The Egyptian Book of the Dead 130

Of Making Perfect the Khu [From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 17).]

Another Chapter of making perfect the Khu, which is [to be recited on] the birthday of Osiris, and of making to live the soul forever. The chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, saith:

“The heavens are opened, the earth is opened, the West is opened, the East is opened, the southern half of heaven is opened, the northern half of heaven is opened, the doors are opened, and the gates are thrown wide open to Rā [as] he cometh forth from the horizon. The Sektet boat openeth for him the double doors and the Mātet boat bursteth open [for him] the gates; he breatheth, and the god Shu [cometh into being], and he createth the goddess Tefnut. Those who are in the following of Osiris follow in his train, and the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, Nu, triumphant, followeth on in the train of Rā. He taketh his iron weapon and he forceth open the shrine even as doth Horus, and pressing onward he advanceth unto the hidden things of his habitation with the libations of his divine shrine; the messenger of the god that loveth him. The Osiris Nu, the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, triumphant, bringeth forth the right and the truth, and he maketh to advance the going forward of Osiris. The Osiris Nu, the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, triumphant, taketh in [his] hand[s] the cordage and he bindeth fast the shrine. Storms are the things which he abominateth. Let no water-flood be nigh unto him, let not the Osiris Nu, the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, triumphant, be repulsed before Rā, and let him not be made to turn back; for, behold, the Eye is in his two hands. Let not the Osiris Nu, the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, triumphant, walk in the valley of darkness, let him not enter into the Lake of those who are evil, and let him have no existence among the damned, even for a moment. Let not the Osiris Nu fall headlong among those who would lead him captive, and let not [his] soul go in among them. Let his divine face take possession of the place behind the block, the block of the god Septu.”

“Hymns of praise be unto you, O ye divine beings of the Thigh, the knives of God [work] in secret, and the two arms and hands of God cause the light to shrine; it is doubly pleasant unto him to lead the old unto him along with the young at his season. Now, behold, the god Thoth dwelleth within his hidden places, and he performeth the ceremonies of libation unto the god who reckoneth millions of years, and he maketh a way through the firmament, and he doeth away with storms and whirlwinds from his stronghold, and the Osiris Nu, the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, triumphant, arriveth in the places of his habitations. [O ye divine beings of the Thigh], do ye away with his sorrow, and his suffering, and his pain, and may the sorrow of the Osiris Nu be altogether put away. Let the Osiris Nu, the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, triumphant, gratify Rā, let him make a way into the horizon of Rā, let his boat be made ready for him, let him sail on happily, and let Thoth put light into [his] heart; then shall the Osiris Nu, triumphant, praise and glorify Rā, and Rā shall hearken unto his words, and he shall beat down the obstacles which come from his enemies. I have not been shipwrecked, I have not been turned back in the horizon, for I am Rā-Osiris, and the Osiris Nu, the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, shall not be shipwrecked in the Great Boat. Behold him whose face is in the god of the Thigh, because the name of Rā is in the body of the Osiris Nu, the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, and his honor is in his mouth; he shall speak unto Rā, and Rā shall hearken unto his words.”

“Hymns of praise unto thee, O Rā, in the horizon, and homage unto thee, O thou that purifiest with light the denizens of heaven, O thou who hast sovereign power over heaven at that supreme moment when the paddles of thine enemies move with thee! The Osiris Nu, the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, triumphant, cometh with the ordering of right and truth, for there is an iron firmament in Amentet which the fiend Apep hath broken through with his storms before the double Lion-god, and this will the Osiris Nu set in order; O hearken ye, ye who dwell upon the top of the throne of majesty. The Osiris Nu shall come in among thy divine sovereign chiefs, and Ra shall deliver him from Apep each day so that he may not come nigh unto him, and he shall make himself vigilant. The Osiris Nu shall have power over the things which are written, he shall receive sepulchral meals, and the god Thoth shall provide him with the things which should be prepared for him. The Osiris Nu maketh right and truth to go round about the bows in the Great Boat, and hath triumph among the divine sovereign chiefs, and he establisheth [it] for millions of years. The divine chiefs guide him and give unto him a passage in the boat with joy and gladness; the first ones among the company of the sailors of Rā are behind him, and he is happy. Right and truth are exalted, and they have come unto their divine lord, and praises have been ascribed unto the god Neb-er-tcher. The Osiris Nu, the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, triumphant, hath taken in his hands the weapon and he hath made his way through heaven therewith; the denizens thereof have ascribed praises unto him as [unto] a divine being who standeth up and never sinketh to rest. The god Rā exalteth him by reason of what he hath done, and he causeth him to make of none effect the whirlwind and the storm; he looketh upon his splendors, and he stablisheth his oars, and the boat saileth round about in heaven, rising like the sun in the darkness. Thoth, the mighty one, leadeth the Osiris Nu within his eye, and he sitteth [upon his] thigh[s] in the mighty boat of Khepera; he cometh into being, and the things which he saith come to pass. The Osiris Nu advanceth, and he journeyeth round about heaven unto Amentet, the fiery deities stand up before him, and the god Shu rejoiceth exceedingly, and they take in their hands the bows [of the boat] of Rā along with his divine mariners. Rā goeth round about and he looketh upon Osiris. The Osiris Nu is at peace, the Osiris Nu is at peace. He hath not been driven back, the flame of thy moment hath not been taken away from him, [O Rā,] the whirlwind and storm of thy mouth have not come forth against him, he hath not journeyed upon the path of the crocodile for he abominateth the crocodile and it hath not drawn nigh unto him. The Osiris Nu embarked in thy boat, O Rā, he is furnished with thy throne, and he receiveth thy spiritual form. The Osiris Nu travelleth over the paths of Rā at daybreak to drive back the fiend Nebt; [he] cometh upon the flame of thy boat, [O Rā,] upon that mighty Thigh. The Osiris Nu knoweth it, and he attaineth unto thy boat, and behold he [sitteth] therein; and he maketh sepulchral offerings.”

[This chapter shall be] recited over a boat of the god Ra which hath been painted in colors in a pure place. And behold thou shalt place a figure of the deceased in the bows thereof, and thou shalt paint a Sektet boat upon the right side thereof, and there shall be made unto them offerings of bread, and cakes, and wine, and oil, and every kind of fair offering upon the birthday of Osiris. If these ceremonies be performed his soul shall have existence, and shall live forever, and shall not die a second time. The following is from the rubric to this chapter in the Saite Recension (see Lepsius, op. cit., Bl. 53):

"[He shall know] the hidden things of the underworld, he shall penetrate the hidden things in Neter-khertet (the underworld)."

"[This chapter] was found in the large hall(?) of the Temple under the reign of his Majesty Hesepti, triumphant, and it was found in the cavern of the mountain which Horus made for his father Osiris Un-nefer, triumphant. Now since Rā looketh upon this deceased in his own flesh, he shall look upon him as the company of the gods. The fear of him shall be great, and the awe of him shall be mighty in the heart of men, and gods, and Khus, and the damned. He shall be with his soul and shall live forever; he shall not die a second time in the underworld; and on the day of weighing of words no evil hap shall befall him. He shall be triumphant over his enemies, and his sepulchral meals shall be upon the altar of Rā in the course of each day, day by day.”