Gospel of Thomas 79, 80 in English and Udugi

 

Saying 79: Listening to the Message

A woman in the crowd said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that nourished you."

He said to [her], "Blessed are those who have listened to the message of the Father and kept it, because there will be days when you'll say, 'Blessed is the womb that didn't conceive and the breasts that haven't given milk.'"

ageya unadatlisahv hawina kanohedise atsvyv didla, "vdadilvquotanv gesvase ayelv na udenvise nihine, ale ganetsidi na adadelasdise nihine." atsvyai kanohedise nasgi didla, "vdadilvquotanv gasvase nasgi na hadvdasdise kanetsvne edoda vhnai ale asquanigododise nasgine, igvnisisgi gesvose igadi hilayvi nihi hinegose 'vdadilvquotanv ayelv na tla udevise, ale ganetsidi na tla adanedise unvdine."

ᎠᎨᏯ ᎤᎾᏓᏟᏌᎲ ᎭᏫᎾ ᎧᏃᎮᏗᏎ ᎠᏨᏴ ᏗᏜ, "ᎥᏓᏗᎸᏉᏔᏅ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᎠᏰᎸ Ꮎ ᎤᏕᏅᎢᏎ ᏂᎯᏁ, ᎠᎴ ᎦᏁᏥᏗ Ꮎ ᎠᏓᏕᎳᏍᏗᏎ ᏂᎯᏁ." ᎠᏨᏯᎢ ᎧᏃᎮᏗᏎ ᎾᏍᎩ ᏗᏜ, "ᎥᏓᏗᎸᏉᏔᏅ ᎦᏒᎠᏎ ᎾᏍᎩ Ꮎ ᎭᏛᏓᏍᏗᏎ ᎧᏁᏨᏁ ᎡᏙᏓ ᎥᎿᎢ ᎠᎴ ᎠᏍᏆᏂᎪᏙᏗᏎ ᎾᏍᎩᏁ, ᎢᎬᏂᏏᏍᎩ ᎨᏒᎣᏎ ᎢᎦᏗ ᎯᎳᏴᎢ ᏂᎯ ᎯᏁᎪᏎ 'ᎥᏓᏗᎸᏉᏔᏅ ᎠᏰᎸ Ꮎ Ꮭ ᎤᏕᎥᎢᏎ, ᎠᎴ ᎦᏁᏥᏗ Ꮎ Ꮭ ᎠᏓᏁᏗᏎ ᎤᏅᏗᏁ."

Saying 80: The World is a Body

Jesus said, "Whoever has known the world has found the body; but whoever has found the body, of them the world isn't worthy."

tsisa hinegise, "nasgiquo-yigi onadvise equa-elohine awadvdise ayelvne; aseno nasgiquo-yigi awadvdise ayelvne, atsvyv vhnai equa-elohi tla gesvase tsugvwalodiya."

ᏥᏌ ᎯᏁᎩᏎ, "ᎾᏍᎩᏉ-ᏱᎩ ᎣᎾᏛᎢᏎ ᎡᏆ-ᎡᎶᎯᏁ ᎠᏩᏛᏗᏎ ᎠᏰᎸᏁ; ᎠᏎᏃ ᎾᏍᎩᏉ-ᏱᎩ ᎠᏩᏛᏗᏎ ᎠᏰᎸᏁ, ᎠᏨᏴ ᎥᎿᎢ ᎡᏆ-ᎡᎶᎯ Ꮭ ᎨᏒᎠᏎ ᏧᎬᏩᎶᏗᏯ."

This Saying, along with its doublet, Saying 56, is extremely problematic. April D. DeConick has an excellent discussion of these Sayings on pp. 192-3 and 244-5 of THE ORIGINAL GOSPEL OF THOMAS IN TRANSLATION (op. cit.). In her opinion, the Coptic form of these two Sayings is pretty much nonsense, and they reflect a Semitic substratum which can explain several mistranslations. Finally, she offers an alternative interpretation: 'Whoever has come to know the world <<has mastered the body>>. The world does not deserve the person who <<has mastered the body>>. DeConick considers these two sayings to be accretions reflecting both encratism and hermetism, and dating to the latter half of the first century. Her references concerning the Semitic substratum are themselves worthy of study.