Hymns and Prayers-HYMN TO OSIRIS-from the Spell CLXXX of the “Book of Coming Forth by Day”“O Ra, You Who go to rest as Osiris with all the appearings in glory of the Blessed Spirits and Gods of the West (the NetherWorld),You are the Hidden One of the NetherWorld,the Holy Soul at the Head of the West,Osiris Onnophris Who shall exist forever and eternally.How well provided are You, O Dweller in the NetherWorld!Your son Horus is pleased about You, and He has taken over the Kingship;may You permit Him to appear to Those Who are in the NetherWorld,even He the Great Star Who brings what is His to the NetherWorld,and Who traverses the place where They are as the Son of Ra Who went forth from Atum.How well provided are You, O Dweller in the NetherWorld!Your stepped Throne is in the midst,O Your Majesty the King Who rules the Silent Land,Great Prince of the Ureret-Crown,Great God Whose Throne is secret,Lord of Judgement Who is over His Tribunal.How well provided are You, O Dweller in the NetherWorld!How content are You!How well provided are You, O Dweller in the NetherWorld!The mourners are dishevelled because of You,they clap their hands because of You,they cry out because of You,they lament because of You,they weep because of You.But Your Soul is joyful, Your corpse has power,the Souls of Ra are on high in the NetherWorld ….…. souls when they are set on high in the cavern of the NetherWorld,because of the Souls of Ra Who is in the NetherWorld in the person of the Soul of the Angry One, Who rests in the person of His Soul.”

-HYMN TO AMON-RA-from the Boulaq Papyrus (XVIII Dinasty, 1552-1295 bc)“Praise to Amon-RaThe Bull of Heliopolis, Prince of all the Gods,The Good and Perfect God, the Beloved One,The Giver of Life to all animated things.

Hail to Thee, Amon-Ra, Lord of Ipet-sutPrince of Thebes of the North and of the SouthThe Bull of His Mother, the First in His fieldWhose step is large, Prince of Upper EgyptLord of Kush(Nubia), Sovereign of PuntThe Greatest in Heaven, the Higher on Earth,Lord of All,The One Who is in all things, Unique among all the GodsThe Beautiful Bull of the Ennead of the GodsPrince of all the GodsLord of Maat, Father of the GodsMaker of men, Creator of beastsLord of All, Creator of fruitful treesHe Who makes grass to grow, Feeder of cattleBeautiful One in the form fashioned by Ptah,Beautiful and darling YouthTo Whom the Gods give honourMaker of things above and below, Enlightener of the Two LandsThe One Who joyously passes through the skyKing of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ra of the ones whose words are Truth and JusticePrince of the Two Lands, Glorious in Power, Lord of MightSupreme Creator of the whole EarthThe One Whose forms are greater than every GodIn Whose Beauty the Gods jubilatePraised in Per-ur (“the Great House”, a very ancient sanctuary Upper Egypt)Crowned in Per-Neser (“the House of Flame”, a very ancient sanctuary of Lower Egypt)Whose fragrance the Gods loveWhen He comes from the land of Punt

Abounding in scent when He comes back from Kush(Nubia)Beautiful of Face when He comes from the Divine Land.The Gods bow before HimWhen They acknowledge His Majesty as Their Lord;Lord of Terror and FearGreatest and Mighty,Lord of Crowns,Flourishing in provisions, Maker of nourishmentGlory be to Thee, Creator of GodsThou Who have uplifted the Sky,Thou Who have stretched the Earth.

He Who is awakened in strenght, Min-Amon,Lord of Eternity, Maker of everlastingness,Praised, First One,Prince of Thebes of the North and of the South,Whose horns are strong, beautiful of face,Lord of the High White Crown,Thy Double Plumes are lofty,Thy Tiara is one of beauty,And Thy White Crown is high.The Goddess Mehen and the Two Ladies, Nekhbet and Uatchet, are the ornaments of Thy face,And the Crowns of the South and North,And the Nemes Crown,And the Helmet-CrownAre Thy adornments in Thy Temple.Thy Face is Beautiful,Benignily Thou receive the Atef Crown,In the Land of the South and in the Land of the North there is love for Thou,Thou receive the Crowns of the South and the North,The Lord of Life receives the Sceptre,Thou art the Lord with the breastplate, armed with the whip.Gracious King Who rise like the Sun crowned with the White Crown,Lord of beams, Creator of Light,To Whom the Gods give praises,

He Who stretches forth His arm for the ones He loves,But Who consumes His enemies with flames,His Eye overthrows the unrighteous,His dart strikes down the swallower of the ocean,And causes the serpent nik to throw up what he has swallowed.

Hail to Thee, Ra, Lord of Maat,Whose shrine is hidden, Lord of the Gods,Kheper-Ra in His boat,Whose commands the Gods accomplish,Atum, Creator of men,He Who has distinguished their nature and Who gave to them life.He Who has distinguished the colours of the races of menHe Who listens to the poor who is in distressGentle of heart when one praises to HimDeliverer of the timid man from the violent,He Who pacifies the strong and the weak,Lord of judgment in Whose mouth there is Wisdom,The Nile overflows because of the love for Him,The Sweet, the Beloved,At Whose coming men live,Opener of every eye,Proceeding from the firmament,His mercy created the Light,The Gods rejoice at His BeautyAnd Their hearts live when They see Him

Oh Ra, adored in Ipet-Sut,Great of apparitions in the House of the Benben, oh Heliopolitan,Lord of the New-Moon,In His honour are celebrated the sixth and the seventh days of every month,Life, Health and Strenght to Thee, oh Sovereign and Lord of all the Gods,Who art visible in the midst of Heaven,Ruler of men,Lord of the Ancestors of the Netherworld,

Whose name is hidden from His childrenIn His name of Amon.

Hail to Thee Who art in peaceLord of the joy of heart,Thou Crowned Form,Lord of the High Plumed Crown,Whose Plumes are exalted,Whose tiara is beautiful,Whose White Crown is lofty,The Gods love to look upon Thee,The Crowns of the South and of the North are established upon Thy head.

Thy Love pervades the Earth,Beloved art Thou as Thou pass through the Two Lands,As Thou send forth rays from Thy two Beautiful Eyes.The Dead are rapturous with delight when Thou shine.Thy beams arise, and men are cheered by Thy rising,The cattle toddles in joy before Thy beams when Thou shine in full powerBeloved art Thou when Thou art in the Southern Sky,And Thou art esteemed Lovely when Thou art in the Northern Sky.Thy Beauties takes possession of and carry away all hearts,And the Love for Thee subdues all,Thy Beautiful Form makes the hands to tremble,All hearts are pacified at beholding Thee.

The One maker of all things,Creator and Maker of beings,From Whose eyes mankind proceeded,From Whose mouth the Gods were created,Maker of grass for the cattle,Maker of fruitful trees for menCausing the fishes to live in the river,Causing the birds to fill the air,Giving breath of life to those in the egg,Feeding the birds that fly,

Giving food to the birds that perch,Giving food to the creeping and the flying beings equally,Providing food for the rats in their holes,Feeding the flying beings living on trees.Hail to Thee for all these things,The One alone with many hands,Lying awake while all men lie asleep,He Who seek out the good of His creatures,Amon the Lasting-One,Atum-Horakhty,“Salutations to Thee” is in all their voices,“Glory be to Thee for Thy mercy upon us,Thanks be to Thee while Thou create us”.“Hail to Thee” say all the wild beasts,“Glory be to Thee” says every foreign landFrom the height of Heaven, to the breadth of the Earth,To the depths of the sea,Thou art praised,The Gods adore Thy MajestyAnd They exalt the Glory of Their Creator,Jubilating before Thee, Their begetterThey say:“Welcome in peace, oh Father of the Fathers of all the Gods,Who raises the Heaven and Who fixes the Earth,Maker of beings, Creator of existences,Life, Health and Strenght to Thee, King and Chief of the Gods,We worship Your glory as Thou create us,We praises You as Thou have fashioned us,We sing Hymns to Thee on account of Your mercy on Us”.

Hail to Thee, Creator of all beings,Lord of Maat, Father of the Gods,Maker of men and Creator of beasts,

Lord of grains,Giving life to the beasts of the desert,Amon, Bull of the beautiful face,Beloved in Ipet-Sut

Great of apparitions in the House of the Benben,Crowned in Heliopolis,Judge of Horus and Seth in the Great Hall,Chief of the Great Ennead of the GodsThe One, whitout peer,First One in Ipet-Sut,Heliopolitan at the head of His Ennead,Living by Maat forever,Dweller of the horizon, Horus of the East,Because of the love for Thou, the desert yields silver, gold,The precious lapis lazuli,Spices and incense from the land of Kush(Nubia),And fresh myrrh for Thy nostrils,Thou Who come back from the land of Kush with a gladdened face,Amon-Ra, Lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands,Chief in Ipet-Sut,The Sovereign on His Throne”

-HYMN TO ISIS FROM HER TEMPLE AT PHILAE-(the second Hymn)“Praise to You, Isis, the Great-One,God’s Mother, Lady of Heaven, Queen of the Gods.

You are the First Royal Spouse of Osiris Onnophris,The Supreme Overseer of the Golden-Ones in the Temples,The eldest son, firstborn of Geb.

Praise to You, Isis, the Great-One,God’s Mother, Lady of Heaven, Queen of the Gods.

You are the First Royal Spouse of Osiris Onnophris,The Bull, the Lion Who overthrows all His enemies,The Lord and Ruler of Eternity.

Praise to You, Isis, the Great-One,God’s Mother, Lady of Heaven, Queen of the Gods.

You are the First Elect-One of Osiris Onnophris,The Perfect Youth Who performs slaughteramong the disaffected of the Two Lands.

Praise to You, Isis, the Great-One,God’s Mother, Lady of Heaven, Queen of the Gods.

You are the First Royal Spouse of Osiris Onnophris,The One Who protects Her brother, and watches over the weary-of-heart.

Praise to You, Isis, the Great-One,God’s Mother, Lady of Heaven, Queen of the Gods.

You are the First Royal Spouse of Osiris Onnophris,The Eternal-One-rejuvenating-Himself, Who extolled Eternity:You are with Him at Abaton.

Praise to You, Isis, the Great-One,God’s Mother, Lady of Heaven, Queen of the Gods”

(The “Golden-Ones in the Temples” are the Gods and Goddesses represented as golden images in the Temples.”Abaton”, “inaccessible”, is the name of the most sacred island of Osiris, near Philae)

-the First Hymn of Isidorus to the Great Goddess Isis- from the Temple of Isis-Hermouthis-Renenutet at Narmouthis:πλουτοδότι βασίλεια θεῶν, Ἑρμοῦθι ἄνασσα,παντοκράτειρα, τύχη ἀγαθή, μεγαλώνυμε Ἶσι,Δηοῖ ὑψίστη, ζωῆς εὑρέτρια πάσης,παντοίων ἔργων ἐμέλησέ σοι, ὄφρ’ ἀναδοίηςἀνθρώποισι βίον τε καὶ εὐνομίην τε ἅπασι,καὶ θεσμοὺς κατέδειξας, ἵν’ εὐδικίη τις ὑπάρχῃ,καὶ τέχνας ἀνέδωκας, ἵν’ εὐσχήμων βίος εἴη,καὶ πάντων τε φύσιν εὐανθέα εὕρεο καρπῶν.σοῦ τε χάριν συνέστηχ’ ὁ πόλος καὶ γαῖα ἅπασακαὶ πνοιαὶ ἀνέμων καὶ ἥλιος ὁ γλυκυφεγγής.

σῆι δυνάμει Νείλου ποταμοὶ πληροῦνται ἅπαντες,ὥρηι ὀπωρινῆι, καὶ λαβρότατον χεῖθ’ ὕδωργαῖαν πᾶσαν ἔπι, ἵν’ ἀνέγλιπος καρπὸς ὑπάρχῃ.ὅσσοι δὲ ζώουσι βροτοὶ ἐπ’ ἀπείρονι γαίηι,Θρᾷκες καὶ Ἕλληνες, καὶ ὅσσοι βάρβαροί εἰσι,οὔνομά σου τὸ καλόν, πολυτίμητον παρὰ πᾶσι,φωναῖσι φράζουσ’ ἰδίαις, ἰδίαι ἐνὶ πάτρηι.Ἀστάρτην Ἄρτεμίν σε Σύροι κλῄζουσι Ναναίανκαὶ Λυκίων ἔθνη Λητοῦν καλέουσιν ἄνασσαν,μητέρα δὴ κλῄζουσι θεῶν καὶ Θρήϊκες ἄνδρες,Ἕλληνες δ’ Ἥρην μεγαλόθρονον ἠδ’ Ἀφροδίτην,καὶ Ἑστίαν ἀγαθήν, καὶ Ῥεῖαν, καὶ Δήμητρα,Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ Θιοῦιν, ὅτι μούνη εἶ σὺ ἅπασαιαἱ ὑπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν ὀνομαζόμεναι θεαὶ ἄλλαι.δεσπότι, οὐ λήξω μεγάλην δύναμίν σου ἀείδων,σώτειρ’ ἀθανάτη, πολυώνυμε, Ἶσι μεγίστη,ἐκ πολέμου ῥυμένη τε πόλεις, πάντας τε πολίτας,αὐτοὺς καὶ ἀλόχους καὶ κτήματα καὶ φίλα τέκνα.ὅσσοι δ’ ἐμ μοίραις θανάτου συνέχονται ἐν εἱρκτῆι,καὶ ὅσοι ἀγρυπνίαις μεγάλαις ὀχλοῦντ’ ὀδυνηραῖς,καὶ οἱ ἐν ἀλλοτρίηι χώρηι πλανοώμενοι ἄνδρες,καὶ ὅσοι ἐμ πελάγει μεγάλωι χειμῶνι πλέουσιἀνδρῶν ὀλλυμένων νηῶν κατὰ ἀγνυμενάων,σώζονθ’ οὗτοι ἅπαντες, ἐπευξάμενοί σε παρεῖναι.κλῦθι ἐμῶν εὐχῶν, μεγαλοσθενὲς οὔνομ’ ἔχουσα,εὐείλατος ἐμοί τε γείνου, λύπης μ’ ἀνάπαυσον ἁπάσης.Ἰσίδωροςἔγραψε.

“O wealth-giver, Queen of the Gods, Lady Hermouthis,Almighty, Agathe Tyche, Isis of the great name,Highest Deo, inventor of all life,Manifold miracles were Your care that You might bringLivelihood to mankind and Eunomia to all;and You taught laws that Righteousness might prevail;You gave skills that men’s life might be comfortable,And You discovered the blossoms that produce edible vegetation.Because of You, Heaven and the whole Earth have their being;

And the gusts of the winds and the Sun its sweet light.By Your power the channels of the Nile are filled, every one,in the late summer season, and the most turbulent water is pouredOn the whole land, so that produce may be unfailing.However many mortals live on the boundless earth,Thracians and Hellenes,and however many are the barbarians,They all pronounce Your beautiful name, much honored among all peoples,In their own languages, and in their own native lands.The Syrians call You Astarte, Artemis, Nanaia,The Lycian tribes call You Leto, the Lady,The Thracians also name You as Mother of the Gods,And the Greeks Hera of the Great Throne, Aphrodite,Hestia the goodly, Rhea and Demeter.But the Egyptians call You Thiouis,since You alone are all the other Goddesses named by the races of men.Mighty One, I shall not cease to sing of Your great Power,Deathless Saviour, many-named, mightiest Isis,Saving from war, cities and all their citizens:Men, their wives, possessions, and children.As many as are bound fast in prison, in the power of death,As many as are in pain through long, anguished, sleepless nights,All who are wanderers in a foreign land,And as many as sail on the Great Sea in winterWhen men may be destroyed and their ships wrecked and sunk.All (these) are saved if they pray that You be present to help.Hear my prayers, O One whose Name has great Power;Prove Yourself merciful to me and free me from all distress.Isidorus wrote it”

-HYMN TO ISIS REGINA (QUEEN)-III Hymn to Isis from Her Temple at Syene“O Princess, Daughter of Geb,Ruler of the Merehu Bull (a form of Osiris),Tjati (Prime Minister) Daughter of Thoth,Beloved by the Ram,

Great of Favor,Great of Praise,Queen of Upper and Lower Egypt,Lady of Grace,Lady of all that is encircled by the Sun,Queen of Upper and Lower Egypt,Isis the Great, the Mother of the God,First Royal Spouse of Osiris Onnophris Whose word is right and true,Divine Mother of Horus, the King, the Mighty Bull.You are the Beautiful and Perfect Goddess Who has giveng birth to the Victorious God,She Who has initiated the Divine Birth of Her son,the King of Kings, the Prince of Princes:‘He is Ra!’ it will be said of Him, a King without equals.In the Sanctuaries there are the cult images of Her elder brother Osiris, the Lord of the provinces,and His sacred image is where the Gods are;they come, jubilating, to Him,He is their Lord, He Who accomplishes everything together with Horus,and together with Her sister Isis, the guide of Horus without equals,the beneficial Goddess Who accomplishes everything for Her elder brother.May Your beautiful face be beneficial to the King of Upper and Lower Egypt,Ptolemy IV ever living, beloved of Isis,defend and protect Him!”

-HYMN TO ISIS-from the Temple of Isis at Syene“Isis the Vanguard of the ArmyIsis, more effective than a million soldiers,Lady of Flame Who assaults the rebels (the rebels against Maat, the enemies of the Gods)Lady of Battle Who fought on the River of the Two Lands to

overthrown the enemies (the enemies of the Gods are the enemies of the King, Horus on Earth).

Isis Mightier that the Mighty, Stronger than the Strong,Who smites millions by cutting off their heads,great of massacre against Her enemy.”

 

-HYMN TO THE SEVEN HATHORS-(from the Temple of Hathor at Dendera):“We play the tambourine for Your Ka,We dance for Your Majesty,We exalt YouTo the height of Heaven.You are the Lady of Sekhem,The Menat and the Sistrum,The Lady of Music,For whose Ka one plays.

We praise Your Majesty every day,From dusk until the earth grows light,We rejoice in Your Countenance, O Lady in Dendera!We praise You with song.You are the Lady of Jubilation, the Lady of the Iba-dance (a sacred dance),The Lady of Music, the Lady of Harp-playing,The Lady of Dancing, the Lady of Tying on Garlands,The Lady of Myrrh, and the Lady of Leaping.

We glorify Your Majesty,We give praise before Your Face.We exalt Your PowerOver the Gods and the Goddesses.You are the Lady of Hymns,The Lady of the Library,The Great SeshatAt the head of the Mansion of Records.

We propitiate Your Majesty every day.Your heart rejoices at hearing our songs.We rejoice when we see You, day by day.Our hearts are jubilant when we see Your Majesty.You are the Lady of Garlands, the Lady of Dance,The Lady of Unending Drunkenness.We rejoice before Your face; we play for Your Ka.Your heart rejoices over our performance”

another translation:

“We beat the framedrumfor Her spiritwe dancefor Her majesty

we raise high Her imageto the heights of heaven

it is She who isthe Lady of the Sekhem sistraand the menatthe Lady of the Naos sistrum

music is made for Her kawe worship Her majestymaking offerings from sunset to dawn

it is She who isthe lady of joyful musicthe lady of the iab-dancethe lady of sounding the sistrum

the lady of singersthe lady of the kheb-dancethe lady of weaving garlandsthe lady of beautythe lady of the keskes dance

when Her two eyes open :the sun and the moonour hearts rejoicein seeing the light

it is She who isthe lady of the dance wreathsthe lady of those who are drunk with joy

we do not dance and drum for any otherwe devote ourselvesto Her divine spirit alone”

-HYMN TO THE GODDESS HATHOR-(from Her Temple at Iunet, Dendera)“The Lady of Names in the Two Lands,the Unique One,Queen of Terror among the Guardians of the Gods,the Uraeus on the horns of Atum:The Gods come to You prostrating,the Goddesses bowing Their heads.Your Father Ra adores You,His face rejoices in hearing Your Name.Thoth satisfies You with His glorificationsand He raises His arms to You, carrying the sistrum.The Gods rejoice for You when You appear.You illuminate the Two Lands with the rays of Your Eye.The South, the North, the West, and the East pay You homage,and they make adoration.Hathor, Queen of Iunet,Your beautiful face is pleased by the King of Upper and Lower Egypt”

-HYMN TO HATHOR AS THE FIRE-BREATHING URAEUS OF THE SKY-“Exalted is Your Power,O Burning One,O Sated One,O Mighty One,

Powerful,Skilful of Flames,Lady of the Sky,Lady of the Two LandsO Eye of Horus, and His Guide,Lady of Eternity,Fiery One,O Red One,Whose Flame burns,Serpent Uraeus,Who guides the people,O Lady of Fire,O Searing One,O Devourer,O Scorching One”[Ancient Hymn quoted by A. Roberts in "Hathor Rising", p.58]

-PRAISES TO MUT-(the “Crossword Hymn” to Mut, from the “Crossword Stela” of Paser founded at Diospolis Megale, Thebes, in the most sacred Precinct of Mut at Ipet-Sut, ca. 1150 BC )“Great of Sunlight, Who illumines the entire land with Her rays.She is His Eye, Who causes the land to prosper, the glorious Eye of Horakhty,the Queen of what exists, the Great and Powerful Queen, Life being in Her possession.

Great of Might, Her Eye has illumined the horizon.As to the Ennead, Their hearts are glad because of Her,the Queen of Their joy in this Her name of Heaven,for the spirits go forth within it because of Her.

The Two Lands and the Netherworld thereof are light because of Her, when She has appeared in the sky.When She goes forth, all good plants are born.She Who rises early,existing in a multitude of forms,enduring as the Nurse.

Ra sees Her Might just as She sees by means of Him, since He knows Her majesty’s beauty.The Goddesses shout for Her: food and provisions for Her, the Goddess in Thebes.

The Greatness of Ra shines in the land for Her spirit every day.Furthermore, Her father Ra is in mighty Ipet-sut with the Great One Who breathes there (Amon).

There are not many who desert Her majesty. She is a Noble One.When She shines, the land possesses love of Her,the Queen of the horizon at Her beautiful rising at dawn.She has received the insignia of Ra, Lord of the Thrones.He receives rejoicing as He traverses the land,and the praises and adorations of the high-ranking and of mankind.

They follow Her likeness, She being like Him Who crosses the sky,His manifestation indeed, who shines withinShe grants what He wishes. Mut has received these gifts.All animals rejoice at Her. She rests between His brows, while everyone worships Him.The people and all mankind are joyful of heart.

Ra, Who travels the Lakes of Fire for His great daughter,Queen of the Gods, this Goddess Who is upon His breast.The God gives rejoicing to Her Who is with Him, He Who came into existence by Himself.She Who is beneficial to the Mighty One, Who adores the manifestation, happy of lifetime.All the people worship Her, when Her form is seen.She has caused to flourish.

He(Ra/the King) is great, flourishing because of the Great One, He Who is on the Throne which She loves.Ra is righteous. It is a happy day, She having appeared in Thebes,when She has protected this land for Her son.She gives victory to the Mighty One, She Who possesses what He

loves, His years being happy of events. There is rejoicing from Heaven to the Netherworld. The Gods are satisfied”

-PRAISE TO PTAH-from the votive stela of Neferabu“Praisegiving to Ptah, Lord of Maat,King of the Two Lands,Fair of face on His great seat,

the One God among the Ennead of the Gods,Beloved as King of the Two Lands.May He give life, prosperity, health,alertness, favors, and affection,and that my eyes may see Amon every day,as is done for a righteous manwho has set Amon in His heart!So say the servant on the Place of Truth, Neferabu, whose word is right and true.

Beginning of the recital of the might of Ptah, South of His Wall, by the servant in the Place of Truth on the West of Thebes, Neferabu whose word is right and true.He says:

“I am a man who swore falsely by Ptah, Lord of Maat,and He made me see darkness by day.I will declare His might to the fool and the wise,to the small and great:Beware of Ptah, Lord of Maat!Behold, He does not forgive anyone’s deed!Refrain from uttering Ptah’s name falsely,He who utters it falsely, he falls!

He caused me to be as the dogs of the street,I being in His hand;He made men and Gods observe me,I being as a man who has sinned against His Lord.Righteous was Ptah, Lord of Maat, towards me,

when He taught a lesson to me!Be merciful to me, look on me in mercy!”So says the servant in the Place of Truth on the West of Thebes,Neferab, whose word is right and true before the Great God Ptah.

-HYMN TO PTAH-from the Berlin papyrus 3048“Adoration be to Thee, O Ptah,He Who founds the Two Lands, the mountains and the deserts,and keeps them green through water which comes from Heaven,He Who covers with dew the twigs of the trees which are in every mountain-land,There is nobody who could live without Thee, because breath comes out of Thy nose permanently, and water out of Thy mouth,the Tree of Life grows up upon Thee,Thou makest green the land so that Gods, humans and cattle have abundance,He Who brings forth the Nile from His cavern,Who makes prosperous the Tree of Lifeand cares about the portion of that which come out from Him again and again in His name of Nun,Who sets in motion the Primeval Waters of Heavenand expels the water in the mountains continuously in order to keep alive mankind in His name of Ptah the Creator of Life”

-HYMN TO SOBEK- from the Ramesseum papyrus 6, sheet 1:“Hail to You, Who arose from the Primeval Waters,Lord of the low-lying lands,Ruler of the desert edge … Who crosses the back-waters,Mighty God Whose seizing cannot be seen,Who lives by plunder, Who fares downstream by His beauty,Who fares upstream having completed a multitude of times,Twin of Ra, Great Luminary Who came forth from the flood. Welcome in peace, Lord of peace!Drive off Your wrath, let pass Your raging … ,cut short Your mourning, let Your beauty come, … exist … ,the One without His second,

Ruler of the rivers,Governor of the winds,rutting Bull,Lord of Love,Lord of spirits,He Who offers to Himself,hairy one,He Who loves taking,Great of terror,Lord of Ra-sahui,Lord of Lakeland,cleaver of Ra-henet,Who comes summoned as the Flourishing Horus,Great of power in Herakleopolis,Lord of fear Who is in Hebenu”

-HYMN TO SOBEK-from the Ramesseum papyrus 6, sheet 2:“Lord of Ahet, rejoicing in His sceptre, Chief in Ta-sety.Hail to You in Ramuha, in the flood from which You came,Begetter of the ram in the midst of the pool,Lord of Thebes, Great in Semenu, the One Who rests in Cynopolis,Beautiful of coming in Anty, great of appearances in Rawakh,the son of Neith in Abydos,…in Iunesha, acclaimed with praise.(Incense on the flame!)High be your soul, who presents the God with what He loves!Raise yourself and fight for your body, so that the God shall exist!Rutting bull, savage lion, great of strength, beautiful of shape, Ruler of the foreign countries,Lord of incense in the midst of rituals,High of heart,Star which is in the fields,King Amenemhat has given this Your beautiful face, with which You look at Your mother Neith,and with which You are gracious to the Gods.(Incense on the flame!)

This is for Sobek the Shedtite, Horus Who is in Shedet, Lord of myrrh”

-HYMN TO HAPY, THE NILE GOD-(from a papyrus of the Middle Kingdom)“Adoration of Hapy:Hail to You, Hapy,Sprung from Earth,Come to nourish Egypt!Of secret ways,A darkness by day,To Whom His followers sing!Who floods the fields that Ra has made,To nourish all who thirst;Lets drink the waterless desert,His dew descending from the sky.

Friend of Geb(the God of the Earth), Lord of Nepri(the God of Corn),Promoter of the arts of Ptah.Lord of the fishes,He makes fowl stream south,No bird falling down from heat.Maker of barley, creator of emmer,He lets the Temples celebrate.

When He is sluggish noses clog,Everyone is poor;As the sacred loaves are pared,A million perish among men.When He plunders, the whole land rages,Great and small roar;People change according to His coming,When Khnum has fashioned HimWhen He floods, Earth rejoices,Every belly jubilates,Every jawbone takes on laughter,Every tooth is bared.

Food provider, bounty maker,Who creates all that is good!Lord of awe, sweetly fragrant,Gracious when He comes.Who makes herbage for the herds,Gives sacrifice for every God.Dwelling in the Netherworld,He controls both Heaven and Earth.Conqueror of the Two Lands,He fills the stores,Makes bulge the barns,Gives bounty to the poor.

Grower of all delightful trees,He has no revenue.Barges exist by His might,He is not hewn in stone.Mountains cleave by His surge.One sees no workmen, no leader,He carries off in secrecy.

No one knows the place He’s in,His cavern is not found in books.He has no shrines, no portions,No service of His choice;But youths, His children, hail Him,One greets Him like a King.Lawful, timely, He comes forth,Filling Egypt, South and North;As one drinks, all eyes are on Him,Who makes His bounty overflow.

He who grieved goes out in joy,Every heart rejoices;Sobek, Neith’s child, bares His teeth,The Nine Gods exult.As He spouts, makes drink the fields,Everyone grows vigorous.

Rich because another toils,One has no quarrel with Him;Maker of food He’s not defied,One sets no dam for Him.

Light-maker Who comes from dark,Fattener of herds,Might that fashions all,None can live without Him.People are clothed with the flax of His fields,For He made Hedj-hotep(the Weaver God) serve Him;He made anointing with His unguents,For He is the like of Ptah.All kinds of crafts exist through Him,All books of Divine words,His produce from the sedges.

Entering the cavern,Coming out above,He wants His coming secret.If He is heavy, the people dwindle,A year’s food supply is lost.The rich man looks concerned,Everyone is seen with weapons,Friend does not attend to friend.Cloth is wanting for one’s clothes,Noble children lack their finery;There’s no eye-paint to be had,No one is anointed.

This truth is fixed in people’s hearts:Want is followed by deceit.He who consorts with the sea,Does not harvest grain.Though one praises all the Gods,Birds will not come down to deserts.No one beats his hand with gold,No man can get drunk on silver,

One cannot eat lapislazuli,Barley is foremost and strong!

Songs to the harp are made for You,One sings to You with clapping hands;The youths, Your children, hail You,Crowds adorn themselves for You,Who comes with riches, decks the land,Makes flourish every body;Sustains the pregnant woman’s heart,And loves a multitude of herds.

When He rises at the Residence,Men feast on the meadows’gifts,Decked with lotus for the nose,And all the things that sprout from Earth.Children’s hands are filled with herbs,They forget to eat.Good things are strewn about the houses,The whole land leaps for joy.When You overflow, O Hapy,Sacrifice is made for You;Oxen are sacrificed for You,A great oblation is made to You.Fowl is fattened for You,Desert game snared for You,As one repays Your bounty.

One offers to all the GodsOf that which Hapy has provided,Choice incense, oxen, goats,And birds in holocaust.

Mighty is Hapy in His cavern.His name unknown to those below,For the Gods do not reveal it.

You people who extol the Gods,Respect the awe His son has made,The All-Lord Who sustains the shores!Oh joy when You come!Oh joy when You come, O Hapy,Oh joy when You come!You Who feed men and herdsWith Your meadow gifts!Oh joy when You come!Oh joy when You come, O Hapy,Oh joy when You come!”

-HYMN OF HOREMHEB TO THOTH-“Adoration of Thoth, Son of Ra, Moon,Of beautiful rising, Lord of appearings, Light of the Gods,By the Prince, Count, Fan-bearer on the King’s right,Great Troop-commander, Royal Scribe, Horemheb, whose word is right and true,he says:Hail to You, Moon, Thoth,Bull in Hermopolis, dweller in Hesret,Who makes way for the Gods!Who knows the secrets,Who records their expression,Who distinguishes one speech from another,Who is judge of everyone.Keen-faced in the Ship-of-millions,Courier of mankind,Who knows a man by his utterance,Who makes the deed rise against the doer.Who contents Ra,Advises the Sole Lord,Lets Him know whatever happens;At dawn He summons in Heaven,And forgets not yesterday’s report.

Who makes safe the night-bark,Makes tranquil the day-bark,

With arms outstretched in the bow of the ship.Pure-faced when He takes the stern-rope,As the day-bark rejoices in the night-bark’s joy,At the feast of crossing the sky.Who fells the fiend,Sunders western lightland.The Ennead in the night-bark worships Thoth,They say to Him:“Hail, Son of Ra,Praised of Ra, Whom the Gods applaud!”They repeat what Your ka (the spirit) wishes,As You make way for the place of the bark,As You act against that fiend:You cut off his head, You break his ba(the soul),You cast his corpse in the fire,You are the God Who slaughters him,Nothing is done without Your knowing,Great one, son of a Great One, Who came from Her limbs,Champion of Horakhty,

Wise friend in Heliopolis,Who makes the place of the Gods,Who knows the mysteries,Expounds their words.

Let us give praise to Thoth,Straight plummet in the scales,Who repulses unrighteousness,Who accepts him who leans not on crime.The Tjati(the Prime Minister or Vizier) Who settles cases,Who changes turmoil to peace;The scribe of the mat Who keeps the book,Who punishes crime,Who accepts the submissive!Who is sound of arm,Wise among the Ennead,Who relates what was forgotten.Counselor to him who errs,

Who remembers the fleeting moment,Who reports the hour of night,Whose words endure forever,Who enters the Dwat (the Netherworld),knows Those in it,And records them in the list”

HYMNS TO THE HORUS-KINGS-Hymn to the King Sesostris III (1878/1839 BC)“Horus Divine of forms, He of the Two Ladies, Divine of birthsHorus of Gold, Who has come into beingDual King KhakauRa (the kas of Ra have appeared)Son of Ra SesostrisHe has taken up the Two Lands as the one whose words are right and true.

Hail Kha-kau-RaOur Horus, Divine of formsProtector of the Land, extender of its boundariesHe Who defeats foreign lands by His Great CrownHe Who embraces the Two Lands with His action

He Who subdues the foreign lands with His two armsWho slaughters the enemies of Egypt without a blow of a weaponWho fires the arrow without the string being drawnHe Whose dread has smitten the bedouins in their landHe whose fear slaughters the nine bows,whose massacre causes the death of thousands among the enemies of Egypt who had dared to reach its border.

He who fires an arrow as Sekhmet does,He fells thousands of those unaware of His PowerThe tongue of His Majesty is the restraint on the foreign landand His commands are what set the bedouins to flight.

Unique and Youthful One Who fights at His border,Who never lets His workers grow wearyWho enables the Nobles sleep to daybreak,

with His troops in their sleepbecause His heart is their protector,His Laws have drawn up His borders,His words have assembled the two riverbanks

How the … rejoice, for You have made their offerings flourishHow the … rejoice at Your …, for You have drawn up their borderHow the … in the presence rejoice, for You have enlarged their sharesHow the people rejoice at Your strong arm, for You have protected their traditionsHow the Nobles rejoice at Your activity, for Your power has firmly protected their prosperityHow the two riverbanks rejoice at Your dread, for You have extended their domainHow Your recruits at levy rejoice, for You have caused them to flourishHow the Two Lands rejoice at Your might, for You have protected their walls

Horus extender of His border, may You repeat eternity.

How great is the King for his city! He is a million arms, a thousand men are little besideHow great is the King for his city! indeed He is the dam that stops the river at its torrents of waterHow great is the King for his city! indeed He is the cool room that allows every man to sleep to daybreakHow great is the King for his city! indeed He is a rampart, in the bronze of ShesemHow great is the King for his city! indeed He is a refuge, unwavering His handHow great is the King for his city! indeed He is a shelter, rescuing the fearful from his enemyHow great is the King for his city! indeed He is a sunshade at Flood, cool in SummerHow great is the King for his city! indeed He is a warm corner, dry in Winter time

How great is the King for his city! indeed He is a mountain resisting the storm at the time the sky ragesHow great is the King for his city! indeed He is Sekhmet against the enemies who tread on His border

He has come to us, grasping the land of Upper Egypt, the Double Crown has joined His headHe has come, He has united the Two Lands, He has merged the reed with the beeHe has come, He has ruled the Black Land, He has placed the Red Land in its midstHe has come, He has protected the Two Lands, He has calmed the two riverbanksHe has come, He has given Egypt life, He has dispelled its woesHe has come, He has given the Nobles life, He has given breath to the throats of the peopleHe has come, He has trampled the foreign lands, He has struck the bedouis ignorant of His dreadHe has come, He has protected His border, He has rescued the oppressedHe has come, … our children, we may bury our old ancestors.

May you love Kha-kau-Ra, alive for ever and eternity …He Who is ordained to create your sustenance, He Who rescues …Our Guardian Who knows how to make us breathe, Who is equipped…May you reward Him with Life and Power and millions of years

Praise of Kha-kau-Ra, alive for ever and eternity …raising the arm of the captain in the bark …adorned with electrum more than …the two riverbanks have … at …they have … the paths…”

-THE SECOND SONG OF THE HARPER-from the “House of Eternity”of the Priest Neferhotep, Reign of the Great King Horemheb, New Kingdom

“Says the singer with harp of the Divine Father of Amon, Neferhotep, whose words are right and true:

All ye excellent Nobles and Gods of the Land of Eternity,Hearken to the praise-giving for the Divine Father,The worship of the honored noble’s excellent ba (the “ba”is the soul).Now that he is a God everliving, exalted in the Land of the West;May they become a remembrance for posterity,For everyone who comes to pass by.

I have heard those songs that are in the tombs of old,What they tell in extolling life on Earth,In belittling the Land of the Dead.Why not glorify the Land of Eternity,where the Righteous and the Truthful-Ones are without terror?in that Land the strife is abhorred like an abomination,No one girds himself against his fellow,beacuse that Land is whitout rebels(the rebels are the unrighteous, enemies of the Goddess of Righteousness and Truth, Maat, of Ra and of all the Gods)All our kinsmen rest thereSince the time of the first beginning,and those to be born over the course of millions and millions of years,All of them will go there, everyone.No one may linger in the land of Egypt,There is none who does not reach the Land of Eternity.As to the time of deeds on Earth,It is the occurrence of a dream;instead one says:“Welcome in peace, safe and sound,”To him who reaches the Land of Eternity”

-THE GREAT HYMN TO KHNUM – I partfrom the Temple of Neith and Khnum at Iunyt/Latopolis

“God of the Potter’s Wheel,

Who settled the land by His handiwork,Who joins in secret,Who builds soundly,Who nourishes the nestlings by the breath of His mouth;Who drenches this land with Nun,While the Round Sea and the Great Ocean surround Him.He has fashioned Gods and human beings,He has formed flocks and herds,He made birds as well as fishes,He created bulls, engendered cows,

He knotted the flow of blood to the bones,Formed in His workshop as His handiwork,So the breath of life is within everything,Blood bound with semen in the bones,To knit the bones from the start.

He makes women give birth when the womb is ready,So as to open …. as he wishes;He soothes suffering by His will,Relieves throats, lets everyone breathe,To give life to the young in the womb.

He made hair sprout and tresses grow,Fastened the skin over the limbs;He built the skull, formed the cheeks.To furnish shape to the image.He opened the eyes, hollowed the ears,He made the body inhale air;He formed the mouth for eating,Made the throat for swallowing.

He also formed the tongue to speak,The jaws to open, the gullet to drink,The throat to swallow and spit.The spine to give support,The testicles to move,

The arm to act with vigor,The rear to perform its task.

The gullet to devour,Hands and their fingers to do their work,The heart to lead,The loins to support the phallusIn the act of begetting.The frontal organs to consume things,The rear to aerate the entrails,Likewise to sit at ease,And sustain the entrails at night.The male member to beget,The womb to conceive,And increase generations in Egypt.The bladder to make water,The virile member to ejectWhen it swells between the thighs.The shins to step,The legs to tread,Their bones doing their task,By the will of His heart.”