Secret Book of John

The Secret Book of John is a foundational Sethian text that provides unique insights into Christian Gnosticism. According to tradition, John, an apostle of Jesus, encounters the Savior shortly after his crucifixion. Despite the Pharisees' accusations, Jesus reveals that he has ascended to Barbelo and is ready to bestow the secret truths of our humanity, salvation, and cosmic origin.

Because the four surviving manuscripts of this work vary, we've presented them in synoptic columns. The verses are lined up so you can compare their contents. Select which ones you'd like to read using the list below.

Well preserved copy with almost all of the content.
Virtually identical to Codex II with minor variations in word choice.
Later variant found alongside the Gospel of Mary.
Highly damaged copy with missing and varied content.

Note: while the scripture below is ready to read, the formatting and verse numbering are still in progress. This work takes a lot of time. Please consider supporting Other Gospels on Patreon.

The following translation was made possible by Dr. Stevan Davies, who has graciously provided exclusive permission to present it here. Here Davies has taken the four extant manuscripts of this text and harmonized them into a single coherent narrative. Davies argues that this book is the product of several authors, which we'll identify using the following colors.

The main author
The Christian
The demonologist
The inquirer
The hymnist
Scribal clarifications

The Teaching of the Savior
 The Revelation of the Mysteries Hidden in Silence
 Those Things that He Taught to John, His Disciple

Other Gospels proudly presents as part of our Nag Hammadi Initiative. The Coptic text was translated by Samuel Zinner and edited by Mark Mattison via our financial support.

This work is expensive! Join us on Patreon to support Other Gospels and enable us to translate more scriptures for the public domain.

How to cite:

Zinner, Samuel. . Translated by Samuel Zinner, edited by Mark Mattison, technical editing by Rachel Bousfield. Other Gospels. (accessed ).

The above translation of the was made possible by Dr. Stevan Davies, who has provided exclusive permission to present it here. If you would like to learn more about this gospel, I strongly recommend his book on Amazon. There Davies takes you through a guided tour of the text, explaining each section with detailed diagrams and insightful commentary.

All rights including the right of electronic reproduction are reserved by the author. Chapter and verse numbers have been added to aid reference.