you are here: > The death and resurrection of Osiris > Chapter 10
 
Chapter 10  
     
1.
 All this the scribe Nefer-ka saw as though it had been before him,
 
2.
 for he had been instructed in all that is in that book that is called the Book of the Dead.
  
3.
 The Goddess of the Third Hour gives place to the Goddess of the Fourth Hour,
 
4.
 and the boat in which Rê is laid comes before another gate.
 
5.
 The name of the guardian of that gate is pronounced;
 
6.
 the gate opens; the boat makes its way through another region.
 
7.
 All desert is this region.
 
8.
 The Fourth Hour passes and the Fifth Hour is at hand.
 
9.
 The Goddess of the Fifth Hour pronounces the name, and the boat that is named Semektet enters the Fifth Region.
  
10.
 On either side guarding this region are creatures whose bodies are the bodies of lions and whose faces are the faces of men;
 
11.
 they dig into the sand with talons that are the talons of eagles. Sokar the Fierce is guardian of this region. He stands upright there, he who has the head of a hawk on the body of a man.
  
12.
 The Goddess of the Fifth Hour makes way for the Goddess of the Sixth Hour.
 
13.
 The gates are flung wide as the name is pronounced.
 
14.
 Then the boat enters the realm that is named Abyss of Waters--the Sixth Realm of the Realm of the Dead.
  
15.
 As the scribe thought upon these mysteries he knew that the Sixth Hour was passing.
 
16.
 Behold! The Morning Star that now leads the boat of Rê onward appeared in the sky.
 
17.
 This, the Sixth Hour, is an hour that is evil for men.
 
18.
 For in the realm that is named Abyss of Waters is the monster ’Apop
 
19.
 who holds the world together in his coils,
 
20.
 but who waits to destroy Rê the Giver of Light and Life,
 
21.
 and plunge the world into lifeless dark.
 
22.
 Now as the boat of Rê journeys through the Sixth Realm those on the boat behold on the banks of the river the vast shapes of the Gods.
 
23.
 The Gods cry aloud to Rê as he passes lifeless in the boat that is named Semektet;
 
24.
 their voices that are as the roaring of bulls come across that vast abyss as the murmur of bees.
 
25.
 The monster ’Apop hisses and roars and strains at the chains that bind him.
 
26.
 But now Isis takes her place beside Rê.
 
27.
 Her spells prevail and the monster is made helpless.
 
28.
 The boat goes on and past the great sand-banks; ’Apop struggles to make himself free.
  
29.
 In the Seventh Hour the boat passes through a region of darkness and cold.
 
30.
 But in this region is Khepri the Renewer.
 
31.
 Here there is a great coiled serpent with five heads, and within his coils is Khepri.
 
32.
 In the form of a scarab he flies into the boat of Rê;
 
33.
 he awaits the time when he can bring back life to Rê
 
34.
 On goes the boat;  
35.
 the Goddess of the Seventh Hour gives place to the Goddess of the Eighth Hour.
 
36.
 In the Eighth Hour the boat passes through the region where are the tombs of the Gods.
 
37.
 The tombs stand by a river:
 
38.
 high mounds of sand are they:
 
39.
 at each end of each tomb the head of a man watches the passing by of Rê
 
40.
 Also a monstrous lion looms out of the darkness.
  
41.
 The Eighth Hour passes; the Ninth Hour passes and the Tenth Hour.
 
42.
 Now a name is spoken, and the boat of Rê comes to the Eleventh Region.
  
43.
 The scribe Nefer-ka thought upon this region.
 
44.
 It is a region feared by those who are rejected by Osiris.
 
45.
 Near by are Pits of Fire.
 
46.
 Goddesses whose breaths are of flame hold in their hands gleaming swords of fire.
 
47.
 The scribe lifting up his head saw in the sky what seemed to be reflections from these Pits of Fire.
  
48.
 The Goddess of the Eleventh Hour now gives place to the Goddess of the Twelfth Hour.
 
49.
 The name of power is pronounced once more, and the last great gate is opened.
 
50.
 Now Khepri fastens himself upon Rê;
 
51.
 Rê is transformed into Khepri and lives again.
 
52.
 Out between pillars of turquoise comes the boat of Rê.  

 
 
 

Copyright © 1994-2007 One-Faith-Of-God.Org. All rights reserved.