.
You who tell the truth about me, lie about me,
and you who have lied about me, tell the truth about me.
You who know me, be ignorant of me,
and those who have not known me, let them know me.
For I am knowledge and ignorance.
I am shame and boldness.
I am shameless; I am ashamed.
I am strength, and I am fear.
I am war and peace.
Give heed to me.
I am the disgraced and the great.
Give heed to my poverty
and my wealth.
Do not be arrogant to me
when I am cast out upon the earth,
and you will find me in those who are to come.
And do not look at me on the dung-heap
nor go and leave me cast out,
and you will find me in the kingdoms.
And do not look at me
when I am cast out among the disgraced
and in the least places,
and then laugh at me.
And do not cast me down among those
who are slain in severity.
But I — I am compassionate
and I am cruel.
Be careful:
do not hate my obedience,
and do not love my self-control
in my weakness.
Do not forsake me,
and do not fear my power.
For why do you despise my fear
and curse my pride?
But I am she who exists in all fears
and strength in trembling.
I am she who is weak,
and I am well in a pleasant place.
I am senseless, and I am wise.
Why have you hated me in your counsels?
For I shall be silent among the silent,
and I shall appear and speak.
Why then have you hated me, you Greeks?
Because I am a barbarian among barbarians?
For I am the wisdom of the Greeks
and the knowledge of the barbarians.
I am the judgement of the Greeks and of the barbarians.
I am the one whose image is great in Egypt
and the one who has no image among the barbarians.
I am the one who has been hated everywhere
and who has been loved everywhere.
I am the one whom they call Life,
and you have called Death.
I am the one whom they call Law,
and you have called Lawlessness.
I am the one whom you have pursued,
and I am the one whom you have seized.
I am the one whom you have scattered,
and you have gathered me together.
I am the one before whom you have been ashamed,
and you have been shameless to me.
I am she who does not keep festival,
and I am she whose festivals are many.
I — I am godless,
and I am the one whose God is great.
I am the one whom you have reflected upon,
and you have scorned me.
I am unlearned,
and they learn from me.
I am the one whom you have despised,
and you reflect upon me.
I am the one whom you have hidden from,
and you appear to me.
But whenever you hide yourselves,
I myself will appear.
For whenever you appear,
I myself will hide.
[...] from you [...]
[...] in foolishness [...]
Take me [...] from understanding
and from grief,
and take me to yourselves
from understanding and grief.
And take me to yourselves
from places that are ugly and destroyed,
and rob from those which are good,
even though in ugliness.
Out of shame, take me to yourselves shamelessly,
and out of shamelessness and shame.
Upbraid my members in yourselves,
and come toward me,
you who know me and you who know my members.
Establish the great ones among the small first creatures.
Come toward childhood,
and do not despise it
because it is small and it is little.
And do not turn away greatnesses in some parts
from the smallnesses,
for the smallnesses are known from the greatnesses.
Why do you curse me and honour me?
You have wounded and you have had mercy.
Do not separate me from the first ones
whom you have [known,]
[nor] cast out any [...and]
turn away any [...]
[...] turn you [...]
[...] know him not [...]
[...] what is mine [...]
I know the first ones,
and those after them know me.
But I am the Mind of [...]
and my rest [...]
I am the knowledge of my seeking,
and the finding of those who seek me,
and the command of those who ask of me,
and the power of the powers,
in my knowledge of the angels
who have been sent by my word,
and of gods in their seasons
by my counsel,
and of spirits of every man
who exists with me,
and of women who dwell within me.
I am the one who is honoured
and who is praised,
and who is despised scornfully.
I am peace,
and war has come because of me.
And I am an alien and a citizen.
I am the substance
and the one who has no substance.
Those who are without association with me
are ignorant of me,
and those who are in my substance
are the ones who know me.
Those who are close to me
have been ignorant of me,
and those who are far away from me
are the ones who have known me.
On the day when I am close
[to you, you] are far away [from me,]
[and] on the day when I
[am far away from you, I am]
[close] to you.
[I am ...] within.
[I am ...] of the natures.
[I am ...] of the creation of the spirits.
[...] request of the souls.
[I] am control, and the uncontrollable.
I am the union and the dissolution.
I am the abiding and the loosing.
I am the one below,
and they come up to me.
I am the judgement and the acquittal.
I — I am sinless,
and the root of sin comes from me.
I am desire in appearance,
and interior self-control exists within me.
I am the hearing that is attainable to everyone
and the speech that cannot be grasped.
I am a mute who does not speak,
and great is my multitude of words.
Hear me in gentleness,
and learn of me in roughness.
I am she who cries out,
and I am cast forth upon the face of the earth.
I am the one who prepares the bread
and my mind within.
I am the knowledge of my name.
I am the one who cries out,
and I listen.
I appear [...]
walk in [...]
[...] seal of my [...]
[...]
I am [...]
[...] the defence [...]
I am the one whom they call Truth,
and injustice [...]
You honour me [...]
and you whisper against me.
You who are vanquished,
judge them before they give judgement against you,
because the judge and partiality
exist in you.
If you are condemned by this one,
who will acquit you?
Or if you are acquitted by him,
who will be able to detain you?
For what is inside of you
is what is outside of you,
and the one who fashions you on the outside
is the one who shaped your inside.
And what you see outside of you,
you see inside of you.
It is visible and it is your garment.
Hear me, you hearers,
and learn of my words, you who know me.
I am the hearing that is attainable to everything.
I am the speech that cannot be grasped.
I am the name of the sound
and the sound of the name.
I am the sign of the letter
and the designation of the division.
And I [...]
[...] the light [...]
[...]
[...] to you. [...]
[...] the great power.
[...] will not move the name.
[...] the one who created me.
And I shall speak his name.
Look then at his words
and all the writings which have been completed.
Give heed then, you hearers,
and you also, the angels,
and those who have been sent,
and you spirits who have arisen
from among the dead.
For I am the one who alone exists,
and I have no one who will judge me.
For many are the pleasant forms
which exist in numerous sins
and incontinencies
and disgraceful passions
and fleeting pleasures,
which are held
until they become sober
and go up to their resting place.
And they will find me there,
and they will live,
and they will not die again.
Colophon
Nag Hammadi Codex VI, pages 13–21. Sahidic Coptic. Good Works Translation from Sahidic Coptic. New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Scribe: Kavi.
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Source Text — Sahidic Coptic
Sahidic Coptic source text from Milan Konvicka / Marcion Project (GPL v2). Square brackets indicate restored lacunae.
Incipit (13.1–10)
ⲧⲉⲃⲣⲟⲛⲧⲏ: ⲛⲟⲩⲥ ̄ⲛⲧⲉⲗⲉⲓⲟⲥ
[̄ⲛ]ⲧⲁⲩⲧⲁⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩ̄ⲛ
[ⲧ]ϭⲟⲙ: ⲁⲩⲱ ̄ⲛⲧⲁⲓ3ⲉⲓ̅3 ϣⲁ ⲛⲉⲧ-
ⲙⲉⲉⲩⲉ ⲉⲣⲟⲓ: ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁⲩϭⲓⲛⲉ ̄ⲙ-
ⲙⲟⲓ ϩ̄ⲛ ⲛⲉⲧϣⲓⲛⲉ ̄ⲛⲥⲱⲉⲓ: ⲉ-
[ⲛ]ⲁⲩ ⲉⲣⲟⲉⲓ ⲛⲉⲧⲙⲉⲉⲩⲉ ⲉⲣⲟⲓ:
ⲁⲩⲱ ̄ⲛⲣⲉϥⲥⲱⲧ̄ⲙ ⲥⲱⲧ̄ⲙ ⲉⲣⲟⲓ:
ⲛⲉⲧϭⲟϣ̄ⲧ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ϩⲏⲧ ϣⲟⲡ̄ⲧ
ⲉⲣⲱⲧ̄ⲛ: ⲁⲩⲱ ̄ⲙⲡ̄ⲣⲡⲱⲧ ̄ⲛⲥⲱⲓ
̄ⲙⲡⲉⲙⲧⲟ ̄ⲛⲛⲉⲧ̄ⲛⲃⲁⲗ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ
Paradoxes (13.16–20)
ⲅⲁⲣ ⲧⲉ ⲧϣⲟⲣ̄ⲡ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲑⲁⲏ: ⲁⲛⲟⲕ
ⲧⲉ ⲧⲉ[2ⲧ]2ⲧⲁⲉⲓⲁⲉⲓⲧ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲉⲧϣⲏⲥ:
ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲧⲉ ⲧⲡⲟⲣⲛⲏ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲥⲉⲙⲛⲏ:
ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲧⲉ ⲧⲉⲥ3ϩⲓ̅3ⲙⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲡⲁⲣ-
ⲑⲉⲛⲟⲥ: ⲁⲛⲟⲕ [2ⲧ]2ⲉⲧⲙ[2ⲁⲁ]2ⲩ
Wisdom of Greeks and barbarians (16.1–9)
ⲉⲧⲃⲉ ⲟⲩ ϭⲉ ⲁⲧⲉⲧ̄ⲛⲙⲉⲥⲧⲱⲉⲓ ̄ⲛϩ[ⲉⲗ]
ⲗⲏⲛ: ϫⲉ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲟⲩⲃⲁⲣⲃⲁⲣⲟⲥ ϩ̄ⲛ [̄ⲛ]-
[ⲃ]ⲁⲣⲃⲁⲣⲟⲥ: ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲅⲁⲣ ⲧⲉ ⲧⲥⲟϥ[ⲓⲁ]
[̄ⲛ̄ⲛϩ]ⲉⲗⲗⲏⲛ: ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲅⲛⲱⲥⲓⲥ ̄ⲛ[̄ⲛ]-
ⲃ[ⲁ]ⲣ[ⲃ]ⲁⲣⲟⲥ: ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲡⲉ ϥⲁⲡ ̄ⲛ[̄ⲛ]-
ϩⲉⲗⲗⲏⲛ ⲙ̄ⲛ ̄ⲛⲃⲁⲣⲃⲁⲣⲟⲥ: ⲁ[ⲛⲟⲕ]
ⲡⲉⲧⲛⲁϣⲉ ⲡⲉⲥⲉⲓⲛⲉ ϩ̄ⲛ ⲕⲏⲙⲉ
ⲁⲩⲱ ⲧⲉⲧⲉ ⲙ̄ⲛⲧⲉⲥ ⲉⲓⲛⲉ ϩ̄ⲛ ̄ⲛⲃⲁⲣ-
ⲃⲁⲣⲟⲥ: ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲧⲉⲛⲧⲁⲩⲙⲉⲥⲧⲱⲥ
Closing (21.18–32)
ϩ̄ⲛ ⲛⲉⲧⲙⲟⲟⲩⲧ: ϫⲉ ⲁⲛⲟⲕ ⲡⲉⲧ-
ϣⲟⲟⲡ ⲟⲩⲁⲁⲧ: ⲁⲩⲱ ̄ⲙⲙ̄ⲛⲧⲁⲉⲓ
ⲡⲉⲧⲛⲁⲕⲣⲓⲛⲉ ̄ⲙⲙⲟⲉⲓ: ϩⲁϩ ⲅⲁⲣ
̄ⲛⲉⲓⲇⲟⲥ ⲉⲩϩⲟⲗⲉϭ ⲛⲉ ⲛⲉⲧ-
ϣⲟⲟⲡ ϩ̄ⲛ ϩⲉⲛⲛⲟⲃⲉ ⲉⲛⲁϣⲱ-
ⲟⲩ: ⲁⲩⲱ ϩⲉⲛⲙ̄ⲛⲧⲁⲧⲁⲙⲁϩⲧⲉ
ⲙ̄ⲛ ϩⲉⲛⲡⲁⲑⲟⲥ ⲉⲩϭⲁⲉⲓⲏⲩ:
ⲁⲩⲱ ϩⲉⲛϩⲏⲇⲟⲛⲏ ⲡⲣⲟⲥ ⲡⲉ-
ⲟⲩⲟⲉⲓϣ: ⲉⲩⲁⲙⲁϩⲧⲉ ̄ⲙⲙⲟ-
ⲟⲩ ϣⲁⲛⲧⲟⲩ̄ⲣⲛⲏϥⲉ ̄ⲛⲥⲉ-
ⲡⲱⲧ ⲉϩⲣⲁⲓ ⲉⲡⲟⲩⲕⲏⲙⲏ-
ⲧⲏⲣⲓⲟⲛ: ⲁⲩⲱ ⲥⲉⲛⲁϭⲓⲛⲉ ̄ⲙ-
ⲙⲟⲉⲓ ̄ⲙⲡⲙⲁ ⲉⲧ̄ⲙⲙⲁⲩ ̄ⲛⲥⲉ-
ⲱⲛ̄ϩ: ⲁⲩⲱ ̄ⲛⲥⲉⲧ̄ⲙⲥⲱⲧ
ⲉⲙⲟⲩ:
Source Colophon
Coptic source text from the digitisation by Milan Konvicka (Marcion Project, SourceForge, GPL v2). Based on the critical editions of the Coptic Gnostic Library and photographs of the original manuscripts. The Nag Hammadi codices are housed in the Coptic Museum, Old Cairo, Egypt.
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