Required Reading: Apocryphon of John

May 21, 2026 - Reading time: ~1 minute

You will need to sign up for Academia:

The Secret Writing According to John:  A Public Domain Synoptic Translation  NHC II, 1 // NHC IV, 1 // BG 8502 // NHC III, 1  by Samuel Zinner  The following translation has been committed to the public domain and may be freely copied and used, changed or  unchanged, for any purpose. This version of the texts from the Nag Hammadi Codices and the Berlin Codex was  translated by Samuel Zinner and edited by Mark M. Mattison. The Nag Hammadi codices were written in the fourth  century, subsequently buried, and then discovered in 1945.

The Berlin Codex was created in the fifth century,  subsequently buried, and then discovered in 1896. This foundational treatise narrates a revelation given by Jesus to  John.  Zinner’s translation is based on the Coptic text in Michael Waldstein and Frederik Wisse, eds., The Apocryphon of  John: Synopsis of Nag Hammadi Codices II,I; III,I; and IV,I with BG 8502,2 (Leiden/New York: E. J. Brill, 1995). The  translation was made possible by the generous support of Other Gospels, where you can view an interactive version of  this text (see https://othergospels.com/john). For more information about this project, visit http://nag-hammadi.net.  This document was first published online on January 23, 2025. 

or Visit another web version by Steven Davis at: http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/apocjn-davies.html