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A balbale to Inana (Dumuzid-Inana A) (Q000632)
Literary, Old Babylonian, Nippur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | A balbale to Inana (Dumuzid-Inana A) |
|---|---|
| ID | Q000632 |
| Language | Sumerian |
| 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 | šeš-e nin₉-ra mi₂ na-mu-e | The hand should not touch the sister |
| 2 | {d}utu nin₉-ra mi₂ na-mu-e | Šamaš loves his sister, |
| 3 | kug {d}inana-ra mi₂ zid na-mu-e | He should not kiss holy Inana, |
| 4 | in-nin₉ gu sar-ra hi-li gur₃-ru | Lady, clad in allure, |
| 5 | {d}inana gu sar-ra hi-li gur₃-ru | Inana, carrying allure in the garden plots, |
| 6 | še ab-sin₂-na hi-li ma-az dirig-ga | The barley of the furrows, full of allure, is a lofty thing |
| nin₉ gada mah-e hi-li ba-e-te-a in-nin₉ | Sister, when you bring out the supreme linen and allure, sister! | |
| 8 | {d}inana gada mah-e hi-li ba-e-te-a | Inana, you have brought out the supreme linen and allure |
| 9 | al ga-mu-ra-ab-ak SAR ga-mu-ra-ab-šum₂ lu-ur-pi-iq-ki lu-um-hu-ra-ki | (Sum) I want to make you tremble (Akk) Let me make you moan, let me moan for you |
| in-nin₉ gu sar-ra ga-mu-ra-de₆ nin₉-ŋu₁₀ | My sister, I want to bring you the flax of the garden plot, my sister! | |
| 11 | {d}inana gu sar-ra ga-mu-ra-de₆ | Inana, I want to bring you the flax of the garden plot. |
| šeš gu sar-ra a-ma-i-ra-ta šeš-ŋu₁₀ | After you have poured out the ... of the garden plot, | |
| 13 | a-ba-a ma-e-ri a-ba-a ma-e-ri | Who is it that will make it acceptable to me? Who will it be appropriate to me?" |
| 14 | gu-bi ma-a-ra a-ba-a ma-e-ri | This flax, who will dig it for me? |
| 15 | nin₉-ŋu₁₀ ri-a-bi ga-mu-ra-de₆ | My sister, I will bring it to you. |
| 16 | {d}inana ri-a-bi ga-mu-ra-de₆ | Inana, I want to bring it to you in a sweet way. |
| šeš ri-a-bi a-ma-i-ra-ta šeš-ŋu₁₀ | (Sum) The šriab priestess, when you bring it to me(?) (Akk) The one who brings it to you by means of a ritual assemblage | |
| 18 | a-ba-a ma-ab-NU-NU a-ba-a ma-ab-NU-NU | Who will tear it out for me, whom will it remove for me? |
| 19 | gu-bi ma-a-ra a-ba-a ma-ab-NU-NU | This flax, who will ... for me? |
| 20 | nin₉-ŋu₁₀ NU-a-bi ga-mu-ra-de₆ | I want to bring it to my sister who is not there. |
| 21 | {d}inana NU-a-bi ga-mu-ra-de₆ | Inana, I will bring it to you without ceasing. |
| šeš NU-a-bi a-ma-i-ra-ta šeš-ŋu₁₀ | “If he does not eat, if he is seized, | |
| 23 | a-ba-a ma-ab-tab-be₂ a-ba-a ma-ab-tab-be₂ | Who will cross it for me, who will cross (it for me)? |
| 24 | gu-bi ma-a-ra a-ba-a ma-ab-tab-be₂ | This flax, who will bring it to me? |
| 25 | nin₉-ŋu₁₀ tab-ba-bi ga-mu-ra-de₆ | I want to bring it to your sister who is dressed in a soiled garment. |
| 26 | {d}inana tab-ba-bi ga-mu-ra-de₆ | I want to bring it to you Inana, the one who has been seized. |
| 27 | šeš tab-ba-bi a-ma-i-ra-ta | After you have poured out the beer and wine |
| 28 | a-ba-a ma-ab-ze₂-ze₂ a-ba-a ma-ab-ze₂-ze₂ | Who will make it sweet for me, whom will it sweeten for me? |
| 29 | gu-bi ma-a-ra a-ba-a ma-ab-ze₂-ze₂ | This flax, who will give it to me? |
| 30 | nin₉-ŋu₁₀ ze₂-a-bi ga-mu-ra-de₆ | I will bring it to your sweet sister. |
| 31 | {d}inana ze₂-a-bi ga-mu-ra-de₆ | Inana, I will bring it to you sweetly. |
| 32 | šeš ze₂-a-bi a-ma-i-ra-ta | After you have poured out the sweet beer |
| 33 | a-ba-a ma-ab-TUKU₅-TUKU₅ a-ba-a ma-ab-TUKU₅-TUKU₅ | Who can calm it? Who can cool it? |
| 34 | gu-bi ma-a-ra a-ba-a ma-ab-TUKU₅-TUKU₅ | This flax, who will smash it for me? |
| 35 | nin₉-ŋu₁₀ tuku₅-a-bi ga-mu-ra-de₆ | I will bring it to you the one who has a sister. |
| 36 | {d}inana tuku₅-a-bi ga-mu-ra-de₆ | I want to bring it to Inana who is ill. |
| 37 | šeš tuku₅-a-bi a-ma-i-ra-ta | The one who has a hand, when you bring it to me |
| 38 | a-ba-a ma-DAN₃-DAN₃ a-ba-a ma-DAN₃-DAN₃ | Who can rival me? Who can compete with me? |
| 39 | gu-bi ma-a-ra a-ba-a ma-DAN₃-DAN₃ | This flax, who will dig it for me? |
| 40 | nin₉-ŋu₁₀ dan₃-na-bi ga-mu-ra-de₆ | My sister, I will bring it to you in good condition. |
| 41 | {d}inana dan₃-na-bi ga-mu-ra-de₆ | Inana, I will bring it to you in a good way. |
| 42 | šeš dan₃-na-bi a-ma-i-ra-ta | Because of the strong hand that was brought to me |
| 43 | a-ba-a mu-da-an-nu₂ a-ba-a mu-da-an-nu₂ | Who will lie there with me, who will lie with me? |
| 44 | gu-bi ma-a-ra a-ba-a mu-da-an-nu₂ | This flax, who will lie with me? |
| 45 | za-ra he₂-da-an-nu₂ he₂-da-an-nu₂ | May he lie with you, may he lay with you. |
| 46 | za-ra nitalam-zu he₂-da-an-nu₂ | May your spouse lie with you. |
| 47 | {d}ama-ušumgal-an-na he₂-da-an-nu₂ | may Ama-ušumgal-ana lie down with him. |
| 48 | gu₅-li {d}en-lil₂-la₂ he₂-da-an-nu₂ | may the sheep of Enlil lie down. |
| 49 | šag₄ zid-ta e₃-a he₂-da-an-nu₂ | May he lie down in the true midst of the storm. |
| 50 | a barag-ga ri-a he₂-da-an-nu₂ | may he lie down on the dais. |
| 51 | i₃-ge₄-en mu-lu ša₃-ab-ŋa₂-kam mu-lu ša₃-ab-ŋa₂-kam | I am the one of the heart, the man of the liver |
| 52 | šeš mu-lu ša₃-ab-ŋu₁₀ im-mi-in-dug₄-ga-am₃ | The hand of a man was pleasing to him |
| 53 | al nu-ak-am₃ guru₇ dub-dub-ba-am₃ | It is not done, it is heaped up in the silos. |
| 54 | še ŋa₂-nun-e sa₂ dug₄-dug₄-ga-am₃ | The barley of the granary is good. |
| mu-un-gar₃ še-ni guru₇ šar₂-ra-kam še mah | The farmer, his hand is a šarru’s grain-heap, a magnificent harvest | |
| 56 | sipad e-ze₂-ni siki sug₄-sug₄-ga-am₃ | The shepherd whose sheep are covered in hair, |
| 57 | bal-bal-e {d}inana-kam | It is a balbale of Inana |
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.