# Egyptian Literature/The Book of the Dead/The Negative Confession

Layout 2
THE NEGATIVE CONFESSION
[From the Papyrus of Nebseni (British Museum No. 9,900, sheet 30).]
The scribe Nebseni, triumphant, saith:
1. “Hail, thou whose strides are long, who comest forth from Annu (Heliopolis), I have not done iniquity.
2. “Hail, thou who art embraced by flame, who comest forth from Kher-āba, I have not robbed with violence.
3. “Hail, thou divine Nose (Fenti), who comest forth from Khemennu (Hermopolis), I have not done violence [to any man].
4. “Hail, thou who eatest shades, who comest forth from the place where the Nile riseth, I have not committed theft.
5. “Hail, Neha-hau, who comest forth from Re-stau, I have not slain man or woman.
6. “Hail, thou double Lion-god, who comest forth from heaven, I have not made light the bushel.
7. “Hail, thou whose two eyes are like flint, who comest forth from Sekhem (Letopolis), I have not acted deceitfully.
8. “Hail, thou Flame, who comest forth as [thou] goest back, I have not purloined the things which belong unto God.
9. “Hail, thou Crusher of bones, who comest forth from Suten-henen (Heracleopolis), I have not uttered falsehood.
10. “Hail, thou who makest the flame to wax strong, who comest forth from Het-ka-Ptah (Memphis), I have not carried away food. ​11. “Hail, Qerti, (i.e., the two sources of the Nile), who come forth from Amentet, I have not uttered evil words.
12. “Hail, thou whose teeth shine, who comest forth from Ta-she (i.e., the Fayyûm), I have attacked no man.
13. “Hail, thou who dost consume blood, who comest forth from the house of slaughter, I have not killed the beasts [which are the property of God].
14. “Hail, thou who dost consume the entrails, who comest forth from the mābet chamber, I have not acted deceitfully.
15. “Hail, thou god of Right and Truth, who comest forth from the city of double Maāti, I have not laid waste the lands which have been ploughed(?).
16. “Hail, thou who goest backward, who comest forth from the city of Bast (Bubastis), I have never pried into matters [to make mischief].
17. “Hail, Aati, who comest forth from Annu (Heliopolis), I have not set my mouth in motion [against any man].
18. “Hail, thou who art doubly evil, who comest forth from the nome of Ati, I have not given way to wrath concerning myself without a cause.
19. “Hail, thou serpent Uamemti, who comest forth from the house of slaughter, I have not defiled the wife of a man.
20. “Hail, thou who lookest upon what is brought to him, who comest forth from the Temple of Amsu, I have not committed any sin against purity.
21. “Hail, Chief of the divine Princes, who comest forth from the city of Nehatu, I have not struck fear [into any man].
22. “Hail, Khemiu (i.e., Destroyer), who comest forth from the Lake of Kaui, I have not encroached upon [sacred times and seasons].
23. “Hail, thou who orderest speech, who comest forth from Urit, I have not been a man of anger.
24. “Hail, thou Child, who comest forth from the Lake of Heq-at, I have not made myself deaf to the words of right and truth.
25. “Hail, thou disposer of speech, who comest forth from the city of Unes, I have not stirred up strife. ​
* ↑ A city near Memphis.
* ↑ The “Qerti,” or caverns out of which flowed the Nile, were thought to be situated between Aswan and Philae.
* ↑ Variant, Neha-hra.
* ↑ Variant, “like fire.”
* ↑ I.e., the ninth nome of Lower Egypt, the capital of which was Per-Ausar or Busiris.
* ↑ The “City of the Sycamore,” a name of a city of Upper Egypt.
* ↑ The thirteenth nome of Lower Egypt.
* ↑ The metropolis of the nineteenth nome of Upper Egypt.