BMS 11 (P393803)
Prayer, Neo-Assyrian, Nineveh · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
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| Designation | BMS 11 |
|---|---|
| ID | P393803 |
| Museum no. | BM — |
| Collection | British Museum, London, UK |
| Language | Akkadian |
| Period | Neo-Assyrian · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE |
| Genre | Prayer |
| Find spot | Nineveh (mod. Kuyunjik) |
| Coordinates | 36.3582, 43.1621 |
English translation
By King, Leonard W. · Via Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (ORACC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 (ORACC)
| Line | English |
|---|---|
| Obverse [0:1] o 1o 1–o 1o 1 | [Incantation: O war]rior Marduk, whose anger (is) a flood, |
| Obverse [1:2] o 22–o 22 | Whose [forg]iving (is that of) a merciful father. |
| Obverse [2:3] o 33–o 33 | [Spe]aking without hearing has stirred me, |
| Obverse [3:4] o 44–o 44 | [Cal]ling out without reply has slighted me. |
| Obverse [4:5] o 55–o 55 | (This situation) has expelled the [stre]ngth of my heart, |
| Obverse [5:6] o 66–o 66 | Like an old man, it has bowed me low. |
| Obverse [6:7] o 77–o 77 | O great [lord], Marduk, merciful god! |
| Obverse [7:8] o 88–o 88 | Hum[an b]eings, by whatever name— |
| Obverse [8:9] o 99–o 99 | Who (among them) can ascertain their [ow]n [sin]? |
| Obverse [9:10] o 1010–o 1010 | [. . .] has not sinned? |
| Obverse [10:11] o 1111–o 1111 | [Wh]o can ascertain [. . .]? |
| Obverse [11:12] o 1212–o 1212 | [. . .] lest I acquire [s]in |
| Obverse [12:13] o 1313–o 1313 | I ought assiduously to search out [. . . of li]fe, |
| Obverse [13:14] o 1414–o 1414 | (But) it is decreed by the gods to go about tasks [. . .], |
| Obverse [14:15] o 1515–o 1515 | For a man to bear the [. . .] of the god. |
| Obverse [15:16] o 1616–o 1616 | As for me, your [servant], though I have committed sins, |
| Obverse [16:17] o 1717–o 1717 | Though I have transgressed (lit., crossed the [bou]ndary of the god), |
| Obverse [17:18] o 1818–o 1818 | Disregard [that (i.e., the sins) fr]om my youth, known (or) unknown, |
| Obverse [18:19] o 1919–o 1919 | May (it) not cause concern (lit., may it not throb [in] your [heart]); |
| Obverse [19:20] o 2020–o 2020 | Illuminate my [c]onfusion, |
| Obverse [20:21] o 2121–o 2121 | Clear my consternation. |
| Obverse [21:22] o 2222–o 2222 | May the [g]uilt of my father, my grandfather, (the guilt) of my mother, my grandmother, |
| Obverse [22:23] o 2323–o 2323 | (the guilt) of my family, kin, and clan, |
| Obverse [23:24] o 2424–o 2424 | Not draw near [t]o me. Let it go elsewhere. |
| Obverse [24:25] o 2525–o 2525 | (If?) my god causes me to find favor, purify me like grass! |
| Obverse [25:26] o 2626–o 2626 | Entrust me to the favorable hands of my (personal) god and goddess for well-being and life. |
| Obverse [26:27] o 2727–o 2727 | May I stand before you perpetually with prayers, requests, and petitions. |
| Obverse [27:28] o 2828–o 2828 | Let the abundant people of the well-organized land |
| Obverse [28:29] o 2929–o 2929 | praise you! Forgive my guilt, cancel my guilt. |
| Obverse [29:30] o 3030–o 3030 | O warrior Marduk, forgive my guilt, cancel my guilt. |
| Reverse [0:1] r 1r 1–r 1r 1 | O great lady Zarpanitu, forgive my guilt, cancel my guilt. |
| Reverse [1:2] r 22–r 22 | O excellent name Nabu, forgive my guilt. |
| Reverse [2:3] r 33–r 33 | O great lady Tashmetu, forgive my guilt. |
| Reverse [3:4] r 44–r 44 | O warrior Nergal, forgive my guilt. |
| Reverse [4:5] r 55–r 55 | O gods who dwell in Anu (i.e., the heavens), forgive my guilt. |
| Reverse [5:6] r 66–r 66 | The great guilt that I have committed since (the days of) my youth, |
| Reverse [6:7] r 77–r 77 | Disperse (it), forgive (it) sevenfold. |
| Reverse [7:8] r 88–r 88 | May your heart, like the father who engendered me, |
| Reverse [8:9] r 99–r 99 | And (like) the mother who gave birth to me, return to normal. |
| Reverse [9:10] r 1010–r 1010 | O [war]rior Marduk, let me resound your praises! |
| Reverse [10:11] r 1111–r 1111 | It is the [wor]ding of a lifted hand prayer to Marduk. |
| Reverse [11:12] r 1212–r 1212 | Its [rit]ual: In front of Marduk you place a censer with juniper. |
| Reverse [12:13] r 1313–r 1313 | [You set] up [a portable altar]. You set out a mersu-cake, honey, (and( ghee. |
| Reverse [13:14] r 1414–r 1414 | [You lib]ate [first-class beer]. The seed of mashtakal-plant you toss into the oil. |
| Reverse [14:15] r 1515–r 1515 | [Before Mard]uk you set (it). You say a recitation, and you smear the oil. |
| Reverse [15:16] r 1616–r 1616 | [Incantation: O greatest one], exalted, perfect, splendid. |
| Reverse [16:17] r 1717–r 1717 | [Palace of Ashurbanipal], great king, strong king, |
| Reverse [17:18] r 1818–r 1818 | king of the totality, king of Assyria, who, with Marduk, king of the gods, |
| Reverse [18:19] r 1919–r 1919 | [. . .] his eyes. He wrote (and) checked (it) for an aide-to-memory (and) for reading. |
| Reverse [19:20] r 2020–r 2020 | He deposited (this tablet) [in the midst] of his palace. Whoever trusts in you, O Nabu, shall not be put to shame. |
Transliteration (ATF)
From 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)
| Line | ATF | Machine English (draft) |
|---|---|---|
| o | ||
| 1 | [EN₂ UR].⸢SAG⸣ {d}AMAR.UTU ša₂ e-ziz-su a-bu-bu | |
| 2 | [nap]-⸢šur⸣-šu a-bu re-me₂-nu-u₂ | |
| 3 | [qa]-bu-u₂ u la še-mu-u₂ id-dal-pan-ni | |
| 4 | [ša]-su-u₂ u la a-pa-lu id-da-ṣa-an-⸢ni⸣ | |
| 5 | [am]-ma-te-ia ina lib₃-bi-ia uš-te-ṣi-[ma] | |
| 6 | ⸢GIM⸣ ši-bi uq-ṭa₂-ad-di-⸢da-an-ni⸣ | |
| 7 | [EN] ⸢GAL⸣{u₂} {d}AMAR.UTU DINGIR re-me₂-nu-u₂ | |
| 8 | [a-me]-⸢lu⸣-tu₄ ma-la šu-ma na-bat | |
| 9 | [an-na ra]-⸢ma⸣-ni ⸢ša₂⸣ man-nu i-lam-mad | |
| 10 | [...]-⸢u₂⸣ la u₂-gal-lil | |
| 11 | [... man]-⸢nu⸣ i-lam-mad | |
| 12 | [... gul]-lul-tu₂ la a-ra-aš₂-ši | |
| 13 | [... ba-la]-⸢ṭi⸣ lu-uš-te-ʾ-ma | |
| 14 | [... i]-⸢tab⸣-bu-la(ŠU) ina DINGIR-MEŠ qa-bat | |
| 15 | [...] ⸢ša₂ DINGIR⸣ ana LU₂ ba-ba-lu | |
| 16 | [IR₃]-⸢ka ana⸣-ku šet-tu-tu₂ lu e-pu-uš | |
| 17 | [i]-⸢ta⸣-a ša₂ DINGIR lu e-ti-iq | |
| 18 | [ša₂ ul]-⸢tu₂⸣ meṣ-he-riš ZU{u} NU ZU{u} me₂-ši-ma | |
| 19 | [ina ŠA₃]-⸢ka⸣ a-a ik-kud an-ni pu-ṭur-ma šer₂-ti pu-šur | |
| 20 | [e]-ša₂-ti-ia nu-um-me-er | |
| 21 | ⸢dal⸣-ha-ti-ia zu-uk-ki | |
| 22 | ⸢an⸣-ni AD-MU AD AD-MU AMA-MU AMA AMA-MU | |
| 23 | ⸢kim⸣-ti-ia₅ ni-su-ti-ia₅ u sa-la-ti-ia₅ | |
| 24 | [a]-⸢na⸣ ra-ma-ni-ia a-a TE{a} a-hi-tam-ma lil-lik | |
| 25 | ⸢ul⸣-ṭa-ba-an-ni-ma i₃-li₂ GIM {u₂}KI.KAL DADAG{an-ni} | |
| 26 | ⸢a⸣-na ŠU-MEŠ SIG₅-MEŠ ša₂ DINGIR-MU šal-mu-ti pi-iq-dan-ni | |
| 27 | ina ik-ri-be tes₂-li-ti u te-me-qi₂ da-riš lu-ziz-ku | |
| 28 | ni-šu₂ de-ša₂-a-tu₄ KUR ša₂ ina aš-ri šak-na-at₂ | |
| 29 | li-na-du-ka an-ni pu-ṭur an-ni pu-šur | |
| 30 | UR.SAG {d}AMAR.UTU an-ni pu-ṭur an-ni pu-šur | |
| r | ||
| 1 | GAŠAN GAL{tu₄} {d}e₄-ru₆-u₈ an-ni pu-uṭ-ri | |
| 2 | šu-mu ṭa-a-bu {d}NA₃ an-ni pu-ṭur | |
| 3 | GAŠAN GAL{tu₄} {d}taš-me-tu₄ an-ni pu-uṭ-ri | |
| 4 | UR.SAG {d}U.GUR an-ni pu-ṭur | |
| 5 | DINGIR-MEŠ a-ši-bu {d}a-nim an-ni pu-uṭ-ra | |
| 6 | an-na GAL{a} ša₂ ul-tu ṣe-he-ri-ia₅ i-pu-šu₂ | |
| 7 | ⸢su⸣-up-pi-ih-ma EN 7(diš)-šu pu-ṭur | |
| 8 | ⸢lib₃⸣-ba-ka ki-ma a-bi a-lid-ia | |
| 9 | ⸢u₃⸣ AMA a-lit-ti-ia a-na aš₂-ri-šu li-tu-ra | |
| 10 | [qar]-ra-du {d}AMAR.UTU da₃-li₂-li₂-ka lud-lul | |
| 11 | ⸢KA-INIM⸣-MA ŠU-IL₂-LA {d}AMAR-UTU-KAM | |
| 12 | [KID₃].⸢KID₃.BI⸣ ana IGI {d}AMAR.UTU NIG₂.NA ŠIM.LI GAR{an} | |
| 13 | [GI.DU₈ GUB]{an} NINDA.I₃.DE₂.A LAL₃ I₃.NUN.NA GAR{an} | |
| 14 | [KAŠ SAG BAL]{⸢qi₂⸣} NUMUN {u₂}IN.NU.UŠ ana ŠA₃ I₃.GIŠ ŠUB{di} | |
| 15 | [ana IGI {d}AMAR].⸢UTU⸣ GAR{an} ŠID{tu₂} ŠID-ma I₃.GIŠ ŠEŠ₂{aš} | |
| 16 | [EN₂ šur-bu-u₂] ṣi-i-ru git₂-ma-lu ši-tar-hu | |
| 17 | [E₂.GAL {m}AN.ŠAR₂-DU₃-A] LUGAL GAL{u₂} LUGAL dan-nu | |
| 18 | ⸢LUGAL⸣ ŠU₂{ti} ⸢LUGAL aš-šur{ki⸣} ša KI {d}AMAR.UTU LUGAL DINGIR-MEŠ | |
| 19 | [(x)]-⸢x⸣-na IGI-2(diš)-šu₂ a-na tah-sis-ti IGI.DU₈.A-šu₂ AB.SAR.AM₃ BA.AN.E₃ | |
| 20 | [qe₂-reb] ⸢E₂⸣.GAL-šu₂ u₂-kin NIR.GAL₂.ZU NU TEŠ₂ {d}UR | |
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)
- electronic Babylonian Library (eBL), LMU Munich · MIT (eBL Zenodo dataset); platform terms unverified · electronic Babylonian Library (eBL), LMU Munich, https://www.ebl.lmu.de/ ; Zenodo dataset (MIT)
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-11.