The Burden of Isis/Hymn to Osiris-Sokar
HYMN TO OSIRIS-SOKAR
Formulae for the bringing in of Osiris-Sokar, in connection with the mysteries spoken heretofore.
Hail, royal one, coming forth in the body!
Hail, hereditary son, chief of the ranks of the gods!
Hail, lord of many existences!
Hail, thou whose substance is like gold in the temples!
Hail, lord of the duration of life, giver of years!
Hail, lord living throughout eternity!
Hail, lord worthy of many hundreds of thousands of praises!
Hail, brilliant one, both at thy rising and thy setting!
Hail to him who maketh pleasant all that which breatheth!
Behold the lord of great fear and trembling!
Hail, lord of many divinities!
Hail, resplendent one-with the white crown, lord of the royal crown!
Behold the sacred child of Horus, the praised one!
Hail, thou soul of Ra, in the adored boat!
Hail, thou restful leader! take possession of thy shrine.
Behold the lord of fear, who causeth himself to come into being!
Hail, thou whose heart palpitateth not,—take possession of thy city!
Behold the one beloved of gods and goddesses!
Hail, thou who causeth the inundation,—take possession of thy temple!
Hail, dweller in the underworld,—take possession of thy offerings!
Hail, thou protector,—take possession of thy temple!
Hail, thou who growest like unto the ape of Tehuti, or to the shining sunlight!
Hail, thou flower honoured of Pharaoh!
Hail, thou who handlest the holy rigging of the Sektet-boat![1]
Behold the lord of youth,—he becometh old in his shrine!
Behold the excellent souls, which are in the realms of Death!
Behold the sacred designer of north and south!
Behold the mysterious one, lie who is unknown to mankind!
Hail, thou enlightener of those who are in the underworld, that they may see the sunlight!
Behold the lord of the Atef crown, the great one in Suten-Henen!
Hail, thou great and terrible one of Naret!
Hail, dweller in Uast,[2] flourishing for ever!
Hail, Amen-Ra, King of the Gods, who causeth his members to grow in his rising and in his setting!
Hail, receiver of monuments and offerings at the entrance of the tomb!
Hail, thou who placest the Uraeus crown upon the head of its lord!
Hail, thou who causest the earth to remain in its place!
Hail, opener of the mouth of the four great gods who are in the underworld!
Hail, living soul of Osiris, crowning him with the moon!
Hail, thou who dost hide his essence in the great shrine of Amen!
Hail, thou hidden God, Osiris in the underworld!
Hail, thou whose soul resteth in heaven,—whose enemy hath fallen!
The Goddess Isis speaketh unto thee, uttering a cry from the river—
"Send the purified 'Abd'-fish from before the boat of Ra, oh lord of the beginning,
Who becometh like the immortal ones that rejoice,—thou egg who becometh as one renewed."
She cutteth off the heads of the enemies in this her name of "Lady of Tepka."
Oh, lady of the beginning, come thou before our faces in this her name of Hathor, lady of emerald, lady of Uast the holy!
Come thou in peace, because of this her name of Hathor, lady of Uast the holy!
Come thou in peace, oh Tayt, in this her name of lady of peace!
Come thou in front, to overthrow her enemy, in this her name of Hathor, lady of the temple of Suten-Henen, the golden!
Come thou in peace, in this her name of Hathor, lady of Inbut!
Come thou in peace beside Neb-er-zer in this name of Hathor, lady of Shet-Tekh!
Shine, oh golden one, beside her father in this her name of Bast.
Go forward over the temples and by the side of the great temple, in this her name of Satet.
The two lands become fertile,—regulate thou the gods in this her name of Mazit.
Hathor overpowereth the enemy of her father by this her name of Sekhet!
Mazit overpowereth exceedingly in this her name of lady of Immu.
She placeth perfume upon her head and her hair, in this her name of Neit.
Extol him before the gods, and before his witnesses!
Hathor is the lady of Uast: Hathor is the lady of Suten-Henen:
Hathor is the lady of Tepka: Hathor is the lady of Mehut:
Hathor is the lady of Rehesau: Hathor is the lady of Shet-Desret:
Hathor is the lady of the Turquoise: Hathor is the lady of Ineb:
Hathor is the lady of Uahwah: Hathor is the lady of Ammu:
Hathor is the lady of Imem: Hathor is as Hennu of Met-Sas!
The nine companions[3] approach—let your arms be beneath your father Osiris—protect the land. (Repeat four times.)
Hail, thou crowned lord of the feast! (Repeat twice.)
Oh prince! hail! it is sweet for the courtesans whom thou lovest!
Hail, thou who livest twice over throughout eternity!
Hail!—thou keepest festival for ever!
Hail, adored one: thou advancest along the ways!
Hail, thou who art established in the regions above the heavens!
Hail, oh God,—hear thou! Protect the land!
Hear thou the cry—protect the land from the gates of the heavenly nomes!
Hail to him who cometh forth with his two eyes, son of the servant of God!
Hail, protector, preserver when thou speakest!
Hail, protector of Pharaoh, when he doeth what thou lovest!
Hail, protector of Pharaoh, when he causeth thy praises to be made!
Hail, thou seated one, for there cometh to thee this peace of heart!
Hail to the son of the servant of God—there is recited for him the service of the festival!
Hail, thou who art established by the name of Deddu-above-the-heavens!
Hail, thou sweet-scented one in Deddu-above-the-heavens!
Hail, thou who comest subduing hostile ones!
Hail, thou who comest adoring the Infant!
Hail, thou who producest his fear in rebellious hearts!
Hail, oh worker who followeth his lord, though the follower of the god Bast attendeth him not!
Behold, there are rebellious hearts, hating the temple, but the end of all things strikes them upon their necks!
Lo! the coming of the lord of Deddu-above-the heavens—he strikes down rebellious hearts! (Repeat the words sixteen times to the accompaniment of musical instruments.)
It is finished.
Colophon
May their names remain fixed, and not destroyed for ever before Osiris, Horus, Isis, Nephthys—those gods and goddesses who are herein mentioned; and before the gods and goddesses in their entirety who are in the underworld, and in the chambers and great shrines existing in the underworld.
Lo! may they cause to come forth these names existent in the underworld in excellence! Let them be invoked in the Nai-boat[4] of Ra. Let there be given for them funereal offerings upon the altar of the great God, day by day!
Let there be given for them cool water, and incense as to the excellent kings of Upper and Lower Egypt, who are existent in the underworld. Let them be permitted to go out and come in among those praised of Osiris, who is the breath of those in the underworld. Let it be caused that the beams of Aten[5] may fall upon their bodies every day.
If there be any man—any one of this land, or any one, Negro, Kushite or Syrian, who removeth this writing, or carrieth it away as a thief, let none approach to them, nor give to them of cooling water; nor let them breathe the zephyrs; nor permit to remain to them son nor daughter of their begetting, nor let the name of such a one be mentioned in the land if they be born, nor let them behold the beams of the sun.
But if there be a man, any one whomsoever, who beholdeth this writing and causeth my soul and my name to become established among those who are blessed, let it be done for him likewise after his final arriving (at the end of life's voyage) in recompense for what was done by him for me, Osiris.