Egyptian Literature/The Book of the Dead/Of Making Perfect the Khu (3)
OF MAKING PERFECT THE KHU
[From the Papyrus of Nu (British Museum No. 10,477, sheet 16).]
Another Chapter of making perfect the Khu; [it shall be recited] on the festival of Six. The Osiris Nu, the overseer of the palace, the chancellor-in-chief, triumphant, saith:
“Behold now, O ye luminaries in Annu (Heliopolis), ye people in Kher-āba, the god hath been born; his cordage(?) hath been completed, and the instrument wherewith he maketh his way he hath grasped firmly; and the Osiris Nu is strong with them to direct the implement of the gods. The Osiris Nu hath delivered the boat of the sun therewith . . . and he cometh forth into heaven. The Osiris Nu sailed round about in heaven, he travelleth therein unto Nut, he journeyeth along with Rā, and he voyageth therein in the form of apes; [he] turneth back the water-flood which is over the Thigh of the goddess Nut at the staircase of the god Sebaku. The hearts of Seb and Nut are glad and repeat the name which is new. Un-neferu reneweth [his] youth, Rā is in his splendors of light, Unti hath his speech, and lo, the god of the Inundation is Prince among the gods. The taste of sweetness hath forced a way into the heart of the destitute one, and the lord of thy outcries hath been done away with, and the oars(?) of the company of the gods are in vigorous motion. Adored be thou, O divine Soul, who art endowed more than the gods of the South and North [in] their splendors! Behold, grant thou that the Osiris Nu may be great in heaven even as thou art great among the gods; deliver thou him from every evil and murderous thing which may be wrought upon him by the Fiend, and fortify thou his heart. Grant thou, moreover, that the Osiris Nu may be stronger than all the gods, all the Khus, and all the dead. The Osiris Nu is strong and is the lord of powers. The Osiris Nu is the lord of right and truth which the goddess Uatchit worketh. The strength which protects the Osiris Nu is the strength which protects the god Rā in heaven. O god Rā, grant thou that the Osiris Nu may travel on in thy boat in peace, and do thou prepare a road whereon [thy] boat may journey onward; for the force which protecteth Osiris is the force which protecteth thee. The Osiris Nu driveth back the Crocodile from Rā day by day. The Osiris Nu cometh even as doth Horus in the splendors(?) of the horizon of heaven, and he directeth Rā through the mansions of the sky; the gods rejoice greatly when the Osiris Nu repulseth the Crocodile. The Osiris Nu hath the amulet(?) of the god, and the cloud of Nebt shall not come nigh unto him, and the divine guardians of the mansions of the sky shall not destroy him. The Osiris Nu is a divine being whose face is hidden, and he dwelleth within the Great House [as] the chief of the Shrine of the god. The Osiris Nu carrieth the words of the gods to Rā, and he cometh and maketh supplication unto the divine lord with the words of his message. The Osiris Nu is strong of heart, and he maketh his offering at the moment among those who perform the ceremonies of sacrifice.”
[this chapter] shall be said over a figure of the deceased which shall be placed in [a model of] the boat of the sun, and behold, [he that reciteth it] shall be washed, and shall be ceremonially pure, and he shall have burnt incense before ra, and shall have offered wine, and cakes, and roasted fowl for the journey [of the deceased] in the boat of ra. now, every khu for whom such things are done shall have an existence among the living ones, and he shall never perish, and he shall have a being like unto that of the holy god; no evil thing whatsoever shall attack him. and he shall be like unto a happy khu in amentet, and he shall not die a second time. he shall eat and he shall drink in the presence of osiris each day; he shall be borne along with the kings of the north and of the south each and every day; he shall quaff water at the fountain-head; he shall come forth by day even as doth horus; he shall live and shall become like unto god; and he shall be hymned by the living ones, even as is ra each and every day continually and regularly forever.