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.(113) 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(114) [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(115) 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 shine; 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 Rā 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 AN ATET BOAT UPON THE LEFT 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 Saïte 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 _Khu_s, 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.”