A fragmentary letter from the 4th century AD found among the Nag Hammadi papers. The writer tells a 'brother' that he has put a small quantity of grain on a boat and asks him to have it carried by his animals to the monastic dwelling and stored in a granary, then sends greetings to the brothers with him.
In English machine translation
[recto]
[… lines lost …]
[…]
[…]
[…]
brother […]
to write to you […] brother(?) […]
[…] arrives there. I have given
the small amount of grain into the boat. Please have
it transported to the monastery (?) by
your animals and put them
into a granary. Wait a few days, since
[…] brings (?). But see that you do not neglect this.
I and those with me greet very warmly the brothers with you. I pray
that you are well
for many years.
[verso]
To my beloved brother […]
The word monachion probably refers to a monk's cell or small monastic establishment; 'brothers' likely means fellow monks. The text comes from the cartonnage of the Nag Hammadi codices, so its place of writing is uncertain.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Letter). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.