CDLI Literary 000768, ex. 013 (P346237)
Literary, Old Babylonian, Ur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | CDLI Literary 000768, ex. 013 |
|---|---|
| ID | P346237 |
| 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 | In our city, the poor and the rich take the omens(?) together |
| obverse 2 | As for you, when you possess things, they cover (you) as a garment |
| obverse 3 | But when you do not possess things, you(?) wear no garment at all |
| obverse 4 | (Whatever) is yours, you attach it (to yourself) |
| obverse 5 | The “pointed"(?) man and the “existing"(?) man are praised ... |
| obverse 6 | You yourself are praised |
| obverse 7 | (But) if you yourself are praised |
| obverse 8 | You(?) are not suitable(?) for praising |
| obverse 9 | You(?) are not suitable(?) for praising |
| obverse 10 | Do not boast, indeed, you have no limit (i.e., control) |
| obverse 11 | Lost (one), who is not found! |
| obverse 12 | If I have boasted |
| obverse 13 | I am not suitable(?) for boasting |
| obverse 14 | I am not suitable(?) for boasting |
| obverse 15 | How long must I be quarreling with you(!?) in these subjects(?) |
| obverse 16 | Now, I cut you like a rope(?), I hang you from my arm |
| obverse 17 | Peddlar, shepherd of his own sustenance |
| obverse 18 | Gir fish of the sea who thins its head out by itself/denigrates itself? |
| obverse 19 | Liar, rider of a distant country |
| obverse 20 | I will cut you from above like a rope(?) |
| reverse 1' | Poor person, thief, transgressor of the oath |
| reverse 2' | Who joyfully serves (among) the slaves |
| reverse 3' | Hireling, taboo of the temple |
| reverse 4' | And you are my opponent? |
| reverse 6' | Shouter, croaker among the singers |
| reverse 7' | Eating a great deal, with the sustenance having a destructive effect(?) |
| reverse 8' | (Possessor of) a confused intellect, with malevolent counsel |
| reverse 9' | You advise |
| reverse 10' | The people are diminished(?) (because of you?), the people are diminished(?) (because of you?) |
| reverse 11' | Roamer who prowls in the street |
| reverse 12' | Casing out the houses of men (until) you know the ways of that house (in order to rob it) |
| reverse 13' | Weakling, child reared in toil |
| reverse 14' | (As if) you can posit the word of an opponent |
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 | iri-me-a ukur3 u3 lu2-nig2#-tuku# geszkim# [...] | |
| 2 | za-e nig2 tuku-zu tug2!-ga-am3 a-ab#-[...] | |
| 3 | tukumbi nig2 nu-tuku-zu tug2 nu-x-[...] | |
| 4 | za-kam a-ra-ab-la2-e-[...] | |
| 5 | lu2 al-kin2-ga2 lu2 al#-me-a x-x [...] | |
| 6 | za-e-me-en ni2-zu ar2-sze3 al-ak-x | |
| 7 | tukumbi ni2-zu ar2-sze3 ba-ak | |
| 8 | ar2# ke3-de3-e# la-ba-ab-du11#-[...] | |
| 9 | ar2 ke3-de3 la-ba-ab-du11#-[...] | |
| 10 | ni2-zu ab-bulug5-e na-an-na ki-sze-er nu#-[...] | |
| 11 | u2-gu de2 lu2 nu-pa3 | |
| 12 | tukumbi ni2-gu10 ba-ab-bulug5# | |
| 13 | ni2 bulug5-e-de3-e# la-ba-ab-du-e#-[...] | |
| 14 | ni2 bulug5-e-de3 la-ba-ab-du-e#-[...] | |
| 15 | en-na-bi-sze3-am3 ga2-e KA-inim-ma x x [...] | |
| 16 | a-da-lam esz2-gin7 in-tar-re-en a2-ga2# [...] | |
| 17 | zilulu sipa sza3-gal-na# [...] | |
| 18 | gir14-ab-ba sag ni2-[...] | |
| 19 | lul du11-[...] | |
| 20 | an-[ta ...] | |
| reverse | ||
| 1' | ukur3# [...] | |
| 2' | giri17-zal-[...] | |
| 3' | lu2-hun-[ga2 ...] | |
| 4' | u3 za-e [...] | |
| 5' | in#? x [...] | |
| 6' | gu3 de2-[de2 ...] | |
| 7' | mah-bi#!? [...] | |
| 8' | dim2-ma [...] | |
| 9' | ma-ni-[...] | |
| 10' | ug3-e x-[...] x [...] | |
| 11' | szu dag-dag#-[ge ...] | |
| 12' | e2 lu2-u3-ne# [...] | |
| 13' | lu2-si-ga [...] | |
| 14' | inim gaba-ri-[...] | |
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.