BMS 16 + 42 (P394881)
Prayer, Neo-Assyrian, Nineveh · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
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| Designation | BMS 16 + 42 |
|---|---|
| ID | P394881 |
| 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: Pre-eminent one of the Igigi, supremely wi[se], |
| Obverse [1:2] o 22–o 22 | Offspring of the Apsu, son of Nin[shiki], |
| Obverse [2:3] o 33–o 33 | Marduk, pre-eminent one of the Igigi, supremely wi[se], |
| Obverse [3:4] o 44–o 44 | [Offspri]ng of the Apsu, son of Nin[shiki], |
| Obverse [4:5] o 55–o 55 | You are [elev]ated among the Anunaki, the pre-eminent one of [the Igigi]. |
| Obverse [5:6] o 66–o 66 | [The gods of the heave]ns and earth attend [to you]. |
| Obverse [6:7] o 77–o 77 | . [You(?) (are)] the guar[dian(?)] of the habitations, the mountains, . . . [. . .]. |
| Obverse [7:8] o 88–o 88 | All of the[m . . .] . . . [. . .] |
| Obverse [8:9] o 99–o 99 | [. . .] attend to [. . .] . . . [. . .] |
| Obverse [9:10] o 1010–o 1010 | You shepherd li[ke . . .] . . . [. . .]. |
| Obverse [11:12] o 1212–o 1212 | To the pasture [. . .] |
| Obverse [12:13] o 1313–o 1313 | You are established in [. . .] |
| Obverse [13:14] o 1414–o 1414 | Who [. . .] your name(?) [. . .] |
| Obverse [14:15] o 1515–o 1515 | Who goes on campaign (lit. the road) [. . .] |
| Obverse [15:16] o 1616–o 1616 | Without his family, without [his] ki[n . . .] |
| Obverse [16:17] o 1717–o 1717 | Who are entrusted, [. . .] |
| Obverse [17:18] o 1818–o 1818 | The young man in distre[ss . . .] |
| Obverse [18:19] o 1919–o 1919 | The boat of the refug[ee . . .] |
| Obverse [19:20] o 2020–o 2020 | In the quay of distre[ss . . .] |
| Obverse [20:21] o 2121–o 2121 | The one experiencing difficulty in childbirth [. . .] |
| Obverse [21:22] o 2222–o 2222 | According to your tr[ue] word (lit. mouth) [. . .] the incantation. |
| Obverse [22:23] o 2323–o 2323 | Who (is) without mer[cy . . .] break. |
| Obverse [23:24] o 2424–o 2424 | . . . [. . .] bright [. . .] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 2'2'–r 2'2' | (With) elation [and happin]ess I proclaim [your] her[oism]. |
| Reverse [2:3] r 3'3'–r 3'3' | May Bab[ylon] rejoice over you; [may] Esagil [be glad] on your account. |
| Reverse [3:4] r 4'4'–r 4'4' | May Ningirim, [your belov]ed [sister] say to you, "Be at peace." |
| Reverse [4:5] r 5'5'–r 5'5' | It is the wording of a [lifted]-hand prayer to Marduk. |
| Reverse [5:6] r 6'6'–r 6'6' | You do (the ritual) with either a ritual assemblage o[r with a cen]ser. |
| Reverse [6:7] r 7'7'–r 7'7' | Incantation: Marduk, great lord of the heavens and the earth. |
| Reverse [7:8] r 8'8'–r 8'8' | Palace of Ashurbanipal, king of the world, king of the land of Ashur, |
| Reverse [8:9] r 9'9'–r 9'9' | who trusts in Ashur and Ninlil, |
| Reverse [9:10] r 10'10'–r 10'10' | to whom Nabu (and) Tashmetu gave wide understanding, |
| Reverse [10:11] r 11'11'–r 11'11' | (who) has achieved enlightened eyes with regard to the highest level of the scribal art, |
| Reverse [11:12] r 12'12'–r 12'12' | which among the kings who came before me |
| Reverse [12:13] r 13'13'–r 13'13' | none had learned that art, |
| Reverse [13:14] r 14'14'–r 14'14' | the wisdom of Nabu, cuneiform signs, as many as there are. |
| Reverse [14:15] r 15'15'–r 15'15' | I wrote, collated, (and) checked (the present text) on tablets. |
| Reverse [15:16] r 16'16'–r 16'16' | [I deposited] (it) in my palace for my reading and studying. |
| Reverse [16:17] r 17'17'–r 17'17' | The one who trusts in you will not be put to shame, O king of the gods, [Ashur]. |
| Reverse [17:18] r 18'18'–r 18'18' | Whoever carries (this tablet) off o[r writes] his name alongside my name, |
| Reverse [18:19] r 19'19'–r 19'19' | may Ashur and Ninlil overthrow [him] in fierce rage. |
| Reverse [19:20] r 20'20'–r 20'20' | May his name (and) his seed disappear from the land. |
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 e-tel {d}i₂-gi₃-gi₃ a-tar ha-[si-sa] | |
| 2 | ⸢i⸣-lit-ti ABZU bu-kur₂ {d}⸢nin⸣-[ši-ki] | |
| 3 | {[d]}⸢AMAR.UTU⸣ e-tel {d}i₂-gi₃-gi₃ a-tar ha-[si-sa] | |
| 4 | [i-lit]-ti ABZU bu-kur₂ {d}⸢nin⸣-[ši-ki] | |
| 5 | [ša₂]-⸢qa⸣-ta-ma ina {d}a-nun-na-ki e-tel {⸢d⸣}[i₂-gi₃-gi₃] | |
| 6 | ⸢x⸣ [DINGIR-MEŠ AN]{⸢e⸣} u KI{⸢ti₃} u₂⸣-paq-qu [ka-a-ši] | |
| 7 | na-⸢ṣi⸣-[ru at-ta] da-ad₂-me ⸢kin⸣-ne₂-e ⸢x⸣ [x x] | |
| 8 | kul-lat-⸢si⸣-[na ...] KA ⸢x⸣ [x x] | |
| 9 | u₂-taq-qa₂ [...] i-dal-la₂ ⸢x⸣ [x x] | |
| 10 | ⸢te⸣-re-ʾ ki-[ma ...] ⸢TU⸣ u₂ AD [...] | |
| 11 | ta-ta-na-ru [...] | |
| 12 | a-na ri-i-⸢ti⸣ [...] | |
| 13 | šak-na-ta ⸢ina⸣ [...] | |
| 14 | ša₂ zik-GIR₂-ka [...] | |
| 15 | a-lik har-ra-ni [...] | |
| 16 | la kim-tuš la sa-[la-ti-šu₂ ...] | |
| 17 | ša₂ paq-du PI [...] | |
| 18 | GURUŠ ina dan-na-⸢ti⸣ [...] | |
| 19 | e-lip mun-nab-[ti ...] | |
| 20 | ina kar dan-na-[ti ...] | |
| 21 | mu-šap-šiq-tu₂ x [...] ⸢x x x⸣ | |
| 22 | ina KA-ka ki-[it-ti ...] ⸢EN₂⸣ | |
| 23 | ša₂ la pa-[du-u ...] ⸢ši⸣-bir | |
| 24 | A ZU [...] nam-⸢ru⸣ | |
| 25 | ⸢x x⸣ [...] ⸢x⸣ UD | |
| 26 | [...]-⸢x-x⸣ | |
| r | ||
| 1' | x [...] | |
| 2' | ul-⸢ṣi⸣ [u ir-ša₂-a]-⸢te⸣ u₂-ša₂-pi ⸢qur⸣-[ru-ud-ka] | |
| 3' | HUL₂-ka ⸢KA₂⸣.[DINGIR.RA{ki} SU₃]-ka e₂-sag-⸢il₂⸣ | |
| 4' | {d}nin-⸢girim₃⸣ [NIN-ka na-ram]-⸢tu₄⸣ si-lim liq-bi-ka | |
| 5' | KA-INIM-MA ⸢ŠU⸣-[IL₂]-⸢LA₂⸣ {d}AMAR.UTU-KAM | |
| 6' | šum₄-ma ina KEŠDA šum₄-[ma ina NIG₂].⸢NA⸣ DU₃{uš} | |
| 7' | EN₂ {d}AMAR.UTU EN ⸢GAL ša₂⸣ AN u KI | |
| 8' | E₂.GAL {m}AN-ŠAR₂-DU₃-A ⸢LUGAL ŠU₂⸣ LUGAL KUR AN.ŠAR₂{ki} | |
| 9' | ša a-na AN.ŠAR₂ ⸢u₃⸣ {d}nin-lil₂ tak-lu₄ | |
| 10' | ša {d}NA₃ u₃ {d}taš-⸢me⸣-tu₄ GEŠTU-2(diš) DAGAL{tu₄} iš-ru-ku-uš | |
| 11' | i-hu-zu IGI-2(diš) na-mir-tu₄ ni-siq ṭup-šar-ru-ti | |
| 12' | ša ina LUGAL-MEŠ a-lik mah-ri-ia | |
| 13' | mim-ma šip-ru šu-a-tu₂ la i-hu-uz-zu | |
| 14' | ne₂-me-eq {d}NA₃ ti-⸢kip sa⸣-an-tak-ki ma-la ba-aš₂-mu | |
| 15' | ina ṭup-pa-a-ni aš₂-⸢ṭur⸣ as-niq ab-re-e-[ma] | |
| 16' | a-na ta-mar-ti u ši-⸢ta-as⸣-si-ia qe₂-reb E₂.GAL-⸢ia⸣ [u₂-kin] | |
| 17' | NIR.GAL₂.ZU ⸢NU UR⸣ LUGAL DINGIR-MEŠ [AN.ŠAR₂] | |
| 18' | man-nu ša ⸢TUM₃ u₃⸣ [lu-u] ⸢MU-šu₂ it-ti MU-ia⸣ [i-šaṭ-ṭa-ru] | |
| 19' | AN.ŠAR₂ u₃ {d}nin-lil₂ ag-giš ez-zi-iš lis-ki-⸢pu⸣-[šu₂-ma] | |
| 20' | MU-šu₂ ⸢NUMUN⸣-šu₂ ina KUR li-hal-li-⸢qu⸣ | |
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.