The Negative Confession of Maat: The Moral Code of Ancient Egypt

This article was written in Arabic; the text below is an English rendering of the author's Egyptian Arabic translation of the ancient text.

The Declaration of Innocence (Negative Confession) is recited by the deceased before the court of Osiris to prove that he lived according to Maat. More than one version of these negative confessions has come down to us, each differing from the others; the most famous is the one in the Papyrus of Ani, known as the Book of the Dead (Coming Forth by Day). Here is its translation:

The Declaration

1. I have not committed any sin
2. I have not taken anything from anyone by force
3. I have not stolen
4. I have not killed
5. I have not stolen food
6. I have not embezzled the offerings
7. I have not stolen the temple's property
8. I have not lied
9. I have not snatched food
10. I have not insulted anyone
11. I have not closed my ears to words of truth
12. I have not committed adultery
13. I have not been the cause of anyone's tears (nor hurt anyone's feelings)
14. I have not grieved or wailed without reason
15. I have not assaulted anyone
16. I have not cheated or deceived anyone
17. I have not seized anyone's land
18. I have not spied on anyone
19. I have not framed anyone with a false accusation
20. I have not become angry without cause
21. I have not seduced anyone's wife
22. I have not defiled my body
23. I have not terrorized anyone
24. I have not broken the law
25. I have not let my anger run on too long
26. I have not blasphemed against the netjeru (the gods)
27. I have not used violence against anyone
28. I have not threatened the peace
29. I have not acted rashly and without thinking
30. I have not meddled in what does not concern me
31. I have not spoken with exaggeration or gossip
32. I have not done evil
33. No evil thoughts, words or deeds have come from me
34. I have not polluted the water of the Nile
35. I have not spoken in anger or with arrogance
36. I have not insulted anyone, neither by word nor by deed
37. I have not put myself in a position of suspicion
38. I have not stolen anything that belongs to the netjeru
39. I have not dug up tombs or wronged the dead
40. I have not snatched a morsel from a child's mouth
41. I have not acted with pride or arrogance
42. I have not destroyed temples or religious buildings