Of The Praise Of The Gods

[From the Tomb of Rameses IV (see Naville, op. cit., Bd. I. Bl. 141;
Lefébure, “Tombeau de Ramsès IV,” Plate 13).]

THE BOOK OF THE PRAISE OF THE GODS OF THE QERTI(111) WHICH A MAN SHALL
RECITE WHEN HE COMETH FORTH BEFORE THEM TO ENTER IN TO SEE THE GOD IN THE
GREAT TEMPLE OF THE UNDERWORLD. And he shall say:

“Homage to you, O ye gods of the _Qerti_, ye divine dwellers in Amentet!
Homage to you, O ye guardians of the doors of the underworld, who keep
ward over the god, who bear and proclaim [the names of those who come]
into the presence of the god Osiris, and who hold yourselves ready, and
who praise [him], and who destroy the Enemies of Rā. Oh, send ye forth
your light and scatter ye the darkness [which is about] you, and behold ye
the holy and divine Mighty One, O ye who live even as he liveth, and call
ye upon him that dwelleth within his divine Disk. Lead ye the King of the
North and of the South, (Usr-Maāt-Rā-setep-en-Amen), the son of the Sun,
(Rā-meses-meri-Amen-Rā-heq-Maāt), through your doors, may his divine soul
enter into your hidden places, [for] he is one among you, and he hath shot
forth calamities upon the serpent fiend Apep, and he hath beaten down the
obstacles [which Apep set up] in Amentet. Thy word hath prevailed mightily
over thine enemies, O great God, who livest in thy divine Disk; thy word
hath prevailed mightily over thine enemies, O Osiris, Governor of Amentet;
thy word hath prevailed mightily over thine enemies in heaven and in
earth, O thou King of the North and of the South,
(Usr-Maāt-Rā-setep-en-Amen), the son of the Sun,
(Rā-meses-meri-Amen-Rā-heq-Maāt), and over the sovereign princes of every
god and of every goddess, O Osiris, Governor of Amentet; he hath uttered
words in the presence [of the god in] the valley of the dead, and he hath
gained the mastery over the mighty sovereign princes. Hail, ye
doorkeepers(?), hail, ye doorkeepers, who guard your gates, who punish
souls, who devour the bodies of the dead, who advance over them at their
examination in the places of destruction, who give right and truth to the
soul and to the divine _khu_, the beneficent one, the mighty one, whose
throne is holy in Akert, who is endowed with soul like Rā and who is
praised like Osiris, lead ye along the King of the North and of the South,
(Usr-Maāt-Rā-setep-en-Amen), the son of the Sun,
(Rā-meses-meri-Amen-Rā-heq-Maāt), unbolt ye for him the doors, and open
[ye] the place of his _Qerti_ for him. Behold, make ye his word to triumph
over his enemies, and indeed let meat-offerings and drink-offerings be
made unto him by the god of the double door, and let him put on the
_nemmes_ crown of him that dwelleth in the great and hidden shrine. Behold
the image of Heru-khuti (Harmachis), who is doubly true, and who is the
divine Soul and the divine and perfect Khu; he hath prevailed with his
hands. The two great and mighty gods cry out to the King of the North and
South (Usr-Maāt-Rā-setep-en-Amen), the son of the Sun,
(Rā-meses-meri-Amen-Rā-heq-Maāt), they rejoice with him, they sing praises
to him [and clap] their hands, they accord him their protection, and he
liveth. The King of the North and South (Usr-Maāt-Rā-setep-en-Amen), the
son of the Sun, (Rā-meses-meri-Amen-Rā-heq-Maāt), riseth like a living
soul in heaven. He hath been commanded to make his transformations, he
hath made himself victorious before the divine sovereign chiefs, and he
hath made his way through the gates of heaven, and of earth, and of the
underworld, even as hath Rā. The King of the North and South,
(Usr-Maāt-Rā-setep-en-Amen), the son of the Sun,
(Rā-meses-meri-Amen-Rā-heq-Maāt), saith, ‘Open unto me the gate[s] of
heaven, and of earth, and of the underworld, for I am the divine soul of
Osiris and I rest in him, and let me pass through their halls. Let [the
gods] sing praises unto me [when] they see me; let me enter and let favor
be shown unto me; let me come forth and let me be beloved; and let me go
forward, for no defect or failure hath been found clinging unto me.’ ”