The Last 7 Confessions 36-42

Confession 36. O Ihy who came forth from the Primordial Waters, my voice was not loud.

The primordial waters refer to both Nun and the beginning of creation. Ihy is the god of jubilation and the happiness that emanates from the sound of a sacred rattle. I have not made my voice loud refers to raising one's voice when it is not required to be heard, such as yelling during an argument that shows a loss of control.

Confession 37. O Sistrum Bearer coming forth from Nun, I have not made haughty my voice.

The Sistrum Bearer is either Bast, Sekhmet or Hathor. All three goddesses are associated with the sistrum though the instrument is most often named sacred to Bast. Coming forth from Nun means that the goddess came forth from creation without a creator. All three of these goddess have myths with references to this as well but here Hathor is most often the one without a creator. I have not made my voice haughty, I have not boasted or made myself important only through my words. Arrogance is another way some have taken this confession.

Confession 38. O He-Who-Prospers-the-Common-People who came forth from Asyut, I have not cursed a god.
Asyut is Lycopolis in Upper Egypt. This city is sacred to Anubis and Wepwawet. He-Who-Prospers-the-Common-People might refer to Anubis because he brings prosperity, eternal life, to the common people. It is also possible that this could be another funerary god. Cursing a god not only means direct words but also defaming or going against that which the god holds sacred. 

39. O Uniter of Good who came forth from the Cavern, I have not harmed the rations or place of the gods.
The cavern refers to coming from the Duat. Uniter of Good in this refers to Khepera and his place as Ra who united creation, gods and man in the service of Ma'at. This confession is talking about not destroying the offerings or sacred places of the gods.

Min, god of fertility and travel

40.O Upraised of Head who came forth from the Shrine, I have not stolen the Khenef-cakes from the Blessed.
Upraised of Head is likely the god Min given the image used to show the "person" this title is directed toward. Also, the word for shrine in this text is related to the image of the water which is a common location for the shrines of Min.
Khenef cakes are a traditional offering cake that are sweet. These were left for gods, the dead and other beings as a form of thanks or celebration.

41. O He-Who-Brings-His-Portion who came forth from the Hall of Two Truths, I have not stolen the Hefn-cakes of a youth, nor have I sinned against the god of my town.
The Hall of Two Truths is the hall of Ma'at where judgement takes place. He Who Brings His Portion is Thoth who brings many things to the hall including records and the knowledge of what Hathor, Khnum or Anubis has whispered to the soul at the beginning of life. Hefn-cakes are a treat made for children so this means, more or less, to not neglect children or deny them the same you would have for yourself. Sinning against the town god in modern terms would be the equivalent of sinning against your patron deity. Sin is a convenient word here that is used for understanding of the Western reader. The true interpretation would be closer to not acting against the ideals, realms or sacred powers of that deity.


42. O He-Who-Brightened-the-Land who came forth from the Faiyum, I have not slain sacred cattle
He who comes forth from the Faiyum is usually Sobek. With the crocodile seen as the slayer often enough, it would make sense that you would declare to the crocodile god you have not slain. This goes beyond the direct meaning of killing a sacred cow. It also means neglecting a sacred animal or any other action which would harm it unnecessarily.

Confessions 11-15

Confession 11: O He-of-the-Cavern who came forth from the West, I have not fornicated with the fornicator.

In Egypt this was different than we might expect. Marriage was considered not by a service but by declaring love or the intent to be together to the populace/family. This could also be a parent or set of parents setting up an arranged marriage. In Ancient Egyptian terms fornication here refers to what we would call cheating on a marriage, an affair or a similar act. There are many additional laws governing this confession. For example, a woman could nullify a marriage simply by stating that her husband was not providing for her. (In some cases even if the thing he was not providing was sex.) Divorce also did not happen in the long drawn out manner it does in modern times. From the few records I have read on the matter (primary source stuff) apparently speaking it to those involved was enough.

Ok enough on that. I will try to get a coherent post on marriage practices in the future. For now let us move on to who this confession is spoken to. From the west can refer to either one who is rising from the dead(walking out of the Duat) or someone who rules the desert. More than likely this is Set. He hid out in a cavern and he is also associated in some mythology with fornication and/or misdeeds. 

Confession 12: O He-Whose-Face-is-Behind-Him who came forth from his hole, I have not caused anyone to weep.
This is what it sounds like. It means that a follower has not purposefully said or done things with the intention of hurting others.. of making them weep. As to who, this is one that eludes me as well. I have to make a guess because while there have been studies of the Book of the Dead I have yet to find a source that tries to name the assessors. This research has been all mine. Coming forth from the hole is a term I have seen in reference to the mound of creation. The hole could refer to where Nun came from at the beginning of the world. I don't really know what it means that his face is behind him. Another possibility is Hra-f-ha-f a god who steers the boat of Ra who is often depicted looking over his shoulder.

The Gayer-Anderson Cat at the British Museum.

Confession 13: O Bast coming forth from the secret place, I have not eaten my heart.
This time they were nice enough to give us the goddess. Her secret place is likely her temple at Per-Bast. There are two possible translations of eating the heart. The first, and more straightforward one, is that committing offense against Ma'at's law. This is probably not the case after reading the next confession. More likely it refers to being false in appearance, attitude or personality. The heart, ab, is the center of good and evil thoughts and weighed in judgement. Eating your heart would be destroying it in the way Ammut would and that would be infecting it with evil.

Confession 14.O Hot-Legs who came forth at twilight, I have not transgressed.
I am again not sure who "Hot Legs" is aside from some reference to pin-ups that I am sure the Egyptians knew nothing about. However, the description does suggest they come from night time or dusk. It could be Nut or Hathor who are both supposed to be images of beauty and are associated with twilight times. Aside from that I am not sure who "Hot Legs" might be. One who walks in fire at night? Could be. The second part is much more clear. I have not transgressed refers to laws. These could be the laws of Ma'at, the government or the society. It isn't specific in what the transgression is against but the glyph choice suggests it is related to law. 

Confession15. O He-Who-is-Blood who came forth from the place of slaughter, I have not grain-profiteering.

Grain profiteering is gaining monetary profits by cheating others. Again, this is about treating others unfairly for personal gain. This seems to refer directly to cheating people out of money though deceit or unethical practices.In the modern scheme of things I would consider this any sort of cheating others for profit. So, overcharging for a service or product, misrepresenting product or any number of modern schemes that involve getting more money that the sold item or service is worth.

I have always associated "He who is Blood" to either be Horus, where blood is a reference to bloodline, or Set as the one in charge of the military. Either god would be quite appropriate as Horus is a god of vengeance and taking action against wrongs. Set on the other hand is sometimes associated with greed and deceit. Like many of these I need to do much more research on the references before I can be definitive on which god it might be.