Up onto the mountain I bring them.
There to rain down upon them destructive stones.
Thine enemies I hew down,
With their blood I fill the river.
Let them behold and glorify me,
For Ashur, the lord of gods, am I.'
This important and striking message, coming direct from Ashur we are told, is to be formally presented and read in the presence of the king. Instructions are added to the priests to pour out a libation of precious oil. Sacrifices of animals and waving of incense are to accompany the presentation.
The oracle, as the god's answer to the king's questions, thus gave rise to a ritual as elaborate as the rites connected with the preparations for the answer. The oracles were not always trustworthy, as we can well believe, and often they were not definite enough. If we may judge from an expression in one of the divine messages to Esarhaddon, the king appears to have entered a complaint against a former oracle, which was not to his liking. Ishtar accordingly sends the following message:[532]
The former word which I spoke to thee,
On it thou didst not rely.