Lyrics

I was sent forth from the power And I have come to those who reflect upon me And I have been found among those who seek after me Look upon me you who reflect upon me And you hearers hear me You who are waiting for me take me to yourselves And do not banish me from your sight And do not make your voice hate me nor your hearing Do not be ignorant of me anywhere or any time Be on your guard Do not be ignorant of me For I am the first and thе last I am the honoured one and thе scorned one I am the whore and the holy one I am the wife and the virgin I am the mother and the daughter I am the members of my mother I am the barren one and many are her sons I am she whose wedding is great And I have not taken a husband I am the midwife and she who does not bear I am the solace of my labour pains I am the bride and the bridegroom And it is my husband who begot me I am the mother of my father and the sister of my husband And he is my offspring I am the slave of him who prepared me I am the ruler of my offspring But he is the one who begot me before the time on a birthday And he is my offspring in due time And my power is from him I am the staff of his power in his youth And he is the rod of my old age And whatever he wills happens to me I am the silence that is incomprehensible And the idea whose remembrance is frequent I am the voice whose sound is manifold And the word whose appearance is multiple I am the utterance of my name Why you who hate me do you love me And hate those who love me You who deny me confess me And you who confess me deny me You who tell the truth about me lie about me And you who have lied about me tell the truth about me You who know me be ignorant of me And those who have not known me let them know me For I am knowledge and ignorance I am shame and boldness I am shameless I am ashamed I am strength and I am fear I am war and peace Give heed to me I am the one who is disgraced and the great one Give heed to my poverty and my wealth Do not be arrogant to me when I am cast out upon the earth And you will find me in those that are to come And do not look upon me on the dung heap Nor go and leave me cast out And you will find me in the kingdoms And do not look upon me when I am cast out among those who are disgraced and in the least places Nor laugh at me And do not cast me out among those who are slain in violence But I, I am compassionate and I am cruel Be on your guard Do not hate my obedience and do not love my self-control In my weakness do not forsake me And do not be afraid of my power For why do you despise my fear and curse my pride But I am she who exists in all fears and strength in trembling I am she who is weak and I am well in a pleasant place I am senseless and I am wise Why have you hated me in your counsels For I shall be silent among those who are silent And I shall appear and speak Why then have you hated me you Greeks Because I am a barbarian among the barbarians? For I am the wisdom of the Greeks And the knowledge of the barbarians I am the judgment of the Greeks and of the barbarians I am the one whose image is great in Egypt And the one who has no image among the barbarians I am the one who has been hated everywhere And who has been loved everywhere I am the one whom they call Life And you have called Death I am the one whom they call Law And you have called Lawlessness I am the one whom you have pursued I am the one whom you have seaced I am the one whom you have scattered And you have gathered me together I am the one before whom you have been ashamed And you have been shameless to me I am she who does not keep festival And I am she whose festivals are many I, I am godless and I am the one whose God is great I am the one whom you have reflected upon And you have scorned me I am unlearned and they learn from me I am the one that you have despised and you reflect upon me I am the one whom you have hidden from and you appear to me But whenever you hide yourselves I myself will appear For whenever you appear I myself will hide from you Those who have to it senselessly Take me understand me from grief And take me to yourselves from understanding and grief And take me to yourselves from places that are ugly and in ruin And rob from those which are good even though in ugliness Out of shame take me to yourselves shamelessly And out of shamelessness and shame Upbraid my members in yourselves And come forward to me you who know me And you who know my members And establish the great ones among the small first creatures Come forward to childhood And do not despise it because it is small and it is little And do not turn away greatnesses in some parts from the smallnesses For the smallnesses are known from the greatnesses Why do you curse me and honor me You have wounded and you have had mercy Do not separate me from the first ones whom you have known And do not cast anyone out nor turn anyone away I know the first ones and those after them know me But I am the mind of and the rest of I am the knowledge of my inquiry And the finding of those who seek after me And the command of those who ask of me And the power of the powers in my knowledge of the angels who have been sent at my word and of Gods in their seasons by my counsel And of spirits of every man who exists with me And of women who dwell within me I am the one who is honoured and who is praised And who is despised scornfully I am peace and war has come because of me And I am an alien and a citizen I am the substance and the one who has no substance Those who are without association with me are ignorant of me And those who are in my substance are the ones who know me Those who are close to me have been ignorant of me And those who are far away from me are the ones who have known me On the day when I am close to you you are far away from me And on the day when I am far away from you I am close to you I am control and the uncontrollable I am the union and the dissolution I am the abiding and I am the dissolution I am the one below and they come up to me I am the judgment and the acquittal I, I am sinless and the root of sin derives from me I am lust in our appearance and interior self-control exists within me I am the hearing which is attainable to everyone And the speech which cannot be grasped I am the mute who does not speak and great is my multitude of words Hear me in gentleness and learn of me in roughness I am she who cries out and I am cast forth upon the face of the earth I prepare the bread and my mind within I am the knowledge of my name I am the one who cries out and I listen I am the one who is called Truth You honour me and you whisper against me You who are vanquished judge them and vanquish you Before they give judgment against you Because the judge and partiality exist in you If you are condemned by this one who will acquit you Or if you are acquitted by him who will be able to detain you For what is inside of you is what is outside of you And the one who fashions you on the outside Is the one who shaped the inside of you And what you see outside of you you see inside of you It is visible and it is your garment Hear me you hearers and learn of my words you who know me I am the hearing that is attainable to everything I am the speech that cannot be grasped I am the name of the sound and the sound of the name I am the sign of the letter and the designation of the division And I will speak his name Look then at his words and all the writings which have been completed Give heed then you hearers and you also the angels And those who have been sent And you spirits who have arisen from the dead For I am the one who alone exists And I have no one who will judge me For many are the pleasant forms which exist in numerous sins And incontinencies and disgraceful passions and fleeting pleasures Which embrace until they become sober and go up to their resting place And they will find me there And they will live And they will not die again