CDLI Literary 000782, ex. 010 (P346256)
Literary, Old Babylonian, Ur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | CDLI Literary 000782, ex. 010 |
|---|---|
| ID | P346256 |
| 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 | Do not remove a debt-bearer, that man will be(?) estranged to you |
| obverse 2 | Do not put down a field adjacent to an arrogant/shy(?) (person) |
| obverse 3 | He will leave it to you to go to(?) that female worker |
| obverse 4 | You are not to rebel from the resident city of that man |
| obverse 5 | (Even if?) “Lead, lead!” they(!) will say to you |
| obverse 6 | Do not release the bond(?) at the reed fence of an orchard |
| obverse 7 | “Replace it, replace it!” they(!) will say |
| obverse 8 | One should not feed a dog/stranger, one should not drag around(?) a quarrel(?) |
| obverse 9 | Do not use force, put(!?) a man on the ground |
| obverse 10 | Do not rape the child of a man, it will be learned of(?) in the assembly(?) |
| obverse 11 | Do not kill a strong man, do not destroy the outer wall(?) |
| obverse 12 | Do not kill a young man, do not return him ... the city(?) |
| obverse 13 | The slanderer, like a spindle, spins his eyes/gaze |
| obverse 14 | Do not to stand at the front, you(?) may have changed your mind(?) |
| obverse 15 | Do not (overly) praise/boast like a liar in a tavern(?) |
| obverse 16 | After you have approached the “place of manhood(?),” do not make your hand shake |
| obverse 17 | He is indeed a hero, he alone is (the equivalent) of many men |
| obverse 18 | He is indeed Utu, he alone is (the equivalent) of many men |
| obverse 19 | In order to stand with the hero, he must have your life with him |
| obverse 20 | In order to stand with Utu, he must have your life with him |
| obverse 21 | (The resident of?) Šuruppak instructed his son |
| obverse 22 | He was instructing his son Ziusudra |
| reverse 1 | My son, I shall instruct, may (you) grasp my instruction |
| reverse 2 | Ziusudra, I want to speak a word to you, may (you) pay attention to it |
| reverse 3 | Do not forget my instruction |
| reverse 4 | Do not transgress my spoken word |
| reverse 5 | The mouth that drinks beer(?) |
| reverse 6 | My child, you are corrupting (another) man(?) |
| reverse 7 | You multiply things with (your) mouth that drinks beer |
| reverse 8 | Ninkasi ... his heart/stomach ... |
| reverse 8 | ... drags ... |
| reverse 11 | ... raised ... |
| reverse 12 | ... chases ... |
| reverse 14 | "Your own man"(?) should not(!) repay(?) ... because of you(?) |
| reverse 15 | The reed bed is indeed (consisting of) reeds and plants/reeds of one cubit length(?), its midst is slander |
| reverse 16 | The palace, the great river, its midst is a bull that is to gore |
| reverse 17 | That which enters is not to be regular |
| reverse 18 | That which leaves is to be unceasing(!) |
| reverse 19 | That of a man(?) (which makes him say?) “I want to give ... to you"(?) is close (i.e., easy?) |
| reverse 20 | (But) the (actual) giving to be done is distant (like) the heavens (i.e., hard?) |
| reverse 21 | (You say) I shall follow the (one who says) I shall give ... to you |
| reverse 22 | But he will not give it to you(?), (saying) “that which is before it(?) is used up” |
| reverse 23 | Property is something to be ... |
| reverse 24 | My child, nothing compares with it |
| bottom 1 | (Total:) 46 (entries). |
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 | ur5 tuku na-an-bad-e lu2-bi sza-ba-ri#-[...] | |
| 2 | sun7-na-da GAN2 na-an-da-ga2-ga2-an# | |
| 3 | gi4#-in#-sze3 du-de3 szi-me-szi-ib2-szub#-[...] | |
| 4 | uru17 tusz lu2#-ka na-ab-ta-bala-[...]-de3#-en | |
| 5 | igi# du#-un# igi du-un szi-me-szi-ib2-x-x <<en>> | |
| 6 | gi#-sig#-ga {gesz}kiri6-ka da-ga nam-bi-duh#-e | |
| 7 | su#-ga#-ab# su-ga-ab szi-me-szi-ib2-be2-ne <<en>> | |
| 8 | ur# nam#-mu#-gu7#?-e# du14? mu-ur3-ur3-re | |
| 9 | dumu#-gu10# nam#?-silig#? nam-mu-ak-en lu2 ki us2-en? | |
| 10 | dumu# x-x gesz3 a2# zi# na-an-ne-en x-e bi2-zu-zu | |
| 11 | [...]-an#-usz2-en# bad3#-sila3 na-an-gul#-x-x | |
| 12 | [...]-en iri x na-an-gur-ru <<re>> | |
| 13 | lu2#? [...]-ke4 igi# {gesz}balak-gin7 szi-szir5-szir5 | |
| 14 | igi na#?-[...]-bu#-de3#?-en sza3-ge bi2-kur2-kur2 | |
| 15 | lu2#-lul#-la#-gin7#? x-x-ka# ka nam#-tar-tar-re | |
| 16 | ki#!? x-nita-ka um-ma-te# szu# na#-an-gu4-gu4-de3#-en# | |
| 17 | ur-sag#? dili na#-nam dili-ni lu2# szar2-ra#-am3#? | |
| 18 | {d#}utu# dili# na#-nam# dili-ni# lu2 szar2#-ra#-am3#!? | |
| 19 | [...]-sag#?-[...] x gub#?-bu-da zi-zux(SU) [he2]-en#-da#-an-gal2 | |
| 20 | {d}[utu-... gub]-bu#-da zi-zux(SU) he2#-en#-da-an-gal2 | |
| 21 | [... dumu]-ni#-ra#? na-sze3 mu-ri-ni-in-de5 | |
| 22 | [...] dumu#-ni-ra [...]-un#?-de5-[...] | |
| reverse | ||
| 1 | dumu-gu10 na ge-de5 na# de5#-gu10 he2#-dab5# | |
| 2 | zi-u4-su13-ra2-ra inim ga#-ra#-ab-du11 gizzal# he2-em-szi#-[...] | |
| 3 | na de5-ga-ga2 [...] nam#-bi2-bar#-[...] | |
| 4 | inim# du11-ga-ga2# [...]-ta#-bala-[...] | |
| 5 | ka kasz nag#-a [...] | |
| 6 | lu2-tur-gu10# x x [...]-x | |
| 7 | ka kasz#! nag-a# [...]-x | |
| 8 | {d#}nin#-ka#-si# sza3#-[...]-x | |
| 11 | [...] x a# mu-un#-ni#-il2#-il2 | |
| 12 | [...] x im#-sar-re | |
| 13 | [...] x im#-ta-ab-gur4-gur4-re | |
| 14 | [...]-za-ke4 nu-e-szi-su-su | |
| 15 | x-x [...] gi u2 na-nam sza3-bi inim#?-sig-ga-am3# | |
| 16 | e2#-gal# i7-da mah-e sza3-bi gu4 du7-du7-dam# | |
| 17 | nig2# ku4-ku4 nig2#? sa2 nu-di-dam | |
| 18 | nig2# e3!-e nu-siligx(AK)?-ge-de3 | |
| 19 | nig2 lu2-ka ga-ra-ab-szum2-bi! ku-nu-a | |
| 20 | szum2-mu-da-bi an bad-ra2-am3 | |
| 21 | ga#-ra#-ab#-szum2-bi lu2-ra ga-<ni>-in-us2 | |
| 22 | nu#-ra#-ab-szum2-mu nig2 igi-bi-sze3 ti-la-am3 | |
| 23 | [nig2]-u2-rum nig2 a2! si!-ga-a-da | |
| 24 | lu2#-tur-gu10 nig2 nu-um-da-sa2 | |
| bottom | ||
| 1 | ($ blank space $) 4(u@v) 6(disz) | |
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.