The Egyptian Book of the Dead 15

A Hymn to the Setting Sun

A Hymn of Praise to Ra when he riseth upon the horizon, and when he setteth in the land of life. Osiris, the scribe Ani, saith:

“Homage to thee, O Rā, when thou risest [as] Tem-Herukhuti (Tem-Harmachis). Thou art adored [by me when] thy beauties are before mine eyes, and [when thy] radiance [falleth] upon [my] body. Thou goest forth to thy setting in the Sektet boat with [fair] winds, and thy heart is glad; the heart of the Mātet boat rejoiceth. Thou stridest over the heavens in peace, and all thy foes are cast down; the never-resting stars sing hymns of praise unto thee, and the stars which rest, and the stars which never fail glorify thee as thou sinkest to rest in the horizon of Manu, O thou who art beautiful at morn and at eve, O thou lord who livest and art established, O my lord!

“Homage to thee, O thou who art Rā when thou risest, and Tem when thou settest [in] beauty. Thou risest and shinest on the back of thy mother [Nut], O thou who art crowned king of the gods! Nut doeth homage unto thee, and everlasting and never-changing order embraceth thee at morn and at eve. Thou stridest over the heaven, being glad of heart, and the Lake of Testes is content [thereat]. The Sebau Fiend hath fallen to the ground; his arms and his hands have been hacked off, and the knife hath severed the joints of his body. Rā hath a fair wind; the Sektet boat goeth forth and sailing along it cometh into port. The gods of the south and of the north, of the west and of the east, praise thee, O thou divine substance, from whom all forms of life come into being. Thou sendest forth the word, and the earth is flooded with silence, O thou only One, who didst dwell in heaven before ever the earth and the mountains came into existence. O Runner, O Lord, O only One, thou maker of things which are, thou hast fashioned the tongue of the company of the gods, thou hast produced whatsoever cometh forth from the waters, and thou springest up from them over the flooded land of the Lake of Horus. Let me snuff the air which cometh forth from thy nostrils, and the north wind which cometh forth from thy mother [Nut]. Oh, make thou to be glorious my shining form (khu), O Osiris, make thou to be divine my soul (ba)! Thou art worshipped [in] peace (or [in] setting), O lord of the gods, thou art exalted by reason of thy wondrous works. Shine thou with thy rays of light upon my body day by day, [upon me], Osiris the scribe, the teller of the divine offerings of all the gods, the overseer of the granary of the lords of Abtu (Abydos), the royal scribe in truth who loveth thee; Ani, victorious in peace.”

Hymn and Litany to Osiris [From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet 19).]

“Praise be unto thee, O Osiris, lord of eternity, Unnefer, Heru-khuti (Harmachis), whose forms are manifold, and whose attributes are majestic, Ptah-Seker-Tem in Annu (Heliopolis), the lord of the hidden place, and the creator of Het-ka-Ptah (Memphis) and of the gods [therein], the guide of the underworld, whom [the gods] glorify when thou settest in Nut. Isis embraceth thee in peace, and she driveth away the fiends from the mouth of thy paths. Thou turnest thy face upon Amentet, and thou makest the earth to shine as with refined copper. Those who have lain down (i.e., the dead) rise up to see thee, they breathe the air and they look upon thy face when the Disk riseth on its horizon; their hearts are at peace inasmuch as they behold thee, O thou who art Eternity and Everlastingness!“ Litany

“Homage to thee, [O lord of] starry deities in Annu, and of heavenly beings in Kher-āba; thou god Unti, who art more glorious than the gods who are hidden in Annu; oh grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee, O An in Antes, (?) Heru-khuti (Harmachis), with long strides thou stridest over heaven, O Herukhuti. Oh, grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee, O Soul of everlastingness, thou Soul who dwellest in Tattu, Unnefer, son of Nut; thou art lord of Akert. Oh, grant thou unto me a path wherein I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee in thy dominion over Tattu; the Ureret crown is established upon thy head; thou art the One who maketh the strength which protecteth himself, and thou dwellest in peace in Tattu. Oh, grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee, O lord of the Acacia tree, the Seker boat is set upon its sledge; thou turnest back the Fiend, the worker of evil, and thou causest the Utchat to rest upon its seat. Oh, grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee, O thou who art mighty in thine hour, thou great and mighty Prince, dweller in An-rut-f, lord of eternity and creator of everlastingness, thou art the lord of Suten-henen (Heracleopolis Magna). Oh, grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee, O thou who restest upon Right and Truth, thou art the lord of Abtu (Abydos), and thy limbs are joined unto Ta-tchesertet; thou art he to whom fraud and guile are hateful. Oh, grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee, O thou who art within thy boat, thou bringest Hāpi (i.e., the Nile) forth from his source; the light shineth upon thy body and thou art the dweller in Nekhen. Oh, grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

“Homage to thee, O creator of the gods, thou King of the North and of the South, O Osiris, victorious one, ruler of the world in thy gracious seasons; thou art the lord of the celestial world. Oh, grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor have I done aught with deceit.”

Hymn to Rā [From the Papyrus of Ani (British Museum No. 10,470, sheet 20).]

A Hymn of Praise to Ra when he riseth in the eastern part of heaven. Those who are in his train rejoice, and lo! Osiris Ani, victorious, saith:

“Hail, thou Disk, thou lord of rays, who risest on the horizon day by day! Shine thou with thy beams of light upon the face of Osiris Ani, who is victorious; for he singeth hymns of praise unto thee at dawn, and he maketh thee to set at eventide with words of adoration. May the soul of Osiris Ani, the triumphant one, come forth with thee into heaven, may he go forth in the Mātet boat. May he come into port in the Sektet boat, and may he cleave his path among the never-resting stars in the heavens.” Osiris Ani, being in peace and in triumph, adoreth his lord, the lord of eternity, saying: “Homage to thee, O Herukhuti (Harmachis), who art the god Khepera, the self-created; when thou risest on the horizon and sheddest thy beams of light upon the lands of the North and of the South, thou art beautiful, yea beautiful, and all the gods rejoice when they behold thee, the King of heaven. The goddess Nebt-Unnut is stablished upon thy head; and her uræi of the South and of the North are upon thy brow; she taketh up her place before thee. The god Thoth is stablished in the bows of thy boat to destroy utterly all thy foes. Those who are in the Tuat (underworld) come forth to meet thee, and they bow in homage as they come toward thee, to behold [thy] beautiful Image. And I have come before thee that I may be with thee to behold thy Disk every day. May I not be shut up in [the tomb], may I not be turned back, may the limbs of my body be made new again when I view thy beauties, even as [are those of] all thy favored ones, because I am one of those who worshipped thee [whilst I lived] upon earth. May I come in unto the land of eternity, may I come even unto the everlasting land, for behold, O my lord, this hast thou ordained for me.”

And lo, Osiris Ani triumphant in peace, the triumphant one, saith: “Homage to thee, O thou who risest in thy horizon as Rā, thou reposest upon law [which changeth not nor can it be altered]. Thou passest over the sky, and every face watcheth thee and thy course, for thou hast been hidden from their gaze. Thou dost shew thyself at dawn and at eventide day by day. The Sektet boat, wherein is thy Majesty, goeth forth with might; thy beams [shine] upon [all] faces; [the number] of thy red and yellow rays cannot be known, nor can thy bright beams be told. The lands of the gods, and the eastern lands of Punt must be seen, ere that which is hidden [in thee] may be measured. Alone and by thyself thou dost manifest thyself [when] thou comest into being above Nu (i.e., the sky). May Ani advance, even as thou dost advance; may he never cease [to go forward], even as thy Majesty ceaseth not [to go forward], even though it be for a moment; for with strides dost thou in one little moment pass over the spaces which would need hundreds of thousands and millions of years [for man to pass over; this] thou doest, and then dost thou sink to rest. Thou puttest an end to the hours of the night, and thou dost count them, even thou; thou endest them in thine own appointed season, and the earth becometh light. Thou settest thyself before thy handiwork in the likeness of Ra; thou risest in the horizon.”

Osiris, the scribe Ani, triumphant, declareth his praise of thee when thou shinest, and when thou risest at dawn he crieth in his joy at thy birth: “Thou art crowned with the majesty of thy beauties; thou mouldest thy limbs as thou dost advance, and thou bringest them forth without birth-pangs in the form of Rā, as thou dost rise up into the upper air. Grant thou that I may come unto the heaven which is everlasting, and unto the mountain where dwell thy favored ones. May I be joined unto those shining beings, holy and perfect, who are in the underworld; and may I come forth with them to behold thy beauties when thou shinest at eventide and goest to thy mother Nu. Thou dost place thyself in the west, and my two hands are [raised] in adoration [of thee] when thou settest as a living being. Behold, thou art the maker of eternity, and thou art adored [when] thou settest in the heavens. I have given my heart unto thee without wavering, O thou who art mightier than the gods.”

Osiris Ani, triumphant, saith: “A hymn of praise to thee, O thou who risest like unto gold, and who dost flood the world with light on the day of thy birth. Thy mother giveth thee birth upon [her] hand, and thou dost give light unto the course of the Disk. O thou great Light, who shinest in the heavens, thou dost strengthen the generations of men with the Nile-flood, and thou dost cause gladness in all lands, and in all cities, and in all the temples. Thou art glorious by reason of thy splendors, and thou makest strong thy ka (i.e., Double) with hu and tchefau foods. O thou who art the mighty one of victories, thou who art the Power of [all] powers, who dost make strong thy throne against evil fiends; who art glorious in majesty in the Sektet boat, and who art exceeding mighty in the Atet boat, make thou glorious Osiris Ani with victory in the underworld; grant thou that in the netherworld he may be without evil. I pray thee to put away [his] faults behind thee: grant thou that he may be one of thy venerable servants who are with the shining ones; may he be joined unto the souls which are in Ta-tchesertet; and may he journey into the Sekhet-Aaru by a prosperous and happy decree, he the Osiris, the scribe, Ani, triumphant."

And the god saith:

“Thou shalt come forth into heaven, thou shalt pass over the sky, thou shalt be joined into the starry deities. Praises shall be offered unto thee in thy boat, thou shalt be hymned in the Atet boat, thou shalt behold Rā within his shrine, thou shalt set together with his Disk day by day, thou shalt see the Ant fish when it springeth into being in the waters of turquoise, and thou shalt see the Abtu fish in his hour. It shall come to pass that the Evil One shall fall when he layeth a snare to destroy thee, and the joints of his neck and of his back shall be hacked asunder. Rā [saileth] with a fair wind, and the Sektet boat draweth on and cometh into port. The mariners of Rā rejoice, and the heart of Nebt-ānkh is glad, for the enemy of her lord hath fallen to the ground. Thou shalt behold Horus on the standing-place of the pilot of the boat, and Thoth and Maāt shall stand one upon each side of him. All the gods shall rejoice when they behold Rā coming in peace to make the hearts of the shining ones to live, and Osiris Ani, victorious, the scribe of the divine offerings of the lords of Thebes, shall be along with them!”

Hymn to the Setting Sun [From the Papyrus of Mut-hetep (British Museum No, 10,010, sheet 5).]

[Another Chapter of] the mystery of the Tuat (underworld) and of passing through the unseen netherworld, and of seeing the Disk when he setteth in Amentet, [when] he is adored by the gods and by the Khus in the underworld, and [when] the Soul which dwelleth in Rā is made perfect. He is made mighty before Tem; he is made great before Osiris; he setteth his terror before the company of the gods who are the guides of the netherworld; he maketh long (?) his steps and he maketh his face to enter (?) [with that of] the great god. Now every Khu, for whom these words shall have been said, shall come forth by day in any form which he is pleased to take; he shall gain power among the gods of the Tuat (underworld), and they shall recognize him as one of themselves; and he shall enter in at the hidden gate with power.

The lady Mut-hetep, victorious, singeth hymns of praise to thee [saying]: “O Rā-Tem, in thy splendid progress thou risest, and thou settest as a living being in the glories of the western horizon; thou settest in thy territory which is in Manu. Thy uræus is behind thee, thy uræus is behind thee. Homage to thee, O thou who art in peace, homage to thee, O thou who art in peace. Thou art joined unto the Eye of Tem, and it chooseth its powers of protection [to place] behind thy members. Thou goest forth through heaven, thou travellest over the earth, and thou journeyest onward. O Luminary, the northern and southern halves of heaven come to thee and they bow low in adoration, and they pay homage unto thee, day by day. The gods of Amentet rejoice in thy beauties and the unseen places sing hymns of praise unto thee. Those who dwell in the Sektet boat go round about thee, and the Souls of the East pay homage to thee, and when they meet thy Majesty they cry: ‘Come, come in peace!‘ There is a shout of welcome to thee, O lord of heaven and governor of Amentet! Thou art acknowledged by Isis who seeth her son in thee, the lord of fear, the mighty one of terror. Thou settest as a living being in the hidden place. Thy father [Ta-]tunen raiseth thee up and he placeth both his hands behind thee; thou becomest endowed with divine attributes in [thy] members of earth; thou wakest in peace and thou settest in Manu. Grant thou that I may become a being honored before Osiris, and that I may come to thee, O Rā-Tem! I have adored thee, therefore do thou for me that which I wish. Grant thou that I may be victorious in the presence of the company of the gods. Thou are beautiful, O Rā, in thy western horizon of Amentet, thou lord of Maāt, thou mighty one of fear, thou whose attributes are majestic, O thou who art greatly beloved by those who dwell in the Tuat (underworld); thou shinest with thy beams upon the beings that are therein perpetually, and thou sendest forth thy light upon the path of Re-stau. Thou openest up the path of the double Lion-god, thou settest the gods upon [their] thrones, and the Khus in their abiding places. The heart of Naarerf is glad [when] Rā setteth, the heart of Naarerf is glad when Rā setteth.”

“Hail, O ye gods of the land of Amentet who make offerings and oblations unto Rā-Tem, ascribe ye glory [unto him when] ye meet him. Grasp ye your weapons and overthrow ye the fiend Seba on behalf of Rā, and repulse the fiend Nebt on behalf of Osiris. The gods of the land of Amentet rejoice and lay hold upon the cords of the Sektet boat, and they come in peace; the gods of the hidden place who dwell in Amentet triumph.”

“Hail, Thoth, who didst make Osiris to triumph over his enemies, make thou Mut-hetep, victorious, to triumph over her enemies in the presence of the great divine sovereign chiefs who live with Osiris, the lord of life. The great god who dwelleth in his Disk cometh forth, that is, Horus the avenger of his father Unnefer-Rā. Osiris setteth, and the Khu[s] who are in the Tuat (underworld) say: Homage to thee, O thou who comest as Tem, and who comest into being as the creator of the gods. Homage to thee, O thou who comest as the holy Soul of souls, who dwellest in the horizon. Homage to thee who art more glorious than [all] the gods and who illuminest the Tuat with thine Eye. Homage to thee who sailest in thy glory and who goest round about it in thy Disk.”

The following variant of the above hymn is translated from the text in the Papyrus of Nekhtu-Amen (Naville, “Todtenbuch,” Bd. ii. p. 23).

Another Chapter of the mystery of the Tuat (underworld) and of traversing the unseen places of the underworld, of seeing the Disk when he setteth in Amentet, [when] he is adored by the gods and by the Khus of the Tuat (underworld), and [when] the divine Khu which dwelleth within Rā is made perfect. He setteth his might before Rā, he setteth his power before Tem, [he setteth his strength] before Khenti-Amentet, and he setteth his terror before the company of the gods. The Osiris of the gods goeth as leader through the Tuat (underworld), he crasheth through mountains, he bursteth through rocks, he maketh glad (?) the heart of every Khu. This composition shall be recited by the deceased when he cometh forth and when he goeth in with the gods, among whom he findeth no opposition; then shall he come forth by day in all the manifold and exceedingly numerous forms which he may be pleased to take. [The Osiris … saith:]

“A hymn of praise to Rā at eventide [when] he setteth as a living being in Baakha. The great god who dwelleth in his Disk riseth in his two eyes and all the Khus of the underworld receive him in his horizon of Amentet; they shout praises unto Heru-khuti (Harmachis) in his form of Tem, and they sing hymns of joy to Rā when they have received him at the head of his beautiful path of Amentet.”

He (i.e., the deceased) saith: “Praise be unto thee, O Rā, praise be unto thee, O Tem, in thy splendid progress. Thou hast risen and thou hast put on strength, and thou settest like a living being amid thy glories in the horizon of Amentet, in thy domain which is in Manu. Thy uræus-goddess is behind thee; thy uræus-goddess is behind thee. Hail to thee, in peace; hail to thee, in peace. Thou joinest thyself unto the Eye of Horus, and thou hidest thyself within its secret place; it destroyeth for thee all the convulsions of thy face, it maketh thee strong with life, and thou livest. It bindeth its protecting amulets behind thy members. Thou sailest forth over heaven, and thou makest the earth to be stablished; thou joinest thyself unto the upper heaven, O Luminary. The two regions of the East and West make adoration unto thee, bowing low and paying homage unto thee, and they praise thee day by day; the gods of Amentet rejoice in thy splendid beauties. The hidden places adore thee, the aged ones make offerings unto thee, and they create for thee protecting powers. The divine beings who dwell in the eastern and western horizons transport thee, and those who are in the Sektet boat convey thee round and about. The Souls of Amentet cry out unto thee and say unto thee when they meet thy majesty (Life, Health, Strength!), ‘All hail, all hail!‘ When thou comest forth in peace there arise shouts of delight to thee, O thou lord of heaven, thou Prince of Amentet. Thy mother Isis embraceth thee, and in thee she recognizeth her son, the lord of fear, the mighty one of terror. Thou settest as a living being within the dark portal. Thy father Tatunen lifteth thee up and he stretcheth out his two hands behind thee; thou becomest a divine being in the earth. Thou wakest as thou settest, and thy habitation is in Manu. Grant thou that I may be venerated before Osiris, and come thou [to me], O Rā-Tem. Since thou hast been adored [by me] that which I wish thou shalt do for me day by day. Grant thou victory [unto me] before the great company of the gods, O Rā who art doubly beautiful in thy horizon of Amentet, thou lord of Maāt who dwellest in the horizon. The fear of thee is great, thy forms are majestic, and the love of thee is great among those who dwell in the underworld.”

Hymn to the Setting Sun [From a Papyrus of the nineteenth dynasty preserved at Dublin (see Naville, “Todtenbuch,” Bd. I. Bl. 19).]

A Hymn of Praise to Ra-Heru-Khuti (Ra-Harmachis) when he setteth in the western part of heaven. He (i.e., the deceased) saith:

“Homage to thee, O Rā [who] in thy sitting art Tem-Heru-khuti (Tem-Harmachis), thou divine god, thou self-created being, thou primeval matter [from which all things were made]. When [thou] appearest in the bows of [thy] bark men shout for joy at thee, O maker of the gods! Thou didst stretch out the heavens wherein thy two eyes might travel, thou didst make the earth to be a vast chamber for thy Khus, so that every man might know his fellow. The Sektet boat is glad, and the Mātet boat rejoiceth; and they greet thee with exaltation as thou journeyest along. The god Nu is content, and thy mariners are satisfied; the uræus-goddess hath overthrown thine enemies, and thou hast carried off the legs of Apep. Thou art beautiful, O Rā, each day, and thy mother Nut embraceth thee; thou settest in beauty, and thy heart is glad in the horizon of Manu, and the holy beings therein rejoice. Thou shinest there with thy beams, O thou great god, Osiris, the everlasting Prince. The lords of the zones of the Tuat in their caverns stretch out their hands in adoration before thy Ka (double), and they cry out to thee, and they all come forth in the train of thy form shining brilliantly. The hearts of the lords of the Tuat (underworld) are glad when thou sendest forth thy glorious light in Amentet; their two eyes are directed toward thee, and they press forward to see thee, and their hearts rejoice when they do see thee. Thou hearkenest unto the acclamations of those that are in the funeral chest, thou doest away with their helplessness and drivest away the evils which are about them. Thou givest breath to their nostrils and they take hold of the bows of thy bark in the horizon of Manu. Thou art beautiful each day, O Rā, and may thy mother Nut embrace Osiris …, victorious.”