CDLI Literary 000782, ex. 009 (P346255)
Literary, Old Babylonian, Ur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | CDLI Literary 000782, ex. 009 |
|---|---|
| ID | P346255 |
| 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 | ... at the gate(?) of the palace |
| obverse 2 | ... occupies for you(?) |
| obverse 2 | Set the quarrelling(?) aside, regarding abuse, ... a different street |
| obverse 2 | Do not steal anything, do not kill yourself (by incurring punishment) |
| obverse 2 | Do not break into a house, do not desire the treasure box |
| obverse 2 | The thief(!) is indeed a pirig monster, (but) after he is caught, he is indeed a slave |
| obverse 2 | My son, one should not rob, do not “hew” yourself(?) |
| obverse 2 | Do not sexually penetrate(?) the bridegroom, do not ... yourself |
| obverse 2 | Do not “play”(?) with a married young woman, the slander/whisper(?) (arising from it) is formidable |
| obverse 2 | My son, do not sit in a chamber(?) with someone who is married |
| obverse 19 | One should not quarrel and (thus) spoil yourself |
| obverse 19 | Do not ... lies , (the act?) “thins out/flattens the head/denigrates and ...(?)” |
| obverse 19 | Do not (overly) praise, your word is set (within it) |
| obverse 19 | One should not advise, a serious gaze is(?) never lifted away from him(?) |
| obverse 26 | One should not eat food(?) with someone else |
| obverse 27 | If your hands are bloody(?) do not submerge them in ...(?) |
| obverse 28 | Replace a scratched/ground down(?) bone/foot(?) with an (entire) ox or a sheep(?) |
| reverse 1' | Do not scatter (your) sheep towards (a place where) pasture has not been sought (before) |
| reverse 2' | Do not hire the ox of another man for (work on) a property line that is not set |
| reverse 3' | A set property line is a set road |
| reverse 4' | Do not(!) go (on) a road (at) night, its midst is (both) good and evil (portending?) |
| reverse 5' | One should not buy an onager, the day will be spent at its side |
| reverse 5' | Do not have sex with your female worker, she will chew you up(?) |
| reverse 5' | One should not(!) curse violently(?), (it) will return towards (your?) hand(?) |
| reverse 5' | Do not ... water that is not “held"/"perfect"(?), weakened arms(?) are there for you |
| reverse 12' | One should not put down a field adjacent to ...(?) |
| reverse 13' | He will leave it to you to go to(?) that female worker |
| reverse 14' | One is not to rebel from the dwelling of that man |
| reverse 15' | (Even if?) “He leads, he leads(?)!” they say to you |
| reverse 16' | One should not release the bond(?) at the reed fence of an orchard |
| reverse 17' | “Replace it, replace it!” they will say on (the owner's) behalf(?) |
| reverse 17' | Do not feed a dog/stranger, one should not drag around(?) a quarrel(?) |
| reverse 17' | My son, one should not use force, one should not put a man on the ground |
| reverse 17' | One should not rape the child of a man, it will be learned of(?) in the courtyard(?) |
| reverse 17' | Do not kill a strong man, do not destroy the outer wall |
| reverse 26' | Do not kill a young man/worker(?), the city will turn him back for you/roll him up (in a reed mat) for you(?) |
| reverse 27' | Like a slanderer, the “eye” of a spindle(?) spins |
| reverse 28' | One is not to stand at the front, you(?) may have changed your mind(?) |
| reverse 28' | ... do not boast/(overly) praise like a liar in a tavern, your word is set (within it) |
| reverse 31' | After you have approached the “place of manhood,” do not make your hand shake(?) |
| reverse 32' | He is indeed a hero, he alone is (the equivalent) of many men |
| left col 1 1 | He is indeed Utu, he alone is (the equivalent) of many men |
| left col 2 1 | In order to stand with the hero, he must have your life with him |
| left col 3 1 | In order to stand with Utu, he must have your life with him |
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 | [...] x x x x x [...] | |
| 2 | [...]-am3# ba-ra-si-ga#? [...] | |
| 19 | du14 [...] | |
| 26 | lu2-da nig2-gu7# [...]-da#-gu7-e | |
| 27 | szu-zu mud2-am3 [...]-an | |
| 28 | [...] HAR-ra [...] | |
| reverse | ||
| 1' | [...]-ga2#-sze3 udu sag2# [...] | |
| 2' | [...]-si#-ga-sze3 gu4# lu2 na-hun-[...] | |
| 3' | [...] si#-ga kaskal si#-ga-am3 | |
| 4' | kaskal ge6 nu-du sza3-bi sa6 hul-a# | |
| 5' | ansze-edin-na na-ab-sa10#?-[sa10] u4# da#-bi-esz i3-za-al# | |
| 12' | a2#? x x x [...]-ga2-ga2 | |
| 13' | gi-in#-sze3# du#-[...]-szi-ib-szub-szub | |
| 14' | ki-tusz lu2-ka [...]-ab#?-bala-e-de3 | |
| 15' | igi i3-du igi i3-[du] szi-ib-e-ne | |
| 16' | gi-HI-ga {gesz}kiri6 x x-[...]-duh#?-e#? | |
| 17' | su-ga-ab su-ga-ab szi-x-[...] | |
| 26' | gurusz na-am3-usz2#-e-en iri{ki} szu-mu-ra-ab-gur-re# | |
| 27' | lu2 inim-sig#-ga-gin7 igi {gesz}balag-ke4 szi-in-szir5-[...] | |
| 28' | igi am3 na-am3-ba-gub-gub-bu-de3 sza3-ge me-kur2-kur2 | |
| 31' | ki# nam#-nita-ka um-me-te#? szu# na-ku5-ku5-de3-[...] | |
| 32' | [ur-sag dili] na-na-am3 dili-ni [lu2 szar2]-ra#?-am3# | |
| left col 1 | ||
| 1 | [{d}utu dili] na#-na-am3 [dili]-ni lu2 szar2-ra-am3 | |
| left col 2 | ||
| 1 | ur-sag-da gub-bu-de3# zi-zu he2-en-da-gal2 | |
| left col 3 | ||
| 1 | {d}utu-da gub#-bu-de3 zi-zu he2#-en#-da-gal2 | |
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
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-11.