CHAPTER 55
And Jesus continued again in the discourse and said unto his disciples: "It came to pa** 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 pa** then, when they oppressed Sophia, that she cried to the height, crying unto me that I should help her. It came to pa** 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:
"'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 pa**est 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."