BMS 24 + 25 (K 12922 + K 13296) (P396319)
Prayer, Neo-Assyrian, Nineveh · c. 911 BCE–612 BCE
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| Designation | BMS 24 + 25 (K 12922 + K 13296) |
|---|---|
| ID | P396319 |
| 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 [1:2] o 2'2'–o 2'2' | [According to the comm]and which [(some deity) . . .] speaks [. . .] |
| Obverse [2:3] o 3'3'–o 3'3' | [By] the word (lit. mouth) of the great queen Man[ziat (i.e., Rainbow). Concluding Incantation Formula] |
| Obverse [3:4] o 4'4'–o 4'4' | [It is the wor]ding of a lifted-hand prayer [to Sin.] |
| Obverse [4:5] o 5'5'–o 5'5' | Its [rit]ual: When Sin becomes visible, [set up] a censer [of juniper]. |
| Obverse [5:6] o 6'6'–o 6'6' | You libate [be]er in the presence of Sin. A bundle of white wool . . [. . .] |
| Obverse [6:7] o 7'7'–o 7'7' | [. . .] and tie (it) in a knot(?). You recite the incantation. You place (it) in the fire and . . [. . .] |
| Obverse [7:8] o 8'8'–o 8'8' | Incantation: O lord, crescent moon (over) al[l creation], |
| Obverse [8:9] o 9'9'–o 9'9' | The place where the earth [bore my] apprehension (as/with) the plants, |
| Obverse [9:10] o 10'10'–o 10'10' | [Let] (it, i.e., the earth) [draw] my apprehension to the Apsu as with/in a canal. |
| Obverse [10:11] o 11'11'–o 11'11' | May unjust men receive [my] apprehension. |
| Obverse [12:13] o 13'13'–o 13'13' | [It is] the wording of a lifted-hand prayer to Sin. |
| Obverse [13:14] o 14'14'–o 14'14' | Its ritual: You set up a censer in the river meadows. You libate miḫḫu-beer. You take clay from the river meadows. |
| Obverse [14:15] o 15'15'–o 15'15' | You make a female doll/gamepiece(?). You lift it up in your hand. You reci[te] "O lord, crescent (over) all" three times. |
| Obverse [15:16] o 16'16'–o 16'16' | [You thro]w [the doll/gamepiece(?) in the river]. Then you prostrate yourself and take apart the ritual assemblage. Gold disks(?) seven [. . .] |
| Obverse [16:17] o 17'17'–o 17'17' | [. . .] . . . thus you say. You sprinkle(?) . . . [. . .] |
| Obverse [17:18] o 18'18'–o 18'18' | [. . .] . . . of . . . [. . .] |
| Obverse [18:19] o 19'19'–o 19'19' | [. . .] . the people [. . .] |
| Obverse [19:20] o 20'20'–o 20'20' | [. . .] my anxiety . . [. . .] |
| Reverse [1:2] r 2'2'–r 2'2' | [. . .] . to me. Establish my freedom! |
| Reverse [2:3] r 3'3'–r 3'3' | May I be sated on the [abunda]nce of (my) well-being! Incantation Closing Formula. |
| Reverse [3:4] r 4'4'–r 4'4' | It is [the wor]ding to make an evil appearance of Sin favorable. |
| Reverse [4:5] r 5'5'–r 5'5' | Its [rit]ual: On the day Sin becomes visible, you collect carded wool. |
| Reverse [5:6] r 6'6'–r 6'6' | You recite the incantation(?) seven times over it. You place (it, i.e., the wool) on his neck, and the evil will be resolved. |
| Reverse [6:7] r 7'7'–r 7'7' | Incantation: Nannaru (over) all of creation, |
| Reverse [7:8] r 8'8'–r 8'8' | [The p]lace where the earth bore my apprehension with the plants, |
| Reverse [8:9] r 9'9'–r 9'9' | Let the netherworld, which receives (it), draw my apprehension to the Apsu. |
| Reverse [9:10] r 10'10'–r 10'10' | May <un>just men receive my fear. |
| Reverse [10:11] r 11'11'–r 11'11' | May just men receive m[e]. |
| Reverse [11:12] r 12'12'–r 12'12' | May those who were made just change places with me. |
| Reverse [12:13] r 13'13'–r 13'13' | May the one who does not fear (you) draw my guilt; may he ta[ke] (it) in your presence. |
| Reverse [13:14] r 14'14'–r 14'14' | O lord, I, indeed, have bowed down to make supplication to you. May I be puri[fied] in your presence. |
| Reverse [14:15] r 15'15'–r 15'15' | [It is] the wording for making an evil appearance of Sin favorable. |
| Reverse [15:16] r 16'16'–r 16'16' | Its rit[ual]: On the day Sin becomes visible, set out a censer of juniper before Sin. |
| Reverse [16:17] r 17'17'–r 17'17' | You libate be[er]. You take clay from the river meadows. |
| Reverse [17:18] r 18'18'–r 18'18' | [You make a male(?)] do[ll]/game[piece](?). You recite the incantation three times before Sin. |
| Reverse [18:19] r 19'19'–r 19'19' | You throw (it) into the river [behin]d you, and the evil will be resolved. |
| Reverse [19:20] r 20'20'–r 20'20' | [Incantation]: O powerful [lord], exalted one, offspring of Nunnamnir. |
| Reverse [20:21] r 21'21'–r 21'21' | [Palace of As]hurbanipal, king of the world, king of the land of Ashur, |
| Reverse [21:22] r 22'22'–r 22'22' | [Who] trusts [in Ashur] and Ninlil, |
| Reverse [22:23] r 23'23'–r 23'23' | [To whom Nabu and Tashmetu] gave [wid]e [understanding]. |
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' | [...] ⸢x TI ID x RI lu-u im-x⸣-[...] | |
| 2' | [ina qi₂]-⸢bit⸣ iq-bu-u₂ {⸢d}x⸣ [...] | |
| 3' | [ina] ⸢KA⸣ šar-ra-ti ra-bi-ti {⸢d⸣}TIR.[AN.NA TU₆.EN₂] | |
| 4' | [KA].INIM ŠU.IL₂.LA₂ {[d}EN.ZU-KAM] | |
| 5' | [KID₃].KID₃-BI e-nu-ma {d}3(u) in-nam-ma-ru NIG₂.NA [ŠIM.LI GAR{an]} | |
| 6' | [KAŠ].SAG BAL{qi₂} ana IGI {d}3(u) DUR SIK₂ ⸢x⸣ [...] | |
| 7' | [x]-ma KEŠDA EN₂ ŠID{nu} ina ⸢IZI⸣ GAR{an}ma ⸢AN⸣ [...] | |
| 8' | ⸢EN₂⸣ EN U₄.SAKAR kul-la-[ti bi-ni-ti] | |
| 9' | ⸢a⸣-šar U₂.HI.A er-ṣe-tu₄ a-⸢dir⸣-[ti ul-du] | |
| 10' | ⸢ki⸣-ma hi-ri-ti ana ⸢ABZU⸣ a-dir-⸢ti⸣ [liš-du-ud] | |
| 11' | ⸢la⸣ eš(ŠI-)ru-tu₄ lim-hu-ru(RA) a-di-⸢ra-ti⸣-[ia] | |
| 12' | ana-ku ana sul-li-⸢ka⸣ ak-ta-mis ma-har-ka lu-⸢bi⸣-[ib] | |
| 13' | KA.INIM.MA ŠU.IL₂.LA₂ {d}EN.ZU-[KAM] | |
| 14' | ⸢DU₃⸣.DU₃-BI ina U₂.SAL ID₂ NIG₂.NA GAR{an} mi-ih-ha BAL{qi₂} IM U₂.SAL ID₂ ⸢TI⸣{qe₂} | |
| 15' | ⸢ZA.NA⸣ MUNUS DU₃{uš} ina ŠU-ka IL₂-ma EN U₄.SAKAR kul-la-ti 3(diš)-šu₂ ŠID{[nu}ma] | |
| 16' | [ZA.NA ana ID₂ ŠUB]{⸢di⸣}ma KI.ZA.ZA-ma KEŠDA DU₈{ar₂} šam-ša₂-ni KU₃.GI 7(diš) [...] | |
| 17' | [...] ⸢x x x⸣ ki-a-am DU₁₁.GA KID-ma ⸢x x⸣ [...] | |
| 18' | [...]-u₂-ti ša₂ ŠU.TAG.GA LAL TI [...] | |
| 19' | [...] ⸢x⸣ UN-MEŠ [...] | |
| 20' | [...] di-lip-ti MA [...] | |
| 21' | [...] ⸢x⸣ ŠA IR RU [...] | |
| r | ||
| 1' | [...] ⸢x x kit-ti it-ti x x la AD x BU x x⸣ [...] | |
| 2' | [...] ⸢x⸣-am-ma šu-kun za-ku-⸢ti⸣ | |
| 3' | [la-le]-e ba-la-ṭi lu-uš-bi TU₆.EN₂ | |
| 4' | [KA].INIM.MA ša₂ IGI.DU₈.A {d}3(u) HUL SIG₅.GA.⸢KAM⸣ | |
| 5' | [DU₃].⸢DU₃⸣-BI U₄{mi} {d}3(u) IGI.LA₂ SIK₂.GA.RIG₂.AK.A ta-mat-⸢tah₂⸣ | |
| 6' | ⸢EN₂⸣ 7(diš)-šu₂ ana UGU ŠID{nu}ma ina GU₂-šu₂ GAR{an}ma HUL pa-ši-ir | |
| 7' | ⸢EN₂⸣ na-an-na-ru kul-lat bi-ni-ti | |
| 8' | [a]-šar it-ti U₂.HI.A KI{ti₃} a-dir-ti ul-du | |
| 9' | ⸢KI⸣{ti₃} ma-hi-rat ana ABZU a-dir-ti liš-du-⸢ud⸣ | |
| 10' | <la> ⸢eš⸣-ru-tu lim-hu-ru a-di-ra-ti-ia₅ | |
| 11' | ⸢i⸣-ša₂-ru-tu lim-hu-ru-in-[ni] | |
| 12' | ⸢šu⸣-ša₂-ru-tu li-ten₂-nu-u₂ it-ti-ia₅ | |
| 13' | ⸢liš-du⸣-ud ar₂-ni la pa-li-hu ma-har-ka lil-[qe₂] | |
| 14' | EN [a]-⸢na⸣-ku a-na sul-li-ka ak-ta-mis ma-har-ka lu-⸢bi⸣-[ib] | |
| 15' | ⸢KA.INIM⸣.MA ša₂ IGI.DU₈.A {d}3(u) HUL SIG₅.GA-[KAM] | |
| 16' | DU₃.[DU₃]-⸢BI⸣ U₄{mi} {d}3(u) IGI.DU₈ ana IGI {d}3(u) NIG₂.NA ŠIM.LI GAR{⸢an⸣} | |
| 17' | KAŠ.[SAG] ⸢BAL⸣-qi₂ IM u₂-šal-li ID₂ TI-qe₂ | |
| 18' | ⸢ZA⸣.[NA NITA DU₃{uš]} EN₂ 3(diš)-šu₂ ana IGI {d}3(u) ŠID-ma | |
| 19' | [ku-tal]-⸢la⸣-nik-ka ana₃ ID₂ ŠUB-ma HUL BUR₂ | |
| 20' | [EN₂ EN] ⸢ga⸣-aš-ru ti-iz-qa-ru bu-kur₂ {d}nun-nam-⸢nir⸣ | |
| 21' | [E₂.GAL {m}AN].⸢ŠAR₃.DU₃⸣.A LUGAL ŠU₂ LUGAL KUR AN.ŠAR₃{ki} | |
| 22' | [ša a-na AN.ŠAR₃] u₃ {⸢d⸣}NIN.LIL₂ tak-lu₄ | |
| 23' | [ša {d}NA₄ u₃ {d}taš-me-tu₄ GEŠTU-MIN DAGAL]{⸢tu₄} iš⸣-ru-⸢ku-uš⸣ | |
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.