〈Stele des Montuhotep (Kairo CG 20539)〉 / Stele des Montuhotep (Kairo CG 20539)

The Behdite, great god, lord of the sky. Horus Ankhmesut, the good god, lord of the two lands, lord of ritual practices 𓍹Kheperkare𓍺, joyful, given life and stability eternally like Re. Osiris Khontamenti, Lord of Abydos, may he give life, stability and power like Re. Horus Ankhmesut, Two Ladies Ankhmesut, [King of Upper and Lower Egypt] 𓍹Kheper[ka]re𓍺, [the good god, Lord of the Two Lands, son of Re 𓍹Senusret𓍺, given life] eternally and for ever like Re. A royal order for the Iri-pat [and Hati-a ... overseer of the treasury Mentuhotep.] [The king commanded that] a funerary chapel [be made for] you at the terrace of the great god, Lord of Abydos, so that all your offices and all praises made for you may endure, your statues being in the [te]mple, in the following of the great god, [meat offerin]gs [being established for them] and their [offering loaves] being se[t down] in writing. [from ... which is before the king, who makes] for you a $ḥtp-ḏi̯-nswt$-offering - like the king does for the one whom he loves - to the hereditary noble and local prince, god's father (?), beloved of the god, single-minded (?) for the King of Lower Egypt, whom he (the king) had examined, pillar of the South for the palace, one who follows his lord on his journeys, his trusted one before the courtiers, who attends to his lord in private, [a companion (?) of Horus on the place of the palace], one truly trusted of his lord, to whom secret matters are told, his trusted one in front of the Two Banks, one who presents a report in the shrine, one who finds (the right) phrase, who eases what is difficult, one on [whose] voice his lord relies (lit. "stands", "leans"), one who is really close, who knows (one's) desire, mit nützichem/herrlichem Sprechen nach Meinung seines Herrn, great of fear in the royal palace, one influential of advice (?), beneficient of speech, discrete concerning the business of the palace, one who seals his mouth at what he hears, an official who solves difficulties, overseer of the double house of silver and double house of gold, overseer of sealed things, Mentuhotep, he says: I made this cenotaph fully consecrated, its site was made efficient, after I had made payment contracts for the priests of Abydos. I led work in the temple, built of the stone of Turah. I acted as "his beloved son" in [the conduct of the Mansion of Gold] in the mys[tery] of the Lord of Abydos. I directed the construction work in the neshmet-barque, I created its ropes (rigging), I performed the Haker-festival for its lord and the procession of Wepwawet, when all festive offerings had been made for him, and the priests had recited (the rites), I caused [...] the nobles (?) [...] for [them (?)] and offering table with lapis lazuli, natron, electrum, fine (?) silver, copper without end, bronze without end, broad collars, new/real turquoise, armbands, all precious stones, [...], being the choicest of all things. I placed (?) god in his regalia in my office as keeper of secrets and in my function as stolist. [I was one who p]resents his hands in adorning the god, a sem-priest pure of fingers, one who establishes god's offerings. I gave [...] to every god, [as] the great god had alotted (?) for them. I caused that every man knew his task in the temple of this god, in order to do justice for him. May I be in the following of the god, so that [I might be blessed and strong at the terrace of the lord of Abydos!] [...] Atum(?), in order to be in his following. I shall be in [... ... ...] [... ... ...] of the house of life, one good of arms in adorning [the god], stable of fingers in embellishing ornaments, the unique one who protects good speech (??; oder: einmalig von Wesen, vollkommen von Handfertigkeit), [overseer of the treasury, Mentuhotep], he says: I inspected [...] Sewahet, and I was in the following of the Majesty of my (divine) lord, when he appeared [...] upon [...] for ... [...] the peasants [...] in [...], in Hebenen and Sewahet ... A wild bull shall overthrow the enemies of His Majesty in (or: by means of) [...], the roads being in festival, the hill-countries libating water. The chief of the mountain gave all offerings, after [...] the wells [... ...] His Majesty, who nourished the people therefrom. The overseer of the treasury Mentuhotep says: I was one [... ... ...], whose [co]ming [is awaited] by the courtiers, one who is united with the body [of the god(?), ... ... ...] [... ... ...] of all things, ..., overseer of all things, [... ... ...] [... ... ...] the entire land. [... ... ...] [... ... ...] [... ... ... Mentu]hotep, he says: O every local prince {in}, every great priest, every lector priest, seal-bearer of god, embalmer of Anubis, every common priest, every phyle chief, and every denizen of the city, who shall happen to be in this temple, who shall pass by this tomb-chapel, and who shall read this stela - as you [lo]ve Osiris, Foremo[st of the Westerners], lord of Abydos, and you repeat performing [his] festivals, as yo[u] love [Wepwawet], your [god] sweet of love, and you[r hearts] rejoice about the king [forever, as you love] life and ignore death, as [your] chil[dren] are healthy for 〈you〉, [say (it) as your utterance]: "An offering that the king gives: a thousand of bread and beer, a thousand of bulls and fowl, a thousand of alabaster, a thousand of linen, and a thousand of all sweet things from which the gods lives for the ka of the dignified hereditary noble and true local prince, master of secret of the king at his every place, overseer of [the two houses of silver], overseer of the two houses of gold, true chief lector priest, [...], overseer of the [treasury], Mentuhotep, justified. [The hereditary noble and local prince], sealer of the king of Lower Egypt, [sole] friend, master of secrets of the two serpents (?), overseer of [the treasury(?), ..., Mentuhotep]. The Behdite, lord of Mesen. Horus Ankhmesut, son of Re 𓍹Senusret𓍺, the good god, lord of the two lands, given life, stability, power and health eternally like Re. Osiris Khontamenti, Lord of Abydos, may he give life and power forever. The living Horus Ankhmesut, Two ladies Ankhmesut, Lord of Upper and Lower Egypt Ankhmesut, King of Upper and Lower Egypt 𓍹Kheperkare𓍺, good god, lord of the two lands, son of Re 𓍹Senusret𓍺, given life, stability, power, health and joy like Re forever. Count, vizier and judge, speaker of Nekhen, priest of Maat, who gives the laws, who advances the offices and makes the boundary stelae last, who separates a district from its second, captain of the sun folk, one who appeases the entire land, a man of justice before the two lands, one truly accurate like Thoth, his second in appeasing the two lands, prince on the mission of the Two Lords, foremost in judging, who places a thing to its proper place, seal-bearer of the king, overseer of the treasury, Mentuhotep. Hereditary noble and local prince, overseer of all works of the king, one who establishes the offering breads of the gods, one who places this land over his needs, according to the command of the god who had created him, who protected the wretched and saved the one who wasn't anything, who caused the two contendants to go out satisfied by means of the speech of his mouth, auf dessen Zunge die Schrift des Thoth ist, one more accurate than a plummet, the equal of a balance, the second of the king in being greeted by name, one patient until the case will have been heard, the equal of god in his hour, one efficient of mind, expert with his fingers, one who performed an office like the one whose job it is, the trusted one of the king at the fore of the Two lands, his beloved among the courtiers, a potentate among the officials, one foremost of place of the $zmꜣ$-throne (?) of Horus, a man of uniqueness (?), to whom the heart is open/thoughts are revealed, a noble at the boundary markers of the broad court, one who finds the speech of the palace, who knows that which is in every belly, who appointed a man so that he was true, one who founds things when there was lack of them, one who gave lies to the one who told them, and truth to the one who came with it, one patient, who has no equal, one good at listening and excellent at speaking, a magistrate who unties what is knotted, one whom god promoted before millions as an efficient man whose name he knew, the true image of love, one free of wrongdoing, one whose coming is awaited by the courtiers, one who makes powerless the rebel against the king, one who listens to (or: a judge of) the tribunal of thirty, one who places fear (?; lit. "trembling") of him (oder: das Bedrängen durch ihn) among the foreigners, and who calms for him the bedouins, who pacifies the Asiatics (?) (or: rebels?) from (or: on account of) their actions, a potentate on the two banks, leader of the black lands and of the red lands, one who gives orders to Upper Egypt and controls the herd-lists of Lower Egypt, into whose light everyone walks, captain of the rekhyt-people, who gives nourishment and promotes offices, master of counsels, great of love, second to the king in the great broad hall, hereditary noble and local prince, overseer of the treasury, Mentuhotep, he says: I was a courtier beloved of his lord, one who did what his goddess praised in the course of every day, hereditary noble and local prince, Sem-priest and leader of all kilts, priest of Horus and Anubis who presides over the suite, master of largesse, Mentuhotep. A noble in the places of sacredness, one who speaks according to his voice in the domain of the king, master of silence of the courtiers, a unique one of the king, who has no second, who makes the truth ascend to the palace, a great herald of goodness, the only great one who sustains the rekhyt-people, one to whom the great ones come bowing at the gate of the royal palace, speaker of Nekhen, priest of Maat, a pillar of judgement of the desert, overseer of the western deserts, leader of the great ones of Upper and Lower Egypt, staff of the rekhyt-people, pillar of the leopard-skin, god's father, beloved of the god, priest of the two Horus-children, one who is over the secrets of the House of Life, Kha-Priest (?) of Nubia, overseer of the broad court, priest of Horus Keftiu, great chief of the royal insignia, companion of the body of the god, Großer von Nepet (?), Einziger der Großen der Schenepet-Leute, Arm des Nemti, Arm des Krummstabes (?), overseer of the two granaries, overseer of the two houses of silver, overseer of the two houses of gold, overseer of writing of the king in the presence, seal-bearer of the king, unique friend, privy to the secrets of the hieroglyphs, overseer of the [treasury], Mentuhotep says: O every count, every messenger of the king, every potentate, every courtier of the royal palace whom the king had dis[patched] as he wishes [...] his Majesty in the temple of this god, as you wish to endure upon earth, being praised [...] in the royal palace, your children being on your places, speak so that you may establish this tomb-chapel in this its place for ever! (?) (For) I am an excellent blessed spirit who knows his speech. I know that which is useful in the necropolis. As for anyone, who shall remember my good name, I will be his protector in the presence of the great god, lord of heaven, and in the presence of the great god, lord of Abydos. I was a leader of works in the temple, one who built his house, dug a lake and constructed a well at the order of the Majesty of the lord. Hereditary noble and local prince, seal-bearer of the king, the unique friend, overseer of the shrines, overseer of the two pools of enjoyment, overseer of the two houses of gold, overseer of the two houses of silver, overseer of the treasury, Mentuhotep, born of Asenka, justified. The hereditary noble and local prince, sealer of the king of Lower Egypt, sole friend, overseer of the treasury, Mentuhotep. The hereditary noble and local prince, sealer of the king of Lower Egypt, sole friend, overseer of the treasury, Mentuhotep.