The Pyramid Texts were funerary inscriptions that were written on the walls of the early Ancient Egyptian pyramids at Sakkara. These date back to the fifth and sixth dynasties, approximately the years 2350-2175 B.C.E. However, because of extensive internal evidence, it is believed that they were composed much earlier, circa 3000 B.C.E. The Pyramid Texts are, therefore, essentially the oldest sacred texts known.

Samuel Mercer was the first to produce a complete English translation of this mysterious text, in 1952. This was also the first complete translation in any language. The Mercer translation was followed by the R.O. Faulkner translation in 1969, which is considered the standard today.

Utterances (588-600)

1607a. To say: Osiris N., thy mother Nut has spread herself over thee, in her name of "She of Št-p.t";

1607b. she has caused thee to be as a god, in spite of thee, in thy name of "God";

1608a. she has protected thee against all evil things, in her name of "Great Sieve" (protectress).

1608b. Thou art the greatest among her children.

1609a. To say: Osiris N., thou art the ka of all the gods;

1609b. Horus has avenged thee; thou art become his ka.

1610a. To say: Osiris N., behold, thou art avenged; thou livest;

1610b. thou movest daily, without anything being disordered in thee (or, there is no disorder in thee).

1611a. Thou hast settled for (thy) father, so (thy) father did the same for thee,

1611b. like the vulture which places herself over her son.

1612a. To say: Horus adorns himself with his šsmt-apron, (when he) moves (about) on his land like tiwti;

1612b. Set adorns himself with his šsmt-apron, (when he) moves (about) on his land like tiwti;

1613a. Thot adorns himself with his šsmt-apron, (when he) moves (about) on his land like tiwti;

1613b. the god adorns himself with his šsmt-apron, (when he) moves (about) on his land like tiwti;

1614a. N. also adorns himself with his šsmt-apron, (when he) moves, (about) on his land like tiwti.

1614b. Horus, take to thyself thine eye, which was recognized as thine in the house of the prince of Heliopolis.

1614c. O N., thy ka has recognized thee in spite of thine enemies.

1615a. To say: Geb, son of Shu, this is Osiris N.;

1615b. the heart of thy mother trembles for thee, in thy name of "Geb."

1615c. Thou art the eldest son of Shu, his primogeniture.

1616a. O Geb, Osiris N. is this one here;

1616b. heal him, that [what is the matter with him] may cease;

1616c. thou art the Great God, the only one.

1617a. Atum has given thee his heritage; he has given thee the whole Ennead;

1617b. even Atum himself together with them. The son of his eldest son (Shu) is united with thee (Geb),

1618a. (when) he sees thee, that thou art glorified, that thy heart is great (proud).

1618b. Thou art p‘n, in thy name of "wise mouth," "Hereditary prince of the gods."

1619a. Thou art standing on the earth; thou judgest at the head of the Ennead;

1619b.. thy fathers and thy mothers are at their head; thou art More powerful than any god;

1619c. thou art come to Osiris N., that thou mayest protect him against his enemy.

1620a. O Geb, wise-mouth, hereditary prince of the gods, it is thy son, Osiris N.

1620b. Thou causest thy son to live with him; make thy son prosperous with him;

1621a. Thou art lord of the entire earth;

1621b. thou art powerful over the Ennead and even (over) every god.

1622a.. Thou art mighty; thou turnest away every evil from Osiris N.;

1622b. thou shalt not cause it to return to him, in thy name of "Horus who repeats not his work."

1623a. Thou art the ka of all the gods;

1623b. thou hast brought them; thou nourishest them; thou causest them to live.

1623c. Make Osiris N. live.

1624a. Thou art a god; thou art powerful over all gods.

1624b. An eye goes forth from thy head, like the one Great-in-charms, the Upper Egyptian white crown;

1624c. an eye goes forth from thy head, like the one Great-in-charms, the Lower Egyptian red crown.

1625. Horus has followed thee for he loves thee;

1626. thou dawnest as king of Lower Egypt; thou art powerful over all the gods together with their kas.

1627a. To say: Stand up, give thine arm to Horus; he causes thee to stand up.

1627b. Geb has wiped thy mouth for thee.

1628a. The Great Ennead avenged thee;

1628b. they placed Set under thee, that he may serve under thee;

1628c. they prevented his spittle from spilling on thee.

1629a. Nut throws herself upon her son, who is in thee; she protects thee;

1629b. she defends thee; she embraces thee; she raises thee up,

16291c. for thou art the greatest among her children.

1630a. Two sisters, Isis and Nephthys, come to thee;

1630b. they hasten to the place in which thou art.

1630c. Thy sister Isis laid hold of thee, when she found thee

1630d. complete and great, in thy name of "Great black."

1631a. Encircle all things in thine arms, in thy name of "Circle which encircles the nb.wt";

1631b. thou art great, in thy name of "Great circle which sets."

1632a. Horus has brought Set to thee; he has given him to thee; he bends (him) under thee;

1632b. thy strength is greater than his.

1632c. Horus has caused thee to encircle all the gods, in thine arms.

1633a. Horus has loved his father, in thee; Horus has not suffered thee to go away;

1633b. Horus has not gone away from thee; Horus has avenged his father, in thee.

1633c. Thou livest as the coleoptera (lives); thou endures, in Mendes.

1634a. Isis and Nephthys protected thee in Siût,

1634b. even their lord in thee, in thy name of "Lord of Siût";

1634c. even their god in thee, in thy name of "Divine canal";

1635a. they adored thee, so that thou shalt not (again) withdraw from them.

1635b. Isis comes to thee rejoicing for love of thee;

1636a. thy semen goes into her, while it is pointed like Sothis.

1636b. Horus the pointed has come forth from thee, in his name of "Horus who was in Sothis."

1637a. Thou art pleased with him, in his name of "Spirit who was in the dndr.w-boat";

1637b. Horus has avenged thee, in his name of "Horus, the son, who avenges his father."

1638a. To say: N. has ascended to the portal,

1638b. dawning as king, and being high as Wepwawet;

1638c. he supports himself, he is not tired.

1639a. To say: Greetings to thee, N.,

1639b. I am come to thee on thy day, since night,

1639c. I have given to thee Nwtknw.

1640a. I have brought to thee thy heart and have put it in thy body,

1640b. as Horus brought the heart to his mother Isis,

1640c. as (she) brought the heart to her son Horus.

1641a. To say: They have raised themselves up, those who reside in graves,

1641b. in secret places;

1641c. Awake, raise thyself up; thine arms are to thy good.

1642. To say: O N., come, clothe thyself with the sound eye of Horus, which was in Tȝi.t.

1643a. To say: This is this eye of Horus which he gave to Osiris,

1643b. thou hast given it (back) to him, that he may equip his face with it;

1643c. but this is this (eye) of sweet odour--concerning which Horus spoke in the presence of Geb--

1643d. of incense and flame.

1644a. One pellet of incense;

1644b. three pellets of incense;

1644c. a bow.

1645a. To say: N. is Geb, the wise-mouth, hereditary prince of the gods,

1645b. whom Atum has placed at the head of the Ennead, with whose words the gods, are satisfied;

1645c. and all the gods are satisfied with all which N. has said--everything wherewith it goes well with him for ever and ever.

1646a. Atum said to N.: "Behold, the wise-mouth, who is among us;

1646b. he greets us; let us unite for him."

1647a. O all ye gods, come, assemble; come, unite,

1647b. as ye assembled and united for Atum in Heliopolis,

1648a. that N. might greet you. Come ye,

1648b. do everything wherewith it might go well with N. for ever and ever.

1649a. May Geb give an offering; may he give an offering of these joints of meat, an offering of bread, drink, cakes, fowl,

1649b. to all the gods, who will cause every good thing to happen to N.;

1649c. who will cause this pyramid of N. to endure,

1649d. who will cause this temple to endure

1649e. just as (in the condition in which) N. loved it to be, for ever and ever.

1650a. All gods, who shall cause this pyramid and this temple of N. to be good and to endure

1650b. they shall be pre-eminent, they shall be in honour,

1650c. they shall become bȝ (spiritually strong), they shall become śḫm (physically strong);

1651a. to them shall be given royal offerings of bread, drink, cakes, meat, fowl, linen, oil;

1651b. they shall receive their divine offerings;

1651c. to them their joints of meat shall be presented;

1651d. to them oblations shall be made;

1651e. they shall bear off the white crown;

1651f. among the Two Enneads.

1652a. To say: O Atum-Khepri, when thou didst mount as a hill,

1652b. and didst shine as bnw of the ben (or, benben) in the temple of the "phoenix" in Heliopolis,

1652c. and didst spew out as Shu, and did spit out as Tefnut,

1653a. (then) thou didst put thine arms about them, as the arm(s) of a ka, that thy ka might be in them.

1653b. Atum, so put thine arms about N.,

1653c. about this temple, about this pyramid, as the arm (s) of a ka,

1653d. that the ka of N. may be in it, enduring for ever and ever.

1654a. O Atum, put thy protection upon N.,

1654b. upon this his pyramid, (upon) this temple of N.;

1654c. prevent any evil thing happening to him for ever and ever;

1654d. just as thy protection was put upon Shu and Tefnut.

1655a. O Great Ennead who are in Heliopolis,

1655b. Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys,

1655c. children of Atum--his heart is broad (glad) because of his children, in your name of "Nine [Bows]."

1656a. no one among you separates himself from Atum, (when) he protects N.,

1656b. (when) he protects this pyramid of N., (when) he protects this his temple,

1656c. against all the gods, against all the dead.

1656d. He prevents any evil thing from happening to him for ever and ever.

1657a. O Horus, this N. is Osiris;

1657b. this pyramid of N. is Osiris; this his temple is Osiris;

1657c. approach thyself to N.;

1657d. be not far from him, in his name of "Pyramid."

1658a. Thou wast complete, thou wast great, in thy name of "House of the Great black."

1658b. Thot has put the gods under thee, because they are intact and just,

1658c. in the ddȝ-fortress, in the dmȝ‘-fortress.

1658d. O Horus, like thy father, Osiris, in his name of, "He of the royal castle,"

1659a. Horus has given the gods to thee; he has caused them to ascend to thee, as (reed)-pens,

1659b. that they may illuminate thy face (cheer thee) as temples.