CDLI Literary 000764, ex. 006 (P346126)
Literary, Old Babylonian, Ur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | CDLI Literary 000764, ex. 006 |
|---|---|
| ID | P346126 |
| Museum no. | BM — |
| Collection | British Museum, London, UK |
| Language | Sumerian |
| Period | Old Babylonian · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE |
| Genre | Literary |
| Find spot | Ur (mod. Tell Muqayyar) |
| Coordinates | 30.9607, 46.1063 |
English translation
By Peterson, Jeremiah · Via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative · CDLI (reuse with citation)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| obverse 1 | A 2nd time the bird insulted the fish |
| obverse 2 | The fish, possessed of anger, trusting in the heroic might of the deep water(?) |
| obverse 3 | Like a heavy rain cloud it set itself on the ground, it stood in an adamin contest |
| obverse 4 | Whatever insults the bird had struck it with, in did not ponder |
| obverse 5 | It was able to(?) submit furious(ly)(?), it was speaking freely/humbly(?) |
| obverse 6 | A 2(diš)nd time fish was answering the bird |
| obverse 7 | (Possessor of) trimmed limbs, crippled(?) feet, a ... mouth/beak, and a thinned out/flattened(?) tongue |
| obverse 8 | By means of ignorance you have been able to sneer/shout/chew(?), (but) you yourself have not contemplated(?) |
| obverse 9 | Eating way too much, ..., filling the courtyard with feces |
| obverse 10 | The young courtyard sweeper who is sweeping in the temple is braiding(?) a rope for you |
| obverse 11 | The cook, the brewer, and the gatekeeper who reside in the temple are distressed with (you) |
| obverse 12 | Bird, (you are one who) my greatness does not tread behind, (you are one who) does not inquire after me |
| obverse 13 | You cannot know (either) my weakness(?) or my strength, (you) have conversed in an inflammatory manner(?) |
| reverse 1 | You have not sought the site of my deeds, (now) humble yourself excessively! |
| reverse 2 | Your word has brought “release,” you have not taken counsel with yourself |
| reverse 3 | I, the fish, am the one who piles up(?) the abundance of the pure shrine/sea(?) together |
| reverse 4 | At(?) The supreme mound(?), I am the one who brings/goes/stands among(?) the great nindaba offerings of the gods proudly |
| reverse 5 | Like (the grain goddess) Ašnan (I) am here as the sustenance of the land, I am her helper |
| reverse 6 | The people have listened to me, they have looked to me |
| reverse 7 | The land(?) rejoices with me as if (it was) a festival, my inquirer is there(?) |
| reverse 8 | Bird, what is your great thing that (you) accomplished? I will make you know your (over) exuberance |
| reverse 9 | I want to give (back into) your hand your arrogance and false speech |
| reverse 10 | At that time the fish was setting plans in place against the bird |
| reverse 11 | Silently and deceptively(?) it went on its “arms” |
| reverse 12 | When the bird got up from its nest in order to bring (back) food for its chick |
| reverse 13 | The fish sought? the place silent(ly) “on its arms” |
Transliteration (ATF)
From Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative · CDLI: reuse of catalogue/transliteration data with citation of CDLI; images restricted (not fetched)
| Line | ATF | Machine English (draft) |
|---|---|---|
| obverse | ||
| 1 | 2(disz@t)-kam-ma-sze3! muszen-e ku6-ra in# [...] | |
| 2 | ku6 lipisz tuku a2 nam-ur-sag-ga2#!? [...] | |
| 3 | muru9 dugud-gin7 ni2 ki bi2-ib2-us2 [...] | |
| 4 | in muszen-e a-na mu-ni-in-dub2-ba sza3-sze3! nu-mu-un#-na#-an-gid2 | |
| 5 | gu2 surx(SAG) ba-da-an-gar inim BUR2-bi im-me | |
| 6 | 2(disz@t)-kam-ma-sze3! ku6-e muszen-ra mu-na#-ni-ib-gi4-gi4 | |
| 7 | a2-ur2 gu2-guru5 giri3 su#?-ul-su#!?-ul KA x eme sal-sal | |
| 8 | nam-nu-zu-a-ta KA e-da-ra-HAR ni2-zu umun2 li-bi2-ak | |
| 9 | mah gu7-gu7 sag#? szu zi bi2-ib2-du11-ga kisal-e szed6! si-si | |
| 10 | kisal-luh tur e2 sa# lax(ME)-e esz2! mu-ri-ib2-sar-re | |
| 11 | muhaldim {lu2}lunga?-e i3-du8 e2 ti-la zi mu-da-ri-esz | |
| 12 | muszen nam-mah-gu10 egir-bi nu-zukumx(|LAL2.SAR|)-zukumx(|LAL2.SAR|) bar-ga2 en3 li-bi2-tar | |
| 13 | si-ga kal-ga-ga2 nu-mu-e#-da#-zu#? inim# u3-bu-bu-ul i3-bala! | |
| reverse | ||
| 1 | nig2-ak-ga2 ki-bi nu-mu-x-x diri-sze3! ni2 sun5-ni-ib | |
| 2 | inim-zu nam-bur2-ra im-da-ab#?-tum3 ni2-zu ad# li-bi-gi4 | |
| 3 | ga2-e ku6-me-en he2-gal2 AB sikil-la tesz2-bi gar#-gar#?-me-en | |
| 4 | du8 mah nindaba gal-gal dingir-re-ne-ka sag il2-la DU?-me-en | |
| 5 | {d}asznan-gin7 sza3#?-gar#? kalam-ma-ke4 ba-gal2-e-en [...]-tah#-ni ga2-e-me-en | |
| 6 | ug3-e gesztux(|GISZ.TUG2|)-ga ma-du3-du3 igi-bi mu-e-szi-gal2 | |
| 7 | kur ezem-gin7 mu-e-da-hul2!?-e en3 tar-gu10 i3-gal2 | |
| 8 | nig2-gal-gal a-na me-dim2-ma-zu gur4-ra-zu#? ga-ri-ib-zu | |
| 9 | sun7-na inim# lul-la bala-zu szu-zu ga-ba-ni-ib-si | |
| 10 | u4-bi-a ku6-e muszen-ra sa2 im-si-si-ge | |
| 11 | si-ga# lul-ba a2-ba mu-un-DU-DU | |
| 12 | u4 muszen gud3-bi zi-ga-a-gin7 amar-bi-sze3! nig2#-gu7-bi tum3-de3 | |
| 13 | ku6-e ki si-ga a2-ba mu-un-[...] | |
Sources & licences
- Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative · CDLI: reuse of catalogue/transliteration data with citation of CDLI; images restricted (not fetched) · Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI), https://cdli.earth/ ; cite CDLI and the P-number
- Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC default); per-file JSON license fields say: This data is released under the CC0 license (133618) · ORACC project editions, https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/ ; cite the individual project (see texts.extra_json.project)
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-11.