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Inscription of Umma and Lagash

Based on: George A. Barton, “Inscription of Entemena #7″ in: The Royal Inscriptions of Sumer and Akkad (New Haven, CT; Yale Univ., 1929) pp. 61, 63 and 65. Reprinted in D. Brendan Nagle and Stanley M. Burstein, The Ancient World: Readings in Social and Cultural History (Englewood CLiffs, NJ; Prentice Hall, 1995) pp. 30-31.

Lagash and Umma were two Sumerian cities located 18 miles apart.

These documents were found on clay cylinders and date from about 2500 BC At the time of the events recorded here, Entemena is king of Lagash. His uncle, Eannatum, had been king earlier and was responsible for the treaty with Lagash mentioned in these documents. The names of the rulers of Lagash are confusing: Eannatum was king of Lagash at the time the original treaty with Umma was negotiated. Enannatum was Eannatum‘s brother and succeeded him on the throne. Entemena, Enannatum‘s son and Eannatum‘s nephew, was king of Lagash at the time of the dispute described in the documents.

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in bluemixed-breed demigods in teal…)

        Document I

           1ae - Enlil, Babylonian  (Earth Colony Commander Enlil, “double seed” heir to King Anu)

By the immutable word of Enlil, king of the lands, father of the gods,

Ningirsu (Ninurta) and Shara (Inanna‘s son) set a boundary to their lands.

2b - Kish ruins, where kingship was born  (Kish wall ruins, Ninurta‘s mother Ninhursag‘s patron city)

Mesilim, King of Kish, at the command of his deity Kadi (unidentified),

2aa - Bau on stela 4b - Bau & unknowns (Kudurru Stones backed by gods, boundary marker stele of the aliens on Earth)

set up a stele [a boundary marker] in the plantation of that field.

Ush, ruler of Umma, formed a plan to seize it.

That stele he broke in pieces, into the plain of Lagash he advanced.

5c - Ningirsu of Lagash grasps enemy in a net (Ninurta / Ningirsu with alien battle-net, son & heir to Commander of Earth, Enlil)

Ningirsu, the hero of Enlil, by his just command, made war upon Umma.

4d - Enlil, Ninurta holding a mace, & Nannar

   (Enlil commands his warrior son Ninurta & granddaughter Inanna, the Goddess of War)

At the command of Enlil, his great net ensnared them.

He erected their burial mound on the plain in that place.

Document II

Eannatum, ruler of Lagash, brother of the father of Entemena [who put up this inscription] …

for Enakalli, ruler of Umma, set the border to the land.

He carried a canal from the great river to Guedin .

2a - Ninurta, Enlil's heir to heaven & earth   (Ninurta, 2nd in line to kingship of planet Nibiru‘s one-world-order throne, & Earth Colony)

He opened the field of Ningirsu on its border for 210 spans to the power of Umma.

He ordered the royal field not to be seized.

At the canal he inscribed a stele.

He returned the stele of Mesilim to its place.

He did not encroach on the plain of Mesilim.

At the boundary-line of Ningirsu, as a protecting structure,

2a - Ninhursag, Ninmah, Nintu, etcHathorix capital. Limestone, bas-relief from Paphos, Cyprus 80 x 44 x 24 cm AM 2755 (Ninhursag, King Anu‘s daughter, Enlil‘s 1/2 sister, Ninurta‘s mother)

he built the sanctuary of Enlil, the sanctuary of Ninkhursag (Ninhursag) ….

By harvesting, the men of Umma had eaten one storehouse-full of

the grain of Nina [goddess of Oracles] (Enki & sister Ninhursag‘s daughter),

the grain of Ningirsu; he caused them to bear a penalty.

They brought 144,000 gur,, a great storehouse full, [as repayment].

The taking of this grain was not to be repeated in the future.

Urlumma, ruler of Umma drained the boundary canal of Ningirsu,

the boundary canal of Nina; those steles he threw into the fire, Continue reading

A Drinking Song (to Ninkasi): translation

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue)

1-9 The gakkul vat, the gakkul vat!

The gakkul vat, the lamsare vat!

The gakkul vat, which puts us in a happy mood!

The lamsare vat, which makes the heart rejoice!

The ugurbal jar, glory of the house!

The caggub jar, filled with beer!

The amam jar, which carries the beer from the lamsare vat!

The troughs made with bur grass and the pails for the dough!

All the beautiful vessels are ready on their pot stands!

10-20 May the heart of your god be well disposed towards you!

Let the eye of the gakkul vat be our eye, and let the heart of the gakkul vat be our heart!

What makes your heart feel wonderful in itself also makes our hearts feel wonderful in themselves!

We are in a happy mood, our hearts are joyful!

You have poured a libation over the fated brick,

               (Ninkasi)

and you have laid the foundations in peace and prosperity — now may Ninkasi dwell with you!

She should pour beer and wine for you!

Let the pouring of the sweet liquor resound pleasantly for you!

4 - drinking bouts of the gods (drinking bouts of the gods could last for weeks)

21-31 In the troughs made with bur grass, there is sweet beer.

I will have the cupbearers, the boys and the brewers stand by.

As I spin around the lake of beer, while feeling wonderful, feeling wonderful,

while drinking beer, in a blissful mood, while drinking alcohol and feeling exhilarated,

with joy in the heart and a contented liver — my heart is a heart filled with joy!

I clothe my contented liver in a garment fit for a queen!

2b - offering to Inanna, & towers  (modern earthling servant brings produce to goddess Inanna)

The heart of Inana is happy once again; the heart of Inana is happy once again!

2 - Ninkasi (Ninkasi, Enki’s offspring were assigned management positions over certain responsibilities)

32 A …… to Ninkasi.

A Hymn to Ninkasi: translation

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue)

           2b - Ninhursag, Chief Medical Officer (Ninhursag, King Anu’s eldest daughter, Chief Medical Science Engineer) 

        1-4 Given birth by the flowing water ……, tenderly cared for by Ninhursaja (Ninhursag)!

           2a - Ninkasi, Enki's daughter via Uttu (Ninkasi, daughter of Enki & Ninhursag via Uttu)

Ninkasi, given birth by the flowing water ……, tenderly cared for by Ninhursaja!

5-8 Having founded your town upon wax, she completed its great walls for you.

Ninkasi, having founded your town upon wax, she completed its great walls for you.

2a - Enki keeper of the MUs-knowledge disks (Enki, King Anu’s eldest & wisest son, 1st to arrive on Earth with his crew of 50)

9-12 Your father is Enki, the lord Nudimmud, and your mother is Ninti, the queen of the abzu.

(Ninti, daughter of Enki & Ninhursag via Uttu)

Ninkasi, your father is Enki, the lord Nudimmud, and your mother is Ninti, the queen of the abzu.

13-16 It is you who handle the …… and dough with a big shovel,

mixing, in a pit, the beerbread with sweet aromatics.

5e - Mesopotamia Plaque Showing Banqueters  (beer manufacturing lead by giant goddess Ninkasi)

Ninkasi, it is you who handle the …… and dough with a big shovel,

mixing, in a pit, the beerbread with sweet aromatics.

17-20 It is you who bake the beerbread in the big oven, and put in order the piles of hulled grain.

6a - Ninkasi brewing the beer5 - cup bearer for the gods

                        (leisure of the alien gods, earthlings bear the burdensome workloads)

Ninkasi, it is you who bake the beerbread in the big oven, and put in order the piles of hulled grain.

21-24 It is you who water the earth-covered malt; the noble dogs guard it even from the potentates (?).

2 - Ninkasi3a - Ninkasi tasting the elixer of the gods (NInkasi tastes the brew, using straws, avoiding thick mash)

Ninkasi, it is you who water the earth-covered malt; the noble dogs guard it even from the potentates (?).

25-28 It is you who soak the malt in a jar; the waves rise, the waves fall.

Ninkasi, it is you who soak the malt in a jar; the waves rise, the waves fall.

29-32 It is you who spread the cooked mash on large reed mats; coolness overcomes …….

Ninkasi, it is you who spread the cooked mash on large reed mats; coolness overcomes …….

33-36 It is you who hold with both hands the great sweetwort, brewing it with honey and wine.

Ninkasi, it is you who hold with both hands the great sweetwort, brewing it with honey and wine.

37-40 1 line damaged

You …… the sweetwort to the vessel.

Ninkasi, …….

You …… the sweetwort to the vessel.

41-44 You place the fermenting vat, which makes a pleasant sound,

appropriately on top of a large collector vat.

Ninkasi, you place the fermenting vat, which makes a pleasant sound,

appropriately on top of a large collector vat.

45-48 It is you who pour out the filtered beer of the collector vat;

2a - Lagash in Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia, “land of the gods”, the “Eden”, between Rivers Euphrates & Tigris)

it is like the onrush of the Tigris and the Euphrates.

Ninkasi, it is you who pour out the filtered beer of the collector vat;

it is like the onrush of the Tigris and the Euphrates.


A Song to Ninimma (Ninimma A): translation

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue)

SEGMENT A

1-18 You are the seal-holder of the treasury of the …….

You are the caretaker of the great gods, you are …….

3a - nippur ziggurat, Enlil's home on Earth 2e - Enlil's home in Nippur  (E-kur, Enlil’s mud-brick-built ziggurat residence in Nippur)

Ninimma, you are the lady of all the great rites in the E-kur.

1ae - Enlil, Babylonian  (King Anu’s son & heir Enlil, Earth Colony Commander)

Lady, you are the …… of Enlil, you are the heavenly scribe.

You …… the tablet of life.

1 line fragmentary

You, who bring the best corn, are the lady of the E-sara.

The surveyor’s gleaming line and the measuring rod suit you perfectly.

You can hold your head high among the great princes.

You are …….

You are ……, the cherished one.

1 line fragmentary

……; you are exceptional in wisdom.

…… joy …….

My lady, you were exalted already in the womb; you are resplendent like the sunlight.

You are suited to the lapis-lazuli crown (?); you are the heavenly ……. …… adorned with loveliness …….

1 line fragmentary

approx. 10 lines missing

SEGMENT B

5d-nannar-his-sheep-2-unknowns (semi-divine king with dinner approaches Nannar in Ur)

1-11…… like a strong (?) ……. …… of the E-kur …… lady ……. …… the forceful one of Nanna …….

You are profoundly intelligent, one who knows everything.

You are the shining light which fills the exalted sanctuary.

You are she who …… by Enlil.

You are …….

You are …….

You are most apt for the holy susbu rites and lustration rites.

1 line unclear

Ninimma of the holy divine plans, it is sweet to praise you!

SEGMENT C

1You are …….

A Balbale to Nanše (Nanše B)

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue)

   Segment A

1-2. 2 lines fragmentary

unknown no. of lines missing

Segment B

1-12. A fish is held in her hand as a staff …….

Fishes are put on her feet as sandals …….

Fishes light up the interior of the sea like fires …….

Fishes play on instruments for her like (?) sur priests.

Fishes call out loudly for her like (?) oxen.

She has fish wrapped around her body as a regal garment.

The runner-fish (kaškaš) hastens (kaš) to her.

The gurgur fish makes the sea surge up (gurgur) for her.

The flash-fish (ĝir) makes the sea sparkle (ĝir) for her.

She heaps up fish spawn so that …… fish will grow for her in the sea.

Fishes fly around for her like swallows.

f490bc24768f3d0b7637245a26b854ba   (Nanshe, Goddess of Persian Gulf Birds & Fishes)

13-22. “I, the lady, will ride on my boat, I will ride home.

I will ride on the prow of the boat, I will ride home.”

Its canopy of gold and fragrant cedarwood sparkles for her on the sea.

Its cabin shines for her like rejoicing moonlight on the sea.

“My husband is the tax collector of the sea, Nindara is the tax collector of the sea.”

2 lines unclear

EGE13118  (Enki‘s daughter Nanshe in charge of the birds & fishes)

23. A balbale of Nanše.”

A Hymn to Nanshe: translation A

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in bluemixed-breed demigods in teal…)

1-9 There is a city, there is a city whose powers are apparent.

Nijin is the city whose powers are apparent.

The holy city is the city whose powers are apparent.

The mountain rising from the water is the city whose powers are apparent.

Its light rises over the secure temple; its fate is determined.

              (Nanshe, respected daughter of Enki’s, goddess over the Persian Gulf)

There is perfection in the city; the rites of mother Nance (Enki‘s daughter) are performed accordingly.

Its lady, the child born in Eridug (Eridu, Enki‘s patron city),

Nance, the lady of the precious divine powers, is now to return.

10-19 She is beer mash (?), the mother is yeast (?),

Nance is the cause of great things: her presence makes the storehouses of the land bulge

(1 ms. has instead: prosper) and makes the honey …… like resin in the storerooms.

Because of her, there stand vessels with ever-flowing water;

Farming - clay Sumerian sickle Farming - early man feeding the gods (Sumer, 1st to farm)

because of Nance, the baskets containing the treasures of the Land

cover the ground like the silt of the river.

She is the lady of …….

2 lines unclear

20-31 She is concerned for the orphan and concerned for the widow.

She does not forget the man who helps (?) others, she is a mother for the orphan;

Nance, a carer for the widow, who always finds advice for the debt-slave;

the lady who gives protection for refugees.

She seeks out a place for the weak.

She swells his collecting basket for him; she makes his collecting vessel profitable for him.

For the righteous maiden who has taken her path, Nance chooses a young man of means.

Nance raises a secure house like a roof over the widow who could not remarry.

32-46 There is perfection in the presence of the lady.

Lagac thrives in abundance in the presence of Nance.

3h - King Ur-Nanshe stela, Ninhursag (King Ur-Nanshe & spouse with Nanshe‘s mother Ninhursag)

She chose the cennu in her holy heart and seated (King) Ur-Nance,

the beloved lord of Lagac (Lagash), on the throne.

She gave the lofty scepter to the shepherd.

She adorned (King) Gudea with all her precious divine powers (alien technologies).

8d - Gudea as high-priest of Lagash (Gudea, son-king of Ninsun‘s, Ninurta‘s 2/3rds divine mixed-breed grandson)

The shepherd chosen by her in her holy heart,  Gudea, the ruler of Lagac, placed the lyre (?)

Cow-of-Abundance among the tigi drums and placed the holy balaj drum at its side.

While sacred songs and harmonious songs were performed before her,

            (1st with beer, music, & song)

the kintur instrument praised the temple.

The chief musician played the ibex horn for her: the song

2e - Eridu temple reconstruction 2b - Ninsun, her mixed-breed son-king, Isumud, & Enki  (Abzu, Enki‘s ziggurat & domain)

‘The house has been granted powers from the Abzu’,

the sacred song of the house of Sirara about the princely powers was performed.

47-58 The dream interpreter went into the sacristy and made glittering silver ecde cups ready for her.

The temple cook ……, and prepared hot and cold food for her.

He …… of the oven for her (?) and …… made the great shovel bellow for her.

After the meat had arrived in large bowls and cool water had been brought from the Sirara-canal,

             (land of the gods between the rivers)

after the festival trappings had arrived from Lagac and wine had been brought from the countryside,

her great oven which vies with the great dining hall, Nance‘s shrine of food offerings, was humming.

59-64 The lady, the matriarch of Enlil, Nance, the lady of abundance who lives in in the Land, 

(Nanshe, child of Enki, Fish & Bird Goddess of the Persian Gulf)

the……, the child of Enki, acting as a good woman for a good household, is to make the appointments.

After she, as a good woman for a good household, has made the appointments,

the regular offerings and daily goods of the house arrive unfailingly from the Bursaj.

65-75 If (?) the grain does not suffice for these rites and the the vessels are empty and do not pour water,

the person in charge of the regular offerings does not receive extra.

After what was distributed from the foods and what was distributed from the drinks,

after what was left over from the regular offerings and was not used by the house,

after what was expended from the taxed fish, after what …… one iku of reed-beds ……,

and after what was received in nuts ouch them.

No one should carry the bread of the shrines in the district as bread allotment.

…… prime beer, …… cool water.

76-82 The preparation for the temple’s permanent first-fruit festival should not stop.

Let there be a fat carrier who delivers fat to the house,

             (earthlings feeding the alien gods)

let there be a milk carrier who delivers milk to the house

and let there be a fish courier, a person of daily assignment.

After the firewood carrier has brought his delivery from the open country into his lady’s house,

it should be deposited in its corners and sides.

He who confirms or contradicts what is uttered,

               (Nanshe, Goddess over the Birds & Fishes of the Persian Gulf)

who enters Nance‘s house from outside (?), and does not leave it,

the caretaker of Nance‘s house, the child born to Utu, lord Hendursaja …….

The king discriminates between the good and the evil deeds,

              (Utu, the Sun God, Commander of the Space Ports, son to Nannar)

Hendursaja (Utu‘s & Aia’s son) discriminates between the good and the evil deeds.

The …… which might be obstructed by evil he …….

…… (incompletely preserved name of a goddess) ……,

the heroic child of youthful Suen (Sin / Nannar), …… the evil utterances for Nance.

92-93 May the lady of the right commands and inalienable divine powers,

              (Nanshe, Inanna, & Ningal seated; Persian Gulf fish & fowl of Nanshe)

Nance, be praised in all the countries!

94-112  At new year, on the day of rites, the lady libates water on the holy …….

On the day when the bowls of rations are inspected,

Nance also inspects the servants during the appointments.

  (Nisaba, Enlil’s mother-in-law, Goddess of Scribes & Grains)

Her chief scribe Nisaba places the precious tablets on her knees and takes a golden stylus in her hand.

She arranges the servants in single file for Nance and then it will be decided whether or not

a leather-clad servant can enter before her in his leather,

whether or not a linen-clad servant can pass before her in his linen.

Any registered and …… hired (?) person about whom observers (?)

and witnesses claim to witness his fleeing from the house will be terminated in his position …….

The king who always cares for the faithful servants,

      (Enlil with plow, Haia registering on a tablet, his spouse Nisaba & their daughter Ninlil, Enlil‘s equal spouse)

Haia, the man in charge of registration, registers on a tablet

him who is said to be a faithful servant of his lady

but deletes from the tablet her who is said not to be the maidservant of her lady.

113-129 If the vessels pour no water, the roads are not in order,

the dough trough is not kept clean, the fire is …… in the house during (?) the night-time,

the incantations are …… in the house during (?) the day-time,

then the cita-aba priest serving his term will be terminated from his office.

For a susbu priest who serves his term administering food allotments

and against whom a complaint has been lodged and for a sajja priest who while living in the house

did not make her holy songs and thoughts manifest (?), …… further rations are denied

and thereby mother Nance‘s ordinances will become apparent.

These words are ultimate; nothing is to be added to these rites.

No one should …… other powers to these powers.

Since not even one ……, no …… enters Nance‘s house (in Lagash).

1 line is unclear

130-136  At Nance‘s house, the river of the ordeal cleanses a person.

After the oracular messages and (?) the holy songs have come out of ……

of the Abzu (marshlands of Enki‘s patron city Eridu on the Persian Gulf), …… the songs,

and the enkum and ninkum priests choose (?) the purification rites.

No …… or …… are to be added its words.

No obstinate or threatening utterance shall arise.

137-153 Anyone who …… his hand and reaches out (?) for something forcefully (?),

and whose hand matches (?) his mouth and who commits violence,

who …changes a firm foundation or alters a marked out border, who is rushing (?) to the place of oath,

1 line unclear

who …… a small weight in place (?) of a large weight,

and …… a small ban measure in place (?) of a large ban measure,

who desire something after having acquired something,

who does not say “I have eaten” after having eaten,

and does not say “I have drunk” after having drunk,

and then says, “I will set a bowl before you, I will filter beer for you”;

a maidservant of a god who …… and …… from the house,

an untrustworthy person who …… while living in the house;

if anyone says “Serve (?) me, I want to eat”, or says “Serve (?) me,

I want to drink”, then Nance does not allow him to eat any bread

with fat or shining eggs, because of the violation (?).

154-162 If the violent person was allowed to eat ……, with (?) …… eyes,

paralyzed mouth, shuffling feet, he does not …… and does not …….

The powerful one who ……, the rich one who …… on the street,

the married one who …… his wife for (?) the widow,

who laughed one day in his rage, who makes fun of his calamity another day —

this person does not raise his …… for (?) the lady.

163-174 For the lady who cares for all the countries, the queen, mother Nance, sees into their hearts:

the orphan who ……, the widow who ……, the waif delivered up to the powerful,

the powerful delivered to the powerless, the mother who scolds at her child,

the child who talks obstinately to his mother,

the younger brother who talks against his elder brother or talks back his his father.

The lady, who ……, Nance, who ……,

Nance sees into the heart of the Land as if it were a split reed.

1 line unclear

175-180 Her herald lord Hendursaja (Utu‘s son, Nanshe‘s House Master)…….

Her protecting genius Dumu-tur-cugi does not ……, her guardian placed ……, guarding …….

Nance …... her house in Sirara (temple district of gods in Lagash) sprinkled with water,

her house …… during (?) the night-time.

181-192 He who extends his staff of office, the one respected within the Abzu,

               (Enki’s goddess daughter Nanshe)

the lord who has no opposition in the terraced tower (?) of Nance‘s house,

the king, lord Hendursaja, promulgates the decrees of Nance‘s house.

They are heavy smoke settling on the ground; the commands of the house

are thick clouds covering the sky as if they were joined together with the needle of matrimony,

yet the king, lord Hendursaja, tears them apart.

He can discriminate between the just and the wicked,

and he can bring justice to the orphan as well as to the widow.

193-211 He decides justly any lawsuits between mother and child:

if the mother has given to the child what she had to eat,

has given to it what she had to drink, has ……,

1 line unclear

and his mother …… the firewood carrier’s delivery from the open country,

and yet the child does not speak to the mother

who bore him in the great city with black looks (?) or in anger;

and if the mother ordered her child to the place where the offense happened

and the mother struck him at his ……,

but nevertheless she has given him suck from her milk-filled breast,

2 lines unclear

then, after the king who loves justice,

Hendursaja, has evaluated their testimonies and examined the case,

he will place the blame on the mother of the child

so that she will not be able to bear the weight of heavy blame,

and there will be no god such a person could pray to.

212-221 If the mother has not given to the child what she had to eat,

has not given to it what she had to drink, has not ……

1 line unclear

and his mother …… the firewood carrier’s delivery from the open country,

and the child speaks to the mother who bore him in the great city

with black looks (?) and in anger, then the king who hates violence,

Hendursaja, will treat such a person like water in a filthy place,

and will reject that child for her sake as grain is rejected by acid soil.

…… the words of his own mother …….

223-231 The guarantor of boundaries, the expert in (?) righteous words,

2 - Ninsun, mother to mixed-breed kings (Ninsun, daughter to Ninurta, mother to giant 2/3rds divine king Gudea)

lady, wise woman who founded Lagac (Lagash)…… with Jatumdug (Ninsun).

…… righteous words for (?) Nance.

              (Enlil instructs son Ninurta & granddaughter Inanna)

The exalted lady whose commands are ……, the lady who like Enlil determines fates,

who is seated on the throne of Sirara (also used as her name)

she, the pure one, looks at her powers.

232-240 At the house which has been granted powers from the Abzu,

in Sirara, the gods of Lagac gather around her.

To weigh silver with standard weights, to standardize the size of reed baskets,

Weights & Measures - Babylonian weights of measureThe Rassam obelisk from Nimrud, Mesopotamia, northern Iraq. Neo-Assyrian, 883-859 BCE. This fragment of a stone relief formed part of an obelisk discovered by archaeologist Hormuzd Rassam. The obelisk decorated one of the central squares in Nimrud, the site where King Ashurbanipal II chose to build his new administrative centre of the Assyrian Empire. This panel shows the king watching treasure being weighed on a pair of scales. ANE, 118800.

           (standardized weights & measures, 1st used in Sumer, land of advanced giant alien gods)

they establish an agreed ban measure throughout the countries.

The shepherd, the expert of the Land, the wise one (?) of the countries,

 (Ninurta, grandfather of King Gudea)

Ictaran (Ninurta)who decides lawsuits justly, who lives in the Land ……

 (Ninsun, her 2/3rds divine son King Gudea, & Ningishzidda)

Ninjiczida (Ningishzidda) …….

2 lines unclear

              

241-250 To weigh silver with standard weights, to standardize the size of reed baskets (a bushel),

they establish an agreed ban measure throughout the countries.

…… of (?) all the great rites.

1 line unclear

After …… in (?) the established storerooms, the lady of the storerooms ……

her lofty …… with (?) vessels with ever-flowing water

and with (?) …… of (?) reed containers which never become empty,

she ordered her herald, lord Hendursaja to make them profitable (?).

251-255 My lady, your divine powers (alien technologies) are mighty powers,

surpassing all other divine powers; Nance, there are no divine powers matching your powers.

             (Anu, the sole authority & King over planet Nibiru & their Earth Colony project)

An (Anu), the king, looks joyfully at you,

as you sit with Enlil on the throne-dais where the fates are to be determined.

Father Enki determined a fate for you.

2ba - Enki's Temple-Ziggourat in Eridu (Enki‘s daughter, Eridu ruins, Enki‘s patron city)

Nance, child born in Eridug , sweet is your praise.

Nanše and the Birds (Nanše C)

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue)

Segment A

1-7.The pelican (?) came forth from the holy reedbeds.

It came forth from the holy reedbeds.

The wise pelican (?) spent the day high in the skies.

The pelican (?) cried out in the sky: its singing was sweet and its voice was pleasing.

My lady …… her pelican (?) with beauty.

EGE13118  (Nanshe, Enki’s daughter, Goddess of Persian Gulf Birds & Fishes)

The mistress, Mother Nanše, …… her pelican (her standard) (?) with beauty.

8-9. “I am the mistress! How can my pelican (?) ……? How can I ……? I am Nanše!

How can my pelican (?) …… holy? How can ……?”

10-22. She herself …… upon the water like a large pelican (?).

Stepping onto earth from heaven, she …… in the water like a holy cow.

A holy pelican (?), a white cow, she drank by the water’s side.

With the towering flood …….

Nanše, shining …… of the Anuna (Anunnaki), the great gods!

f490bc24768f3d0b7637245a26b854ba  (Enki’s offspring were each given areas of responsibility for Earth Colony establishment)

Mistress, Mother Nanše, good woman, ……!

Nanše, sister praised by the Anuna (aliens mistaken for gods)!

Mother, beautiful matriarch of Enlil!

{Nanše} {(1 ms. has instead:) My lady}, delighting in her pelican (?),

erected a lapis lazuli shrine, and set the holy pelican (?) by her feet.

23-27. “I am the mistress, so let my birds assemble for me where the sheaves are gathered!

I am Nanše, so let my birds assemble for me where the sheaves are gathered!

Let the birds of heaven and earth stand at my service!

Let every bird without a name bring offerings!

Let every bird not caught in nets ……!”

28-30. The voiceless bat ……, a bird that darts by in the heavens.

The Anzud bird decides the fates with (?) the Anuna gods.

6 - Anzu, Igigi leader

31-42. The sharp-toothed bird in (?) the water sends forth …… wisdom:

“My mistress, ……. I am the bird, the sharp-toothed bird!

All by myself …….

My Nanše, ……!

I am the bird, the sharp-toothed bird!

All by myself …….”

3 lines fragmentary

The lammergeier ……. …… the lammergeier …….

It kills wild bulls in the foothills, and it kills the stags in the high mountains.

43-45. Raven, raven, your eggs are shining bright!

Raven bird, your eggs are shining bright!

Where do people carry off your holy eggs, your …… eggs to?

46-48. The ostrich …… her eggs on the hillside.

She receives those eggs as something to carry: the bird knows how to keep watch at night.

  (Nanshe with her birds of the Persian Gulf, ancient Mesopotamia)

49-53. The peacock spends the day keeping watch.

The holy bird, the peacock, spends the day calling ‘ḫaya’.

A bird red from cornelian, blue from lapis lazuli, white (?) from chalcedony (?),

with all kinds of gold, and leather inlaid with gold —

may the copper-smith fashion the peacock for you thus.

54-63. O bird in the sky! O vulture, weaver, vulture, weaver!

O uz vulture in the sky!

O vulture, weaver, vulture, weaver!

Its wings together, its feet together,

1 line fragmentary

Its call …… to the ear (?) ……. …… its call …….

4 lines fragmentary

unknown no. of lines missing

Segment B

1-14. 3 lines fragmentary

The misaz bird …… cries out …….

1 line fragmentary

The snake-eater bird is green …….

Its wings …… a barge …….

The …… bird …….

The gubi bird …….

5 lines fragmentary

unknown no. of lines missing

Segment C

1-6. 1 line fragmentary

2b - Ninhursag, Chief Medical Officer (Ninhursag’s failed attempts at fashioning a worker / “modern man”)

…… of Ninḫursaĝa (Ninhursag) (?) he brings as his property to the mountains.

Since it was searching for its property, the bird is called niĝgurmudum (‘He brings his property’).

The niĝgurmudum bird calls out and laments in the desert of Keš (Kish).

2d - Kish 1926 (Kish ruins & Ninhursag‘s ziggurat residence)

7-17. The twittering birds flocking in the palace …….

The salsal bird cries in lament over itself.

The egret (?), seemly in a …… linen garment, is present at the quayside.

The heron (?) is brown, and clad in …… in the reedbeds.

The …… bird catches azagur fish.

The giri-ilu bird, dread of the people, …… its ‘giri-ilu’.

The stork …… picks up (?) …… like grass.

The sa bird names …… its young …….

The dubdubu bird …….

The šegšeg bird sheds tears like a crying baby.

The gubiguzaga bird …… like an angry man.

unknown no. of lines missing

Segment D

(it is possible that Segment D belongs to a different version)

1-15. 2 lines fragmentary

…… green ……. …… birds, like ants in crevices …….

Fragment of a stele with bust of the goddess Ba'u. Period of king Gudea, around 2100 BCE. From Tello. Limestone, H: 16,2 cm AO 4572  (Bau, King Anu‘s daughter, spouse to her nephew Ninurta, son of Enlil & Ninhursag)

…… Bau (Gula) takes a bath …….

The tigilu bird …… the split roots …….

The dove …… gently in the broad fields.

The pigeon …… bitterly in the vacant lot of the king.

           (Nanshe & her birds of the Persian Gulf)

The ubi bird and the udar bird …… ants …….

The bird ……. …… in the gutter like beasts.

1 line unclear

…… humbly like an orphaned child …….

The ḫamun bird …… in harmony …… is dressed in linen.

…… wine, like wine ……

unknown no. of lines missing

Segment E

1-16. The heron (?) …….

The girgid bird …….

The dur bird …….

1 line fragmentary

The dar bird …… guard …….

The dar bird …… ‘tikutikumae’.

The …… bird …… in the marshes.

The adardara bird …… the swallow …….

The …… bird, when the net is suspended …….

The …… bird …… marshes …….

The šu-ur bird …… its extended wings and its head.

The sleep bird spends its time crying ‘dilibipila’.

The shepherd bird cries ‘uludig uludig’.

The shepherd bird is brightly coloured like the durdar bird, and has a crest on its head.

The nu-erimla bird does not live in windows or reed huts.

The tirida bird calls the name ‘tirida’ in the reedbeds.

17-20. ……, you are she who loves the fish and birds!

You are she who does not scatter my ……!

You are she who does not belittle ……!

Mistress, Mother Nanše, it is sweet to praise you!

Nanshe’s (House in Sirara) – Temple Hymn

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue)

O house, wild cow ……, city which appears in splendor adorned for the princess,

Sirara, great and princely place, your …… by the shrine,

your lady Nanše, a great storm, a mighty flood, born on the shore of the sea,

who laughs on the foam of the sea, who plays on the water of the flood, who ……,

  (Nanshe, daughter to Enki, Goddess of Persian Gulf Birds & Fishes)

Nanše, the …… lady, has erected a house in your precinct,

O house Sirara (ancient city), and taken her seat upon your dais.

f490bc24768f3d0b7637245a26b854ba (Nanshe, giant alien Goddess of Birds & Fishes of Persian Gulf)

10 lines: the house of Nanše in Sirara.

A Man and His God

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue)

1-9 A person should steadfastly proclaim the exaltedness of his god.

A young man should devoutly praise the words of his god;

the people living in the righteous Land should unravel them like a thread.

May the balaj singer assuage the spirit of his neighbor and friend.

May it soothe their (?) hearts, bring forth ……, utter ……, and measure out …….

Let his mouth shaping a lament soothe the heart of his god, for a man without a god does not obtain food.

10-17 There is a young man who does not wickedly put his efforts into evil murder,

yet he spends the time in grief, asag illness and bitter suffering.

The fate demon has brought need and …… close to him.

Bitter …… has confused his judgment (?) of it, and covered his …….

Behind his back they have overpowered him like a …….

Before his god the youth, the young man weeps bitterly over the malice he has suffered.

He is reverent and performs obeisance.

18-24 He speaks …… of his suffering.

In his total exhaustion ……, …… he weeps. ……, …… he weeps bitterly.

He was able to fill the …… for him.

He …… to him and addresses him:

25-34 “Grief ……, despair ……, and …… has been put in place.

I am a young man, I am knowledgeable, but what I know does not come out right with me.

The truth which I speak has been turned (?) into a lie.

A man of deceit has overwhelmed me like the south wind and prostrated me before him.

My unwitting arm has shamed me before you.

You have doled out to me suffering ever anew.

When I go into the house I despair.

When I, a young man, go out into the street, I am depressed.

35-45 My righteous shepherd has become angry with me, a youth, and looked upon me with hostility.

My herdsman has plotted malice against me although I am not his enemy.

My companion does not say a true word to me.

My friend falsifies my truthfully spoken words.

A man of deceit has spoken insulting words to me while you,

my god, do not respond to him and you carry off my understanding.

An ill-wisher has spoken insulting words to me – he angered me, was like a storm and created anguish.

I am wise — why am I tied up with ignorant youths?

I am discerning — why am I entangled among ignorant men?

46-56 Food is all about, yet my food is hunger.

When shares were allotted to all the people, my allotted share was suffering.

A brother …… insulted me, created anguish.

He …… my ……, raised up …… and carried off …….

A hostile …… without wisdom wrote on clay (?).

He sought the …… of the journey.

He cut down the …… of the road like a tree.

He …… the supervisor and …… my steward.

57-63 My god, …… before you. I would speak to you: my tears are excess and my words are supplication.

I would tell you about it, would unravel to you like a thread the evil of my path.

…… the confusion of what I have done (?).

Let the wise …… in my plans; tears will not cease.

I am less qualified than my friend; I am inferior to my companion.

64-68 Now, let my mother who bore me not cease lamenting for me before you.

Let my sister, truly a sweet-voiced balaj singer, narrate tearfully to you the deeds by which I was overpowered.

Let my wife voice my suffering …… to you.

Let the singer expert in chanting unravel my bitter fate to you like a thread.

69-74 “My god, the day shines bright over the Land, but for me the day is black.

The bright day has become (?) a …… day.

Tears, lament, anguish and despair are lodged within me.

Suffering overwhelms me like a weeping child.

In the hands of the fate demon my appearance has been altered, my breath of life carried away.

The asag demon, the evil one, bathes in my body.

75-81 In the overwhelming bitterness of my path I never see a good dream —

but unfavorable (?) visions daily never stop for me.

Anguish embraced me though I am not its wife and …….

Grief spread its lap for me though I am not its small child.

Lamentation sweeps over me as if it were a southerly wind-storm and …….

My brother cried “Alas”.”

10 lines fragmentary

5 lines missing

97-105 I weep …… and …….

My god, you who are my father who begot me, lift up my face to you.

Righteous cow, god (?) of mercy and supplication, let me acquire (?) noble strength.

For how long will you be uncaring for me and not look after me?

Like a bull I would rise to you but you do not let me rise, you do not let me take the right course.

The wise heroes say true and right words:

“Never has a sinless child been born to its mother;

making an effort (?) does not bring success (?); a sinless workman has never existed from of old.”

106-112 My god — the …… of forgetting which I have …… against you,

the …… of releasing which I have prepared before you —

may you utter words of grace on a young man who knows the holy words “May he not consume me”.

When the day is not bright, in my vigor, in my sleep, may I walk before you.

May I …… my impurities and uncleanliness in the health of the city.

May you utter words of grace on him who knows the words

“When anger and the evil heart came about”.

Indeed he speaks joyously to him who knows the words “When fear and …… burned”.

113-119 My god, …… after you have made me know my sins,

at the city’s (?) gate I would declare them, ones forgotten and ones visible.

I, a young man, will declare my sins before you.

In the assembly may tears (?) rain like drizzle.

In your house may my supplicating mother weep for me.

May your holy heart (?) have mercy and compassion for me, a youth.

May your heart, an awe-inspiring wave, be restored towards me, the young man.”

120-129 The man’s god heard his bitter weeping.

After his lamentation and prolonged wailing had soothed the heart of his god towards the young man,

his god accepted the righteous words, the holy words he had spoken.

The words of supplication which the young man had mastered, the holy prayers, delighted his god like fine oil.

His god stretched his hand away from the hostile words.

He …… like rain the anguish which had embraced him though he was not its wife ……

and scattered to the winds the grief which had spread its arms round him.

He let the lamentation which had swept over him as if it were a southerly wind-storm (?) be dissipated.

He eradicated (?) the fate demon which had been lodged in his body.

130-136 He turned the young man’s suffering into joy.

He set by him as guardian a benevolent protective demon that keeps guard at the mouth (?).

He gave him kindly protective goddesses.

The young man steadfastly proclaims the exaltedness of his god.

He (?) brings forth …… and makes known …….

He refreshes himself ……. He trusts in you and …….

137-143 I have set my sights on you as on the rising sun.

3c - Ninhursag, Inanna, & staff (Ninhursag seated & 3 helper goddesses)

Like Ninmah (Ninhursag) ……, you have let me exert great power.

My god, you looked on me from a distance with your good life-giving eyes.

May I proclaim well your …… and holy strength.

May your …… heart be restored towards me.

May you absolve my sin.

May your heart be soothed towards me.”

144-145 Jicgijal of the lament of supplication for a man’s god.

The Instructions of Shuruppak

Souce: Lambert, W. G. (1996) Babylonian Wisdom Literature. Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, Indiana.

Source for the Instructions of Shuruppak: Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E., and Zólyomi, G., The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Oxford 1998- .

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in bluemixed-breed demigods in teal...)

 

             (ancient cuneiform Instructions of Shuruppak Tablet)

1-13 In those days, in those far remote days, in those nights,

in those faraway nights, in those years, in those far remote years,

at that time the wise one who knew how to speak in elaborate words lived in the Land;

Curuppag, the wise one, who knew how to speak with elaborate words lived in the Land.

Curuppag gave instructions to his son; Curuppag (Biblical Lamech), the son of Ubara-Tutu (Biblical Methuselah)

gave instructions to his son Zi-ud-sura (Biblical Noah):

My son, let me give you instructions: you should pay attention!

Zi-ud-sura, let me speak a word to you: you should pay attention!

Do not neglect my instructions! Do not transgress the words I speak!

The instructions of an old man are precious; you should comply with them!

14 You should not buy a donkey which brays; it will split (?) your midriff (?).

15-18 You should not locate a field on a road; ……

You should not plow a field at (1 ms. adds: a road or) a path; …….

You should not make a well in your field: people will cause damage on it for you.

You should not place your house next to a public square: there is always a crowd (?) there.

19-20 You should not vouch for someone: that man will have a hold on you; and you yourself,

you should not let somebody vouch for you (1 ms. adds:: that man will despise (?) you).

21 You should not make an inspection (?) on a man: the flood (?) will give it back (?) to you.

22-27 You should not loiter about where there is a quarrel; you should not let the quarrel make you a witness.

You should not let (?) yourself …… in a quarrel.

You should not cause a quarrel; ……. …… the gate of the palace …….

Stand aside from a quarrel, …… you should not take (?) another road.

28-31 You should not steal anything; you should not …… yourself.

You should not break into a house; you should not wish for the money chest (?).

A thief is a lion, but after he has been caught, he will be a slave.

My son, you should not commit robbery; you should not cut yourself with an ax.

32-34 You should not make a young man best man.

You should not …… yourself.

You should not play around with a married young woman: the slander could be serious.

My son, you should not sit alone in a chamber with a married woman.

35-38 You should not pick a quarrel; you should not disgrace yourself.

You should not …… lies; …….

You should not boast; then your words will be trusted.

You should not deliberate for too long (?); you cannot bear …… glances.

39-41 You should not eat stolen food with anyone (1 ms. has instead: a thief).

You should not sink (?) your hand into blood.

After you have apportioned the bones, you will be made to restore the ox, you will be made to restore the sheep.

42-43 You should not speak improperly; later it will lay a trap for you.

44-46 You should not scatter your sheep into unknown pastures.

You should not hire someone’s ox for an uncertain …….

A safe …… means a safe journey.

47 You should not travel during the night: it can hide both good and evil.

48 You should not buy an onager: it lasts (?) only until the end of the day.

49 You should not have sex with your slave girl: she will chew you up (?).

50 You should not curse strongly: it rebounds on you.

51-52 You should not draw up water which you cannot reach (1 ms. has instead: grasp): it will make you weak.

1 line unclear

53 You should not drive away a debtor: he will be hostile towards you.

54-57 You should not establish a home with an arrogant man: he will make your life like that of a slave girl.

You will not be able to travel through any human dwelling without be being shouted at: “There you go! There you go!”

58-59 You should not undo the …… of the garden’s reed fence; “Restore it! Restore it!” they will say to you.

60 You should not provide a stranger (?) with food; you should not wipe out (?) a quarrel.

61-62 My son, you should not use violence (?); …….

You should not commit rape on someone’s daughter; the courtyard will learn of it.

63-64 You should not drive away a powerful (1 ms. has instead: strong) man; you should not destroy the outer wall.

You should not drive away a young man; you should not make him turn against the city.

65-66 The eyes of the slanderer always move around as shiftily as a spindle.

You should never remain in his presence; his intentions (?) should not be allowed to have an effect (?) on you.

67 You should not boast in beer halls (1 ms. has instead: breweries) like a deceitful man:

(1 ms. adds: then your words will be trusted.)

68-72 Having reached the field of manhood, you should not jump (?) with your hand.

The warrior is unique, he alone is the equal of many; Utu is unique, he alone is the equal of many.

2a - Utu, Shamash, twin to Inanna (Utu, Nannar‘s son, Enlil‘s grandson, Enlil‘s Space Port Commander)

With your life you should always be on the side of the warrior; with your life you should always be on the side of Utu.

73-75 Curuppag (Shuruppak) gave these instructions to his son.

Curuppag, the son of Ubara-Tutu, gave these instructions to his son Zi-ud-sura (Noah).

76-82 A second time, Curuppag gave instructions to his son.

Curuppag, the son of Ubara-Tutu gave instructions to his son Zi-ud-sura (Noah):

My son, let me give you instructions: you should pay attention!

Zi-ud-sura, let me speak a word to you: you should pay attention!

Do not neglect my instructions! Do not transgress the words I speak!

(1 ms. adds the line: The instructions of an old man are precious; you should comply with them!)

83-91 The beer-drinking mouth …….

My little one …….

The beer-drinking mouth …….

2 - Ninkasi (Ninkasi, Enki‘s & Ninhursag‘s daughter, brew-master, Goddess of Beer)

Ninkasi .……

5 lines unclear

92-93 Your own man will not repay (?) it for you.

The reed-beds are ……, they can hide (?) slander.

94-96 The palace is like a mighty river: its middle is goring bulls;

what flows in is never enough to fill it, and what flows out can never be stopped.

97-100 When it is about someone’s else bread, it is easy to say “I will give it to you”,

but the time of actual giving can be as far away as the sky.

If you go after the man who said “I will give it to you”,

he will say “I cannot give it to you — the bread has just been finished up”.

101-102 Property is something to be expanded (?); but nothing can equal my little ones.

103-105 The artistic mouth recites words; the harsh mouth brings litigation documents; the sweet mouth gathers sweet herbs.

106-108 The garrulous (1 ms. has instead: liar) fills (?) his bread bag;

the haughty one brings an empty bag and can fill his empty mouth only with boasting.

109 Who works with leather will eventually (?) work with his own leather.

110 The strong one can escape (?) from anyone’s hand.

111-114 The fool loses something.

When sleeping, the fool loses something.

“Do not tie me up!” he pleads; “Let me live!” he pleads.

115-117 The imprudent decrees fates; the shameless one piles up (?) things in another’s lap:

“I am such that I deserve admiration”.

118 A weak wife is always seized (?) by fate.

119-123 If you hire a worker, he will share the bread bag with you;

he eats with you from the same bag, and finishes up the bag with you.

Then he will quit working with you and, saying “I have to live on something”, he will serve at the palace.

124-125 You tell your son to come to your home; you tell your daughter to go to her woman’s quarters.

126 You should not pass judgment when you drink beer.

127 You should not worry unduly about what leaves the house.

128-130 Heaven is far, earth is most precious, but it is with heaven that you multiply your goods,

and all foreign lands breathe under it.

131-133 At harvest time, at the most priceless time, collect like a slave girl, eat like a queen;

my son, to collect like a slave girl, to eat like a queen, this is how it should be.

134-142 Who insults can hurt only the skin; greedy eyes (?), however, can kill.

The liar, shouting, tears up his garments.

Insults bring (?) advice to the wicked.

To speak arrogantly is like an abscess: a herb that makes the stomach sick.

1 line is unclear

My words of prayer bring abundance.

Prayer is cool water that cools the heart.

Only (?) insults and stupid speaking receive the attention of the Land.

143-145 Curuppag gave these instructions to his son.

Curuppag, the son of Ubara-Tutu, gave these instructions to his son Zi-ud-sura.

146-152 A third time, Curuppag gave instructions to his son.

Curuppag (Biblical Lamech), the son of UbaraTutu (Biblical Methuselah)

gave instructions to his son Zi-ud-sura (Biblical Noah):

My son, let me give you instructions: you should pay attention!

Zi-ud-sura, let me speak a word to you: you should pay attention!

Do not neglect my instructions! Do not transgress the words I speak!

(Some mss. add the line: The instructions of an old man are precious; you should comply with them! )

153 You should not beat a farmer’s son: he has constructed (?) your embankments and ditches.

154-164 You should not buy a prostitute: she is a mouth that bites.

You should not buy a house-born slave: he is a herb that makes the stomach sick.

You should not buy a free man: he will always lean against the wall.

You should not buy a palace slave girl: she will always be the bottom of the barrel (?).

You should rather bring down a foreign slave from the mountains,

or you should bring somebody from a place where he is an alien;

my son, then he will pour water for you where the sun rises and he will walk before you.

He does not belong to any family, so he does not want to go to his family;

he does not belong to any city, so he does not want to go to his city.

(1 ms. adds 2 lines: He cannot knock at the door of ……, he cannot enter …….)

He will not …… with you, he will not be presumptuous with you.

165-167 My son, you should not travel alone eastwards.

Your acquaintance should not …….

168-169 A name placed on another one ……; you should not pile up a mountain on another one.

170-171 Fate is a wet bank; it can make one slip.

172-174 The elder brother is indeed like a father; the elder sister is indeed like a mother.

Listen therefore to your elder brother, and you should be obedient to your elder sister as if she were your mother.

175-176 You should not work using only your eyes; you will not multiply your possessions using only your mouth.

177 The negligent one ruins (?) his family.

178-180 The need for food makes some people ascend the mountains; it also brings traitors and foreigners,

since the need for food brings down other people from the mountains.

181-182 A small city provides (?) its king with a calf; a huge city digs (?) a house plot (?).

183-188 …… is well equipped.

The poor man inflicts all kinds of illnesses on the rich man.

The married man is well equipped; the unmarried makes his bed in a haystack (?).

He who wishes to destroy a house will go ahead and destroy the house;

he who wishes to raise up will go ahead and raise up.

189-192 By grasping the neck of a huge ox, you can cross the river.

By moving along (?) at the side of the mighty men of your city, my son, you will certainly ascend (?).

193-201 When you bring a slave girl from the hills, she brings both good and evil with her.

The good is in the hands; the evil is in the heart.

The heart does not let go of the good; but the heart cannot let go of the evil either.

As if it were a watery place, the heart does not abandon the good.

Evil is a store-room …….

(1 ms. adds:2 lines unclear)

May the boat with the evil sink in the river!

May his waterskin split in the desert!

202-203A loving heart maintains a family; a hateful heart destroys a family.

204-207 To have authority, to have possessions and to be steadfast are princely divine powers (alien technologies).

You should submit to the respected; you should be humble before the powerful.

My son, you will then survive (?) against the wicked.

208-212 You should not choose a wife during a festival.

Her inside is illusory (?); her outside is illusory (?).

The silver on her is borrowed; the lapis lazuli on her is borrowed

(1 ms. has instead the line: ……; the jewelery on her is borrowed, the jewelery on her is borrowed).

The dress on her is borrowed; the linen garment on her is borrowed.

With …… nothing (?) is comparable.

213-214 You should not buy a …… bull.

You should not buy a vicious bull; …… a hole (?) in the cattle-pen …….

215 One appoints (?) a reliable woman for a good household.

216-217 You should not buy a donkey at the time of harvest.

A donkey which eats …… will …… with another donkey.

218-219 A vicious donkey hangs its neck; however, a vicious man, my son, …….

220 A woman with her own property ruins the house.

221 A drunkard will drown the harvest.

222-234 A female burglar (?) …… ladder; she flies into the houses like a fly.

A she-donkey …… on the street. A sow suckles its child on the street.

A woman who pricked herself begins to cry and holds the spindle which pricked (?) her in her hand.

She enters every house; she peers into all streets. …… she keeps saying “Get out!”

She looks around (?) from all parapets. She pants (?) where there is a quarrel.

2 lines unclear

235-241 Marry (?) …… whose heart hates (?).

My son, ……

4 lines unclear

A heart which overflows with joy …….

242-244 Nothing at all is to be valued, but life should be sweet.

You should not serve things; things should serve you.

My son, …….

245 You should not …… grain; its …… are numerous.

246-247 You should not abuse a ewe; otherwise you will give birth to a daughter.

You should not throw a lump of earth into the money chest (?); otherwise you will give birth to a son.

248-249 You should not abduct a wife; you should not make her cry (?).

The place where the wife is abducted to …….

251 “Let us run in circles (?), saying: “Oh, my foot, oh, my neck!”.

Let us with united forces (?) make the mighty bow!”

252-253 You should not kill a ……, he is a child born by …….

You should not kill …… like ……; you should not bind him.

254 The wet-nurses in the women’s quarters determine the fate of their lord.

255-260 You should not speak arrogantly to your mother; that causes hatred for you.

You should not question the words of your mother and your personal god.

3h - Utu in the mountains of Sippar  (Sun god Utu‘s blast-off in the mountains, launch towers, effects brighter than the Sun)

The mother, like Utu, gives birth to the man; the father, like a god, makes him bright (?).

The father is like a god: his words are reliable.

The instructions of the father should be complied with.

261 Without suburbs a city has no centre either.

262-263 My son, a field situated at the bottom of the embankments, be it wet or dry, is nevertheless a source of income.

264 it is inconceivable (?) that something is lost forever.

2a - Dilmun & Magan

 (Dilmun, the pristine lands on the Persian Gulf, lands given by Enki to his daughter Ninsikila, Enki brought to her lands the sweet water)

265 …… of Dilmun ……

266-271 To get lost is bad for a dog; but terrible for a man

(1 ms. has instead: An unknown place is terrible; to get lost is shameful (?) for a dog).

On the unfamiliar way at the edge of the mountains, the gods of the mountains are man-eaters.

They do not build houses there as men do; they do not build cities there as men do.

1 line unclear

272-273 For the shepherd, he stopped searching, he stopped bringing back the sheep.

For the farmer (?), he stopped plowing the field.

1 line unclear

274-276 This gift of words is something which soothes the mind ……; when it enters the palace, it soothes the mind …….

The gift of many words ….. stars.

277 These are the instructions given by Curuppag, the son of Ubara-Tutu.

         (semi-divine king & Nisaba with stylus & tablet; Nisaba the Goddess of Scribes & Grains)

278-280 Praise be to the lady who completed the great tablets, the maiden Nisaba,

 (Nisaba, Enlil‘s mother-in-law, Master Scribe of gods & men, Goddess of Grains)

that Curuppag, the son of Ubara-Tutu gave his instructions!

MS in Sumerian on clay, Sumer, ca. 2600 BC, 1 tablet, 8,7×8,7×2,5 cm, 2 columns + 2 blank columns, 8+8 compartments in cuneiform script, reverse blank. Context: For the Old Babylonian recension of the text, see MSS 2817 (lines 1-22), 3352 (lines 1-38), 2788 (lines 1-45), 2291 (lines 88-94), 2040 (lines 207-216), 3400 (lines 342-345), MS 3176/1, text 3, and 3366.

Context: For the Old Babylonian recension of the text, see MSS 2788 (lines 1-45), 2291 (lines 88-94) and 2040 (lines 207-216).

Commentary: The present Early Dynastic tablet is one of a few that represent the earliest literature in the world. Only 3 groups of texts are known from the dawn of literature: The Shuruppak instructions, The Kesh temple hymn, and various incantations (see MS 4549). The instructions are addressed by the ante-diluvian ruler Shuruppak, to his son Ziusudra, who was the Sumerian Noah, cf. MS 3026, the Sumerian Flood Story, and MS 2950, Atra- Hasis, the Old Babylonian Flood Story.

The Shuruppak instructions can be said to be the Sumerian forerunner of the 10 Commandments and some of the proverbs of the Bible: Line 50: Do not curse with powerful means (3rd Commandment); lines 28: Do not kill (6th Commandment); line 33-34: Do not laugh with or sit alone in a chamber with a girl that is married (7th Commandment); lines 28-31: Do not steal or commit robbery (8th Commandment); and line 36: Do not spit out lies (9th Commandment).