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Proverbs: collection 23 (Q000815)
Literary, Old Babylonian, Ur · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE
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| Designation | Proverbs: collection 23 |
|---|---|
| ID | Q000815 |
| Language | Sumerian |
| Period | Old Babylonian · c. 1900 BCE–1600 BCE |
| Genre | Literary |
| Find spot | Ur |
| Coordinates | 30.9607, 46.1063 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| proverb 23.1, | ||
| 1 | x MU id₂-da X x | ... river ... |
| 2 | x DIM₂-bi SI | it came near. Its north wind |
| 3 | x HI a-pap lu₂ SU BA A | ... a man ... |
| 4 | x sikil-ra a-pap an-dul₃ nu-lu-a | ... covered with a cloth that is not to be touched. |
| proverb 23.2, | ||
| 5 | x-ŋu₁₀ diŋir-ŋu₁₀ dumu-gir₁₅-ŋu₁₀ me-ŋu₁₀ | ..., Ibirbu, Dumuzirbu, Me-bu |
| 6 | x-ŋu₁₀ e₂ um-ma e₃-a | ... leaving the house of the mother, |
| 7 | x-še₃ e₂ DU-de₃ | ... to build a house |
| 8 | mu-ud-na-ŋu₁₀ ku₆-a ŋiri₃-pad ma-degₓ(RI)-degₓ(RI) | “Mudnaḫu, the fisherman, he sailed with me. |
| 9 | x X GI GA edin-na nu-me-am₃ | ... is not in the steppe. |
| proverb 23.3, | ||
| 10 | x X hi-li-na | ... in allure. |
| 11 | x X-bi dug₃-ga-X | ... good ... |
| 12 | x X GA in-nu-uš X | ... innuš ... |
| 13 | x X dug₃-ga | good ... |
| proverb 23.4, | ||
| 14 | x ki-gub ga-mu-da-x | ... I want to ... the station. |
| 15 | x DAR x | ... ; |
| proverb 23.6, | ||
| 1 | x GI X DAM x | ... wife ... |
| 2 | u₃ nu-mu-da-be₂ X x | And he does not say ... |
| proverb 23.7, | ||
| 3 | hi-li sipad KU šir-a-ni | The allure of the shepherd ... |
| 4 | nu-{ŋiš}kiri₆ suhur-a-ni | his orchardist of Suḫurani |
| 5 | {kuš}a₂-ŋa₂-la₂-še₃ šu il₂ x | Hand of a Basket |
| 6 | dam nu-il₂ dumu nu-il₂ | He does not have a wife, he does not [have a child]. |
| 7 | lu₂-lul-la e₂-a-ni nu-mu-un-da-du₃ | The liar did not build his house. |
| 8 | e₂ gu₅-li-ŋu₁₀ {ŋiš}al-tar-re ba-gub | The house of the guli-priestess was set up. |
| 9 | lu₂-lul-la gal₄-la ba-an-us₂ | The liar seized the vagina. |
| 10 | lu₂ nu-ŋar-ra {ŋiš}šu-gur₁₀ 2-am₃ | It is the second šugur |
| 11 | e₂ lu₂ zid-da du₃-a | the house built by a good man, |
| 12 | lu₂-lul-la ba-gul | The liar was destroyed. |
| proverb 23.8, | ||
| 13 | nu-mu-un-na-du-du ŋiri₃ nu-mu-na-ŋa₂-ŋa₂ | She does not roam around, she does not cross over the river. |
| nam-til₃-la a-gin₇ i₃-dib₂-be₂ e-ne-gin₇ mu-ni-in-dib₂-be₂ | How is it that he passes by for life, how is he to pass by? | |
| lu₂ zid nu-kal-la nam-uš₂-ta dirig nam-til₃ li-bi₂-in-šum₂ | The righteous man, the unrivalled one, surpasses in strength and life | |
| nu-kug-gin₇ mu-un-TI GAR-e nu-tar-re mu-un-ni-šub en₃-na nu-tar-re | Like a nukug-demon he carries it, he does not ask: "Where is he going?" he asks: "How long will he go? | |
| 17 | tug₂-gin₇ i₃-mu₄-mu₄ | Like a garment I make it shine. |
| 18 | nam-tag dugud un-ŋar-ra | a heavy sin, a curse |
| a-ba mu-ni lu₂ dam lu₂-kam ba-nu₂ a-ba-am₃ e-ne lu₂ dam lu₂-ka in-da-nu₂-a | Who is it that will make the man lie down with a spouse of a man? Who is he who will lie with the man's spouse? | |
| proverb 23.9, | ||
| 20 | an u₂-ga{mušen} ki {d}nin-kilim | An and Ugaven, the place of Ninkilim, |
| 21 | edin-na ur-mah-e ki-tuš-a-bi-X nitalam-ŋu₁₀ me-am₃ ga-ba-ŋen | In the steppe, the lion ... its abode, where is the spouse? |
| proverb 23.14, | ||
| 1 | x RI | ...; |
| 2 | x ŋa₂-ŋa₂ | x ..., |
| 3 | x X GA na-am₃ | ... indeed. |
| 4 | x X DI NU UM nam-ma-an-GA | ... does not ... |
| proverb 23.15, | ||
| 5 | x MU niŋ₂-ŋu₁₀ e₃-a niŋ₂ LU X-ba e₃-a | ... coming forth, coming forth ... |
| 6 | x ku-nu-da | [x], kundūda; |
| proverb 23.16, | ||
| 7 | x NU nam-mu-un-da-ku₄-ku₄ | Do not enter ... |
| 8 | X bappir-re šu nam-kar₂-kar₂-de₃ | ... to make the hand tremble |
| 9 | x tum₃ am₃-ba nu-ub-kur₉ | ... carrying ... did not bring in. |
| 10 | x me šul diŋir-zu he₂-du₈ | May the ... of your ‘seizing-of-the-mouth’ be released! |
| proverb 23.17, | ||
| 11 | x X GA BA X X | ... ... |
| 12 | x X X | |
| proverb 23.18, | ||
| 13 | {kuš}ummud zi lu₂-kam | a true scepter of a man |
| 14 | {kuš}e-sir₂ igi lu₂-kam | a leather bag before a man |
| 15 | dam ma-ma lu₂-kam | the spouse of a man |
| 16 | dumu-nitah ŋissu lu₂-kam | son-in-law, his brother is a man. |
| 17 | dumu-munus saŋ šum₂-ma lu₂-kam | The daughter of that man |
| 18 | e₂-gi₄-a mu-la lu₂-kam | The bride, who is the slave of a man |
| proverb 23.19, | ||
| 19 | x AB DU | ... ... |
| 20 | x X NE | Month V, |
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.