The Prayer of Paul, the Apostle

NHC I, 1

The following translation has been committed to the public domain and may be freely copied and used, changed or unchanged, for any purpose. It is based on the Coptic text of Nag Hammadi Codex I, 1. The Nag Hammadi texts were written in the fourth century, subsequently buried, and then rediscovered in 1945. The Prayer of Paul the Apostle is an esoteric prayer.

This translation from the Coptic is by Samuel Zinner and was edited by Mark M. Mattison with the generous support of Other Gospels. Chapter and verse enumerations have been added by the translator.

Symbols

[ ]   Gap in the text (known as a “lacuna”)
( )   Editorial insertion to clarify the text
 [A]  Page number of the Coptic codex (hyperlinked)

[A] (One or two lines missing)
[your] light, grant me your [mercy].
My redeemer, redeem me, for [I am] yours,
the one who came forth from you.
You are [my] mind; give birth to me.
You are my house of treasures; open for me.
You [are] my fullness; embrace me.
You are repose; grant me [the] ungraspable perfection.

I pray to you, the one who is and was,
in the name [that is] exalted above every name, through Jesus Christ,
[the Lord] of Lords, King of the worlds.
Grant me your gifts, which you regret not,
through the Son of Man,
the Spirit, the Paraclete [of truth].
Grant me authority [when I] petition you,
grant me bodily healing when I petition you through the evangelist,
[and] redeem my eternal soul of light, and my spirit;
and the firstborn of the Fullness of grace, to my mind reveal him.

Grant what the eye of angels has not [seen],
and what the ear of archons  has not heard,
and what has not entered the human mind,
which became angelic, and according to the image of the god of the soul,
when it was fashioned in the beginning,
because I have faith and hope.
And set upon me your beloved, elect, blessed Majesty,
you who are the First-born, the First-begotten,
[B] and the [wonderful] mystery of your house.
[For] yours is the power [and] the glory
and the praise and the greatness,
forever and ever. [Amen].

Prayer of Paul (the) Apostle.
In Peace.
Christ is holy.