Codex VII

Three liturgical hymns of ascent: from Seth to his father Geradamas, from Geradamas to Barbelo the male virgin, and from the community to the Pre-existent One beyond all being. Nag Hammadi Codex VII, pages 118–127.

The revelation of Dositheos concerning the three steles of Seth, the father of the living and unshakeable generation — those which he saw and understood, and having read them, he remembered them. And he gave them to the elect, being in the manner in which they were written there.

Many times I joined in giving glory with the powers, and I became worthy through the immeasurable greatnesses.

They are as follows:

The First Stele of Seth

I bless you, Father, Geradamas. I, your own son — Emmacha Seth — whom you begot without begetting, as a blessing of our God.

For I am your own son, and you are my Mind, my Father. And I — I have sown and begotten. But you have seen the greatnesses. You have stood, being unwavering.

I bless you, Father. Bless me, Father. It is because of you that I exist. It is because of God that you exist. Because of you, I exist in the presence of that one. You are a light, seeing a light. You have revealed lights. You are a Mirotheas. You are my Mirotheos.

I bless you as God. I bless your divinity. Great is the Self-begotten Good One who has stood — the God who had already stood. You came in goodness. You appeared, and you revealed goodness.

I will speak your name, for you are a first name. You are unbegotten. You appeared in order to reveal the eternal ones. You are the one who exists. Therefore you have revealed those who truly exist. You are the one spoken of through a mind — they give you glory. You who have power everywhere.

Because of this, the perceptible world also knows you — because of you and your seed. You are merciful, and you are from another race, and it is placed over another race. You are merciful because you are eternal. And your seed you know — that it is placed in a begetting. Some are from other races. But they are not alike, yet they are placed over other races because they are placed in life.

You are a Mirotheos. I bless his power, which was given to me — the one who caused the truly existing masculinities to become male three times. The one who was divided into the Pentad — the one who was given to us in triple power. The one who was begotten without begetting. The one who came from the elect. Because of what is lowly, he went forth from the midst.

You are a father from a father. You are a word from a command.

We bless you, thrice-male one, for you have united the All through them all, for you have empowered us. You came into being from one, through one. You departed into one. You have saved. You have saved. You have saved us — the crown-receiver, the crown-giver!

We bless you eternally. We bless you, having been saved through the individually perfect ones — the perfect ones because of you. The one who is complete — the one who perfects, the perfect one through all these, the one who is alike everywhere — the thrice-male one.

You have stood. You were the first to stand. You divided in every place, and you remained being one. And those whom you wished, you saved. But you wish that all who are worthy be saved.

You are perfect. You are perfect. You are perfect.

The First Stele of Seth.
The Second Stele of Seth

Great is the first aeon — the male virgin Barbelo, the first glory of the invisible Father, she who is called perfect.

You saw first the one who truly pre-exists, that he is without being. And from him and through him you came into being first — eternally. The one without being, from an undivided triple power — a triple of a triple. A monad from a blessed monad, a pure monad, a chosen monad.

The first shadow of the holy Father — a light from a light.

We bless you, begetter of perfection, giver of aeons. You saw the eternal ones as being from a shadow. And you have been counted. And you have found. And you have remained being one, yet being counted — and being divided — you are a threefold. You are truly thrice. You are one of the one. And you are from his shadow — a universe of knowledge.

Knowing the things of the one — that they are from a shadow. These are yours in the heart. Because of this, you have empowered the eternal ones in being, and you have empowered the divinity in living, and you have empowered knowledge in goodness. In blessedness you have empowered the shadows that pour forth from the one. You have empowered this one in knowledge. You have empowered another in a creation. You have empowered the one who is equal with the one who is not equal — the one who is alike and the one who is not alike. You have empowered in a begetting and forms [...] in the one who exists for others [...]

[...] This is the universe, in heart. And you came forth, you [...] to all these and to those. And you spread over them all. And you [...] each individually perfect one.

The great male Mind — the Protophanes — the great one, the God of a father, the divine child — you are the one from whom [...]

All these you have revealed to them as a word. And you have all these in unborn-ness and in eternity, without destruction. Because of this, salvation has come to us — from you is salvation. You are wisdom, you are knowledge, you are truth. Because of you is life. From you is life. Because of you is mind. From you is mind. You are mind — you are a mind of a universe, of knowledge.

You are truly thrice. You are the aeon of aeons. The all-perfect one, placed in oneness.

She has heard. She has heard. We have been saved. We have been saved. We give thanks. We bless always. We give glory.

The Second Stele of Seth.
The Third Stele of Seth

We rejoice! We rejoice! We rejoice!

We have seen! We have seen! We have seen the one who truly pre-exists, truly existing — the first eternal one, the unbegotten.

From you are the eternal ones and the aeons, the all-perfect ones placed in oneness, and the individually perfect ones.

We bless you, the one without being — the existence before existences, the first being before beings, the Father of divinity and life, the creator of mind, the giver of good, the giver of blessedness.

We bless you, knower in a blessing [...] the one [...] all of them [...]

[...] knowing you through yourself alone. For there is nothing that has acted before you. You are a spirit, alone and living. And you know one — for the one that belongs to you on every side, we have no power to speak of it. For your light shines upon us.

Command us, that we may see you, so that we may be saved. Your knowledge — it is our salvation, all of us. Command! If you command, we have been saved. Truly we have been saved. We have seen you through a mind.

You are all these. You save all of these. The one whom they will not save — neither will he be saved through them. For you, you have commanded us. You are one. You are one — in the manner that there is one who will say to you: You are one. You are a single living spirit. How shall we give you a name? We do not have it. For you are the existence of all these. You are the life of all these. You are the mind of all these.

For you are the one in whom all these rejoice.

You have commanded all these to be saved through your word [...]

[...] the only one, the Father [...] the blessed Senaon, begetting from himself alone [...] Eneu, Optaon, Elemaon the great power, Emouniar, Nibareu, Kandephore, Aphredon, Deiphaneus — you who are Armedon — the power-begetter. Thalanatheu, Antitheus.

You who exist within yourself. You who are before yourself. And after you, none has come to act.

How shall we bless you? We have no power. But we give thanks, as those who are lowly before you, because you have commanded us, through the one who is chosen, to give glory to you as we are able.

We bless you, for we have been saved at all times, giving glory to you. Because of this we glorify you, that we may be saved to an eternal salvation. We have blessed you, for we are able. We have been saved, for you have wished it always. We all do this. We all do this [...]

[...] The one who will remember these things and give glory at all times will become perfect among the perfect ones, and impassible beyond all things. For they all bless these individually, and together, and afterwards they shall be silent.

And in the manner that they were ordained, they ascend. After the silence, they descend from the third — they bless the second. After these, the first. The way of ascent is the way of descent.

Understand then, as those who are alive, that you have succeeded. And you have taught yourselves the things that cannot be grasped. Marvel at the truth that is within them, and at the revelation.

The Three Steles of Seth.

This book belongs to the fatherhood. It is the son who wrote it. Bless me, Father. I bless you, Father, in peace. Amen.

Colophon

Nag Hammadi Codex VII, pages 118–127. Sahidic Coptic. Good Works Translation from Sahidic Coptic. New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Scribe: Kavi.

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Source Text — Sahidic Coptic

Selected passages from the Sahidic Coptic of Codex VII, Nag Hammadi Library.

Incipit — Frame and opening (118.10-16):

118.10  ⲡⲟⲩⲱⲛϩ̅ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ̄ⲛⲧⲉ ⲇⲱⲥⲓⲑⲉ-
118.11  ⲟⲥ ̄ⲛⲧⲉ tϣⲟⲙⲧⲉ ̄ⲛⲥⲧⲏⲗⲏ
118.12  ̄ⲛⲧⲉ ⲥⲏⲑ̅: ⲡⲓⲱⲧ ̄ⲛⲧⲉ tⲅⲉⲛⲉⲁ
118.13  ⲉⲧⲟⲛϩ̅ ⲁⲩⲱ ̄ⲛⲁⲧⲕⲓⲙ: ⲛⲁⲓ ̄ⲛ-
118.14  ⲧⲁϥⲛⲁⲩ ⲉⲣⲟⲟⲩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁϥⲥⲟⲩⲱ
118.15  ⲛⲟⲩ: ⲁⲩⲱ ⲉⲧⲁϥⲟϣⲟⲩ ⲁϥ̄ⲣ-
118.16  ⲡⲉⲩⲙⲉⲉⲩⲉ

First Stele opens — Seth blesses Geradamas (118.24-28):

118.24  ⲉⲩϣⲟⲟⲡ ⲇⲉ ̄ⲛtϩⲉ: tϣⲟ-
118.25  ⲣⲡ̅ ̄ⲛⲥⲧⲏⲗⲏ ̄ⲛⲧⲉ ⲥⲏⲑ̅: tⲥⲙⲟⲩ
118.26  ⲉⲣⲟⲕ ⲡⲓⲱⲧ ⲡⲓⲅⲉⲣⲁⲇⲁⲙⲁ: ⲁ-
118.27  ⲛⲟⲕ ϩⲁ ⲡⲉⲧⲉ ⲡⲱⲕ ̄ⲛϣⲏⲣⲉ:
118.28  ⲉⲙⲙⲁⲝⲁ ⲥⲏⲑ̅

Third Stele — "We rejoice!" (124.17-22):

124.17  ⲧⲛ̅ⲣⲁϣⲉ ⲧⲛ̅ⲣⲁϣⲉ ⲧⲛ̅ⲣⲁϣⲉ
124.18  ⲁⲛⲛⲁⲩ: ⲁⲛⲛⲁⲩ: ⲁⲛⲛⲁⲩ: ⲉⲡⲏ-
124.19  ⲉⲧⲣ̅ ϣⲣⲡ̅ ̄ⲛϣⲟⲟⲡ ⲟⲛⲧⲱⲥ ⲉϥ-
124.20  ϣⲟⲟⲡ ⲟⲛⲧⲱⲥ: ⲉϥϣⲟⲟⲡ ⲡⲓ-
124.21  ϣⲟⲣⲡ̅ ̄ⲛϣⲁ ⲉⲛⲉϩ: ⲡⲓⲁⲧⲙⲓ-
124.22  ⲥⲉ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ ̄ⲙⲙⲟⲕ ⲛⲉ ⲛⲓϣⲁ ⲉⲛⲉϩ

Title and scribal colophon (127.27-32):

127.27  tϣⲟⲙⲧⲉ ̄ⲛⲥⲧⲏⲗⲏ ̄ⲛⲧⲉ ⲥⲏⲑ̅:
127.28  ⲡⲉⲓϫⲱⲱⲙⲉ ⲡⲁ tⲙⲛⲧ/̅ⲉⲓⲱⲧ
127.29  ϫⲡⲉ ⲡϣⲏⲣⲉ ⲡⲉⲛⲧⲁϥⲥⲁϩϥ̅:
127.30  ⲥⲙⲟⲩ ⲉⲣⲟⲓ ⲡⲓⲱⲧ tⲥⲙⲟⲩ
127.31  ⲉⲣⲟⲕ ⲡⲓⲱⲧ ϩⲛ̅ ⲟⲩⲉⲓⲣⲏⲛⲏ
127.32  ϩⲁⲙⲏⲛ

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 VII. The codex is held at the Coptic Museum, Old Cairo, Egypt (Department of Manuscripts, inventory number 10548). Codex VII was part of the thirteen leather-bound papyrus codices discovered near Nag Hammadi, Upper Egypt, in December 1945.

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