Egyptian Book of the Dead

CHAPTER CXLVII.

CHAPTER CXLVII. The first gate. The name of the doorkeeper is: he whose face is overturned, who has many attributes. The name of its warder is: the adjuster. The name of the herald is: he with a loud voice. Said by N when he approaches the first gate. I am the mighty one, who createth his own light.( 1 ) I come to thee, Osiris, and I worship thee. Pure are thine effluxes, which flow from thee, and which make thy name in Restau( 2 ) when it hath passed there. Hail to thee, Osiris. Arise, thou art mighty, Osiris, in Abydos. 297 Thou goest round the sky, thou sailest with Rā, thou surveyest mankind, thou art alone going round with Rā, for thou art called Osiris. I am the divine mummy. What I say takes place. I shall not be driven back from it (the gate); its walls of burning coals show the way in Restau. I have soothed the pain of Osiris, when he supports him who balances his pedestal, when he arrives from the great valley. I have made my way to the light of Osiris.( 3 ) The second gate. The name of the doorkeeper is: he who shows his face. The name of its warder is: he with a revolving face. The name of the herald is: the consumer. Said by N when he approaches the second gate. He sitteth and acts in accordance with the desire of his heart, weighing the words as the second of Thoth. The attributes of N are those of Thoth. When faint the Maāt gods, the hidden ones who live on truth, whose years are those of Osiris, (still) I am mighty in offerings at the appointed time. I have made my way out of the fire. I march, I have made my way. Grant that I may pass on freely, that I may see Rā among those who give offerings. The third gate. The name of the doorkeeper is: he who eateth his own filth. The name of its warder is: the watchful. The name of the herald is: the great one. Said by N when he approaches the third gate. I am he whose stream is secret, who judgeth the Rehui. I have come to remove all evil from Osiris. I am the girdled( 4 ) at his appointed time, coming forth with the double crown. I secured firmly my suit in Abydos, and I opened my path in Restau. I have soothed the pain of Osiris who balances his pedestal. I have made my way when he shines at Restau. The fourth gate. The name of the doorkeeper is: he who opposes garrulity. The name of its warder is: the attentive one. The name of the herald is: he who drives back the crocodile. Said by N when he approaches the fourth gate. I am the bull,( 5 ) the son of the Kite of Osiris. Behold, his father the Fiery One sat in judgment. I poised the balance for him. Life has been brought to me. I live for ever. I have made my way. I am the son of Osiris, I live for ever. 298 The fifth gate. The name of the doorkeeper is: he who lives on worms. The name of the warder is: the consuming flame. The name of the herald is: the bow which strikes the furious (?). Said by N when he approaches the fifth gate. I have brought the two jaws of Restau.( 6 ) I have brought to thee the books (?) which are in the Annu, and I add up for him his hosts. I have repulsed Apepi and healed the wounds he made. I made my way through the midst of you. I am the great one among the gods. I purified Osiris. I restored him as victor. I joined his bones, and put together his limbs. The sixth gate. The name of the doorkeeper is: he who makes the loaves, with a thundering voice. The name of its warder is: he who shows his face. The name of the herald is: the stolen knife which belongs to the sky. Said by N when he approaches the sixth gate. I come every day, I go. I who was created by Anubis, I am the lord of the diadem. I ignore the magic words (however). I avenge Maāt, I avenge his eye. I gave his eye to Osiris himself. I have made my way. N goes along with you. The seventh gate. The name of the doorkeeper is: he who takes possession of their knives. The name of its warder is: he with a high voice. The name of the herald: he who drives back the enemies. Said by N when he approaches the seventh gate. I have come to thee, Osiris,( 7 ) pure are thine effluxes. Thou goest round and thou seest the sky with Rā. Thou seest mankind, thou the only one. Thou addressest Rā in the Sektit boat of the sky, when he goes round the horizon. I say what I wish, my mummy is mighty. What I say takes place like what he says. I shall not be driven back from thee. I have made my way. Said near the seven gates.( 8 ) When the deceased arrives at the pylons, he is not driven back, nor repulsed from Osiris. It is given him to be among the glorious ones, the most excellent of them, so that he may have dominion over the first followers of Osiris. Every deceased to whom this chapter is read is like the lord of eternity, he is of one substance with Osiris, and in no place has he to encounter a great fight. 299 Notes. Chapter 147 is very like 144, in fact, it is the same more developed. It refers also to the seven gates; and whenever the deceased approaches one of the gates, he has to say the name of the doorkeeper, which, as we saw before, is that of the gate itself; and also the name of the warder and that of the herald. Besides the deceased has to address the gate, probably in order to open it so that he may pass through. The words he utters are found in chapters 117, 119 and 136 B . The two first have nearly the same title, the arrival at Restau , near Abydos. If, as is most probable, the various parts of the Book of the Dead did not originate in the same place, we may safely assert that these chapters, as well as those of the gates and the pylons, come from Abydos. On the whole the Papyrus of Ani is more complete for chapter 147 than the Leyden text Lc which is published in my edition. Therefore this chapter has been translated from Ani, using Lc whenever Ani is too corrupt. 1. Chapter 119, vide p. 206, “Chapter whereby one entereth and goeth forth from Restau.” 2. I should translate: which give to Restau its name . This is an instance of those wonderful etymologies often met with in religious texts. From the word [Source image: ⁂] [Source image: ⁂] [Source image: ⁂] [Source image: ⁂] to flow , is derived the name [Source image: ⁂] [Source image: ⁂] [Source image: ⁂] . 3. The Osiris of the first gate whom the deceased addresses seems to be the moon. The word [Source image: ⁂] [Source image: ⁂] is often used in speaking of the pale and silvery light of the moon (Naville, Litanie du soleil , p. 54). The last sentences are found in chapter 117, line 3. 4. Chapter 117. 5. Chapter 136 B , line 14. 6. Chapter 136 B , line 18. I repeat Renouf’s translation, though I differ from him in various points. For instance, I should translate: I have closed the doors in Restau ( cf. Inscr. of Piankhi, line 104). 7. An abridged version of chapter 119. 8. The rubric is taken from the Paris papyrus Pc . There also the vignettes vary considerably according to the fancy 300 of the artist. In Lc the gates and the gods are all alike. In Pc the god is always represented in human form with a ram’s head. In the Papyrus of Ani, where there are three figures for each gate, these figures are all different.