Egyptian Literature/The Book of the Dead/Of the Praise of the Gods
OF THE PRAISE OF THE GODS
[From the Tomb of Rameses IV (see Naville, op. cit., Bd. I. Bl. 141; Lefebure, “Tombeau de Ramses IV,” Plate 13).]
The Book of the praise of the gods of the Qerti[1] which a man shall recite when he cometh forth before them to enter in to see the god in the Great Temple of the underworld. And he shall say:
“Homage to you, O ye gods of the Qerti, ye divine dwellers in Amentet! Homage to you, O ye guardians of the doors of the underworld, who keep ward over the god, who bear and proclaim [the names of those who come] into the presence of the god Osiris, and who hold yourselves ready, and who praise [him], and who destroy the Enemies of Rā. Oh, send ye forth your light and scatter ye the darkness [which is about] you, and behold ye the holy and divine Mighty One, O ye who live even as he liveth, and call ye upon him that dwelleth within his divine Disk. Lead ye the King of the North and of the South, (Usr-Maāt-Rā-setep-en-Amen), the son of the Sun, (Rā-meses-meri-Amen-Rā-heq-Maāt), through your doors, may his divine soul enter into your hidden places, [for] he is one among you, and he hath shot forth calamities upon the serpent fiend Apep, and he hath beaten down the obstacles [which Apep set up] in Amentet. Thy word hath prevailed mightily over thine enemies, O great God, who livest in thy divine Disk; thy word hath prevailed mightily over thine enemies, O Osiris, Governor of Amentet; thy word hath prevailed mightily over thine enemies in heaven and in earth, O thou King of the North and of the South, (Usr-Maāt-Rā-setep-en-Amen), the son of the Sun, (Rā-meses-meri-Amen-Rā-heq-Maāt), and over the sovereign princes of every god and of every goddess, O Osiris, Governor of Amentet; he hath uttered words in the presence [of the god in] the valley of the dead, and he hath gained the mastery over the mighty sovereign princes. Hail, ye doorkeepers(?), hail, ye doorkeepers, who guard your gates, who punish souls, who devour the bodies of the dead, who advance over them at their examination in the places of destruction, who give right and truth to the soul and to the divine khu, the beneficent one, the mighty one, whose throne is holy in Akert, who is endowed with soul like Ra and who is praised like Osiris, lead ye along the King of the North and of the South, (Usr-Maāt-Rā-setep-en-Amen), the son of the Sun, (Rā-meses-meri-Amen-Rā-heq-Maāt), unbolt ye for him the doors, and open [ye] the place of his Qerti for him. Behold, make ye his word to triumph over his enemies, and indeed let meat-offerings and drink-offerings be made unto him by the god of the double door, and let him put on the nemmes crown of him that dwelleth in the great and hidden shrine. Behold the image of Heru-khuti (Harmachis), who is doubly true, and who is the divine Soul and the divine and perfect Khu; he hath prevailed with his hands. The two great and mighty gods cry out to the King of the North and South (Usr-Maāt-Rā-setep-en-Amen), the son of the Sun, (Rā-meses-meri-Amen-Rā-heq-Maāt), they rejoice with him, they sing praises to him [and clap] their hands, they accord him their protection, and he liveth. The King of the North and South (Usr-Maāt-Rā-setep-en-Amen), the son of the Sun, (Rā-meses-meri-Amen-Rā-heq-Maāt), riseth like a living soul in heaven. He hath been commanded to make his transformations, he hath made himself victorious before the divine sovereign chiefs, and he hath made his way through the gates of heaven, and of earth, and of the underworld, even as hath Ra. The King of the North and South, (Usr-Maāt-Rā-setep-en-Amen), the son of the Sun, (Rā-meses-meri-Amen-Rā-heq-Maāt), saith, ‘Open unto me the gate[s] of heaven, and of earth, and of the underworld, for I am the divine soul of Osiris and I rest in him, and let me pass through their halls. Let [the gods] sing praises unto me [when] they see me; let me enter and let favor be shown unto me; let me come forth and let me be beloved; and let me go forward, for no defect or failure hath been found clinging unto me.‘”
- ↑ I.e., districts or divisions of the underworld.