The Pistis Sophia - Page 17

"'6. And the four-and-twenty emanations will see what hath befallen thee, O lion-faced power, and will be afraid and not be disobedient, but give the purification of their light.

"'7. And they will see thee and will rejoice over thee and say: Lo, an emanation which hath not given the purification of its light, so that it may be saved, but boasted itself in the abundance of the light of its power, because it did not emanate from the power in it, and hath said: I will take away the light from Pistis Sophia, which will now be taken from it.'

"Now, therefore, let him in whom his power is raised, come forward and proclaim the solution of the eleventh repentance of Pistis Sophia."

Then Salome came forward and said: "My Lord, concerning this thy light-power prophesied aforetime through David in the fifty-first Psalm, saying:

Salome interpreteth the repentance from Psalm li."'1. Why doth the mighty [one] boast himself in |103. his wickedness?

"'2. Thy tongue hath studied unrighteousness all the day long; as a sharp razor hast thou practised craft.

"'3. Thou lovedst wickedness more than goodness; thou lovedst to speak unrighteousness more than righteousness.

"'4. Thou lovedst all words of submerging and a crafty tongue.

"'5. Wherefor will God bring thee to naught

utterly, and will uproot thee and drag thee out from thy dwelling-place, and will root out thy root and cast it away from the living. (Selah.)

"'6. The righteous will see and be afraid, and they will mock at him and say:

"'7. Lo, a man who made not God for his helper, but trusted to his great riches and was mighty in his vanity.

"'8. But I am as a fruit-bearing olive-tree in the house of God. I have trusted in the grace of God from all eternity.

"'9. And I will confess unto thee, for thou hast dealt faithfully with me; and I will wait on thy name, for it is auspicious in the presence of thy holy [ones].'

"This then is now, therefore, my Lord, the solution of the eleventh repentance of Pistis Sophia. While thy light-power hath roused me, I have spoken it according to thy desire."

Jesus commendeth Salome.It came to pass then, when Jesus had heard these words which Salome spake, that he said: "Well said, Salome. Amēn, amēn, I say unto you: I will perfect you in all mysteries of the kingdom of the Light."

Self-willed aideth his emanations and they again oppress Sophia.And Jesus continued again in the discourse and said unto his disciples: "It came to pass then thereafter, that I drew near unto the chaos, shining very exceedingly, to take away the light from that lion-faced power. As I shone exceedingly, it was in fear and cried out to its self-willed god, that he should help it. And forthwith the self-willed god looked out of the thirteenth æon, and looked down into the chaos, exceedingly wrathful |105. and desiring to help his lion-faced power. And forthwith the lion-faced power, it

and all its emanations, surrounded. Pistis Sophia, desiring to 'take away the whole light in Sophia. It came to pass then, when they oppressed Sophia, that she cried to the height, crying unto me that I should help her. It came to pass then, when she looked to the height, that she saw Self-willed exceedingly wrathful, and she was in fear, and uttered the twelfth repentance because of Self-willed and his emanations. She cried on high unto me, saying:

The twelfth repentance of Sophia."'1. O Light, forget not my praise-singing.

"'2. For Self-willed and his lion-faced power have opened their chops against me and have acted craftily against me.

"'3. They have surrounded me, desiring to take away my power, and have hated me, because I have sung praises unto thee.

"'4. Instead of loving me they slandered me. But I sang praises.

"'5. They plotted a plot to take away my power, because I have sung to thee praises, O Light; and hated me, because I have loved thee.

"'6. Let the darkness come over Self-willed, and let the ruler of the outermost darkness abide at his right hand.

"'7. And when thou passest sentence, take from him his power; and the deed which he hath plotted, to take from me my light,--mayest thou take his from him.

"'8. And may all his powers of his light in him finish, and let |106. another of the three triple-powers receive his sovereignty.

"'9. May all the powers of his emanation be lightless and may his matter be without any light in it.

"'10. May his emanations remain in the chaos and not dare to go to their region. May their light in them die away and let them not go to the thirteenth æon, their region.

"'11. May the Receiver, the Purifier of the lights, purify all the lights which are in Self-willed, and take them from them.

"'12. May the rulers of the lower darkness rule over his emanations, and let no one give them shelter in his region; and let no one hearken to the power of his emanations in the chaos.

"'13. Let them take away the light in his emanations and blot out their name from the thirteenth æon, yea rather take his name for ever out of that region.

"'14. And on the lion-faced power let them bring the sin of him who emanated it, before the Light, and not wipe out the iniquity of the matter which hath brought him [sc. Self-willed] forth.

"'15. And may their sin be altogether before the Light eternally, and may they let them not look beyond [the chaos] and take their names out of all regions;

"'16. Because they have not spared me and have oppressed him whose light and |107.whose power they have taken away, and also conformably with those who set me therein, they desired to take away my whole light from me.

"'17. They loved to descend to the chaos; so let them abide therein, and they shall not be brought up [therefrom] from now on. They desired not the region of Righteousness for dwelling-place, and they shall not be taken thither from now on.

'"18. He put on darkness as a garment, and it entered into him as water, and it entered in into all his powers as oil.

"'19. Let him wrap himself into the chaos as into a garment, and gird himself with the darkness as with a leathern girdle for ever.

"'20. Let this befall them who have brought this upon me for the Light's sake and have said: Let us take away her whole power.

"'21. But do thou, O Light, have mercy upon me for the sake of the mystery of thy name, and save me in the goodness of thy grace.

"'22. For they have taken away my light and my power; and my power hath inwardly tottered, and I could not stand upright in their midst.

"'23. I am become as matter which is fallen; I am tossed hither and thither as a demon in the air.

"'24. My power hath perished, because I possess no mystery; and my matter hath become dwindled because of my light, for they have taken it away.

"'25. And they mocked me; they looked at me, nodding at me.

"'26. Help me according to thy mercy.' |108.

"Now, therefore, let him whose spirit is ready, come forward and utter the solution of the twelfth repentance of Pistis Sophia."

And Andrew came forward and said: "My Lord and Saviour, thy light-power hath prophesied aforetime through David concerning this repentance which Pistis Sophia hath uttered, and said in the one-hundred-and-eighth Psalm:

"'1. God, keep not silent at my praise-singing.

Andrew interpreteth the twelfth repentance from Psalm cviii."'2. For the mouths of the sinner and crafty have opened their chops against me and with crafty deceitful tongue have talked behind me.

"'3. And they have surrounded me with words of hate and have fought against me without a cause.

"'4. Instead of loving me they have slandered me. But I prayed.

"'5. They showed evil against me for good and hate for my love.

"'6. Set a sinner over him, and let the slanderer stand at his right hand.

"'7. When sentence is passed upon him, may he go forth condemned and his prayer become sin.

"'8. May his days be shortened and another receive his overseership.