.....The door-keepers say: Let us go and plunder.
The confectioners.... The washerman refuses to carry his load.... The bird-catchers have drawn up in line of battle... The inhabitants of the Marshes carry shields. The brewers....sad. A man looks upon his son as his enemy;....
Noble ladies suffer like slave girls. Musicians are in the chambers within the halls. What they sing to the goddess Mert is dirges...
Forsooth, all female slaves are free with their tongues.
When the mistress speaks it is irksome to the servants. Forsooth, princes are hungry and in distress.
Servants are served.....by reason of mourning.
Forsooth, the hot-headed man says: "If I knew where God is, then would I make offerings unto him."
Forsooth, right is throughout the land in this its name. What men do in appealing to it is wrong.
Forsooth, all animals, their hearts weep. Cattle moan because of the state of the land.....
Forsooth, the ways are...... The roads are guarded. Men sit over the bushes until the benighted traveler comes, in order to plunder his burden.. What is upon him is taken away. He is belaobred with blows of the stick and slain wrongfully.
Forsooth, that has perished which yesterday was seen. The land is left over to its weariness like the cutting of flax.
Poor men are in affliction. .....Would that there might be an end of men, no conception, no birth!
O that the earth would cease from noise, and tumult be no more!...
Forsooth, grain has perished on every side. People are stripped of clothes, spices and oil. Everybody says there is none.
The storehouse is ruined. Its keeper is stretched on the ground. It is no happy thing for my heart....Would that I had made my voice heard at that moment, that it might save me from the pain in which I am....
Behold, the powerful of the land, the condition of the people is not reported to them.
All is ruin! Behold no craftsmen work. The enemies of the land have spoilt its crafts.
Similar descriptions of the disorganized state of society might be quoted at some greater length. The passage in which Ipuwer mentions the ideal king is as follows:
....lack of people.....Re; command.....the West to diminish....by the gods. Behold ye, wherefore does he seek to fashion mankind,.....without distinguishing the timid man from him whose nature is violent. He bringeth coolness upon that which is hot.
It is said: he is the herdsman of mankind. No evil is in his heart. When his herds are few, he passes the day to gather them together, their hearts being on fire. Would that he had perceived their nature in the first generation of men; then would he have repressed evils, he would have stretched forth his arm against it, he would have destroyed their seed and their inheritance... Where is he dtoday? Is he sleeping? Behold, his might is not seen.
While the account is not parallel, you might read Isaiah 9:1-6; 11:1-8
(Translator: John A. Wilson)
10.24.07(i I) ... Door[keepers] say: "Let us go and plunder.
"...The laundryman refuses to carry his load... Bird[catchers] have marshaled the battle array... [Men of] the Delta marshes carry shields. ... (5) ... A man regards his son as his enemy.
... A man of character goes in mourning because of what has happened in the land. ... Foreigners have become people everywhere...
(ii 2)... 'Why really, the [face] is pale. The bowman is ready. Robbery is everywhere. There is no man of yesterday. ...
Why really, the Nile is in flood, (but) no one plows for himself, (because) every man says: "We do not know what may happen throughout the land!"
Why really, women are dried up, and none can conceive. Khnum cannot fashion (mortals) because of the state of the land.
Why really, poor men have become the possessors of treasures. He who could not make himself a pair of sandals is (now) the possessor of riches. ...
Why really, many dead are buried in the river. The stream is a tomb, and the embalming-place has really become the stream.
Why really, nobles are in lamentation, while poor men have joy. Every town says: "Let us banish many from us.
"Why really,... dirt is throughout the land. There are really none (whose) clothes are white in these times.
Why really, the land spins around as a potter's wheel does. The robber is (now) the possessor of riches...
(10) Why really, the River is blood. If one drinks of it, one rejects (it) as human and thirsts for water.
Why really, doors, columns, and floor planks are burned up, (but) the flooring of the palace - life, prosperity, health! - (still) remains firm. ...
Why really, crocodiles [sink] down because of what they have carried off, (for) men go to them of their own accord. ...
(iii 1) [Why] really, the desert is (spread) throughout the land. The nomes are destroyed. Barbarians from outside have come to Egypt. ... There are really no people anywhere. ... (5) ...
Why really, they who built [pyramids, have become] farmers. They who were in the ship of the god are charged with forced [labor]. No one really sails north to [Byb]los today. What shall we do for cedar for our mummies? Priests were buried with their produce and [nobles] were embalmed with the oil thereof as far away as Keftiu. (but) they come no (longer). Gold is lacking. ... How important it (now) seems when the oasis-people come carrying their festival provisions: reed-mats, ... fresh redmet-plants, (10)... of birds, and...
Why really, Elephantine, the Thinite nome, and the [shrine] of Upper Egypt do not pay taxes because of [civil] war... What is a treasury without its revenues for? The heart of the king (must) indeed be glad when truth comes to him!" But really, every foreign country [comes]! Such is our welfare! What can we do about it? Going to ruin!
Why really, laughter had disappeared, and is [no longer] made. It is wailing that pervades the land, mixed with lamentation...
(iv 1)... Why really, the children of nobles are dashed against the walls. The (once) prayed-for children are (now) laid out on the high ground... (5) ...
Why really, the entire Delta marshland will no (longer) be hidden: the confidence of the Northland is (now) a beaten path. What is it that one could do?
Behold, it is in the hands of those who did not know it, as well as those who knew it; foreigners are (now) skilled in the work of the Delta... (10) ...
Why really, all maid-servants make free with their tongues. When their mistresses speak, it is burdensome to the servants. ...
(v 10)... Why really, the ways [are not] guarded roads. Men sit in the bushes until the benighted (traveler) comes, to take away his burden and steal what is on him. He is presented with the blows of a stick and slain wrongfully. ... Ah, would that it were the end of men, no conception, no
(vi 1) birth! Then the earth would cease from noise, without wrangling!...
Why really, grain has perished on every side... Everybody says: "There is nothing!" The storehouse is stripped bare; its keeper is stretched out on the ground. ...(5) ... Ah, would that I had raised my voice at that time - it might save me from the suffering in which I am!
Why really, the writings of the augurs enclosure are read. The place of secrets which was (so formerly) is (now) laid bare.
Why really, magic is exposed. Go-spells and enfold-spells are made ineffectual because they are repeated by (ordinary) people.
Why really, (public) offices are open, and their reports are read. Serfs have become the owners of serfs...
Why really, the writings of the scribes of the mat have been removed. The grain-sustenance of Egypt is (now) a come-and-get-it.
Why really, the laws (10) of the enclosure are put out of doors. Men actually walk on them in the highways. Poor men tear them up in the streets. ...
Why really, the children of nobles are abandoned in the streets. He who knows says: "Yes, (it is so)!"The fool says: "No, (it is not)!" It is fair in the sight of him who knows it not. ...
(vii 1). Behold now, the fire has mounted up on high. Its flame goes forth against the enemies of the land.
Behold now, something has been done which never happened for a long time: the king has been taken away by poor men.
Behold, he who was buried as a falcon (now lies) on a (mere) bier. What the pyramid hid has become empty.
Behold now, it has come to a point where the land is despoiled of the kingship by a few irresponsible men.
Behold now, it has come to a point where (men) rebel against the uraeus, the ... of Re, which makes the Two Lands peaceful.
Behold, the secret of the land, whose limits are unknown(able), is laid bare. The Residence (may) be razed within an hour. ... (5) ...
Behold, the (guardian-) serpent is taken from her hole. The secrets of the Kings of Upper- and Lower Egypt are laid bare. ... (10) ...
Behold, nobles' ladies are (now) gleaners, and nobles are in the workhouse. (But) he who never (even) slept on a plank is (now) the owner of a bed. ...
Behold, the owners of robes are (now) in rags. (But) he who never wove for himself is (now) the owner of fine linen. ...
Behold, he who knew not the lyre is (now) the owner of a harp. He who never sang for himself (now) praises the goddess of music. ... (viii 1) ...
Behold, the bald-headed man who had no oil has become the owner of jars of sweet myrrh.
(5() Behold, she who had not (even) a box is (now) the owner of a trunk. She who looked at her face in the water is (now) the owner of a mirror.... (10) ...
Behold, the king's men trash around among the cattle of destitute. ...
Behold, the king's men trash around among geese, which are presented (10) the gods instead of oxen.
... (ix 1) ...
Behold, nobles' ladies are growing hungry, (but) the king's men are sated with what they have done.
Behold, not an office is in its (proper) place, like a stampeded herd which has no herdsman.
Behold, cattle are (left) free-wandering, (for) there is no one to take care of them. Every man takes for himself and brands (them) with his name...
Behold, he who had no grain is (now) the owner of granaries. (5) He who had to get a loan for himself (now) issues it. ... (x 1)...
So Lower-Egypt weeps. The storehouse of the king is a (mere) come-and-get-it for everybody, and the entire palace is without its taxes. To it (should belong) barley, emmer, birds, and fish. To it (should belong) white cloth, fine linen, metal, and (5) ointment. To it (should belong) rug, mat, [flowers], palanquin, and every good revenue. ...
Remember (xi 1)... how fumigation is made with incense, how water is offered from a jar in the early morning.
Remember fattened ro-geese, terep-geese, and sat-geese, how the divine offerings are made to the gods,.
Remember how natron is chewed and how white bread is prepared by a man on the day of moistening the head.
Remember how flagstaffs are set up and a stela is carved, while a priest purifies the temples and the house of god is whitewashed like milk; how the fragrance of the horizon is made sweet, and how offering-bread is established.
Remember how (ritual) regulations are adhered to, how (religious) dates are distributed, how (5) one who has been inducted into priestly service may be removed for personal weakness - that is, it was carried out wrongfully. ...
... It shall come that he brings coolness upon the heart.
(xii 1) Men shall say: "He is the herdsman of all men. Evil is not in his heart. Though his herds may be small, still he has spent the day caring for them."...
Would that he might perceive their character from the (very first generation! Then he would smite down evil; he would stretch forth the arm against it; he would destroy the seed thereof and their inheritance. ...(5)... (But) there is no pilot in their hour. Where is he today? Is he then sleeping? Behold, the glory thereof cannot be seen. ..(10)...
... Authority, Perception, and Justice are with thee, (but) it is confusion which thou wouldst set throughout the land, together with the noise of contention. Behold, one thrusts against another. Men conform to that which thou hast commanded. If three men go along a road, they are found to be two men; it is the greater number that kills the lesser. Does then the herdsman love death? So then thou will command that
(xiii 1) a reply be made: "It is because one man loves and another hates. That is, their forms are few everywhere." This really means that thou hast acted to bring such (a situation) into being, and thou hast spoken lies. ...
All these years are civil strife. A man may be slain on his (own) roof, while he is on the watch in his boundary house. Is he brave and saves himself? - that means that he will live. ...(5)...
Would that thou mightest taste of some of the oppressions thereof! Then thou wouldst say:...
...(10)... But it is still good when the hands of men construct pyramids, when canals are dug, and when groves of trees are made for the gods.
But it is still good when men are drunken, when they drink miyet and their hearts are happy.
But it is still good when shouting is in the mouths (of men), when the notables of the districts are standing and watching the shouting
(xiv 1) from their houses, clothed in a cloak, purified already and firm bellied... (10)...
"...None can be found who will stand in their places.
...Every man fights for his sister, and he protects his own person. Is (it) the Nubians? Then we shall make our (own) protection. Fighting police will hold off the barbarians. Is it the
Libyans? Then we shall turn away. The Madjoi fortunately are with Egypt. How is it that every man kills his brother? The military classes (xv 1) which we marshal for ourselves have become barbarians, beginning to destroy that from which they took their being and to show the Asiatics the state of land. And yet all the foreigners are afraid of them. ...(10)...
That which Ipuwer said, when he answered the majesty of the All-Lord: "...To be ignorant of it is something pleasant to the heart. Thou hast done what is good in their hearts, for) thou hast kept people alive thereby. (But still) they cover up
(xvi 1) their faces for fear of the morrow.
"Once upon a time there was a man who was old and in the presence of his salvation, while his son was (still) a child, without understanding..."
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