Questions · Straight Answers
Where Can I Read the Gnostic Gospels?
Right here, free and complete: the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Judas, and fifteen more texts in public-domain scholarly translations, each page naming its manuscript and translator, with the gaps in the papyrus shown as gaps. Below is the honest map of everywhere else the texts live online and in print — and what each option is missing.
Read them now, free
The texts people mean by “the gnostic gospels” are all here, complete, with section-by-section anchors you can cite and share:
- The Gospel of Thomas — all 114 sayings (Nag Hammadi Codex II,2)
- The Gospel of Mary — the surviving pages of the Berlin Codex, missing pages marked
- The Gospel of Judas — Codex Tchacos, published only in 2006
- Philip, Truth, Peter, and the rest of the library — 18 texts, about 74,000 words
No account, no paywall, no ads. Every page names its source manuscript and its translator, and where the papyrus is damaged you'll see the gap marked honestly instead of silently patched.
The honest map of every option
We'd rather you know the whole landscape — here is where the gnostic gospels actually live, including our competition:
| Where | What you get | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| This site + app | 18 complete texts, modern PD translations, manuscript credits, anchors, offline app | Not every one of the 52 Nag Hammadi tractates — yet; the library grows |
| University-press print editions | The full scholarly apparatus, every tractate | $30–60, copyrighted, and heavy — you can't legally read them free online |
| Older text-archive sites | Deep collections assembled in the 1990s | Aging HTML, broken certificates, ad units, unclear rights on some translations |
| Internet Archive scans | Photographed pages of century-old editions | Victorian prose, no search, no anchors, reading a scan on a phone |
| Subscription scripture apps | A few gnostic texts inside huge general libraries | $29/month or $49.99/year subscriptions; offline access often paywalled |
Why the translation matters
The ancient texts are public domain; translations are not. The celebrated print collections are under copyright, which is why so many websites either host them illegally, paraphrase them loosely, or quietly swap in century-old versions. This library's answer is clean: modern public-domain scholarly translations — chiefly Mark M. Mattison's, released by the translator himself — plus the great pre-1930 editions where they remain the best free witness. Every page tells you exactly whose words you're reading. Our sources & standards page documents the whole policy.
Reading offline: the app
The texts on this site also live in The Gnostic Library app, stored entirely on your device: read on a plane, in a pew, or at 2 a.m. with no connection and no account. The app adds what a website can't — a daily passage at the hour you choose, read-aloud, highlights and notes, a plain-English companion note on every section, and Ask the Library, which answers questions with verbatim, cited passages from the texts themselves: nothing generated, nothing invented. The Gospel of Thomas is free forever; $9.99 once unlocks all 18 texts and every future text we add. Never a subscription.
Common questions
Can I read the gnostic gospels for free?
Yes, legally and completely. The texts themselves are ancient and belong to everyone; what carries copyright is each modern translation. This site serves complete public-domain scholarly translations — Mark M. Mattison's releases and pre-1930 editions — free, with no account and no paywall.
Are the gnostic gospels in the Bible?
No. They were left out of the New Testament canon and condemned by early heresy-hunters like Irenaeus; most were lost until rediscoveries at Nag Hammadi (1945), Cairo (the Berlin Codex, 1896), and elsewhere. That's why you need a library like this one to read them at all.
What is the best translation of the gnostic gospels?
The famous print editions — Robinson's and Meyer's Nag Hammadi collections — are excellent and under copyright, which is why most websites can't legally host them. For free reading, Mark M. Mattison's public-domain translations are modern, scholarly, and complete for the major gospels; this library uses them with full credit on every page.
Can I read the gnostic gospels offline?
Yes — The Gnostic Library app stores all 18 texts on your device, so they read without any connection. The Gospel of Thomas, all 114 sayings, is free forever in the app; one $9.99 purchase unlocks the whole library for good. No subscription, no account, no ads.
How many gnostic gospels can I read today?
This library serves 18 complete non-canonical texts (~74,000 words), including the Gospels of Thomas, Mary, Judas, Philip, Truth, and Peter. The wider Nag Hammadi find holds 52 tractates; see our complete list of the codices for what else survives.