Hidden link between Egypt, Moses, the “Jewish” religion, later Christianity which is essentially Judaism 2.0:

Rosetta Stone gist

Finances and Taxes

The Rosetta Stone, while primarily a religious and political document, does include specific references to financial and tax-related measures taken by Ptolemy V. These measures are indicative of the king’s efforts to stabilize and boost the economy of Egypt, as well as to gain favor with the priesthood and the populace. Here are the main financial and tax-related points mentioned in the decree:

Cancellation of Debts: The decree mentions that King Ptolemy V cancelled arrears and debts owed to the crown by the temples and by many individuals. This would have been a significant economic relief for those who owed money to the royal treasury.

Return of Confiscated Properties: Properties that had been confiscated from the temples and other individuals were to be returned. This restoration of property rights would have been an important step in stabilizing the economic and social order.

Exemption from Certain Taxes: The decree includes exemptions from various taxes for the temples. This exemption not only relieved the temples of financial burdens but also enhanced their status and role in society.

Financial Gifts to Temples: The text speaks of financial gifts given to the temples, which would have helped in the maintenance and operation of these religious centers. This gesture would have been seen as an act of piety and generosity.

Support for Religious Festivals: The decree mentions the king’s support for religious festivals, including providing resources for their celebration. Funding religious festivals would have been an important way to maintain public morale and religious tradition.

These financial measures were likely intended to solidify Ptolemy V’s relationship with the religious institutions and to reinforce his image as a benevolent ruler. By alleviating economic burdens and supporting religious practices, he could strengthen his political position and ensure the loyalty of key social groups.

The Rosetta Stone’s focus on these financial and tax measures reflects the intricate relationship between economic policy, religious practice, and royal authority in Ptolemaic Egypt. Such decrees were a common way for rulers to communicate their policies and assert their legitimacy throughout their realms.

Providing a line-by-line translation of the full text of the Rosetta Stone would be quite extensive, as the text is long and detailed. However, I can certainly summarize the key sections of the decree, which is structured in a similar way in all three scripts (hieroglyphic, Demotic, and Greek):

Praise and Background of King Ptolemy V: The text begins with a detailed praise of King Ptolemy V, mentioning his lineage, his divine status, and his good deeds for Egypt. It describes his legitimacy as a ruler and his victories over his enemies, emphasizing his benevolence and piety.

Religious Observances and Honors: The decree specifies religious observances to honor Ptolemy V. This includes establishing a cult for the king, erecting statues of him in the temples, and linking him to the gods in religious ceremonies.

Tax Relief and Financial Benefits: The text details tax relief measures implemented by Ptolemy V, including the cancellation of some taxes and the return of confiscated property. It also mentions the king’s financial contributions to the temples and his support for religious festivals.

Provisions for the Decree’s Display: The decree was to be displayed in a prominent place in every temple throughout Egypt. This section underscores the importance of making the decree known to all, which is why it was inscribed in the three different scripts.

Conclusion and Ratification: The text concludes with a formal ratification of the decree by various priests and officials. It emphasizes the unity and support of these religious leaders for Ptolemy V’s reign.

Each section of the decree is carefully crafted to reinforce the authority and legitimacy of Ptolemy V, both as a ruler and as a religious figure. The Rosetta Stone’s significance lies less in the content of its text, which is a fairly typical example of a Ptolemaic decree, and more in its role as a linguistic key that unlocked the secrets of ancient Egyptian writing and civilization.

For a complete, line-by-line translation, you would typically need to refer to specialized books or academic resources that deal with ancient Egyptian texts and translations.

According to this:

GREEK:

1. In the reign of the young one who has succeeded his father in the kingship, lord of diadems, most glorious, who has established Egypt and is pious

2. Towards the gods, triumphant over his enemies, who has restored the civilised life of men, lord of the Thirty Years Festivals1, even as Hephaistos2 the Great, a king like the Sun3,

3. Great king of the Upper and Lower countries4, offspring of the Gods Philopatores, one of whom Hephaistos has approved, to whom the Sun has given victory, the living image of Zeus5, son of the Sun, Ptolemy

4. Living for ever, beloved of Ptah, in the ninth year, when Aetos son of Aetos was priest of Alexander, and the Gods Soteres, and the Gods Adelphoi, and the Gods Euergetai, and the Gods Philopatores6 and

5. The God Epiphanes Eucharistos; Pyrrha daughter of Philinos being Athlophoros of Berenike Euergetis; Areia daughter of Diogenes being Kanephoros of Arsinoe Philadelphos; Irene

6. Daughter of Ptolemy being Priestess of Arsinoe Philopator7; the fourth of the month of Xandikos, according to the Egyptians the 18th Mekhir. DECREE. There being assembled the Chief Priests and Prophets and those who enter the inner shrine for the robing of the

7. Gods, and the Fan-bearers and the Sacred Scribes and all the other priests from the temples throughout the land who have come to meet the king at Memphis, for the feast of the assumption

8. By Ptolemy, the ever-living, the beloved of Ptah, the God Epiphanes Eucharistos, the kingship in which he succeeded his father, they being assembled in the temple in Memphis this day declared:

9. Whereas king Ptolemy, the ever-living, the beloved of Ptah, the god Epiphanes Eucharistos, the son of King Ptolemy and Queen Arsinoe, the Gods Philopatores, has been a benefactor both to the temples and

10. To those who dwell in them, as well as all those who are his subjects, being a god sprung from a god and goddess (like Horus the son of Isis and Osiris, who avenged his father Osiris)8 (and) being benevolently disposed towards

11. The gods, has dedicated to the temples revenues in money and corn and has undertaken much outlay to bring Egypt into prosperity, and to establish the temples,

12. And has been generous with all his own means; and of the revenues and taxes levied in Egypt some he has wholly remitted and others he has lightened, in order that the people and all the others might be

13. In prosperity during his reign; and whereas he has remitted the debts to the crown being many in number which they in Egypt and in the rest of the kingdom owed; and whereas those who were

14. In prison and those who were under accusation for a long time, he has freed of the charges against them; and whereas he has directed that the gods shall continue to enjoy the revenues of the temples and the yearly allowances given to them, both of

15. Corn and money, likewise also the revenue assigned to the gods from vine land and from gardens and the other properties which belonged to the gods in his father’s time;

16. And whereas he directed also, with regard to the priests, that they should pay no more as the tax for admission to the priesthood than what was appointed them throughout his father’s reign and until the first year of his own reign; and has relieved the members of the

17. Priestly orders from the yearly journey to Alexandria; and whereas he has directed that impressment for the navy shall no longer be employed; and of the tax in byssus9 cloth paid by the temples to the crown he

18. Has remitted two-thirds; and whatever things were neglected in former times he has restored to their proper condition, having a care how the traditional duties shall be fittingly paid to the gods;

19. And likewise has apportioned justice to all, like Hermes10 the great and great; and has ordained that those who return of the warrior class, and of others who were unfavourably

20. Disposed in the days of the disturbances11, should, on their return be allowed to occupy their old possessions; and whereas he provided that cavalry and infantry forces and ships should be sent out against those who invaded

21. Egypt by sea and by land, laying out great sums in money and corn in order that the temples and all those who are in the land might be in safety; and having

22. Gone to Lycopolis12 in the Busirite nome, which had been occupied and fortified against a siege with an abundant store of weapons, and all other supplies (seeing that disaffection was now of long

23. Standing among the impious men gathered into it, who had perpetrated much damage to the temples and to all the inhabitants of Egypt), and having

24. Encamped against it, he surrounded it with mounds and trenches and elaborate fortifications; when the Nile made a great rise in the eighth year (of his reign), whichusually floods the

25. Plains, he prevented it, by damming at many points the outlets of the channels (spending upon this no small amount of money), and setting cavalry and infantry to guard

26. Them, in a short time he took the town by storm and destroyed all the impious men in it, even as Hermes and Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris, formerly subdued the rebels in the same

27. District13; and as to those who had led the rebels in the time of his father and who had disturbed the land and done wrong to the temples, he came to Memphis to avenge

28. His father and his own kingship, and punished them all as they deserved, at the time that he came there to perform the proper ceremonies for the assumption of the crown; and whereas he remitted what

29. Was due to the crown in the temples up to his eighth year, being no small amount of corn and money; so also the fines for the byssus

30. Cloth not delivered to the crown, and of those delivered, the several fees for their verification, for the same period; and he also freed the temples of (the tax of) the artabe14 for every aroura15 of sacred land and likewise

31. The jar of wine for each aroura of vine land; and whereas he bestowed many gifts upon Apis and Mnevis and upon the other sacred animals in Egypt, because he was much more considerate than the kings before him of all that belonged to

32. The gods; and for their burials he gave what was suitable lavishly and splendidly, and what was regularly paid to their special shrines, with sacrifices and festivals and other customary observances;

33. And he maintained the honours of the temples and of Egypt according to the laws; and he adorned the temple of Apis with rich work, spending upon it gold and silver

34. And precious stones, no small amount; and whereas he has founded temples and shrines and altars, and has repaired those requiring it, having the spirit of a beneficent god in matters pertaining to

35. Religion; and whereas after enquiry he has been renewing the most honourable of the temples during his reign, as is becoming,; in requital of which things the gods have given him health, victory and power, and all other good things,

36. And he and his children shall retain the kingship for all time. WITH PROPITIOUS FORTUNE: It was resolved by the priests of all the temples in the land to increase greatly the existing honours of

37. King PTOLEMY, THE EVER-LIVING, THE BELOVED OF PTAH, THE GOD EPIPHANES EUCHARISTOS, likewise those of his parents the Gods Philopatores, and of his ancestors, the Gods Euergetai and

38. The Gods Adelphoi and the Gods Soteres and to set up in the most prominent place of every temple an image of the EVER-LIVING King PTOLEMY, THE BELOVED OF PTAH, THE GOD EPIPHANES EUCHARISTOS,

39. An image which shall be called that of ‘PTOLEMY, the defender of Egypt’, beside which shall stand the principal god of the temple, handing him the weapon of victory16, all of which shall be manufactured (in the Egyptian)

40. fashion; and that the priests shall pay homage to the images three times a day, and put upon them the sacred garments, and perform the other usual honours such as given to the other gods in the Egyptian

41. festivals; and to establish for King PTOLEMY, THE GOD EPIPHANES EUCHARISTOS, sprung of King Ptolemy and Queen Arsinoe, the Gods Philopatores, a statue and golden shrine in each of the

42. Temples, and to set it up in the inner chamber with the other shrines; and in the great festivals in which the shrines are carried in procession the shrine of the GOD EPIPHANES EUCHARISTOS shall be carried in procession with them.

43. And in order that it may be easily distinguishable now and for all time, there shall be set upon the shrine the ten gold diadems of the king, to which shall be added a uraeus17 but instead of

44. The uraeus-shaped diadems which are upon the other shrines, in the centre of them shall be the crown called Pschent18 which he put on when he went into the temple at Memphis

45. To perform therein the ceremonies for assuming the kingship; and there shall be placed on the square surface round about the diadems, beside the aforementioned crown, golden symbols (eight in number signifying)

46. That it is (the shrine) of the king who makes manifest the Upper and Lower countries. And since it is the 30th of Mesore on which the birthday of the king is celebrated, and likewise (the 17th of Paophi)

47. On which he succeeded his father in the kingship, they have held these days in honour as name-days in the temples, since they are sources of great blessings for all; it was further decreed that a festival shall be kept in the temples throughout Egypt

48. On these days in every month, on which there shall be sacrifices and libations and all the ceremonies customary at the other festivals (and the offerings shall be given to the priests who)

49. Serve in the temples. And a festival shall be kept for King PTOLEMY, THE EVER-LIVING, THE BELOVED OF PTAH, THE GOD EPIPHANES EUCHARISTOS, yearly in the temples throughout the

50. Land from the 1st of Thoth for five days, in which they shall wear garlands and perform sacrifices and libations and the other usual honours, and the priests (in each temple) shall be called

51. Priests of the GOD EPIPHANES EUCHARISTOS in addition to the names of the other gods whom they serve; and his priesthood shall be entered upon all formal documents (and engraved upon the rings which they wear);

52. And private individuals shall also be allowed to keep the festival and set up the aforementioned shrine and have it in their homes, performing the aforementioned celebrations

53. Yearly, in order that it may be known to all that the men of Egypt magnify and honour the GOD EPIPHANES EUCHARISTOS the king, according to the law. This decree shall be inscribed on a stela of

54. Hard stone in sacred [that is hieroglyphic] and native [that is demotic] and Greek characters and set up in each of the first, second, and third [rank] temples beside the image of the ever living king.16

NOTES

1 The Sed Festival, originally held at thirty-year intervals after a king’s coronation, in order to renew a king’s physical powers.

2 In the Egyptian version Ptah.

3 In the Egyptian version Ra.

4 The South and North of Egypt, the two great predynastic kingdoms, we always remembered in the royal title.

5 In the Egyptian version Amun.

6 Alexander the Great, Ptolemy I and Berenike I, Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II, Ptolemy III and Berenike II, and Ptolemy IV and Arsinoe III respectively.

7 Eponymous priests; priests and priestesses, always with Greek names, attached to the royal cult, who served in their office for a year and were arranged in two colleges in a completely Greek institution.

8 Ie Horus-avenger-of-his-father, in Greek Harendotes.

9 Fine linen.

10 In the Egyptian version Thoth.

11 A reference to the years since 205 BC, during which Upper Egypt had been ruled by two rebel native

pharaohs, first Hor-Wennefer (previously misread as Hor-em-akhet) and since 199 BC, Ankh-Wennefer

(misread as Ankh-em-akhet).

12 A town in the ninth nome (administrative area) of the Delta, probably near Busiris but not identified with

certainty.

13 According to one version of the Osiris legend, his followers under Horus and Thoth defeated the supporters of Seth nearby at Hermopolis Parva.

14 A measure of grain.

15 A measurement of land equal to about 2/3 of an acre (about 2,735 sq. m.).

16 The khepesh, or scimitar, the royal weapon often depicted being given by a god to the king.

17 The cobra, symbol of kingship.

18 From the Egyptian Pa-sekhemty, the two powers, that is the Double Crown which incorporated the Red Crown of Lower Egypt and the White Crown of Upper Egypt.

Source:

Translation at https://web.archive.org/web/20060118142444/http://www.rosetta.com/AcrobatDocs/Stone.pdf

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TRANSLATION OF THE ROSETTA STONE

The Rosetta Stone, by E.A.W. Budge, [1893], at sacred-texts.com

from The Nile, Notes for Travellers in Egypt, by E. A. Wallis Budge, 9th Edition, London, Thos. Cook and Son, [1905], pp. 199-211.

NOTE: Portions in the body of this text in bold font were surrounded by a cartouche in the original text–JBH.

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TRANSLATION OF THE HIEROGLYPHIC TEXT OF THE DECREE OF THE PRIESTS OF MEMPHIS, AS FOUND ON THE ROSETTA STONE 1 AND ON THE STELE OF DAMANHÛR. THE DECREE WAS PROMULGATED IN THE 9TH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF PTOLEMY V. EPIPHANES.

1. On the twenty-fourth day of the month GORPIAIOS 2, which correspondeth to the twenty-fourth day of the fourth month of the season PERT 3 of the inhabitants of TA-MERT (EGYPT), in the twenty-third year of the reign of HORUS-RA the CHILD, who hath risen as King upon the throne of his father, the lord of the shrines of NEKHEBET 4 and UATCHET, 5 the mighty one of two-fold strength, the stablisher of the Two Lands, the beautifier of

2. Egypt, whose heart is perfect (or benevolent) towards the gods, the HORUS of Gold, who maketh perfect the life of the hamentet beings, the lord of the thirty-year festivals like PTAḤ, the sovereign prince like RĀ, the King of the South and North, Neterui-merui-ȧtui-ȧuā-setep-en-Ptaḥ-usr-ka-Rā-ānkh-sekhem-Ȧmen 6, the Son of the Sun Ptolemy, the ever-living,

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the beloved of Ptaḥ, the god who maketh himself manifest.

3. the son of PTOLEMY and ARSINOË, the Father-loving gods; when PTOLEMY, the son of PYRRHIDES, was priest of ALEXANDER, and of the Saviour-Gods, and of the Brother-loving Gods, and of the Beneficent Gods,

4. and of the Father-loving Gods, and of the God who maketh himself manifest; when DEMETRIA, the daughter of Telemachus, was bearer of the

5. prize of victory of BERENICE, the Beneficent Goddess; and when ARSINOË, the daughter of CADMUS, was the Basket Bearer of ARSINOË, the Brother-loving Goddess;

6. when IRENE, the daughter of PTOLEMY, was the Priestess of ARSINOË, the Father-loving Goddess; on this day the superintendents of the temples, and the servants of the god, and those who are over the secret things of the god, and the libationers [who] go into the most holy place to array the gods in then apparel,

7. and the scribes of the holy writings, and the sages of the Double House of Life, and the other libationers [who] had come from the sanctuaries of the South and the North to MEMPHIS, on the day of the festival, whereon

S. His Majesty, the King of the South and North PTOLEMY, the ever-living, the beloved of Ptaḥ, the god who maketh himself manifest, the lord of beauties, received the sovereignty from his father,

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entered into the SEḤETCH-CHAMBER, wherein they were wont to assemble, in MAKHA-TAUI 1, and behold they declared thus:—

9. “Inasmuch as the King who is beloved by the gods, the King of the South and North Neterui-merui-ȧtui-ȧua-en-Ptaḥ-setep-en-usr-ka Rā ānkh-sekhem-Ȧmen, the Son of the Sun Ptolemy, the ever-living, beloved of Ptaḥ, the Gods who have made themselves manifest, the lord of beauties, hath given things of all kinds in very large quantities unto the lands of Horus and unto all

10. “those who dwell in them, and unto each and every one who holdeth any dignity whatsoever in them, now behold, he is like unto a God, being the son of a God [and] he was given by a Goddess, for he is the counterpart of Horus, the son of Isis [and] the son of Osiris, the avenger of his father Osiris—and behold, His Majesty.

11. “possessed a divine heart which was beneficent towards the gods; and he hath given gold in large quantities, and grain in large quantities to the temples and he hath given very many lavish gifts in order to make Ta-Mert [Egypt] prosperous, and to make stable [her] advancement;

12. “and he hath given unto the soldiers who are in his august service . . . . . . according to their rank

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[paragraph continues] [and of the taxes] some of them he hath cut off, and some of them [he hath lightened], thus causing the soldiers and those who live in the country to be prosperous

13. “under his reign [and as regards the sums which were due to the royal house] from the people of Egypt, and likewise those [which were due] from every one who was in his august service, His Majesty remitted them altogether, howsoever great they were;

14. “and he hath forgiven the prisoners who were in prison, and ordered that every one among them should be released from [the punishment] which he had to undergo. And His Majesty made an order saying:—In respect of the things [which are to be given to] the gods, and the money and the

15. “grain which are to be given to the temples each year, and all the things [which are to be given to] the gods from the vineyards and from the corn-lands of the nome, all the things which were then due under the Majesty of his holy father

16. “shall he allowed to remain [in their amounts] to them as they were then; and he hath ordered:—Behold, the treasury (?) shall not he made more full of contributions by the hands of the priests than it was up to the first year of the reign of His Majesty, his holy father; and His Majesty hath remitted

17. “To the priests who minister in the temples in courses the journey which they had been accustomed to make by river in boats to the city of ALEXANDRIA at the beginning of each years and His Majesty commanded:—Behold, those who are boatmen [by trade] shall not be seized [and

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made to serve in the Navy]; and in respect of the cloths of byssus [which are] made in the temples for the royal house,

18. “he hath commanded that two-thirds of them shall be returned [to the priests]; similarly, His Majesty hath [re]-established all the things, the performance of which had been set aside, and hath restored them to their former condition, and he hath taken the greatest care to cause everything which ought to be done in the service of the gods to be done in the sane way in which it was done

19. “in former [days]; similarly, he hath donc [all things] in a right and proper manner; and he hath taken care to administer justice 1 to the people, even like Thoth, the great, great [God]; and he hath, more over, ordered in respect of those of the troops who come back, and the other people also, who during the

20. “strife of the revolution which took place had been ill disposed [towards the Government], that when they return to their homes and lands they shall have the power to remain in possession of their property, and he hath taken great care to send infantry, and cavalry, and ships to repulse those who were coming against

21. “Egypt by land as well as by sea; and he hath in consequence expended a very large amount of money and of grain on them in order to make prosperous the lands of Horus and Egypt.

22. “And His Majesty marched against the town of Shekam, which is in front of (?) the town of UISET, which was in the possession of the enemy, and was provided with catapults, and was made ready for war with weapons of every kind by

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23. “the rebels who were in it—now they had committed great acts of sacrilege in the land of Horus, and had done injury to those who dwelt in Egypt—His Majesty attacked them by making a road [to their town],

24. “and he raised mounds (or walls) against them, and he dug trenches, and whatsoever would lead [him] against them that he made; and he caused the canals which supplied the town with water to be blocked up, a thing which none of the kings who preceded him had ever been able to do before, and he expended a large amount of money on carrying out the work;

25. “and His Majesty stationed infantry at the mouths of the canals in order to watch and to guard them against the extraordinary rise of the waters [of the Nile], which took place in the eighth year [of his reign], in the aforesaid canals which watered the fields, and were unusually deep

26. “in this spot; and His Majesty captured the town by assault in a very short time, and he cut to pieces the rebels who were therein, and he made an exceedingly great slaughter among them, even like unto that which THOTH 1 and HORUS, the son of Isis and [the son of Osiris], made among those who rebelled against them

27. “when they rebelled in this very place; and behold, those who had led on the soldiers and were at their head, and who had disturbed the borders [in the time of his father, and who had committed sacrilege in the temples, when His Majesty came to MEMPHIS to avenge his father

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28. “and his own sovereignty he punished, according to their deserts, when he came there to celebrate] the festival of the receiving of the sovereignty from his father; and [besides this], he hath set aside [his claim to

29. “the things which were due to His Majesty, and which were [then] in the temples, up to the eighth year [of his reign, which amounted to no small sum of] money and grain; and His Majesty hath also set aside [his claim] to the cloths of byssus which ought to have been given to the royal house and were [then] in the temples,

30. “and also the tax which they (i.e. the priests) ought to have contributed for dividing the cloths into pieces, which was due up to this day; and he hath also remitted to the temples the grain which was usually levied as a tax on the corn-lands of the gods, and likewise the measure of wine which was clue as a tax on vineyards [of the gods];

31. “and he hath done great things for APIS, and MNEVIS, and for every shrine which contained a sacred animal, and he expended upon them more than did his ancestors; and his heart hath entered into [the consideration of everything] which was right and proper for them

32. “at every moment; and he hath given everything which was necessary for the embalming of their bodies, lavishly, and in magnificent abundance; and he hath undertaken the cost of their maintenance in their temples, and the cost of their great festivals, and of their burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and libations;

33. “[and he hath respected the privileges of the temples, and of Egypt, and hath maintained them in a suitable

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manner according to what is customary and right; and he hath spent] both money and grain to no small amount;

34. “and [hath provided] everything in great abundance for the house wherein dwelleth the LIVING APIS; and His Majesty hath decorated it with perfect and new ornamentations of the most beautiful character always; and he hath made the LIVING APIS to rise [like the sun], and hath founded temples, and shrines, and chapels [in his honour]; [and he hath repaired the shrines, which needed repairs, and in all matters appertaining to the service of the gods

35. “he hath manifested the spirit of a beneficent god; and during his reign, having made careful inquiry, he hath restored the temples which were held in the greatest honour, as was right] and in return for these things the gods and goddesses have given him victory, and power, and life, and strength, and health, and every beautiful thing of every kind whatsoever, and

36. “in respect of his exalted rank, it shall be established to him and to his children for ever and ever, with happy results (or life).”

And it has entered into the heart(s) of the priests of the temples of the South and of the North, and of each and every temple [that all the honours which

37. are paid] to the King of the South and North Ptolemy, the ever-living, the beloved of Ptaḥ, the [God who maketh himself manifest, whose deeds are beautiful, and those which are paid to the Father-loving Gods who begot him, and to the Beneficent Gods who begot those who begot him, and to the Brother-Gods who begot the begetters of his begetters,]

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38. and to the Saviour-Gods, shall be [greatly increased]; and a statue of the King of the South and North, Ptolemy, ever-living, beloved of Ptaḥ, the God who maketh himself manifest, the Lord of beauties, shall be set up [in every temple, in the most prominent place], and it shall be

39, called by his name “PTOLEMY, the SAVIOUR of EGYPT,” the interpretation (?) of which is “PTOLEMY, THE VICTORIOUS ONE.” [And it shall stand side by side with a statue of the Lord of the gods (?), who giveth him the weapon of victory, and it shall be fashioned after the manner of the Egyptians, and a statue of this kind shall be set up in]

40. all the temples which are called by his name. And adoration shall he paid unto these statues three times each day, and every rite and ceremony which it is proper to perform before them shall be performed, and whatsoever is prescribed, and is fitting for their DOUBLES, shall be performed, even as it is performed for the gods of the Nomes during the festivals and on every sacred day (?), on the day of [his] coronation, and on his name-day. And there shall likewise [be set up] a

41. magnificent (?) statue of the King of the South and North Ptolemy, ever-living beloved of Ptaḥ, the God who maketh himself manifest, whose deeds are beautiful, the son of Ptolemy, and Arsinoë, the Father-loving gods, and with the statue there shall be a magnificent shrine [made] of the finest copper and inlaid with real stones of every kind,

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42. in every temple which is called by his name; and this statue shall rest in the most holy place [in the temples] side by side with the shrines of the gods of the Nomes. And on the days of the great festivals, when the god [of the temple] cometh forth from his holy habitation, according to his day, the holy shrine of the God who maketh himself manifest, the lord of beauties, shall likewise be made to rise [like the Sun]

43. with them. And in order to make this new shrine to be easily distinguishable [both at the present day, and in future times, they shall set] upon this shrine [ten royal double crowns, made of gold and upon [each of the double crowns there shall be placed the [serpent which it is right and proper to make for the [double crown of gold], instead of the two Uraei

44. which are [placed] upon the tops of the shrines, and the SEKHENT CROWN shall be in the middle of them, because it was in the SEKHENT CROWN in which His Majesty shone in the house of the KA of PTAḤ (i.e., Memphis)

45. at the time when the king entered into the temple, and performed the ceremonies which it was meet and right for him to perform on receiving the exalted rank [of King]. And on the upper surface of the square pedestal which is round these crowns, and in the middle part thereof [which is immediately] beneath] the double Crown [they shall engrave a papyrus plant and a plant of the south; and they shall set them in such a way that a vulture, upon neb, , beneath which a plant of the south shall be found, shall be affixed to the right-hand upper corner of the golden shrine, and a serpent, , under

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which is, placed upon] a papyrus plant, [shall be affixed] to the left hand side [at the upper corner]; and

46. the interpretation [of these signs is]:—”Lord of the shrine of NEKHEBET, and Lord of the shrine of UATCHET, who illumineth the land of the White Crown, and the land of the Red Crown.” And inasmuch as the last day of the fourth month of the season SHEMU 1 (i.e., MESORE), which is the birthday of the beautiful ever-living god, is already established as a feast day, and it hath been observed as a day of festival in the lands of HORUS (i.e., the temple lands) from the olden time; and moreover, the seventeenth day of the second month of the season SHAT 2(i.e., PAOPI),

47. whereon [His Majesty] performed the ceremonies of royal accession, when he received the sovereignty from his father, [is also observed as a day of festival], and behold [these days] have been the source of all [good] things wherein all men have participated; these days, that is to say, the seventeenth and the last day of each month, shall be kept as festivals in the temples

48. of Egypt, in each and every one of them; and on these days burnt offerings shall be offered up, and meat offerings, and everything which it is right and customary to perform at the celebration of festivals shall be performed on these days every month, and on these festivals every man shall do (i.e., offer up) what he is accustomed to do on [other] fes-

49. tivals in the temples. [And the priests also decreed] that the things which[are brought to the temples] as

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offerings shall be given unto the persons who [minister in the temples; and festivals and processions shall be established in the temples, and in all Egypt, in honour of] the King of the South and North, Ptolemy, ever-living, beloved of Ptaḥ, the god who maketh himself manifest, whose deeds are beautiful, each year,

50. beginning with the first day of the first month of the season Shat (i.e., Thoth) up to the fifth day thereof [and on these days the people shall wear] garlands on their heads, and they shall make festal the altars, and shall offer up meat and drink offerings, and shall perform everything which it is right and proper to perform. And the priests of all the temples which are called after his name

51. shall have, in addition to all the other priestly titles which they may possess, the title of “Servant of the god who maketh himself manifest, whose deeds are beautiful”; [and this title shall be endorsed on all deeds and documents which are laid up in the temples]; and they shall cause to be engraved on the rings which they wear on their hands, the title of “Libationer of the god who maketh himself manifest, whose deeds are beautiful.”

52. And behold, it shall he in the hands of those who live in the country, and those who desire [it], to establish a copy of the shrine of the god who maketh himself manifest, whose deeds are beautiful, and set it up in their houses, and they shall be at liberty to keep festivals and make rejoicings [before it] each month

53. and each year; and in order to make those who are in Egypt to know [why it is that the Egyptians pay honour—as it is most right and proper to do—to the

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god who maketh himself beautiful, whose deeds are beautiful, the priests have decreed] that this DECREE shall [be inscribed] upon a stele of hard stone in the writing of the words of the gods, and the writing of the books, and in the writing of HAUI-NEBUI (i.e., Greeks), and it shall be set up in the sanctuaries in the temples which [are called] by his name, of the first, second, and third [class], near the statue of the HORUS, the King of the South and North Ptolemy, ever-living, beloved of Ptaḥ, the god who maketh himself manifest, whose deeds are beautiful.

Footnotes

199:1 The words in brackets are added either from the Stele of Damanhûr or for the purpose of making sense.

199:2 A part of March and April.

199:3 Part of our Spring.

199:4 The shrine of the vulture goddess Nekhebet was in Upper Egypt.

199:5 More fully, Per-Uatchet; the shrine of the snake goddess was in the Delta.

199:6 A name meaning “The two Father-loving Gods, the heir, chosen of Ptaḥ, strength of the double of Rā, living power of Ȧmen.”

201:1 Makha-taui , i.e., “the balance or the two lands,” was the name of the place where Lower Egypt ended, and Upper Egypt began, when travelling to the South.

203:1 The lines in italics are taken from the Demotic version.

204:1 The Demotic Version has Rā.

209:1 The season of the Inundation, or, our summer.

209:2 Our autumn and early winter.