Egyptian Literature/The Book of the Dead/Chapter of Knowledge
CHAPTER OF KNOWLEDGE
[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 13).]
The Chapter of knowing the “Chapters of coming forth by day” in a single Chapter. The Overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, Osiris Nu, triumphant, begotten of the overseer of the palace, Amen-hetep, triumphant, saith:
“I am Yesterday and To-morrow; and I have the power to be born a second time. [I am] the divine hidden Soul, who createth the gods, and who giveth sepulchral meals to the divine hidden beings [in the Tuat (underworld)], in Amenti, and in heaven. [I am] the rudder of the east, the possessor of two divine faces wherein his beams are seen. I am the lord of those who are raised up, [the lord] who cometh forth from out of the darkness. [Hail,] ye two divine Hawks who are perched upon your resting-places, and who hearken unto the things which are said by him, the thigh [of the sacrifice] is tied to the neck, and the buttocks [are laid] upon the head of Amentet. May the Ur-urti goddesses (i.e., Isis and Nephthys) grant such gifts unto me when my tears start from me as I look on. ‘I know the abysses’ is thy name. [I] work for [you], O ye Khus, who are in number [four] millions, [six] hundred, and 1,000, and 200, and they are [in height] twelve cubits. [Ye] travel on joining the hands, each to each, but the sixth [hour], which belongeth at the head of the Tuat (underworld), is the hour of the overthrow of the Fiend. [I] have come there in triumph, and [I am] he who is in the hall (or courtyard) of the Tuat; and the seven(?) come in his manifestations. The strength which protecteth me is that which hath my Khu under its protection, [that is] the blood, and the cool water, and the slaughterings which abound(?). I open [a way among] the horns of all those who would do harm unto me, who keep themselves hidden, who make themselves adversaries unto me, and those who are upon their bellies.