The Song of the Harper Papyrus Harris 500

E. A. Wallis Budge, 1914 · Public domain · about this text

Biblical parallels in Papyrus Harris 500

whole chapter ↔ Ecclesiastes 2:16 parallel

'Their places are no more; they are just as if they had never existed … Not one of them cometh from where they are' — 'there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever … how dieth the wise man? as the fool.'

whole chapter ↔ Ecclesiastes 9:7 close parallel

'Give comfort to thy heart … occupy thyself with thy pleasure daily, and never cease to enjoy thyself' — Ecclesiastes 9:7–10, 'Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart … for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave.'

whole chapter ↔ 1 Corinthians 15:32 parallel

'If the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.' Paul cites the same logic the harper's song runs on — and answers it with the resurrection.

whole chapter ↔ Isaiah 22:13 parallel

The carpe-diem conclusion is the very saying Isaiah and Paul quote and reject: 'let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die' (Isaiah 22:13; 1 Corinthians 15:32).

1O good prince, it is a decree,✦ Ecclesiastes 2:16 ✦ Ecclesiastes 9:7 ✦ 1 Corinthians 15:32 ✦ Isaiah 22:13

2And what hath been ordained thereby is well,

3That the bodies of men shall pass away and disappear,

4Whilst others remain.

5Since the time of the oldest ancestors,

6The gods who lived in olden time,

7Who lie at rest in their sepulchres,

8The Masters and also the Shining Ones,

9Who have been buried in their splendid tombs,

10Who have built sacrificial halls in their tombs,

11Their place is no more.

12Consider what hath become of them!

13I have heard the words of Imhetep and Herutataf,

14Which are treasured above everything because they uttered them.

15Consider what hath become of their tombs!

16Their walls have been thrown down;

17Their places are no more;

18They are just as if they had never existed.

19Not one [of them] cometh from where they are.

20Who can describe to us their form (or, condition),

21Who can describe to us their surroundings,

22Who can give comfort to our hearts,

23And can act as our guide

24To the place whereunto they have departed?

25Give comfort to thy heart,

26And let thy heart forget these things;

27What is best for thee to do is

28To follow thy heart's desire as long as thou livest.

29Anoint thy head with scented unguents.

30Let thine apparel be of byssus

31Dipped in costly [perfumes],

32In the veritable products (?) of the gods.

33Enjoy thyself more than thou hast ever done before,

34And let not thy heart pine for lack of pleasure.

35Pursue thy heart's desire and thine own happiness.

36Order thy surroundings on earth in such a way

37That they may minister to the desire of thy heart;

38[For] at length that day of lamentation shall come,

39Wherein he whose heart is still shall not hear the lamentation.

40Never shall cries of grief cause

41To beat [again] the heart of a man who is in the grave.

42Therefore occupy thyself with thy pleasure daily,

43And never cease to enjoy thyself.

44Behold, a man is not permitted

45To carry his possessions away with him.

46Behold, there never was any one who, having departed,

47Was able to come back again.

The Song of the Harper

Verse and section divisions follow the translation named above.