The Egyptian Book of the Dead
Book 1
Papyrus
of Ani; Egyptian Book of the Dead [Budge]
240 BC
THE PAPYRUS OF ANI
(THE EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD)
Translated by E.A. Wallis Budge
HYMN
TO OSIRIS
"Homage to thee, Osiris, Lord of eternity, King of the
Gods, whose names are manifold, whose forms are holy, thou
being of hidden form in the temples, whose Ka is holy. Thou
art the governor of Tattu (Busiris), and also the mighty
one in Sekhem (Letopolis). Thou art the Lord to whom
praises are ascribed in the nome of Ati, thou art the
Prince of divine food in Anu. Thou art the Lord who is
commemorated in Maati, the Hidden Soul, the Lord of Qerrt
(Elephantine), the Ruler supreme in White Wall (Memphis).
Thou art the Soul of Ra, his own body, and hast thy place
of rest in Henensu (Herakleopolis). Thou art the beneficent
one, and art praised in Nart. Thou makest thy soul to be
raised up. Thou art the Lord of the Great House in Khemenu
(Hermopolis). Thou art the mighty one of victories in
Shas-hetep, the Lord of eternity, the Governor of Abydos.
The path of his throne is in Ta-tcheser (a part of Abydos).
Thy name is established in the mouths of men. Thou art the
substance of Two Lands (Egypt). Thou art Tem, the feeder of
Kau (Doubles), the Governor of the Companies of the gods.
Thou art the beneficent Spirit among the spirits. The god
of the Celestial Ocean (Nu) draweth from thee his waters.
Thou sendest forth the north wind at eventide, and breath
from thy nostrils to the satisfaction of thy heart. Thy
heart reneweth its youth, thou producest the.... The stars
in the celestial heights are obedient unto thee, and the
great doors of the sky open themselves before thee. Thou
art he to whom praises are ascribed in the southern heaven,
and thanks are given for thee in the northern heaven. The
imperishable stars are under thy supervision, and the stars
which never set are thy thrones. Offerings appear before
thee at the decree of Keb. The Companies of the Gods praise
thee, and the gods of the Tuat (Other World) smell the
earth in paying homage to thee. The uttermost parts of the
earth bow before thee, and the limits of the skies entreat
thee with supplications when they see thee. The holy ones
are overcome before thee, and all Egypt offereth
thanksgiving unto thee when it meeteth Thy Majesty. Thou
art a shining Spirit-Body, the governor of Spirit-Bodies;
permanent is thy rank, established is thy rule. Thou art
the well-doing Sekhem (Power) of the Company of the Gods,
gracious is thy face, and beloved by him that seeth it. Thy
fear is set in all the lands by reason of thy perfect love,
and they cry out to thy name making it the first of names,
and all people make offerings to thee. Thou art the lord
who art commemorated in heaven and upon earth. Many are the
cries which are made to thee at the Uak festival, and with
one heart and voice Egypt raiseth cries of joy to thee.
"Thou art the Great Chief, the first among thy brethren,
the Prince of the Company of the Gods, the stablisher of
Right and Truth throughout the World, the Son who was set
on the great throne of his father Keb. Thou art the beloved
of thy mother Nut, the mighty one of valour, who overthrew
the Sebau-fiend. Thou didst stand up and smite thine enemy,
and set thy fear in thine adversary. Thou dost bring the
boundaries of the mountains. Thy heart is fixed, thy legs
are set firm. Thou art the heir of Keb and of the
sovereignty of the Two Lands (Egypt). He (Keb) hath seen
his splendours, he hath decreed for him the guidance of the
world by thy hand as long as times endure. Thou hast made
this earth with thy hand, and the waters, and the winds,
and the vegetation, and all the cattle, and all the
feathered fowl, and all the fish, and all the creeping
things, and all the wild animals therof. The desert is the
lawful possession of the son of Nut. The Two Lands (Egypt)
are content to crown thee upon the throne of thy father,
like Ra.
"Thou rollest up into the horizon, thou hast set light over
the darkness, thou sendest forth air from thy plumes, and
thou floodest the Two Lands like the Disk at daybreak. Thy
crown penetrateth the height of heaven, thou art the
companion of the stars, and the guide of every god. Thou
art beneficent in decree and speech, the favoured one of
the Great Company of the Gods, and the beloved of the
Little Company of the Gods.
His sister [Isis] hath protected him, and hath repulsed the
fiends, and turned aside calamities (of evil). She uttered
the spell with the magical power of her mouth. Her tongue
was perfect, and it never halted at a word. Beneficent in
command and word was Isis, the woman of magical spells, the
advocate of her brother. She sought him untiringly, she
wandered round and round about this earth in sorrow, and
she alighted not without finding him. She made light with
her feathers, she created air with her wings, and she
uttered the death wail for her brother. She raised up the
inactive members of whose heart was still, she drew from
him his essence, she made an heir, she reared the child in
loneliness, and the place where he was not known, and he
grew in strength and stature, and his hand was mighty in
the House of Keb. The Company of the Gods rejoiced,
rejoiced, at the coming of Horus, the son of Osiris, whose
heart was firm, the triumphant, the son of Isis, the heir
of Osiris."
REFERENCES
Following is a list of frequently-mentioned geographical
locations, and their commonly-known names:
Abtu:Abydos Abu:Elephantine
Anu:Heliopolis Bast:Bubastis Hensu:Herakleopolis
Het-ka-Ptah:Memphis Khemenu:Hermopolis Per-Menu:Panopolis
Qerrt:Elephantine Sau:Sais
Sekhem:Letopolis Suat:Asyut Tetu:Busiris Two Lands:Upper
and Lower Egypt Unu:Hermopolis
A HYMN OF PRAISE TO RA WHEN HE RISETH IN THE EASTERN
PART OF HEAVEN:
Behold, the Osiris Ani, the scribe of the holy offerings of
all the gods, saith:
Homage to thee, O thou who hast come as Khepera, Khepera
the creator of the gods, Thou art seated on thy throne,
thou risest up in the sky, illumining thy mother [Nut],
thou art seated on thy throne as the king of the gods.
[Thy] mother Nut stretcheth out her hands, and performeth
an act of homage to thee. The domain of Manu receiveth thee
with satisfaction. The goddess Maat embraceth thee at the
two seasons of the day. May Ra give glory, and power, and
thruth-speaking, and the appearance as a living soul so
that he may gaze upon Heru-khuti, to the KA of the Osiris
the Scribe Ani, who speaketh truth before Osiris, and who
saith: Hail, O all ye gods of the House of the Soul, who
weigh heaven and earth in a balance, and who give celestial
food [to the dead]. Hail, Tatun, [who art] One, thou
creator of mortals [and] of the Companies of the Gods of
the South and of the North, of the West and of the East,
ascribe ye praise to Ra, the lord of heaven, the KING,
Life, Strength, and Health, the maker of the gods. Give ye
thanks unto him in his beneficent form which is enthroned
in the Atett Boat; beings celestial praise thee, beings
terrestial praise thee. Thoth and the goddess Maat mark out
thy course for thee day by day and every day. Thine enemy
the Serpent hath been given over to the fire. The Serpent-
fiend Sebau hath fallen headlong, his forelegs are bound in
chains, and his hind legs hath Ra carried away from him.
The Sons of Revolt shall never more rise up. The House of
the Aged One keepeth festival, and the voices of those who
make merry are in the Great Place. The gods rejoice when
they see Ra crowned upon his throne, and when his beams
flood the world with light. The majesty of this holy god
setteth out on his journey, and he goeth onwards until he
reacheth the land of Manu; the earth becometh light at his
birth each day; he proceedeth until he reacheth the place
where he was yesterday. O be thou at peace with me. Let me
gaze upon thy beauties. Let me journey above the earth. Let
me smite the Ass. Let me slit asunder the Serpent-fiend
Sebau. Let me destroy Aepep at the moment of his greatest
power. Let me behold the Abtu Fish at his season, and the
Ant Fish with the Ant Boat as it piloteth it in its lake.
Let me behold Horus when he is in charge of the rudder [of
the Boat of Ra], with Thoth and the goddess Maat on each
side of him. Let me lay hold of the tow-rope of the Sektet
Boat, and the rope at the stern of the Matett Boat. Let Ra
grant to me a view of the Disk (the Sun), and a sight of Ah
(the Moon) unfailingly each day. Let my Ba- soul come forth
to walk about hither and thither and whithersoever it
pleaseth. Let my name be called out, let it be found
inscribed on the tablet which recordeth the names of those
who are to receive offerings. Let meals from the sepulchral
offerings be given to me in the presence [of Osiris], as to
those who are in the following of Horus. Let there be
prepared for me a seat in the Boat of the Sun on the day
wheron the god saileth. Let me be received in the presence
of Osiris in the Land of Truth-speaking- the Ka of Osiris
Ani.
APPENDIX
(From the Papyrus of Nekht, Brit. Mus. No. 10471, Sheet
21)
NEKHT, THE CAPTAIN OF SOLDIERS, THE ROYAL SCRIBE, SINGETH A
HYMN OF PRAISE TO RA, and saith:-
Homage to thee, O thou glorious Being, thou who art dowered
[with all sovereignty]. O Tem-Heru-Khuti (Tem- Harmakhis),
when thou risest in the horizon of heaven a cry of joy
goeth forth to thee from all people. O thou beautiful
Being, thou dost renew thyself in thy season in the form of
the Disk, within thy mother Hathor. Therefore in every
place every heart swelleth with joy at thy rising for ever.
The regions of the South and the North come to thee with
homage, and send forth acclamations at thy rising on the
horizon of heaven, and thou illuminest the Two Lands with
rays of turquoise-[coloured] light. O Ra, who art
Heru-Khuti, the divine man-child, the heir of eternity,
self-begotten and self-born, king of the earth, prince of
the Tuat (the Other World), governor of Aukert, thou didst
come from the Water-god, thou didst spring from the Sky-god
Nu, who doth cherish thee and order thy members. O thou god
of life, thou lord of love, all men live when thou shinest;
thou art crowned king of the gods. The goddess Nut
embraceth thee, and the goddess Mut enfoldeth thee at all
seasons. Those who are in thy following sing unto thee with
joy, and they bow down their foreheads to the earth when
they meet thee, the lord of heaven, the lord of the earth,
the King of Truth, the lord of eternity, the prince of
everlastingness, thou sovereign of all the gods, thou god
of life, thou creator of eternity, thou maker of heaven
wherin thou art firmly stablished.
The Company of the Gods rejoice at thy rising, the earth is
glad when it beholdeth thy rays; the people who have been
long dead come forth with cries of joy to behold thy
beauties every day. Thou goest forth each day over heaven
and earth, and thou art made strong each day be thy mother
Nut. Thou passest over the heights of heaven, thy heart
swelleth with joy; and the Lake of Testes (the Great Oasis)
is content thereat. The Serpent-fiend hath fallen, his arms
are hewn off, the Knife hath severed his joints. Ra liveth
by Maat (Law), the beautiful! The Sektet Boat advanceth and
cometh into port. The South and the North, and the West and
East, turn to praise thee. O thou First, Great God (PAUTA),
who didst come into being of thine own accord, Isis and
Nephthys salute thee, they sing unto thee songs of joy at
thy rising in the boat, they stretch out their hands unto
thee. The Souls of the East follow thee, and the Souls of
the West praise thee. Thou art the Ruler of all the gods.
Thou in thy shrine hast joy, for the Serpent-fiend Nak hath
been judged by the fire, and thy heart shall rejoice for
ever. Thy mother Nut is esteemed by thy father Nu.
HYMN
TO OSIRIS UN-NEFER
A Hymn of Praise to Osiris Un-Nefer, the great god who
dwelleth in Abtu, the king of eternity, the lord of
everlastingness, who traverseth millions of years in his
existence. Thou art the eldest son of the womb of Nut. Thou
was begotten by Keb, the Erpat. Thou art the lord of the
Urrt Crown. Thou art he whose White Crown is lofty. Thou
art the King (Ati) of gods [and] men. Thou hast gained
possession of the sceptre of rule, and the whip, and the
rank and dignity of thy divine fathers. Thy heart is
expanded with joy, O thou who art in the kingdom of the
dead. Thy son Horus is firmly placed on thy throne. Thou
hast ascended thy throne as the Lord of Tetu, and as the
Heq who dwelleth in Abydos. Thou makest the Two Lands to
flourish through Truth-speaking, in the presence of him who
is the Lord to the Uttermost Limit. Thou drawest on that
which hath not yet come into being in thy name of
"Ta-her-sta-nef." Thou governest the Two Lands by Maat in
thy name of "Seker." Thy power is wide-spread, thou art he
of whom the fear is great in thy name of "Usar" (or
"Asar"). Thy existence endureth for an infinite number of
double henti periods in thy name of "Un-Nefer."
Homage to thee, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, and
Prince of Princes. Thou hast ruled the Two Lands from the
womb of the goddess Nut. Thou hast governed the Lands of
Akert. Thy members are of silver-gold, thy head is of
lapis-lazuli, and the crown of thy head is of turquoise.
Thou art An of millions of years. Thy body is all
pervading, O Beautiful Face in Ta-tchesert. Grant thou to
me glory in heaven, and power upon earth, and
truth-speaking in the Divine Underworld, and [the power to]
sail down the river to Tetu in the form of a living
Ba-soul, and [the power to] sail up the river to Abydos in
the form of a Benu bird, and [the power to] pass in through
and to pass out from, without obstruction, the doors of the
lords of the Tuat. Let there be given unto me bread-cakes
in the House of Refreshing, and sepulchral offerings of
cakes and ale, and propitiatory offerings in Anu, and a
permanent homestead in Sekhet-Aaru, with wheat and barley
therein- to the Double of the Osiris, the scribe Ani.