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Letter from Nabi-Enlil to a king (Q000604)
Literary, Old Babylonian, Nippur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | Letter from Nabi-Enlil to a king |
|---|---|
| ID | Q000604 |
| Language | Sumerian; Akkadian |
| Period | Old Babylonian · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE |
| Genre | Literary |
| Find spot | Nippur |
| Coordinates | 32.1271, 45.2300 |
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)
Machine draft. The right-hand column is machine English from ixmon/atf-to-english (atf-en-t5base-F, 2026-10-17), generated line by line from the transliteration. It is unreviewed and is not a scholarly translation.
| Line | ATF | Machine English (draft) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | lugal {d}utu-gin₇ kalam-ma-na e₃-a-ra u₃-na-a-dug₄ | For the king who came out like Utu, he was satisfied. |
| 2 | lugal sipad gi-na uŋ₃ šar₂-ra asil₃-la₂ tum₂-tum₂-mu | King, faithful shepherd, bring joy to the king! |
| 3 | lugal nam-he₂-ta ud zal-zal-le buru₁₄-gin₇ hi-li sug₄-sug₄ | The king who passes the day in joy, like a harvest, is filled with allure. |
| 4 | šul ša₃-ne-ša₄ si-sa₂ u₃-tud zi lu₂ til₃ ki-aŋ₂ u₃-na-de₃-tah | (Sum) The one who gives birth to a true child, the one who lives in the earth (Akk) The ones who give birth to children faithfully |
| 5 | {m}na-bi-{d}en-lil₂ dub-sar nu-eš₃ {d}en-lil₂-la₂ lu₂ zu₂ bir₉ lugal dumu nibru{ki} arad₂-zu na-ab-be₂-a | Nabi-Enlil the scribe and nueš priest of Enlil a man who is a bitch the king son of Nippur your servant should say: |
| 6 | ur-gi₇ gu₂ nu-ba-ŋar-ra-gin₇ erim₂ mu-tum₂-tum₂-mu | Like a dog that does not bow down, he brings in the enemy. |
| 7 | gud hu-nu ba-e-di₄-di₄-la₂-gin₇ nam-x ab-dab₅-dab₅-an | Like a ... ox that was being snatched, it was seized. |
| 8 | anše {ŋeš}gibil₂-la₂ dim₄-ma-gin₇ ha-ab-keš₂-da | may the new donkeys be gathered together like a god |
| 9 | mušen gud₃ NE-x-bi bi₂-ib-us₂ PA-GEŠ x-en | The snake ... its ... |
| 10 | ku₆ a bar-ra gub-ba-gin₇ zi-ŋu₁₀ mi-ni-ib-il₂-il₂ | Like a fish standing outside in the water, he raises his right hand. |
| 11 | a-šag₄ a-la-bi-ta kiŋ₂ nu-ak-e u₂-kul la-ba-an-x | He did not eat the food of the alabaster field |
| 12 | {ŋeš}kiri₆ a šu-ta nu-dug₄-ga-gin₇ gurun la-ba-il₂-en | Like a garden that was not watered by hand, I did not carry the produce |
| 13 | igi la₂ tur gu₇-a ba-tuš-en lu₂ igi nu-mu-ši-in-tum₃ | You sit in front of the small one who eats food, no one sees you |
| 14 | di₄-di₄-la₂-ŋu₁₀ u₂ a-a zu-zu-a dili-a-bi ba-da-an-kar | The little ones, the food of your father, were taken away in their entirety. |
| 14a | arad₂ si-sa₂-ni-ta RI-x-x lu₂-zu-a la-ba-x-x | ... from the servant who bore him ..., no one ... |
| 15 | lu₂-zu-a-ŋu₁₀ igi-ni mu-da-an-kar a-na nu-um ib₂-be₂-e | “Your acquaintance has turned away from his face, what does he not say? |
| 16 | šeš-ŋu₁₀ igi x igi x x | eye ... eye |
| 17 | zarah a-nir-ra šu x-bi x x-še₃ im-x-tuku | The zarah priestess of Anira ... |
| HAR-HAR-ra uh-uh šika im-ma-ab-ra-ah immen₂ šaŋar-ta ba-ša-ra-ge-en | (Sum) I am the one who screamed, I am a raging storm that rages in the heart (Akk) I have been slain, I was stricken in the womb | |
| up-lum e-ki-tum na-bu kal-ma-tum | (Sum) The uplum priestess of the Ekitu temple, the mighty one (Akk) The downlum priestesses, the strong one | |
| 19 | du-lum-e {uzu}suš₂-gin₇ ba-ri-ri ak-bi nu-mu-da-il₂-i | The šulmu-priestess was carried away like a pig, its act was not carried off. |
| 20 | šu sug₄-ta lu₂ nu-mu-da-kiŋ₂-e ŋeštug₂ de₅-de₅ nu-tuku | (Sum) The one who does not remove the hand from the dead man, he does not have clothing to wear (Akk) The hand of the dead is not to be removed, it has no clothes to wear |
| 21 | lugal-ŋu₁₀ a-ga-ŋu₁₀ ŋiri₃ zukum-e | “Lugal-būbû, this (is) the city that is to be plundered! |
| 22 | lu₂ lul-la nu-me-en | You are not a liar, |
| 23 | tukum-bi lugal-ŋa₂ an-na-kam | If it is the king of An, |
| 24 | nam-tag nu-zu-a-ŋu₁₀ nam-ba-uš₂-de₃-en | You do not know sin |
| 25 | a-gin₇ ki-lul-la nam-ba-ra-bala-e | So that he does not turn into a trap, |
| 26 | di₄-di₄-la₂ arad₂ lugal-ŋa₂ e₂-x a₂ e₃-de₃ la-la-bi nu-un-gi₄ | The little ones, servants of the king, the ... house, whose strength cannot be changed, |
| 27 | lugal {d}en-lil₂-gin₇ inim lugal nu-kur₂-ru šag₄ ha-ma-KU-KU-x | May the king, like Enlil, speak a word that no king can change |
| 28 | {d}i-te-er-pi₄-ša saŋ-kal ŋuruš-e-ne zi-ŋu₁₀ ha-ma-x | Ite-rpīša, the shepherd of the young male goats, |
Sources & licences
- 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)
Cite the original edition and translator. Page generated by Unread Atlas from the public corpus export of 2026-10-18.