CDLI Literary 000760, ex. 010 (P346128)
Literary, Old Babylonian, Ur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
Open in the reader & map →See it among all tablets
| Designation | CDLI Literary 000760, ex. 010 |
|---|---|
| ID | P346128 |
| 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' | I fill the meadows with water |
| obverse 2' | When the reedbed is irrigated/flooded, |
| obverse 3' | When a canal is cut (open), when the ditch is cut (open), when water as a great flooding river imposes water(?) |
| obverse 4' | The carrying basket, my little one, is put down with me (to work)/does not bend down with you |
| obverse 5' | When, in(?) the marsh, an edge is made(?) |
| obverse 6' | I, the hoe, serve comprehensively (in these situations)(?) |
| obverse 7' | (Neither) the southern (nor) the northern wind tear apart (my work) there(?) |
| obverse 8' | The fowler gathers eggs |
| obverse 9' | The fisherman catches fish |
| obverse 10' | The people have taken the bird (hoop) traps (that have sprung?) |
| obverse 11' | Now, my abundance sprinkles with its hands in the lands |
| obverse 12' | After the water has been cut off from the meadow |
| obverse 13' | After the water has been set down/materializes for(?) working the damp ground |
| obverse 14' | Plow, before you I emerge in the field |
| obverse 15' | For you I loosen the “set aside” field |
| obverse 16' | In the “hideout"(?) of the dike I cut (away the weeds) for you |
| obverse 17' | I remove(?) the ukul weed in the field |
| obverse 18' | I collect the dead/old reeds(?) and the roots for you in the field |
| obverse 19' | The field working (crew)(?) set in the path(?) for you |
| obverse 20' | Six oxen, four men, and you are the 11th |
| obverse 21' | The “labor of my preparation (as a tool?)"(?) takes away ... |
| obverse 22' | When you go out in the field apart from(?) me |
| obverse 23' | One cannot look favorably upon your furrow which is alone |
| obverse 24' | When you lodge your head (in the ground) working |
| obverse 25' | You are bound to(?) ... roots and thorns |
| obverse 26' | When you break your ploughshare and re-create(?) your ploughshare, your ploughshare does not(?) ... at your disposal(?) |
| reverse 1 | Your farmer names you “this(?) plow is finished” |
| reverse 2 | Again, a carpenter is hired for you, a leatherworker is hired(?) for you |
| reverse 3 | The house of the artisans scurry around ...(?) for you |
| reverse 4 | I(!?), the feltworker, “cut” the teasel brush(?) for you |
| reverse 5 | He brings up a twisting picket(?) for you |
| reverse 6 | And therefore(?) he is to “exhaust” the braiding lever for you |
| reverse 7 | A piece of leather not cut into strips(?) is made to sit(?) towards your head |
| reverse 8 | Your “raising/carrying” is small, but your “way” is supreme |
| reverse 9 | The day of the new year is (i.e., begins a period of) twelve months |
| reverse 10 | (But) your service time is four months (per year) |
| reverse 11 | Your fugitive (i.e., absentee) time is eight months (per year) |
| reverse 12 | As many as your served (time), it is two (times) you go (elsewhere) |
| reverse 13 | On your raft/freight boat(?) you pile up(?) a cabin |
| reverse 14 | When you set yourself(!?) in place there(?), and you remove/accept(?) the beams(?) |
| reverse 15 | When you remove your face/front from the water(?) like a vessel of wine(!?) |
| reverse 16 | When I(?) prepare a pile (lit. “mountain") by means of the beams(?) |
| reverse 17 | My smoke makes ... green(?) in the house |
| reverse 18 | Your seed funnel, where is it cast? |
| reverse 19' | I am the hoe, I shall ... along with ... in the city |
| reverse 20' | I am one who has extended the cattlepen, I am one who has broadened the sheepfold |
| reverse 21' | I am a servant who has followed his master |
| reverse 22' | I am one who always built/rennovated the house of his master |
| reverse 23' | I stir clay, I spread (it out to make) bricks |
| reverse 24' | I lay foundations, I build houses |
| reverse 25' | I follow the foundation of an old wall |
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' | a#-gar3#-a#-gar3#-ra#? [...] | |
| 2' | gesz-gi-gesz#-[...] | |
| 3' | ix(|A.SUG|#) u3#-mu-ku5 [...] | |
| 4' | {gesz#}dupsik# tur-gu10 [...] | |
| 5' | [...] da um-da#-ak#-x | |
| 6' | [...] {gesz#}al nigin2-bi! im-ma#?-gub-be2-en | |
| 7' | [... {tu15}]mir#-e nu-mu-un-si-il-si-il-le | |
| 8' | [...] nunuz#!? ib2-de5-de5#-ge# | |
| 9' | [...]-de3#? ku6# mi-[...] | |
| 10' | ug3#?-[...] x [...] | |
| 11' | ne#-esz2# [...] | |
| 12' | a-gar3-ta# a# [...] | |
| 13' | ki-duru5 kin2-ga2 a ba#-gal2#-[...] | |
| 14' | {gesz}apin# igi-zu-sze3! a-sza3-ga ga2-e [...] | |
| 15' | a-sza3 tak4-tak4 ma#-ra-ra-duh-[...] | |
| 16' | a2-ur2 e-ga ma-ra#-ra-[...] | |
| 17' | u2-kul a-sza3-ga ga2-e ma#-[...] | |
| 18' | gi BAD {gesz}i-rinx(|LU2.U|)-na-bi# [...] | |
| 19' | a-sza3 kin2 ak usz8#-[...] | |
| 20' | gu4-[...]-disz#?-kam#?-ma#?-[...]-x | |
| 21' | x [...] gi4-a-ga2 x mi#?-ib-kar-kar-re | |
| 22' | [...]-gu10#-ta a-sza3-ga e3#-de3#-da-zu-ne | |
| 23' | ab#-sin2#-zu# dili-am3# igi#? nu#?-mu#!?-da-ab#-sa6?-ge | |
| 24' | sag#-zu kin2#-ga2 u3-mu-e-ni-x-x | |
| 25' | {gesz}i-rinx(|LU2.U|)-na#? {gesz}{u2}ad2# x x [...]-la2 | |
| 26' | eme#?-zu# u3#?-mu#?-[...] eme#?-zu#? [...] eme#?-zu#? x x x mu#-x-x-[...] | |
| reverse | ||
| 1 | engar-zu {gesz}apin#-bi? til-la# mu-sze3 mi-ri-ib2-sze21#? | |
| 2 | min3-kam-ma-sze3! nagar# ma-ra-hun#-e aszgab ma-ra#-hun?-e | |
| 3 | e2 nam-gaszam-ke4? ma-ra-ab-ni10-ni10-e | |
| 4 | tug2-du8 bar-SZUL ma-ra-ra-an-zi2-en | |
| 5 | [...]-sur-ra ma-ra-ra-an-e11-de3 | |
| 6 | bar#?-e11-de3-e11#-de3 sza-mu-ra-an-kusz2-u3-de3 | |
| 7 | kusz nu-hi sag-du-zu-asz#? bi2-ib-KU | |
| 8 | il2-la-zu tur-ra-am3 a-ra2-zu mah-am3 | |
| 9 | u4 za3-mu iti [...]-am3#? | |
| 10 | u4 gub-ba-zu iti [...] | |
| 11 | u4 zah2-zu [...] | |
| 12 | gub-ba-zu-gin7 min-am3# [...] | |
| 13 | ma2-la2-za e2 i3-du8-du8-[...] | |
| 14 | u3-mu-e-ni-ri-en szu-zu dal-la u3#-[...] | |
| 15 | igi-zu dug gesztin!?(GU2)-a-gin7 a um-ta-x-[...] | |
| 16 | gesz-dal-ta kur#?-ra#? um-ta-ke3-e#?-[...] | |
| 17 | i#-bi2-gu10 e2#-[...] mu#-ni#-ib2#-sig7-sig7#-[...] | |
| 18 | {gesz#}ninda2#-[...] | |
| 19' | [... {gesz}]al#-me-en iri#?-[...] ga#-an#-da-[...] | |
| 20' | [e2]-tur3# [...]-da-me-en amasz#? dagal-la-me-en | |
| 21' | ARAD lugal-a-ni us2#-sa-me-en | |
| 22' | e2 lugal-a-ni du3-du3-a-me-en | |
| 23' | im i3-lu3-en szeg12 i3-du8-en | |
| 24' | usz8 ki i3-ga2-ga2-an e2 i3#-[...] | |
| 25' | e2-gar8 sumun-e ur2#-bi [...] | |
| 26' | [...] x x [...] | |
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.