Obverse.
- 1. .... seat her (?)
- 2. .... all the lords
- 3. .... his might
- 4. .... the gods, lord of the mighty hour (?)
- 5. .... lord of the kingdom magnified.
- 6. .... mightily supreme.
Reverse.
- 1. .... Hea called[10] to his men
- 2. .... the path of his greatness
- 3. .... any god
- 4. .... Sar-tuli-elli (the king of the illustrious mound) his knowledge (?)
- 5. .... his illustrious ......
- 6. .... his fear (?) Sar-tuli-elli
- 7. .... his might
- 8. .... to them, in the midst of the sea
- 9. .... thy father battle
We may conclude this chapter with a fragment of some length, which Mr. Smith erroneously supposed to refer to the Fall. His mistake arose from the imperfect state in which the text of it has been preserved, and the consequent obscurity of its reference and meaning. Dr. Oppert has shown that it really contains a hymn to the Creator Hea. Before the commencement of lines 1, 5, 11, 19, 27, and 29 on the obverse, there are glosses stating that the divine titles commencing these lines all apply to the same deity. These explanatory glosses show that even in the Assyrian time the allusions in the original text were not all intelligible without the help of a commentary.
Obverse.
- 1. The god of (propitious) Life ..... (secondly)
- 2. who established light .....
- 3. their precepts .....
- 4. Never may they forsake (their) boundaries ...
- 5. The god of illustrious Life, thirdly, he was called, the director of the bright (firmament),
- 6. the god of good winds, the lord of hearing and obedience,
- 7. the creator of lean (?) and fat, the establisher of fertility,
- 8. who has brought to increase them that were small at the outset.
- 9. In the mighty thickets we have smelt his good wind.
- 10. May he command, may he glorify, may he hearken to his worshippers.
- 11. The god of the illustrious Crown, fourthly, may he quicken the dust!
- 12. Lord of the illustrious charm, who gives life to the dead,
- 13. who to the hostile gods has granted return,
- 14. the homage they rendered he has caused the gods his foes to submit to.
- 15. That they might obey (?) he has created mankind,
- 16. the merciful one with whom is life.
- 17. May he establish, and never may his word be forgotten
- 18. in the mouth of the black-headed race whom his hands created.
- 19. The god of the illustrious incantation, fifthly, may his foes (?) be overthrown (or answered) with hostile curse (?)
- 20. He who with his illustrious incantation has removed the curse of the enemy.
- 21. The God the Heart-knower, who knows the hearts of the gods, who fly from the fear of him:
- 22. the doing of evil they caused not to come forth against him.
- 23. He who establishes the assembly of the gods, (who knows) their hearts,
- 24. who subdues the disobedient .....
- 25. who directs justice .....
- 26. who (defends?) sovereignty .....
- 27. The god of prosperous life, (sixthly) .....
- 28. he who cuts off darkness (?) .....
- 29. The god Sukhkhab (?), thirdly, the flock (?) ...
- 30. he who adds unto them .....
Reverse.
- 1. ..... the star .....
- 2. may he seize that which has the head in the tail (? a comet)
- 3. since that in the midst of the sea he passed over .....
- 4. His name accordingly (is) Nibiru (the passer over), the possessor .....
- 5. may he (confirm) the precepts (or laws) of the stars of heaven.
- 6. Like sheep may he feed the gods all of them;
- 7. may he exorcise the sea, its treasures may he hedge in and summon
- 8. among men hereafter through length of days.
- 9. May he also remove mischief; may he overcome it for the future.
- 10. Because (all) places he made, he pierced, he strengthened.
- 11. Lord of the world is his name called, (even) father Bel.
- 12. The names of the angels he gave to them.
- 13. Hea also heard, and his liver (i. e. anger) was lulled,
- 14. (saying) “Since that his men he has quickened by his name,
- 15. he like myself has the name of Hea.
- 16. The bond of my command may he bring to them all, and
- 17. all my tereti (lots?) may he answer [or throw down]
- 18. by the fifty names of the great gods.”
- 19. His fifty names they pronounced; they restored his precepts.
- 20. May they be observed and, as formerly, may he speak.
- 21. Unsearchable, wise, triumphantly may he rule.
- 22. May father to son repeat and exalt (them).
- 23. May he open the ears of shepherd and flocks.
- 24. May (the shepherd) obey Merodach, Bel among the gods.
- 25. May his land be green, may he himself be at peace.
- 26. Established (is) his word, unyielding his command;
- 27. the utterance of his mouth no god has ever despised.
- 28. He was called by name and withdraws not his neck.
- 29. In the abundance of his strength there is no god, that receives for him his crown.
- 30. Far-reaching (is) his heart, an abyss (is) his stomach:
- 31. Sin and cursing before him disappear.