The ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead is not a book about death. This is a book about life that has conquered death. Paradoxically, such a spectacular name, which has become almost as common a symbol of Ancient Egypt as the pyramids, mummies and papyrus, does not at all correspond to the content and idea of the work itself. Moreover, it is directly opposite in meaning to its original name. “The Book of the Dead” is a copy of the Arabic Kitab al-Mayyit (“The Book of a Dead Man”). This term was used by the current Egyptians to designate papyrus scrolls with mysterious letters and drawings that they found together with the mummies of their distant ancestors, without extending it to the content of the text, which, of course, they did not know.
Already a long time ago, Ancient Egypt was completely wrongly presented to Europeans as a country of death, in which people lived who worshiped it and prepared to die all their lives. Apparently, this is why the name “Book of the Dead” is so strongly associated with these funerary texts, although Egyptologists are well aware that it is more than arbitrary.
The original title of the work was "Er nu peret em kheru" - "The sayings of the day." It reflects the main essence of this wonderful text: to help the deceased to bypass all the dangers of the afterlife, to go through the posthumous trial and, together with the solar barge of the god Ra, return to earth again, that is, to revive, resurrect - “renew”, as the Egyptians said. Defeat death in order to lead a spiritual and sensual existence later on in a rejuvenated, beautiful, ageless body on an eternally beautiful fertile land, surrounded by relatives and friends. This is a book about overcoming death, about the victory over it, and at the same time about how to do it.
The translation of some chapters of the famous ancient Egyptian funeral text offered to readers is actually the first attempt to translate it into Russian directly from the original brought to us by Egyptian papyri of the 2nd - 1st millennium BC. e. At the beginning of the century, the “Book of the Dead” was translated into Russian from the English translation, which is now practically inaccessible, and later in several Egyptological works translations of the 125th chapter, containing a description of the posthumous trial of the deceased, and some others were given. Unfortunately, this is all that a Russian-speaking reader can use to familiarize himself with one of the most important monuments of ancient Egyptian religious thought to funeral literature. And the material published a few years ago by the magazine "Science and Religion" under the title "The Egyptian Book of the Dead" is an abbreviated translation from the Polish translation of the book "Am-Duat" - a very important, but completely different text (never by anyone, by the way, the "Book of the Dead" not named), and can only mislead the reader.
Meanwhile, the "Book of the Dead" has been translated into almost all European languages, which makes it possible for specialists in religious studies to familiarize themselves with it (Egyptologists, of course, read it in the original). Perhaps, this, along with quite definite ideological restrictions, explains such a small interest of specialists in the existence of a Russian translation of the "Book of the Dead". But it seems that it would be interesting for non-specialists to get to know her, especially since interest in ancient religions in our country is not weakening, and there are almost no really scientific publications and publications on this topic for a wide range of readers.
The history of the "Book of the Dead" dates back to infinitely distant times, when the primitive religious ideas of the ancient inhabitants of the Nile valley began to take shape in an increasingly complicated cult of local gods and a funeral ritual that took shape in its main features. Apparently, even before the unification of Egypt into one state, in the pre-literary period, a collection of funeral formulas began to be formed, much later, under the pharaohs of the V-VI dynasties (c. 2355 BC), inscribed on the walls of burial chambers, already very modest in the size of the royal pyramids (the famous grandiose pyramids in Giza are “silent”). The first time this happened during the reign of Pharaoh Unis, already at the end of the Old Kingdom.
These inscriptions were discovered at the end of the last century by the outstanding French Egyptologist G. Maspero and named them “The Texts of the Pyramids“. This work, apparently, was a record of a funeral ritual and concerned exclusively the royal person, which, of course, does not mean that all the other inhabitants of Egypt had no idea of a posthumous existence at all. However, in the tombs of the necropolises of the Old Kingdom, there are no texts concerning the posthumous residence of the “simple” dead. So, speaking about the era of the Old Kingdom, we can only judge about the posthumous existence of the pharaoh, who was expected to stand before the gods and join their host. After his death, he flew up to the sky and there, in the endless starry space, swam together with the sun god Ra in the "Boat of Million Years". “Your wings grow like a falcon, you are broad-chested like a hawk, which is looked at in the evening,after he crossed the sky”; “Flies flying. He flew away from you, people, because he does not belong to the Earth, he belongs to the sky …"
In the “Texts of the Pyramids”, as the remarkable Russian scientist BA Turaev writes, “… the first link of that continuous chain of funeral magical monuments was found, which stretches throughout the Egyptian pagan (partly Christian) civilization and whose most famous representative until those since [until the discovery of the “Texts of the Pyramids” - M. Ch.] there was a collection called in science the “Book of the Dead” … For those who are familiar with this kind of works from other nations, there are familiar features here: conspiracies, the effectiveness of which is based on belief in the power of the word, due to the knowledge of the names of creatures with whom the afterlife is associated, references to precedents from the history of the gods, and as a result of this - hints of myths, often incomprehensible to us, the use of temple ritual texts as conspiracies, sometimes with postscripts,testifying to the power of this saying in the mouth of the one who knows and pronounces it correctly. Thus, this rich treasury contains the exclamations and formulas that accompanied the funeral rites - spells against demons, reptiles and other enemies of the deceased king, prayers and scraps of myths that served the same magical purposes. All this is written in archaic language and writing, archaic spelling adapted for magical purposes and avoiding the use of hieroglyphs depicting living beings capable of harming the deceased even from the walls of the inscription. The green color of hieroglyphs, the color of resurrection, already by its appearance testifies that this most ancient literary monument of mankind is at the same time the most ancient verbal protest against death and a means of verbal struggle against it - a struggle that helped the monumental struggle.which was expressed hitherto in the construction of colossal royal tombs, devoid of any inscriptions or images”(BA Turaev“Egyptian literature”. T. I. M. 1920, pp. 36 - 37).
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With the end of the Old Kingdom, at the end of the third millennium BC. e., funerary literature undergoes significant changes. Now not only the pharaoh had funeral texts, going to the kingdom of the gods: a similar fate awaited everyone.
Already during the last dynasties of the Old Kingdom, the "Pyramid Texts" begin to leave the burial chambers of the All-Egyptian rulers and appear on the inner and outer walls of the rectangular wooden sarcophagi of their subjects. In many ways, these are the same “Pyramid Texts”, but nevertheless they are already so different from them that they clearly represent a new stage in the development of funeral literature. In the “Texts of the Sarcophagi” (as they are called in scientific literature), the solar cult associated with the deified pharaoh is intertwined with the chthonic (earthly) one; the underworld is located in a very special place in the space of the universe, where Ra and his retinue go every night to fight the forces of darkness. Here, as in the "Pyramid Texts", there are many magic formulas and spells,references to ancient myths (already mostly related to Osiris) and liturgical recitative. All this is divided into separate “sayings”, or chapters, which have their own names, many of which were later included in the “Book of the Dead”. On the sarcophagi of the 12th dynasty (c. 1991 BC), another text appears, dedicated to the afterlife wanderings and related in language to the era of the Old Kingdom. This is the famous "Book of Two Ways", created in order to make it easier for the departed the road to the Fields of Hotei (Fields of Peace) - the fields of eternal bliss, where wheat is as tall as a man, where there are no crop failures and hunger, where the deceased are in endless bliss under the shadow of Nounet - the mysterious sky of the afterlife kingdom. On the sarcophagi of the 12th dynasty (c. 1991 BC), another text appears, dedicated to the afterlife wanderings and related in language to the era of the Old Kingdom. This is the famous "Book of Two Ways", created in order to make it easier for the departed the road to the Fields of Hotei (Fields of Peace) - the fields of eternal bliss, where wheat is as tall as a man, where there are no crop failures and hunger, where the deceased are in endless bliss under the shadow of Nounet - the mysterious sky of the afterlife kingdom. On the sarcophagi of the 12th dynasty (c. 1991 BC), another text appears, dedicated to the afterlife wanderings and related in language to the era of the Old Kingdom. This is the famous "Book of Two Paths", created in order to make it easier for the departed the road to the Fields of Hotei (Fields of Peace) - the fields of eternal bliss, where wheat is as tall as a person, where there are no crop failures and hunger, where the deceased are in endless bliss under the shadow of Naunet - the mysterious sky of the afterlife kingdom.where the deceased dwell in endless bliss under the shadow of the Naunet - the mysterious sky of the afterlife.where the deceased dwell in endless bliss under the shadow of the Naunet - the mysterious sky of the afterlife.
It is in the Book of Two Ways that the illustrative images of the text that are so important in the Book of the Dead first appear. BA Turaev writes about the “Book of Two Ways” as follows: “This is an illustrated vade mecum of the deceased, making it easier for him to travel by land and water of the afterlife and consisting of a map of the latter and texts that fall into 16“chapters”(collection of“sayings”) In three groups. The first group begins with an appeal to some deity who gives a pass to travel to the necropolis of Sokar Ra-Setau, where the deceased relieves the suffering of Osiris, who is then glorified. The wanderer then speaks of his victory over the enemy, which he holds in his claws like a lion. It all ends with the words: “This book was under the sandals of Thoth. The end of it”… The second group talks about the pilgrimage of the deceased to various Egyptian shrines, obviouslytransferred to another world. He enters both Heliopolis and Butoh, and the “House of Abydos's Life”, and “the pure land of the Nile”; everywhere he sees local shrines and attractions. The third group actually represents the "Book of two ways". After depicting the doors to these paths, a map is given, divided in full length by a red stripe depicting the "sea of fire": above it - "waterways", below - land. The first lead first along the lake of fire; the text warns at the crossroads by the sea of fire: “do not go to it”. On land, the soul passes through dams, guarded by guards, in front of which one has to read the "passage of passage" or pretend to be gods for free passage. Both paths seem to converge at Abydos”(ibid., Pp. 60 - 61). As you can see from the above description,reaching the places of eternal bliss was not easy and sometimes even deadly and became almost impossible without an accurate knowledge of the topography of the afterlife and representation “in the face” of its inhabitants.
Without an accurate map and a detailed image, it was impossible to go on the road along the two paths of the kingdom of the dead. From now on, funeral literature began to be accompanied by drawings that facilitated this risky journey and became, over time, an independent type of Egyptian graphics - an integral part of the “Book of the Dead” papyri.
With the end of the Middle Kingdom, the end of the victorious struggle against the Hyksos enslavers and the formation of an "empire" a new period began in the development of religious literature. At this time, the funeral texts written on papyrus become the property of almost all segments of the population. As in the previous epoch, its main collection of funerary texts is being formed, replacing the “Texts of the Sarcophagi” of the Middle Kingdom. Already at the very end of it, the first papyrus scrolls appear, and since the 18th Dynasty (c. 1552 BC) they have spread everywhere. “From this time on,… religious texts concerning the underworld were put together and written in what we now know as the“Book of the Dead”, and every Egyptian who was wealthy enough to afford to pay a scribe even for the most an incomplete list of sacred texts,took with him to his grave a scroll of papyrus, which could be a short passage containing no more than the most necessary chapters, or it could be an imposing work, reaching hundreds or more feet in length and containing all the precautions that the wisdom of the Egyptian scribe knew against the dangers of the gloomy world of the Duat [the afterlife - M. Ch.]. This is why nine out of every ten Egyptian papyri are funerary papyri, and why nine out of every ten funerary papyri are copies of what we know as the "Book of the Dead", while others are copies of the later versions and abbreviations of this main book - "The Book of the Gates". “The Book of Breath“, “The Book of Knowledge of What Is in the Underworld,” and so on”(J. Baikie“Egyptian Papyri and Papyrus- hunting”NY 1971, pp. 34-35).concluding no more than the most necessary chapters, or could be an imposing work, reaching hundreds or more feet in length and containing all the precautions that the wisdom of the Egyptian scribe knew against the dangers of the gloomy world of Duat [the afterlife - M. Ch.]. This is why nine out of every ten Egyptian papyri are funerary papyri, and why nine out of every ten funerary papyri are copies of what we know as the "Book of the Dead", while others are copies of the later versions and abbreviations of this main book - "The Book of the Gates". “The Book of Breath“, “The Book of Knowledge of What Is in the Underworld,” and so on”(J. Baikie“Egyptian Papyri and Papyrus- hunting”NY 1971, pp. 34-35).concluding no more than the most necessary chapters, or could be an imposing work, reaching hundreds or more feet in length and containing all the precautions that the wisdom of the Egyptian scribe knew against the dangers of the gloomy world of Duat [the afterlife - M. Ch.]. This is why nine out of every ten Egyptian papyri are funerary papyri, and why nine out of every ten funerary papyri are copies of what we know as the "Book of the Dead", while others are copies of the later versions and abbreviations of this main book - "The Book of the Gates". “The Book of Breath“, “The Book of Knowledge of What Is in the Underworld,” and so on”(J. Baikie“Egyptian Papyri and Papyrus- hunting”NY 1971, pp. 34-35).reaching hundreds or more feet in length and taking all the precautions that the wisdom of the Egyptian scribe knew against the dangers of the gloomy world of Duat [the afterlife - M. Ch.]. This is why nine out of every ten Egyptian papyri are funerary papyri, and why nine out of every ten funerary papyri are copies of what we know as the "Book of the Dead", while others are copies of the later versions and abbreviations of this main book - "The Book of the Gates". “The Book of Breath“, “The Book of Knowledge of What Is in the Underworld,” and so on”(J. Baikie“Egyptian Papyri and Papyrus- hunting”NY 1971, pp. 34-35).reaching hundreds or more feet in length and taking all the precautions that the wisdom of the Egyptian scribe knew against the dangers of the gloomy world of Duat [the afterlife - M. Ch.]. This is why nine out of every ten Egyptian papyri are funerary papyri, and why nine out of every ten funerary papyri are copies of what we know as the "Book of the Dead", while others are copies of the later versions and abbreviations of this main book - "The Book of Gates". “The Book of Breath“, “The Book of Knowledge of What Is in the Underworld,” and so on”(J. Baikie“Egyptian Papyri and Papyrus- hunting”NY 1971, pp. 34-35).and why nine out of every ten funerary papyri are copies of what we know as the "Book of the Dead", while others are copies of the later versions and abbreviations of this main book - "The Book of the Gates", "The Book of Breath", "The Book of Knowledge of What Is in the underworld”, and so on” (J. Baikie “Egyptian Papyri and Papyrus-hunting”. NY 1971, p. 34 - 35).and why nine out of every ten funerary papyri are copies of what we know as the "Book of the Dead", while others are copies of the later versions and abbreviations of this main book - "The Book of the Gates", "The Book of Breath", "The Book of Knowledge of What Is in the underworld”, and so on” (J. Baikie “Egyptian Papyri and Papyrus-hunting”. NY 1971, p. 34 - 35).
Of course, making papyrus scrolls required much less time and money than painting bulky wooden boxes. It should also be remembered that in the era of the New Kingdom, anthropoid sarcophagi, which repeat the shape of the human body and are unsuitable for placing long inscriptions, become widespread. The new papyrus collection was made almost “on-the-fly”, leaving free space for the name of the buyer. This is how the vast majority of scrolls are made.
The Book of the Dead was not just a copy of the Sarcophagus Texts. Just as the latter, having included fragments of the "Pyramid Texts", remained an independent work, so this collection, which absorbed parts of both, became a work different from them.
The "Book of the Dead" was, as it were, the result of the entire long development of Egyptian religious literature. This, the third stage of its existence, corresponding to the era of the New Kingdom (1580 - 1085 BC), shows what a difficult path theological thought has traveled over many hundreds of years. The main object of the funeral cult is Osiris - the chthonic deity, the Good God, the wise ruler of the kingdom of the dead, the underground sun, administering the posthumous judgment and restoring justice, whose house is located right on the Fields of Ialu (Fields of Reed), where the deceased work.
In the "Book of the Dead" it is no longer possible to find such representations as the Cannibal hymn of the "Pyramid Texts", where the deceased king devours the gods; or sayings, which describe what horror he instills in them: "The earth trembles, the sky trembles and the gods tremble when this Pepi righteous rises." Here the relationship with the gods is completely different. In the Book of the Dead, the gods are impartial judges before whom the deceased will have to answer about his earthly affairs. You can, however, try to alleviate your fate with the help of magic spells; you can memorize (or read in a scroll) the names of all forty-two gods with whom you have to deal, and thereby, as it were, gain power over them; you can, in the end, put a scarab on your heart so that it keeps silent about the owner's bad deeds, when the time comes to answer for everything. But,although the “Book of the Dead” seems to guarantee a happy ending of the trial, apparently, the Egyptians were not completely sure of this. What else will show the divine scales on which the heart of the deceased is weighed in the face of the god Thoth, who wrote the “Book of the Dead” itself and invented all its spells? The righteous man clearly has more chances for eternal bliss. It is no coincidence that chapters of The Crown of Justification and the so-called “negative confession” appear in the collection, in which the deceased swears that he did not commit such and such bad deeds: a kind of moral code of the ancient Egyptians of the New Kingdom era.who wrote the Book of the Dead itself and invented all of its spells? The righteous man clearly has more chances for eternal bliss. It is no coincidence that chapters of The Crown of Justification and the so-called “negative confession” appear in the collection, in which the deceased swears that he did not commit such and such bad deeds: a kind of moral code of the ancient Egyptians of the New Kingdom era.who wrote the Book of the Dead itself and invented all of its spells? The righteous man clearly has more chances for eternal bliss. It is no coincidence that chapters of The Crown of Justification and the so-called “negative confession” appear in the collection, in which the deceased swears that he did not commit such and such bad deeds: a kind of moral code of the ancient Egyptians of the New Kingdom era.
You can often hear that the ancient Egyptians did not create any kind of philosophy. Indeed, we will not find anything similar to the teachings of ancient philosophers in Egypt. But this does not mean at all that the Egyptians, for whom their cosmogony was in fact a philosophy, generally lacked any ordered understanding of the world around them and the phenomena that filled it. The ancient Egyptian lived in a world in which the existing order of things was established in the immemorial times of creation and has not changed since then, obeying an exact and unchanging law. His language reflected a form of thinking in which the relationship between people and objects was expressed far from being as obvious as ours. This language did not have a verb in our understanding, and therefore, there was no grammatical tense.
The Egyptians, it seems, perceived time in the same way as, apparently, children perceive it: as a single stream, an endless chain of immutability.
One gets the impression that the Egyptian world was filled with an uncountable number of different phenomena and actions, and a person did not so much perform these actions, but was at each specific moment, as it were, a characteristic of this action. This will be clearer if we remember that the Egyptians' concept of personality was also very different from ours. After all, the Egyptians were the “hemu” of their king, that is, his “expression,” “manifestation,” a part of him, just as the numerous gods were parts of the body of the single deity that gave birth to them.
Thus, it turns out that all the Egyptians together constituted the body of their state. The word that denoted in the Egyptian language proper Egypt, that is, the valley of the Nile, and which we quite accurately translate as “Motherland” literally means “inside”. That is, the Egyptian state is that ideal place where everything in nature is in the closest and quite definite relationship. The connection between the world of gods and the world of people is carried out through the pharaoh - a being of a double nature, at once God and man.
Thus, practically all the normal functioning of the state depends on the king, the prosperity of the country and everyone who lives in it depends on his strength and health. We can say that the pharaoh is the focus of the power, power and vitality of the state. Pharaoh is the bearer of absolute power, but also colossal responsibilities. Without his ritual actions, the Nile will not flood, and this is already a national disaster; if the pharaoh does not make the first furrow at the beginning of the field work, the land will not be fertilized and the country will be left without food. Therefore, when the Egyptians all over the country piled stone upon stone, creating giant pyramids, one cannot say that this was only a manifestation of the ruthless "Eastern despotism". Creating a new shell, protection for your king,they thereby primarily ensured the eternal existence and prosperity of their country.
The universe of the ancient Egyptians consisted of five parts: heaven, earth, water, Duat (otherworldly), mountains. All this was in unity, but also in a certain opposition. The pairwise opposition of all that exists according to the principle: right - left, top - bottom, masculine - feminine, characteristic of mythological thinking, can be traced in the ancient Egyptian picture of the world. But, perhaps, nowhere has the dualism of this world been so clearly manifested.
How the universe came about, man also had a good idea, although in Egypt there was no single theory of the origin of the world, gods and people. Each major theological school had its own cosmogony and theogony, where the honor of creating the universe was attributed to various deities; each school considered the creator of the god who was worshiped in a given religious center. The methods of creation were also different; Perhaps the only thing that unites all the different concepts is the idea that at the beginning of time there was chaos, as a result of creation transformed into an ordered universe, living according to well-defined laws.
So, man is a creation of God; his manifestation and image lives in the henu - the body of the country, where everything exists according to the established order of things, maintained by “the son of God according to his flesh”. The Egyptian, apparently, perceived himself as a combination of several entities: body, Ba (soul), name, shadow and Ka (double). Human life and health depended on the correct and harmonious interaction of these entities. When death came, all these substances separated from each other and began to lead virtually independent existence, and the place of a single personality was taken by Ax - not a completely clear category, perhaps to some extent corresponding to our concept of “spirit”. After death, as we already know, the deceased faced difficult trials in the next world.
The other world - Duat was one of the parts of the universe and it was located, as is clear from the very “set” of these parts, not in the sky, not on Earth, not in the water and not on the mountains.
This is precisely another world that exists parallel to the earthly world. But these two worlds are inextricably linked. The sun god leaves for Duat for the night, and the dead also go there. Judging by some signs, our world and the Duat intersect at some particularly sacred points. Judging by the topography of the Duat, he owns such holy places as Abydos, Heliopolis, Pe and Depu. But they are also real-life cities of our world. This pattern is often found in a wide variety of mythologies. In these holy places, temples were built, pilgrims went there, magnificent festivals and ceremonies were held there, there were oracles.
Like so many other peoples, the Egyptians had the confidence that some events in the other world could be influenced from here. It is possible, for example, to somehow influence the fate of the deceased or influence the higher forces acting “from there”. For these purposes, they resorted to magic.
The magic of the ancient Egyptians is one of the most attractive phenomena for modern admirers of mysticism and the secret knowledge of antiquity, but in fact it is very close to the actions performed by shamans, whose activities are mainly aimed at influencing the otherworldly forces of another world. The rites performed here have results “there”. Very few sorcerers know how to act magically directly in this world. This is why “Book of the Dead” spells have an effect in the Duat and do not work here. But the deceased can also influence our life from the other world.
Many letters have reached us, addressed to those who have read, with requests for help in something or with calls not to harm the living.
The other world of the Egyptians as a whole corresponds to the global ideas about such places. The language of myth and the entire system of mythological thinking demonstrate many cardinal differences between our perception of space from the archaic. So, for example, the mythical space is inadequate to the geometric one, although in form it is as structurally organized as the latter. Duat is a space rolled into a ring, many times larger than Egypt in area. It can be assumed that it has two levels: Fields of Hotel, corresponding to the space from Thebes to Heliopolis, where the deceased gets after having passed the weighing of the heart on the scales, that is, the Egyptian paradise; and a space filled with nightmarish abodes of demons and ruthless monsters through which the deceased must pass to reach the Hall of Two Truths. From our point of view of the perception of space,all these horrors should be in Amenti (literally “West” is the first region of the Duat where the posthumous judgment is held). Coptic Christians, who were very fond of describing the horrors of hell, the word "Amenti" meant precisely the underworld. The demons dwelling in the Duat are subject to Osiris.
But let us return to the ideas of the Egyptians about their posthumous existence, reflected in the “Book of the Dead”. In order for it to last forever, it was necessary to ensure the life and prosperity of all "self-determined" entities. The end result of all posthumous evolution was to be the resurrection of the deceased. This is a very complex idea that reveals many similarities to Christianity. Death for the Egyptians was an enemy, ruthless and insidious. But, like Christians, she is victorious.
"Christ rose from the dead, trampling death by death and giving life to those in the tombs."
Osiris was the first of the Egyptians to conquer death. After going through martyrdom, he was resurrected and sits on the throne in the Hall of Two Truths, judging the dead. From now on, the Egyptians were able to conquer death.
After the Last Judgment, Christians await eternal life in a resurrected transformed body filled with the Spirit of God. The body of the Egyptian will also be resurrected and transformed when all human beings come together again. But the Egyptians believed that the body must be protected from decay until that time or, in extreme cases, replaced with another shell - a statue or an image. After the resurrection, the victory over death, a wonderful spiritual and sensual existence awaits a person, when there will be no suffering and adversity and time will not have power over people. But it would be wrong to assume (as is sometimes done) that magical actions and spells guarantee eternal life to a person.
Not at all! They are designed only to help avoid evil intrigues on the part of hostile forces (after all, Christians also perform certain actions with the same purpose), but the final result still depends on how a person lived his earthly life.
Bardo Thodol (Tibetan "Book of the Dead"), perhaps most figuratively describing the immersion in the ocean of archetypes at the moment of the borderline state between life and death, paints more and more monstrous pictures of truly hellish torment and ultimately hints that all this is yours same spawn. That is, again we are faced with the idea that in the next world we will reap the fruits of what we have sown on Earth. During the posthumous trial, the deceased Egyptian swears of not committing forty-two sins. But, in spite of any magic, the verdict will be acquitted if the deceased is telling the truth. Otherwise, he will have to experience the same sensations as following the path of the Tibetan bardo. But for the latter, the result will be a lower reincarnation, and for the Egyptian, either eternal bliss or total annihilation is ahead."Peret em kheru" does not know any reincarnations. What is very often perceived by us as the transmigration of the soul is actually a magical opportunity to acquire any desired appearance.
Bardo Todol is a very dark book. Strictly speaking, its main goal is to help the dying person avoid new incarnations and achieve nirvana (eternal bliss). As he goes through various bardos, he is constantly offered several options for deciding his fate and the best of them is suggested. But each time it is assumed that the dying person could not use it, and a new choice immediately opens before him, but in worse conditions. We can say that in “Bardo Todol” the principle is applied: “Hope for the best - count for the worst”. The only question is what is to be understood here as the best.
Unlike the Tibetan "Book of the Dead", "Peret em Heru" pursues a completely opposite goal: to remain yourself, achieve eternal life and taste the peaceful happiness of contemplating the "face of the day" in the presence of the great God and meeting with relatives in another world, where all adversity already behind. The Book of the Dead leaves a person in the arms of his loved ones in the fragrant gardens of the Fields of Hoten, and behind its often vague sayings and magic formulas are read the same aspirations as those of those who confess petition for sins, resurrection of the body, and eternal life.
In 1920, BA Turaev wrote: “… there is no need to talk about the translation of the“Book of the Dead”into new languages - already in the best, more ancient manuscripts, its texts are distorted and filled with incomprehensible places. Despite the fact that hardly any other monument of world literature has come down to us in such an overwhelming number of copies from different eras, there is no book more unpleasant and hopelessly difficult for an Egyptologist than this collection … in view of the endless number of mysterious hints, mystical language and, especially, illiteracy of the distorted text”. For us, this is probably a really strange work: a conglomerate of very practical sayings, vague dialogues, magic spells and texts, amazing in their imaginative and artistic power, amazing in their spiritual, philosophical and ethical insight, of different origins. For the Egyptians,going to the kingdom of shadows, a fragile papyrus scroll was almost the only real tangible hope to pass unharmed through a nightmarish, terrifying world inhabited by monsters - a world of snakes, scorpions, ghosts, insurmountable barriers, lakes of flame and magic crystals, a world dating back to the infinitely distant times of primitive and a gloomy misty fragment preserved for millennia. For the Egyptians, their magic scroll was a sacred book, a divine revelation, given to people as a representation, flashing in the distant reflection in the tablets of Moses.dating back to the infinitely distant times of primitive rituals and a gloomy, foggy fragment preserved for millennia. For the Egyptians, their magic scroll was a sacred book, a divine revelation, given to people as a representation, flashing in the distant reflection in the tablets of Moses.dating back to the infinitely distant times of primitive rituals and a gloomy, foggy fragment preserved for millennia. For the Egyptians, their magic scroll was a sacred book, a divine revelation, given to people as a representation, flashing in the distant reflection in the tablets of Moses.
Without an idea of what the “Book of the Dead” was for the ancient Egyptians, it is impossible to comprehend the essence and spirit of their amazing culture. Too many of their ideas about being and world order fell into her. Maybe those who called the “Book of the Dead” the Bible of Ancient Egypt are not so wrong.
Now - about the text itself. “The Book of the Dead” is a collection of sayings of various purposes, often conventionally referred to in the literature as chapters. They can be divided into three categories: prayers and hymns to various gods, magic spells and recordings of a burial ritual (explanations of how to set up a burial bed, how to furnish a burial chamber, etc.). The order and number of sayings in different lists were different. Moreover, the client's consistency played an important role here.
The total number of sayings found in different copies of the “Book of the Dead” is 193, but in fact a complete collection of chapters, apparently, did not exist (in any case, such has not yet been found). Everyone was free to choose what he considered necessary, in accordance with his beliefs and capabilities. Therefore, in some copies we find dozens of chapters, and in others - a few. There was also a text called “Peret em kheru in one chapter,” which, if necessary, could replace all the others. The current numbering of chapters was proposed by the German Egyptologist of the last century R. Lepsius on the basis of a copy of the “Book of the Dead” published by him of a rather late, Ptolemaic era (305-30 BC), when the order of the sayings was already unified. Although the overwhelming majority of sayings have titles,they do not always correspond to the content of the text itself; this primarily applies to spells. It is difficult to talk about the logical structure of each scroll, but if you look at the entire collection as a whole, it becomes more noticeable. Apparently, the scribes of the Sais era (664 - 525 BC) acted on this principle, compiling their own edition of the text.
The content of the "Book of the Dead" can be divided into four parts (as did the French Egyptologist A. Moret):
1) Chapters 1 - 16: the procession of the funeral procession to the necropolis; prayers for “going out into the day”; hymns to the sun and Osiris.
2) Chapters 17 - 63: “going out into the day” and the rebirth of the deceased; his victory over the forces of darkness; impotence of enemies; the power of the deceased over the elements.
3) Chapters 64 - 129: “going out into the day” - the transformation of the deceased into a deity; her introduction to the solar boat; knowledge of equal sacraments; return to the tomb; afterlife court.
4) Chapters 130 - 162: the glorification of the deceased - texts intended to be read throughout the year (on certain holidays, on the days of giving gifts to the deceased) and with the aim of protecting the mummy.
This is the content of “Peret em kheru” itself; before the 163rd chapter there is a title: "Introduced from another book in addition to" Peret em kheru ", and then there are 30 more chapters.
A colossal role was played by drawings (often of the highest level of skill), placed with the text: the first example of book illustration in history. Thus, the content received not only verbal, but also pictorial expression. The Egyptians, for whom all sorts of images were of great importance in general, these drawings seemed so important that very often, with a lack of space on the lick, they preferred not to finish the text, but to fit the illustration; and during the XXI dynasty (c. 1070 - 945 BC) even copies of the “Book of the Dead” appeared, consisting of only drawings.
The nature of the Egyptian figurative writing is such that the images on the pages of the Book of the Dead were not only considered by the Egyptians, but also read almost in the same way as the text. In this respect, illustrations to the collection were more informative for contemporaries than for us. The dangerous wanderings of the deceased, the mysterious inhabitants of the afterlife, the magical actions of the characters and the strange objects with which they operate - all this comes to life on the sheets of papyrus, and before us unfolds (literally: after all, this is a scroll) an amazing world created by millennia of spiritual quests, such fantastic for us and so scary and understandable for the ancient inhabitants of Egypt.
The now proposed thirty-three chapters of the "Book of the Dead" of 193, like the rest, contain a lot of references to the most various deities (both well-known to Egyptologists and completely unknown) and references to myths (also fairly well-known, and have not come down to us), which led to the need to provide this publication with a short commentary on the most common names and concepts.
The texts were translated according to the hieroglyphic edition: EAW Budge “The Chapters of Coming Forth by Day or the Theban Recension of the Book of the Dead”. Vol. 1 - 3. Lnd. 1910 (reprinted: NY AMS Press INC. 1976).
Chapter 1
The beginning of the sayings of going out in the afternoon, ascensions and glorifications, going out and descending into the shining Heret-Necher1 in the beautiful West. It is said on the day of burial. Log in after log out
Says Osiris N: “Oh, the gods of the West” - says Thoth - “The king of eternity, who is there (in me)! I am the God of protection. I fought in front of you for you. I am one of these Council gods who protected Osiris from his enemies on the day of judgment. I am one of your people, Osiris. I am one of these gods, children of Nut, who kill the enemies of Osiris and repel the rebels from him. I am one of your people. Chorus. I fought for you. I stood up for your name. I am the One who defended Horus from his enemies on the day of judgment in the Great Court of Heliopolis. I am a Busirian, the son of a Busirian. I was conceived in Busiris and was born in Busiris. I was with the mourners of Osiris, the women who mourned Osiris on the Laundry Coast. “Protect Osiris from his enemies,” said Ra to Thoth. “Protect Osiris from his enemies,” he said, and I, Thoth, did it. I was with Horus as the savior of the left shoulder of Osiris, which was in Letopol,going in and out of the devouring flame on the day the rebels were expelled from Letopol. I was with the Choir in celebrating the feasts for Osiris and the offerings to Ra, the feasts of the 6th and 7th days in Heliopolis. I was a priest in Busiris, high on a hill. I was the prophet of Abydos on the day the earth came out [after the flood of the Nile (?). - A. Ch.]. I was one of those who saw the secrets in Ra-Setau. I was a reader of the Ram ritual in Mendes. I was a sem priest with his duties. I was the chief of the foremen on the day that Henu's barge was put on skids. And it was me who took up the hoe on the day of plowing the land in Heracleopolis. I was the prophet of Abydos on the day the earth came out [after the flood of the Nile (?). - A. Ch.]. I was one of those who saw the secrets in Ra-Setau. I was a reader of the Ram ritual in Mendes. I was a sem priest with his duties. I was the chief of the foremen on the day that Henu's barge was put on skids. And it was me who took up the hoe on the day of plowing the land in Heracleopolis. I was the prophet of Abydos on the day the earth came out [after the flood of the Nile (?). - A. Ch.]. I was one of those who saw the secrets in Ra-Setau. I was a reader of the Ram ritual in Mendes. I was a sem priest with his duties. I was the chief of the foremen on the day that Henu's barge was put on skids. And it was me who took up the hoe on the day of plowing the land in Heracleopolis.
Oh you, who carry pure souls to the House of Osiris, take my soul with you to the House of Osiris so that it can see, as you see, hear how you hear, stand as you stand, and sit as you sit. O you who give bread and beer to pure souls in the House of Osiris, give bread and beer day and night to my soul, which is now with you. O you who open paths and clear paths for pure souls in the House of Osiris, open the path for me and clear paths for me for my soul, which is with you. She enters in a rage, but leaves the House of Osiris in peace without being hindered or restrained. She enters praised and exits beloved and exultant, her servants are represented in the House of Osiris. I went there so that no imperfections of mine were found and the scales were free of their crimes.
You've been testing me for months. My soul was interrogated by my heart, which found that these words of mine on Earth were true. Here I am in front of you, Lord of the Gods. I reached the Lake of Two Truths, dawning like a living God and shining like the Ennead that dwells in heaven. I exist as one of you; exalted my way to Heraha. I see the August Orion; I keep the Primordial Chaos. I am not turned back, I see the Lord of the Duat. I smell the food of the Ennead, I sit with them. The priest of the ritual summons a sarcophagus for me; I hear a list of offerings. I enter the barge Neshmet without hindrance, my soul is from her [barge. - M. Ch.] Lord.
Greetings to you, ruling over the Western [ie. e. dead. - M. Ch.], Osiris, who lives in the Tinitic nome. You will let me pass in peace to the West. The Lords of the Secret Land accept me and praise me three times in the world. They give me a seat behind the Elder on the Council. The nurse receives me day and night. I rise in front of Un-Nefer. I accompany Horus to Ra-Setau and Osiris to Mendes. I take any form I want, anywhere I want my Ka.
Anyone who knows this scroll on Earth or places it written in a coffin, goes out during the day in whatever form he wishes, and returns to his place without hindrance. Given to him - bread and beer and cuts of meat from the altar of Osiris. He enters the world at the Fields of Ialu.
To the one who knows this order of the one who is in Mendes - barley and wheat will be given there, so he will be prosperous as he was on Earth. He will satisfy his desire like these 9 gods in the Duat.
A truly wonderful saying, tested a million times.
Chapter 2
Dictum of going out during the day and life after death
Says N: - Oh, the only one who rises like the moon. Oh, the only one who shines like the moon; Let N come out with this crowd of yours. Their liberator - in the Sunlight1 - opens the Duat to them. Here N comes out during the day to do whatever he may want in life.
Chapter 3
A saying similar to the previous one
N speaks: - Oh, Atum, coming out as the Lord of the raging stream, glorified as Ruthie. Prayerfully address the Ancestors: N comes, as one of those among them; he gave orders to the crew [of the boat] Ra in the evening. Osiris N lives after death; like Ra, every day. The one to whom Ra was born, Osiris N was also born. Each god rejoices that Osiris N lives, just as they rejoice that Ptah lives, leaving the Great Palace in Heliopolis.
Chapter 5
A dictum to prevent a person from doing work in Kheret-Necher
Says N: I am the judge of the Numb [ie. e. deceased. - M. Ch.], Who left Hermopolis [t. ie the god Thoth - M. Ch.]. I am a living soul and live in the insides of baboons.
Chapter 6
A dictum that makes ushebti work for a person in Heret-Necher
N says: - About this ushabti! If Osiris N is called to do any work that is done there, in Kheret-Necher, and there will be hardships for him there, as a person bearing his duties, you must take on all these works that are done there: cultivating the fields, equipping the banks, transport sand across the river from west to east.
"I will do it. I'm here!" - you will say.
Chapter 17
The beginning of glorifications and commemorations during the ascent and descent to Kheret-Necher, glorification in Nefer-Amenti7, stay in the retinue of Osiris, feeding on the dishes of Un-Nefer. The dictum of going out in the afternoon, assuming any desired form, playing chess [?], Sitting in the gazebo, leaving the living soul N after he has moored 8. Everything will be fine with whoever pronounces them [i.e. e. these words. - M. Ch.] On Earth
These are my words: Everything was mine when I existed alone in Nun; I was Ra when he descended, when he began his reign. What does it mean “Ra when he began his reign”? This means: when Ra began to descend into the kingdom that he created before Shu raised by [the god] existed, while he was on the hill that was in Hermopolis.
I am the great God who existed himself. Who is he “the great God who existed himself”? He is water, he is Nun, the Father of the gods, he is Ra, who created his names, the ruler of the Ennead.
Who is he? - He is Ra when he created the names of his members. So these gods who were in his retinue re-existed; the most irresistible of the gods. Who is he? This is Atum, who is in his Disk. He is Ra when he shines from the eastern horizon of the sky.
Mine is yesterday, I know tomorrow. Who are they? "Yesterday" is Osiris, "tomorrow" is Ra. This is the day when the enemies of the Ruler of the Universe were destroyed and his son Horus was called to the kingdom. This day of the holiday “We Live”; this is the day that Osiris's funeral was directed by his Father Ra.
The place of the battle of the gods was created by my order. What is it? This is Amenti. It was created for the souls of the gods according to the order of Osiris, the lord of the necropolises.
I know this great God who is there. Who is he? This is Osiris.
I am the great phoenix from Heliopolis, whose tester exists. Who is it? This is Osiris; as for "that is," that's a great God.
I'm Eamsy at his exits. I placed my double feather on my head. What is it? As for Imsey, it is the Choir who saved his Father. As for “his exits,” they are his Children. As for “his double feather on his head”, it was Isis and Neftis who came and placed themselves on his head, existing like hawks while his head tormented him.
I exist in my country, coming from my city. What is it? This is the horizon of my Father Atum.
My flaws have been removed, my evil has been removed. What is it? This means that the ship's rope has been cut. The evil that has come to me is discarded. What is it? This means that I am cleansed in two great great bodies of water in Heracleopolis on the day the rehits make offerings to this great God who is there. Who are they? The name of one is
Million, the name of another is [Sea] Ouadj-Ur. They are lake natron and lake Maat [Pravdy].
I am walking the road that I know, towards the Isle of the Righteous. What is it? This is Ra-Setau. Its southern gate is Nairutef, its northern gate is at Iat Osiris. As for the "Island of the Righteous" - this is Abydos. In other words: this is the road that my Father Atum walked when he walked to the Fields of Ial.
I reach the land of the Horizon Dwellers, I leave the secret gates. What is it? These are the fields of Ialu, which give birth to food for the gods (who) around the naos. As for this “secret gate”, it is the door of the rise of Shu. In other words: it is the door to the Duat. In other words: these are two halves of the door through which Atum walks, marching towards the eastern horizon of the sky.
Ancestors, give me your hands! It is I who have re-existed among you. What is it? This means drops of blood from Ra's phallus when he began to cut himself. Then they became gods who are before Ra. They are Hu and Sia in the retinue of my Father Atum all the time.
I repaired the Eye after it was damaged6 the day the Two Friends fought. What is it?
This is the day Horus fought Seth when he cut Horus's face and Horus ripped out Seth's genitals. And Thoth did it with his fingers.
I tied my hair for the True Eye on the day of his rage. What is it? This means the right Eye of Ra when it took up arms against him, after he sent him away. And it was Thoth who tied his hair in order to return it to him for life, safety and health without any weakness.
In other words: this means that when his Eye was sick in mourning for his mate, He spat on him.
I saw this Ra, born yesterday from the seat of the Great Stream. If he is unharmed, then I am unharmed, and vice versa. Who is it? These are the waters of the sky. In other words: this is the image of the Eye of Ra, the all-seeing, at his birth every day. As for the “Great Stream,” it is the Intact Eye of Ra.
I am one of Horus's companions, speaking for the sake of those whom his Master trusted. Who are they? - Imseti, Hapi, Duamutef and Kebehsenuf.
Greetings to you, masters of truth, the Council beside Osiris, giving rise to horror in sinners, Companions of Hotepeshus! Look, I have come to you so that you drive out all the evil in me, as you did for those seven Ahu who were in the retinue of the lord of the nomes, whose places Anubis prepared on that day, called “Go There”. What is it? As for these "lords of truth", they are Seth and Isdes - the ruler of the West. As for the "Council around Osiris", these are Imseti, Hapi, Duamutef and Kebehsenuf, who are the back of the Big Dipper in the Northern sky. As for those “who create terror in sinners, Sputniks Hotepeshus”, these are crocodiles in the water.
As for Hotepeshus, she is the Eye of Ra. In other words: she is a fiery cobra and she is in Osiris's retinue, devouring the souls of his enemies. As for “all the evil that has attached to me,” this means what N has done before the lords of eternity since he left his mother's womb. As for “those 7 blessed ones”, these are Imseti, Hapi, Duamutef, Kebehsenuf, He-Who-Saw-His-Father, He-Who-Under-His-Tree and Hor-Without-Eyes-On-His-Chele. This means that they were placed by Anubis as a magical protection for the coffin of Osiris.
In other words: as for “these 7 ahu”, it is Nejhej, Sleeping, Bull-Who-Does-Does-Heat-When-It-Burns, Seeing-His-Dignity, Red-Eyed-In-House-Shining-Red-Stream, Furious-Radiance-Face-Going Backward and Seeing-At-Night-That-He-Carried-During-Day. As for the head of this Council, his name is Great Elusive. As for “that day called“Go There”, that means what Ra said to Osiris:“Go where I can see you.” So he said about Amenti.
I am his Twin Soul, dwelling in his two descendants. Who is he? This is Osiris when he entered Mendes. He found the soul of Ra there. Then they hugged each other. Then he became “his Double Soul”. As for “his two descendants”, it is the Chorus who saved his Father, and the Chorus-Without-Eyes-On-His-Chele. In other words: as for “his Double Soul, dwelling in two descendants”, it is the Soul of Ra and the soul of Osiris, the Soul of the one who is in Shu, and the Soul of the one who is in Tefnut; it is the Twin Soul of those in Mendes.
I am this Big Cat, next to which the Ished tree was cut in Heliopolis on this night of the battle and the reflection of the rebels on this day, when the enemies of the Master of the Universe were destroyed. What is it? As for "this Big Cat", it is Ra himself. He was called the Cat when Sia said of him: "Such is he in what he has done." This is how his name "Cat" came about.
In other words: this means that Shu made a will in favor of Geb and Osiris. As for “where the tree of Ished was cut at Heliopolis,” it means that the Children of the Worthless were punished for what they did. As for “this night of battle,” it means that they have mastered their way in the east of the sky. Then the battle took place in heaven and on earth.
Oh Ra in his egg, shining in his Disk, ascending on his horizon, floating on the firmament, God who has no equal among the gods, rowing on the Shu elevation, calling the wind with the scorching breath of his lips, illuminating both Earths with his sunlight! Deliver N from this mysterious God whose eyebrows were the balance bar that night of the Rogue's call to account. Who is it? This is He-Who-Rejected-His-Part. As for “that night of the call to account of the Rogue,” this is the night of the fiery cobra and sacrifices, lassoing sinners and dragging them to his slaughter, cutting off souls.
What is it? - This is Shesemu; he is the tormentor of Osiris. In other words: this is Apop; he has a head that carries the truth. In other words: it is the Chorus; he has two heads; one carries the truth, the other lies. He gives lies to the one who gave birth to it; the truth - who came to her. Option: this is the elder Choir reigning over Letoprl. In other words: it is He.
In other words: this is Nefertum. This is Soped, who overthrew the enemies of the Lord of Eternity.
Deliver N from these executioners, murderers with sharp fingers, brutal in chopping off the head, who are in Osiris' retinue. They will not have dominion over me; I will not fall [victim] into their cauldrons. Who are they? - This is Anubis and Hor-Without-Eyes-Na-Chele. Option: they are the Retinue, reflecting the enemies of the universe. Option: he is the head of the [court] doctors. Their daggers have no power over N. I will not fall [victim] into their cauldrons, for I know them, I know their names, and I know the name of the Punisher who is with them, who is in the house of Osiris, who throws rays with his eyes while he is invisible, who goes around the sky with the fire of his lips, announcing the spill while he is still invisible.
I am the one who was unharmed on the ground in [face] of Ra and safely moored in [face] of Osiris. Your offerings will not be made without me for those who are in charge of their braziers, for I am one of the accompanying Lord of the Universe according to the Books of Transformation. I fly like a hawk, I scream like a goose-semen. I spend eternity like Nehebkau. Who are these “those in charge of their braziers”? - They are images of the eye of Ra and images of Horus.
Oh Ra-Atum, the ruler of the Great House, the Lord of all gods, alive, unharmed and healthy! Deliver N from this god, whose face is a greyhound's muzzle, but whose eyebrows are human and who lives by sacrifice. He is one of those who are at the bends of the lake of flame, who swallow bodies and steal hearts-hut, who inflict wounds, being invisible. Who is it? His name is The Millions sink. It exists in yat [Option: in Lake Unet]. As for the "lake of flame", it is located between Nairutef and the courtyard. Anyone who steps on it unclean will die of terror. Option: his name is Sharp; he is the gatekeeper of Amenti.
Option: his name is Master-His-Action.
O Lord of Terror, reigning over the Two Lands, Lord of blood, whose carnage flourishes, living inwardly. (Who is this? This means the heart-hat of Osiris, this is the one who eats everything that is slain), who was given the crown of Upper Egypt and rejoicing in Heracleopolis. (Who is this “the one who was given the crown of Upper Egypt and rejoicing in Heracleopolis”? This is Osiris), who was given power over the gods on that day of the unification of the Two Lands before the Lord of Eternity. (Who is he, “who was given power over the gods?” This is Horus, the son of Isis, who was endowed with power on the throne of his Father Osiris. As for “that day of the unification of the Two Lands,” this is when the Two Lands united to bury Osiris), a pure soul in Herculeopolis, giving strength-Kau and rejecting sinners and who are given the paths of Eternity. (Who is this? - This is Ra himself. Deliver N from this god who takes away souls, choking on rotting flesh,living in carrion, united with darkness and dwelling in darkness, of which the insignificant fear. Who is it? This is Seth. Option:
This is the Great Wild Bull. He is the soul of Geb.
O Khepri, dwelling in his barque, eternal, whose body is eternal, deliver N from these judges, to whom the Lord of Eternity gave magical power to guard his enemies, judges who create terror in places of punishment and from whose supervision there is no salvation. Their daggers will not touch me, I will not enter their places of punishment, I will not fall into their cauldrons, I will not sit in their traps, and the offerings of these abominations will not be made to me, for I am the one who comes without danger, pure, dwelling in the place of punishment, to whom dinners on faience were brought in the sanctuary-chenenet. What is it? “Khepri dwelling in his barge” is Ra himself; “Judges” are Baboon, Isis and Neftis; The name of the trap is Secret-Form-Whom-Gives-Hemen; Seeing-What-He-Once-Rejected is the name of a storm cloud. Option:
this is the name of the boiler; “These abominations to the gods” are impurities and lies; “He who came without danger, pure, dwelling in a place of punishment” is Anubis, when he guards the box with the entrails of Osiris; “The one to whom the dinners on faience were brought at the chenenet sanctuary” is Osiris.
Option: “dinners on faience in the sanctuary-chenenet” is heaven and earth. Option: This means Shu crushed the countries in Heracleopolis. Faience is the eye of Horus.
"Sanctuary-chenenet" is the tomb of Osiris.
How beautifully your house is built, O Atum! How beautifully your abode is founded, O Ruthie!
Oh floating, floating, come back! If the Choir becomes pure, Setkh is bound, and vice versa.
I came to this country; I got hold of my legs. I am Atum; I'm in my city. Back, Lion with a white mouth and a flattened head! Submit to my power. Option: Obey me, attacker!
You who guard the invisible, do not guard me! I am Isis. When you found me, I pulled my hair down over my face in a mess, so my part was tangled. I was conceived in Isis, I was born in Neftis. Isis destroys my bonds, Neftis puts an end to my suffering.
Fear is behind me, awe is ahead of me. Millions reach out their hands to me, rehit take care of me. People hacked my enemies to pieces for me; the gray-haired ones reach out their hands to me. I am allowed to smell the pleasant smells in Heraha and in
Heliopolis. Any god is afraid of me, for I have completely saved God from his slanderer. I have laid out the papyrus amulets and I can live as long as I wish. I am the companion of the Wajit, the mistress of the sky and the devouring flame, but they have allowed some of them to rise to me. What is it? - “Lion with a flattened head” is the phallus of Osiris.
Option: This is the phallus of Ra; “I pulled my hair over my face in a mess, so my part was tangled” - this is when Isis was hidden; then she dried her hair;
“Wajit - Lady of the Devouring Flame” is the eye of Ra; “They gave some of them to rise to me” means that when the Friends of Seth after reached her, it was a sizzling approach.
Chapter 23
The dictum of the opening of the mouth of N for him in Heret-Necher
He says: - My mouth is open by Ptah; the bonds that closed my mouth were opened by the God of my city. The enchanted One comes. He opens the bond of Seth that closed my mouth. Atum gives me my hands, which he guarded. My mouth is given to me; my lips are parted by Ptah with his metal blade, with which he parted the lips of the gods.
I am Sahmet-Uajit, seated on the right side of the sky.
I am Sahit the great, dwelling among the Souls of Heliopolis.
As for all these spells and all the words spoken against me, then let all the gods stand against them, the whole Ennead and all their Ennead.
Chapter 24
The dictum of delivering the enchantment for N in Heret-Necher
He says: “I am Atum, Khepri, who re-existed in the bosom of his mother, who gave jackals to those in Nun and behenu dogs to those in the Council. Look! This enchantment of mine has been collected for me from all the places where it was, and everyone who has it is faster than a greyhound, faster than a shadow. O thou who brought the barque Ra! Let your towing line hold tight as your barge sails to the Isle of Flame in Heret Necher. Look! This enchantment of mine was collected for me from all the places where they were, from every person who had them more agile than a greyhound, faster than a shadow.
When the bird-Hyp [is silent -?], The gods remain silent, but when the cry of the bird-Hyp is heard, it is for the gods. Look! My spell was given to me from all the places where they were, from every person who had them, faster than a greyhound, faster than a shadow.
Chapter 25
A dictum that gives N to remember his name in Heret-Necher
Says N: - I put my name in Per-Ur5. I made it so that my name is remembered in Per-Nu on this night of counting years and reckoning months. I am This Dweller sitting in the eastern part of the sky. To every God who comes behind me, I will say his name later.
Chapter 26
Dictum of giving heart N and for him in Heret-Necher
He says: - I have my heart-ib in the house of hearts-ib. I own my heart-hut in the house of hearts-huts. My heart belongs to me; it is enough for me and that I did not eat bread belonging to Osiris, there, in the eastern part of Gai - [Lake] of Flowers. Rook Hucht goes downstream, the other goes up. I will not sit in the Ladya Hucht, which is with you. Mine are the mouth to speak; my feet to walk and mine are hands to bring down my enemies. The double gates of the earth are open for me. Geb, heir to the gods, opened his jaws to receive me. He opened my closed eyes, he straightens my buckling legs. Anubis strengthens my knees that support me. Goddess Sakhmet straightens me. I exist in heaven; what I ordered was fulfilled at Memphis. I know my heart-ib, I own my heart-hut, I own my hands, I own my legs. I do whatwhat my Ka [t. That is, whatever I want. - M. Ch.].
My Ba and my shadow will not be driven away from the doors of the West forever and ever.
Chapter 27
A dictum that does not allow N's heart-hat to be taken from him
He says: - O you, grabbing hearts and tearing out huts, transforming a man's heart into what he did in Heret-Necher, so that it forgets it for your sake.
Greetings to you Lords of Eternity, creators of Eternity. Don't take this heart from me, don't blame my hut. Don't let my heart do this evil against me. My heart is the heart of the Great Names, the great God, speaking with his slans. When he sends his heart out of his body, his heart decides better than the gods do. I own and own my heart. It won't tell you what I did.
I am the one who owns my members. Submit to me, my heart, for I am your master while you are in my body. You will not rebel against me, for I am the one to whom you are ordered to obey in Heret-Necher.
Chapter 30 b
A dictum that does not allow N's heart to rebel against him in Kheret-Necher
He says: - My mother's heart, my mother's heart! My hut of my being, do not testify against me as a witness, do not stand up against me in the Court. Don't outweigh me in front of the scale keeper. You are my Ka, located in my body, Khnum, who strengthened my limbs. When you go out to the beautiful place prepared for us there, do not make our name vile to the (afterlife) courtiers who place people in their places. It will be good for us and good for the Hearer, and the judgment will be favorable for the judgment. And do not invent vain against me before God in the presence of the Great God - the ruler of the West! Look! Your nobility is in justification.
Commentary: Decorate a jade scarab with gold, and place it in a man's hut, and perform for him the ceremony of opening his mouth. He should have been anointed with myrrh.
This saying was found in the city of Shmun [Hermopolis Magna] under the feet (of the statue) of this God. It was inscribed on a copper plate of the south by the writings of God himself at the time of the majesty of the king of the North and South [i.e. e. Upper and Lower Egypt - M. Ch.]
Menkaur, a true believer, and was discovered by Prince Didifhorus while he was traveling, inspecting temples and their clergy.
Chapter 38
The dictum to live by air in Kheret-Necher
N says: - I am Ruthi, older than Ra-Atum from Hemmis. You, Who-in-Your-Sanctuaries, lead me! You, Who-in-Your-Caves, create a path for me! You, crossing the waters along the course of the boat of Atum, I stand on the deck of the boat of Ra. I pass on his words for rehits. I repeat his words to Narrow-throated. My Fathers judge in my favor at evening times. I open my mouth to feed on life, I live on air, I live again after death like Ra every day.
Chapter 40
A saying to reflect eating a donkey
Says N: - Back, male, disgust of Osiris! He cut off your head, and I did everything against you. Ennead told of you to harm you. Back, Osiris disgusted at the Neshmet boat as he floats upstream to the West with a favorable wind. Purify yourself all, gods, and crush the enemies of Osiris, while the Lords of the Tiny nome are in joy.
Back, eater of a donkey, disgust of Ha, dwelling in Duat. I know, I know, I know, I know where you are! I am the master of your eye. In other words: [I am the lord of your eye] on your face! Don't eat me - I'm clean! Who am I then? - The one who came himself. You will not come against me, coming uninvited! You don't know that I am the master of your mouth.
Get out to your myrrh! “Oh bald! The choir really pierced (you)”- (they say) his creatures. And let the punishment go into your insides. Your ennead is in Pe and Depu.
The child that came out pierced you with the eye of Horus. I reflected you when you were around.
I bring you down with the breath of my mouth. O eater of sinners, greedily seizing, there are no my sins on the palette of the scribe of bad deeds, there are no my sins in the records of the Court! You will not harm me, for I can order and they will seize you. Don't grab me, don't eat me, for I am the lord of the horizon! Therefore Osiris N flourishes.
Chapter 51
The dictum not to walk upside down
Says N: - My abomination, my abomination! I will not eat my abomination. Excrement is an abomination to me. I will not eat them. Garbage! No harm will come from them. I will not touch them with my hands. I will not step on them with the soles of my feet.
Chapter 54
The dictum of alms breath N in Heret-Necher
He says: - O Atum, give me the life-giving breath of your nostrils. I am this egg that was in Great Gogotun. I am the protection that reigned great and separated Hebe from the earth.
If I live, she lives, if I grow old, she grows old, and if I breathe air, she breathes air too. I am the judge of the Broken One. I surrounded his egg. My tomorrow will come in due time.
Great is the power of (God) Essence! O enveloping (city) Pe and Two Earths, you who are among the [divine] sustenance, and you who are among the heavenly [inhabitants], protect yourself from the one who is in his nest of the Child when he comes out against you.
Chapter 55
The dictum of giving breathing in Kheret-Necher
N says: - I am a jackal jackals. I am Shu, spreading the air in front of the Sunlight to the limits of the sky, to the limits of the Earth, to the limits of the flight of the bird Nebeh. The breath is given to me by these young people. I tear my mouth off, I see with my eyes.
Chapter 63
The dictum of drinking water without the danger of burning
- O bull of the West, bring me to you. I am the oar of Ra with which he row (among) the old ones. I will not burn, I will not burn myself. I am Babai, the first son of Osiris, united by all the gods within his Eye in Heliopolis. I am the Heir, unwrapping the Great Weary 2. My name flourishes for me. I hinder the other living in me (?), Day after day.
Chapter 74
The dictum of the movement of the legs and exit from the ground
Says N: - Do what you do, O Sokar, Sokar in your house on the threshold of Kheret-Necher. I am Shining in the sky. I go out into the sky, I approach the Shining One. Oh, how tired I am! How tired I am! I walk, and I am so tired on the banks of those whose speech is carried away to Kheret-Necher.
Chapter 75
Dictum of the procession to Heliopolis and getting a seat there
Says N: - I came out of the Duat, I came from the limits of the Earth. My shroud is the insides of baboons. I walked through the pure sanctuaries of the gifts. I broke into the shrines of [the god] Remrem. I have reached the shrines of [the god] Ihsesef. I have penetrated the secret fences. I walked past [god] Kemkem's house. (Amulet) Titus held out her hands to me. She entrusted me to her sister Hebsnet and her mother Keheskhet. She places me in the eastern part of the sky, where Ra descends, and where Ra rises every day. I (too) went down and went out and was exalted like God. They put me on this secret road that Thoth walked when he reconciled the Two Fighters. He travels, he travels to Pe, he comes to Depa.
Chapter 76
The dictum of taking any (desired) appearance
Says N: - I passed the House of the King. It was the lapwing that brought you to me. Greetings to you, flying up to the sky, adorning his son with the White Crown, protector of the White Crown. I exist in you. I unite with the Great God. Give me a path that I can walk!
Chapter 89
A dictum that allows the [soul] of Ba to unite with the body in Kheret-Necher
Osiris N speaks: - O Bringer! O Lead! Existing in his hall, great God! Let my soul come to me wherever it may be. If there are obstacles in bringing my soul to me from everywhere, wherever it is, you will find the Eye of Horav standing against you, like those there. While Osiris N sleeps Osiois N seizes those who are sleeping in Heliopolis, the land of thousands united.
Will bring to me my Ba my Ah right voice from wherever he may be. They, these from Heaven and Earth, are going against you for the sake of my soul. If you have any obstacles to letting my soul see my body, you will find the Eye of Horus standing against you, like these there. Oh, gods, drawing the boat of the Lord of millions, bringing heaven to Duat, destroying the secrets of the Afterlife, forcing souls to reach mummies; although your hands are busy with the cord, squeeze, grab your spears, drive out your enemies, and the boat will rejoice, and the great God will go in peace!
So make this soul of Osiris N rise under your seats on the eastern horizon of the sky in order to march to the place where it was yesterday, in peace, in peace to the west. She will see her mummy and rest in her body. She will not perish, she will not pass by forever and ever.
To speak over a soul of gold set in precious stones, which a person placed on his heart-khat. For one who knows this saying, the body will not perish and his soul will not leave the body. A truly beautiful saying, tested a million times.
Chapter 105
The utterance of appeasement Ka N for him in Heret-Necher
- Hello, my Ka, my life. Look, I came under your radiance, mighty, strong in soul, mighty. I brought you natron-bed and incense, with which I will cleanse you, with which I will cleanse your saliva. These bad words that I uttered, these bad deeds that I did, will not be presented to me, for this is my papyrus amulet, which in Ra's throat was given to the inhabitants of the horizon. If they prosper, so will I, and my Ka will prosper like them.
Feeding my Ka is like feeding them. You who weigh in the scales, let the truth rise to the nostrils of Ra on that day of judgment. Do not let my head be carried away from me, for I am not a peeping eye and not an eavesdropping ear. I am not a sacrificial bull. Nothing of me became a mortal sacrifice to those over Nut. Let me pass you by, I'm clean.
Osiris is justified before his enemies.
Chapter 106
The saying of the giving of the daily gifts in Memphis and in Heret Necher
Says N: - O Senior, lord of food. O Elder above the upper houses and you who give bread to Ptah! Give me bread, give me beer. My breakfast is thigh (meat) and cookies. Oh, the carrier of the Fields of Ialu, bring me these loaves through your watery space, as for your Father, the Elder, who crossed into the divine boat.
Chapter 109
The saying of the knowledge of the souls of the East
Says N: - I know the eastern gate of the sky, at which the southern (part) is in the lake of geese haru, and the northern one is in the reservoir of geese ru. Ra sails there under sails and oars, and I control the ropes of the divine boat. I am a tireless rower on the barque Ra. I know these two turquoise sycamores, Ra comes out between them, walking along the pillars of Shu to these gates of the Lord of the East, through which Ra comes out.
I know the Fields of Iala belonging to Ra. Their walls are made of Metal. The height of the barley there is 5 cubits; its ears are two cubits, and the stem four. Ahu, nine cubits high each, cut them side by side with the Souls of the East.
I know the souls of the East - these are Horakhti, Khurerti the kid and the Morning Star. I built the city of the gods. I know him, I know his name. His name is Paula Ialu.
Chapter 117
The dictum of obtaining the path to Ra-Setau
N says: - Roads are prepared for me in Ra-Setau. I am the one whom the Elders adorn with the Great Royal Cobra. I am truly going. I made sacrifices in Abydos. Open the way for me to Ra-Setau, for I have healed the disease of Osiris. I am the one who created the water for his throne and his path in the valley and in the lake. O Senior, give me a way, you and I are one and the same.
Getting the best routes to Heret-Necher.
- O you who rule in Ra-Setau, I am the one who is dressed by the Elders, who appeared adorned with the Great Royal Cobra. I came. I placed my victims at Abydos.
Open the way to Ra-Setau for me, for I healed my diseases in Osiris. Mine are the edges of the water.
O who is in his boat, who justified Osiris before his enemies, justify Osiris N before his enemies. Then he will exist as one of you and will find friendship with the Lord of Eternity. It will go as you go, stand up as you stand, sit down as you sit. He will speak as you speak before the Great God, the Sovereign of the West.
Chapter 118
Dictum of approaching Ra-Setau
N says: - I was born in Ra-Setau. Enlightenment was given to me by those who are among Sahu in the purity of Osiris. I get long summers in Ra-Setau, like the one who is led by Osiris through both yat of Osiris. I am the only one whom they led through both yat of Osiris.
Chapter 119
The utterance of knowledge of the name Ra [or Osiris], entry and exit to Ra-Setau
Says N: - I am the Elder, who created my own light. I have come to you, Osiris, to bow to you, to purify myself in your outflows from you. I came up with a name for Ra-Setau when I discovered him. Greetings to you, Osiris, in your power and strength in Ra-Setau [or in Abydos]. You surround the sky and row next to Ra, you see rehit.
The only one surrounding the sky beside Ra, look, I tell you, Osiris: “I have the dignity of God”; so what I say happens. I will not be driven away from you, Osiris!
The one who knows this saying will enter Ra-Setau.
Chapter 125
Spoken upon reaching the Hall of Two Truths; deliverance N from all the bad deeds that he has done; contemplation of the faces of all gods
Says N: - Praise be to you, great God, lord of the Two Truths! I have come to you, my lord. You brought me to see your beauty. I know you. I know your name. I know the names of 42 gods who are with you in this Hall of Two Truths, who live evil, feeding on their blood on the day of the answer to Un-Nefer. Two Daughters, His Two Eyes, the Lord of Truth - your name.
Here I came to you. I brought you the truth, I drove away the lies for you. I did not act unrighteously with anyone: I did not kill people. I did not do evil instead of justice. I do not know anything that is unclean. I did not oppress the poor. I have not done what is disgusting to the gods. I did not insult the servant before the master. I didn’t hurt anyone. Didn't make anyone cry. I did not kill and I did not force to kill. I didn't hurt anyone. I did not diminish the sacrificial food in the temples. I did not take away the bread of the gods. I did not appropriate the funeral gifts.
I was not lecherous. I did not cheat. I have not reduced the grain size. I did not subtract the measures of length. I did not encroach on other people's fields. I have not weighed the weights of the scales. I didn’t ease the scales. I did not take milk from the baby's mouth. I did not take cattle away from his pastures. I did not catch the birds of the gods, did not fish in their waters. I did not hold water at her time. I didn't build dams on flowing water. I did not extinguish the fire in his time. I have not removed livestock from God's property. I did not detain God on his exits. I am clean, I am clean, I am clean, I am clean!
My purity is the purity of the Phoenix from Heracleopolis, for I am the nose of the Lord of Breath, which gives life to all rehit on the day of the Replenishment of the Eye of Udjat in Heliopolis on the last day of the second month of winter before the Lord of this Earth. I am one of those who saw the fullness of the Eye in Heliopolis. Nothing bad will happen to me in this country and in this Hall of Two Truths, for I know the names of these gods who are in it, companions of the Great God:
O Walker, who came out of Heliopolis, I did not sin.
O Embracing Flame, who came out of Herach, I did not steal.
O Nosy, who came out of Hermopolis, I was not greedy.
O Shadow Swallower who came out of the cave, I did not steal.
O Ferocious Face that came out of Ra-Setau, I did not kill people.
O Ruti, Who Came Out of Heaven, I did not diminish the measure.
O Silicon-Eyed, who came out of Letopol, I did not do evil things.
O Burning One Backward, I did not steal God's property.
O Breaker of Bones, who came out of Heracleopolis, I did not tell a lie.
O Thriving in flame, coming out of Memphis, I did not carry away food.
O Cave Dweller from the West, I was not irritable.
O Whitetooth, who came out of Fayum, I did not break the law.
O Blood Traitor who came out of the slaughterhouse, I did not kill divine cattle.
O Eater of entrails, who came out of the courtyard of the 30s, I did not usury.
O Lord of Truth, who came out of the Two Truths, I did not steal bread.
Oh, the one who led astray, who came out of Bubastis, I did not eavesdrop.
O Pale one who came out of Heliopolis, I was not chatty.
O Twice Feisty Viper who came out of Aneji, I did not bicker for my property.
O serpent Uamemti, who came from the place of execution, I did not commit adultery.
O Seeing-That-What-He-Carried, who came out of the house of Ming, I was not unclean.
O Thou-Who-Above-the-Firstborn, who came out of Imad, I did not inspire terror.
O Destroyer of Xois, I have not broken the law.
O Creator of Misfortune, who came out of Urit, I was not angry.
O Child who came out of the Heliopolis nome, I was not deaf to the words of truth.
O Piercer of Utterances, who came from Unsi, I did not create misfortune.
O Bubasti, who came out of Shetit, I did not wink.
Oh, you with the Back-face, who came out of the grave pit, I did not lecher, I did not sodomy.
O Hot-legged One who came out of the twilight, I was not a hypocrite.
O Dark One, who came out of the darkness, I did not quarrel.
O One bringing his offerings, coming out of Sais, I did not commit violence.
O Lord of Persons, who came out of Najeft, I was not hot-tempered.
O Counselor who came out of Unet, I did not distort my nature, I did not wash God.
Oh, the Horned One, who came out of Assiut, I did not talk.
O Nefertum, who came out of Memphis, I did not do wrong, I did not do evil.
O Who does not allow to remain alive, who came out of Busiris, I did not insult the Tsar.
O Thou-Do-What-You-Want, who came out of Antheopolis, I did not wade across the water.
Oh Ihi, who came out of Nun, I did not raise my voice.
O Prosperous Rehit, who came out of his abode, I did not offend God.
O Connector of good things from Spear's nome, I was not arrogant.
O Connector Ka who came out of the city, I did not differentiate between myself and others.
O Upper-Head, who came out of the pit, the property belonging to me was not great.
O Bearer of His Hand, who came out of the Land of Silence, I did not offend God in my city.
N speaks: - Glory to you, gods! I know you. I know your names. You will not tell about my sins to this God, in whose retinue you are. There will be no accusations against me in the face of the Lord of the Universe, for I worked the truth in Ta-Meri. I did not offend God. There is no charge against me from the king on his day.
Glory to you, those who are in the Hall of Two Truths, who do not have lies within themselves, who live the truth and drink the truth in the face of the Horus shining in his solar disk. Deliver me from Babai, who lives with the entrails of elders on this day of the Great Calculation.
So I came to you. I am without sin, without blemish, without evil, without weakness. There is no one against whom I would do anything. I live by the truth. I drink the truth of my heart. I did what the people asked and what the gods liked. I propitiated God with what pleased him. I gave bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, clothing to the naked, and a boat for crossing to those who did not have it. I made sacrifices to the gods and funeral sacrificial services to light souls (ahu). Free me, protect me. Do not speak against me in the face of the Great God. I am clean in lips, I am clean in hands I am the one to whom they say "Come in peace!" those who see him, for I heard this conversation between a donkey and a cat in the house of Togo-Who-Who-Mouth-Opened.
If I testify before him, he will announce.
I saw the cutting of the Ished tree in Ra-Setau. I am the priest sam of the gods who knows what is inside them. I have come to bear witness to the truth and balance the scales.
Oh high God on his pedestal, Lord of the Crown Atef, who took the name “Lord of Breath” for himself! Deliver me from your messengers who cause evil and bring misfortune, whose faces do not express compassion, for I did the truth for the Lord of Truth. I am clean, my chest is clean, my back is clean, my middle is a place of truth, there is not a single member of my who is devoid of truth. I bathed in the southern pool. I rested in the Northern City in the grasshopper fields, where I bathed at this hour of the night or day to calm the hearts of the gods as I walk through them (fields) at night or during the day.
“Let him come in,” they tell me. - Who are you? They say to me. - What is your name? They say to me.
- I am the lord of the shoots of the papyrus thickets. The One-Who-In-Olive is my name.
- What have you been through? They say to me.
- I walked through the northern city of thickets.
- What did you see there?
- Thigh and lower leg.
- What did you tell them?
"I have seen jubilation in the lands of the Asians."
- What did they give you?
- Flame of fire and crystal.
- What did you do with them?
“I buried them on the shores of Lake Truth as evening clothes.
- What did you find there, on the shore of the Lake of Truth?
- A rod of flint. The Giver of Breath is his name.
- What did you do with the fire and the crystal after you buried them?
“I mourned them. I dug them out. I put out the fire, I broke the crystal. I threw them into the lake.
- Go! Enter through this gate of the Hall of Two Truths, you know us.
- We will not let you pass us, - say the doorposts of these gates, - until you say our name.
The Plumb Line Weight is your name.
- I will not let you pass me by, - says the right wing of this door, - until you say my name.
- The Scales Bowl For Weighing The Truth is your name.
- I will not let you pass me, - says the left wing of this door, - until you say my name.
- The offering by Wine is your name.
“I won't let you pass me by,” says the threshold of this door, “until you say my name.
- Bull Hebe - your name.
“I won't open it for you,” says the latch of this door, “until you say my name.
- The flesh of His Mother is your name.
- I will not open for you, - says the bolt of this door, - until you say my name.
- The Living Eye of Sobek of Lord Bahu is your name.
- I will not open to you, I will not let you pass me by, - says the gatekeeper of this door, - until you say my name.
- Hat Shu, Which He Gave As the Protection of Osiris, is your name.
- We will not let you pass us, - say the lintels of this door, - until you give our names.
“They are the Spawn of the Cobras.
- You know us. Come on in.
“You won't step on me,” says the floor of this hall.
- But why? I am clean.
- Because I do not know the names of your feet with which you step on me. Tell me.
“The secret image of Ming is the name of my right foot, Unpet Hathor is the name of my left foot.
- Walk over us. You know us, they say.
- I will not report you, - says the gatekeeper of the hall, - until you say my name.
- He who knows the Heart, - The Prover of the Womb is your name.
- To whom should I report about you from the gods who are in their posts?
“Tell that to the Guide of Both Lands.
- Who is this Guide of Both Lands?
- It's Thoth.
- Come in! - says Thoth. - Why did you come?
- I came to answer.
- What are you?
- I am clean from all sin and vices of those who abide in their day. I am not among them.
- Who should I report about you?
- The one who has a ceiling - fire, walls - live cobras, the floor of his house - water.
- Who is it?
- This is Osiris.
- Go, you have been reported. Your bread is the Whole Eye, your beer is the Whole Eye, your mortal victims on Earth are the Whole Eye. So says he N. It is said at the entrance to the Hall of Two Truths.
This dictum is pronounced when he is clean and washed, after he has put on his robes, shod in white sandals, and anointed with myrrh, and presented a young bull, chicken, incense, bread, beer and vegetables.
Look! Rewrite this text for yourself. Write it on a clean surface with Nubian ink and smear it with earth that the lion has not tread. As for whoever has this scroll, he and his children will continue to prosper and not be hungry. He will be known to the Tsar and his court. He will be given cookies, jugs, bread-pessen, and a thick piece of meat from the altar of the great God - the Lord of the Duat. He will not be driven out of any gateway to the West. He will be dragged along with the king of Upper and Lower Egypt. He will be in Osiris' retinue. A truly wonderful saying, proven a million times over.
Chapter 138
The dictum of the entrance to Abydos and stay in the retinue of Osiris
Says N: - O you gods who dwell in Abydos, all the Court in its entirety! Rejoice at my approach. You will see my father Osiris. I was tested and went out in front of him.
I am his Chorus, the ruler of the Black Country and the Red Country. I have captured everything, being invincible, whose Eye prevails over his enemies, who saved his Father, carried away by the stream, and saved his mother; who crushed their enemies and drove the robbers from here, who silenced the power of the Harmful. I am the ruler of the crowd, the Lord of both lands, who took the best from the kingdom of his Father.
I was tried, I was acquitted. I prevail over my enemies. What they did against me will happen to them. My strength is my defense. I am the son of Osiris. My Father Protected his body from Malicious.
Chapter 175
A saying that does not allow you to die a second time
Says Osiris N, in a truthful voice: “O One, what will be done with the children of Nut? They created a war, they made a fuss, they did a lie, they caused uprisings, they caused a massacre, they created a guard. Moreover, they made the great insignificant in everything I created. Render effective help, O Thoth! - says Atum. “You will no longer experience evil, you will not suffer. Their years have been shortened, their final months have come to an end, while they secretly do nasty things in everything you have created.” I am your palette, oh Thoth, I brought you your vessel of water. I am not among those who betrayed their secrets. Betrayal won't start in me.
Osiris speaking N: O Atum, what does it mean that I am going here. After all, there is no water and no air. This place is so deep and so dark and so desolate! “They live here in peace of mind.” - But there is no love pleasure here! “I gave enlightenment instead of water, air and love pleasures and peace of mind instead of bread and beer,” said Atum. - "You will see in the street that I will not let you suffer from hardship." - (But) after all, each god sent his throne to the Boat of Millions (Years)! “Your throne (belongs) to your son Horus,” says Atum. - Will he send elders? - “I will make it so that he sends the elders. He will be the ruler of your throne and will inherit the throne on the Isle of Flame.” Command that [God -?] See his companion; so that I could see the face of my lord Atum.
"What is the life time?" - says Osiris. “You will abide for millions of millions of years, the time [of Your life] is millions of years. [Someday] I will destroy everything I have created. This Earth will again become chaos and flood, as it was in the beginning. [Only] I, I and Osiris [will stay alive], and I will take on the forms of snakes, which people do not know and the gods have not seen. How wonderful what I have done for Osiris, more than for all other gods, for I gave him possession, and his son Horus inherited his throne on the Isle of Flame. I gave him a place in the Million Years Boat, and the Chorus established itself on the façade [of his palace], wishing to erect his monuments. " "Will the soul of Seth be sent [to the West] sooner than (the souls) of all other gods?" "I took into custody his soul in the Ladya because of his desire to make the body of God tremble with fear."
Oh my father Osiris, do for me what your father Ra did for you! May I "continue" on Earth; may I raise my throne. May my heir be healthy; may my tomb be strong and may my servants be on Earth. May my enemies be like the fruits of the sycamore tree, and may (goddess) Selket3 guard their shackles. I am your son, my father Ra! Do (all) this for me, for life, prosperity and health, and the Chorus will establish itself on its facade. Make the time allotted to me pass in achieving dignity among the worthy.
… the sound of prayer is in Heracleopolis, jubilation is in Nairutef. … he inherits his throne; he rules everything on two banks. The Enneada is pacified by this. Setkh … “O my lord Atum,” says Osiris, “let Essence tremble with horror when he sees my images …
All people came to me, all stalemate, all reheats, all henmets … (bowing) bowing when they see me, for you made me afraid and created reverence for me … all of him …”. Then Suti came; his head was bowed, his face touched the ground, for he saw what was done against him … (blood) that dripped from his nose. Then Osiris fertilized [the earth] with the blood that came out of Heracleopolis … to see Osiris. He found him sitting in his house, his head was swollen from burning … Then Osiris said: “Press on these tumors in order to expel blood and fetid pus from them into the swamp. … my face so I can lift my forehead. Give orders to the chief of the masters regarding [this], my body … "Ra said to Osiris:" Your face is strengthened, your forehead is raised. How strong is the fear of you, how great the admiration for you … who came to you from my lips! Look,your name has been around for millions of millions of years.” His name abides … His name prevails in Heracleopolis, the great crown atef is on his head.
Millions, hundreds of thousands, tens of thousands and thousands … [he] was given bread and beer, bulls and birds and everything beautiful and pure, more than there is water in a river stream. … Millions are confirmed before him; drinks were given to him by the thousands; his excellent food …
He said to Ra Horu: “The things that have been done for you have never been done.
Osiris made me do it out of respect for his words. … it came out of my mouth to you, and the sacrificial bread will exist. Your name was communicated (to some deity - M. Ch.) … She will not give breath … her great name resides in Herculeopolis. How great is the fear of you, how great the admiration for you, heir in the house of Osiris, born of Isis - the divine Eye! Osiris N will exist as you exist, it will “continue” as you “continue”, for his years on Earth are similar to your years, and vice versa - millions, millions, millions of years."
It is said over the image of Horus, made of lapis lazuli, placed on the throat of the mummy as a protection on Earth, which is given by the servants of man to people, gods, ahu and the deceased. It is their good deeds that will save him in Heret-Necher. May this be done for you also. A truly remarkable saying, proven millions of times for Osiris N.
Chapter 191
A dictum to bring soul to body
N speaks: - Oh you, taking away the souls of the living! O thou who cut off the shadows! Oh you gods over the living! Go, bring the soul of Osiris N so that it can unite with the body, so that his heart rejoices, so that his soul enters his body and his heart; place his soul in his body and in his heart, connect his soul to his body and his heart.
Bring them to him, gods, to the Benben temple in Heliopolis behind Shu, son of Atum. His heart, like Ra, his heart-hat, like Khepri. Twice pure are the offerings to your Ka, your body, your soul, your shadow, your mummy, oh N, in the Duat forever.
Chapter 192
Another saying (similar to the previous one)
- O Osiris, twice alive, twice young! There is no evil in the place where you are. You go out during the day, you enjoy its rays, and the gods sit in the place where you are. You rise and fall, and your feet are not torn away. You enter the gods unhindered. The double doors of the Duat in the land of silence are open for you; the gates of secret regions are open for you. The guards stretch out their hands to you, rejoicing at your approach, and say: "You enter pleasant, Osiris, love for you - with the one in front of whom you are walking." They greet you with many praises, and everyone joins them. They tell you, Osiris, when they surround the altar before you: "You enter pleasant, you leave loved!"
He puts you in charge of them, he is pleased with you, and you share with him the offering. He protects you, he removes your evil.
Hello to you! Sinless people love you, they who live in Kheret-Necher, take care of you, Osiris, reigning in the West, right-wing Osiris. Those who dwell in the Duat come to you with praise. They turn their gaze towards you, the head of the gods, they see you, Osiris N, the head of the gods, commanding those whose places are hidden. They rejoice in you. You are near the place where the gods are.
Translation from ancient Egyptian, introduction and commentary - M. A. Chegodaev
