> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.urantia.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Egyptian Book of the Dead API

> Egyptian Book of the Dead API: get any passage by its reference, as JSON. Peter Le Page Renouf and Édouard Naville, 1904. 1,907 passages, public domain, no key needed.

The API serves **The Egyptian Book of the Dead** (Peter Le Page Renouf and Édouard Naville, 1904) as JSON, one passage at a time, by the reference people use. Spells for the journey of the dead, written in tombs and on papyri. It has 1,907 passages in 169 chapters. No key and no account.

## Get a passage

```bash theme={null}
# BD 125.3
curl https://api.urantia.dev/scriptures/book-of-the-dead/125.3
# A whole chapter
curl https://api.urantia.dev/scriptures/book-of-the-dead/125
```

```json theme={null}
{
  "data": {
    "corpus": {
      "slug": "book-of-the-dead",
      "title": "The Egyptian Book of the Dead",
      "translator": "Peter Le Page Renouf and Édouard Naville",
      "year": 1904
    },
    "passages": [
      {
        "ref": "BD 125.3",
        "division": 125,
        "text": "I am come to thee, oh my Lord: I have brought myself that I may look upon thy glory. I know thee, and I know the name of the Forty-two gods who make their appearance with thee in the Hall of Righteousness; devouring..."
      }
    ]
  }
}
```

The slug `book-of-the-dead`, the id `book-of-the-dead-renouf-1904`, and the prefix `bd` all name this text.

## References

Chapter (spell) and paragraph, `BD 125.3`. The paragraph numbers are ours.

`GET /scriptures/book-of-the-dead` lists every chapter with its first and last reference.

## Search

```bash theme={null}
# By meaning
curl -X POST https://api.urantia.dev/scriptures/search/semantic \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"q":"your question","corpus":"book-of-the-dead","limit":5}'
# By keyword
curl 'https://api.urantia.dev/works/search?q=your%20words&work=book-of-the-dead'
```

Each passage also links to the closest paragraphs of the Urantia Papers: `GET /scriptures/book-of-the-dead/125.3/urantia-parallels`. The [world religions guide](https://docs.urantia.dev/scriptures.md) explains how the links are made, and the [MCP server](https://docs.urantia.dev/mcp-servers.md) has the same calls for AI agents.

## Source

* **Text:** The Egyptian Book of the Dead, translated by Peter Le Page Renouf and Édouard Naville (1904)
* **Source:** [www.gutenberg.org](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69566)
* **License:** Public domain in the United States
* **Notes:** Chapter and paragraph (BD 125.3): the chapter numbers are Lepsius's, as printed; the paragraphs are numbered in order. A chapter with a letter (30A, 30B) shares the number of its chapter. Renouf translated chapters 1 to 139, Naville 140 to 186. The chapters that are only a picture, a repeat of another chapter, or the editor's description have no passages.


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