Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840

The following translation is based on the reconstructed Greek text printed in Henry Sweet Barclay's "Two New Gospel Fragments" from Hans Lietzmann's Kleine Texte für Vorlesungen und Übungen. Information about the manuscript was gathered from Bernard P. Grenfell and Arthur S. Hunt's Fragment of an Uncanonical Gospel.

". . . earlier, before doing wrong, he slyly reasons everything out. Be careful that you do not end up suffering the same fate as them. For the evil-doers of humanity receive retribution not only among the living, but they will also undergo punishment and much torture later."

Taking them along, he went into the place of purification itself and wandered around in the temple. Then a certain high priest of the Pharisees named Levi came toward them and said to the savior, "Who permitted you to wander in this place of purification and to see these holy vessels, even though you have not bathed and the feet of your disciples have not been washed? And now that you have defiled it, you walk around in this pure area of the temple where only a person who has bathed and changed his clothes can walk, and even such a person does not dare to look upon these holy vessels."

Standing nearby with his disciples, the savior replied, "Since you are here in the temple too, are you clean?"

The Pharisee said to him, "I am clean. For I bathed in the pool of David. I went down into the pool by one set of stairs and came back out by another. Then I put on white clothes and they were clean. And then I came and looked at these holy vessels."

Replying to him, the savior said, "Woe to blind people who do not see! You have washed in the gushing waters that dogs and pigs are thrown into day and night. And when you washed yourself, you scrubbed the outer layer of skin, the layer of skin that prostitutes and flute-girls anoint and wash and scrub when they put on make up to become the desire of the men. But inside they are filled with scorpions and all unrighteousness. But my disciples and I, whom you say have not washed, we have washed in waters of eternal life that come from the God of heaven. But woe to those . . . "

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Verso

(01) "[. . .] earlier, before doing wrong, he slyly reasons everything out,

(02) but be careful that you do not also somehow

(03) suffer the same things as them. For not

(04) only among the living do

(05) the evil-doers of humanity receive retribution, but [a]lso

(06) they will undergo punishment and mu[c]h

(07) torture." And taking them along,

(08) he went into the place of purification itself and

(09) wandered about in the temple. And c[o]ming toward them,

(10) a certain high priest of the Pharisees - Le[vi]

(11) was his name - joined them and s[aid]

(12) to the savior, "Who permitted you to tram[ple]

(13) this place of purification and to see [the]se

(14) holy vessels, although you have not ba[th]e[d] n[o]r

(15) have the f[eet] of your disciples

(16) been [wa]shed? But after having def[iled] it,

(17) you trample this a[rea] of the temple which

(18) [i]s clean, which nobody e[lse except for]

(19) a person who has bathed and chan[ged his]

(20) [clot]hes tramples on. Nor does he dare to lo[ok upon these]

(21) holy vessels." And s[tanding nearby, the savior]

(22) wit[h his] disciple[s replied],

Recto

(23) "Then, being here in the temple, are you

(24) clean?" He said to him, "I am clean.

(25) For I bathed in the pool of David and

(26) after going down by one set of stairs, by another

(27) I came back [u]p. And I put on white clothes

(28) and they were clean and then I came

(29) and looked upon these holy

(30) vessels." Re[ply]ing to him, the savior

(31) said, "Woe to blind people who do not

(32) s[e]e! You bathed in those gushing

(33) w[a]ter[s] in which dogs and pigs have been

(34) ca[st] night and day. And wash[i]ng yourselves,

(35) you scrubbed the outer layer of skin which

(36) also prostitutes and th[e] flute-girls

(37) ano[int a]nd bathe and scrub

(38) [and p]ut make up on to become the desi[re]

(39) of [t]he men. But from within th[ey]

(40) [are fill]ed with scorpions and

(41) [all unr]ighteousness. But I and

(42) [my disciples], whom you say have not

(43) wa[shed], we [have wa]shed in waters of li[fe]

(44) [eternal co]ming from [the]

(45) [God of heaven. B]ut woe to [th]ose [. . .]

* Apocrypha - (from the Greek word απόκρυφα meaning "those having been hidden away") are texts of uncertain authenticity or writings where the authorship is questioned. These texts may have been used in some churches by were never considered as part of the Bible

** Pseudepigrapha = (from Greek pseudes = "false", "epigraphe" = "inscription") are texts falsely attributed to biblical characters or times. These books were never part of the Bible & were never considered as scripture by the church at any time despite being published under such titles of "The Lost Books of the Bible" or "The Hidden Gospels". The church has always known about them & they were never "Hidden" & could be read at any University or college. There is no deep dark secret here, just publishers trying to make a buck with interesting book titles.

*** Noncanonical Literature =  Never part of the Canon or Bible.