Why hast thou set thy mind upon stirring up destructive contest?
He reproaches her for the hatred she has shown towards the gods, and boldly calls her out to the contest:
Stand up! I and thou, come let us fight.
Tiâmat's rage at this challenge is superbly pictured:
When Tiâmat heard these words
She acted as possessed, her senses left her;
Tiâmat shrieked wild and loud,
Trembling and shaking down to her foundations.
She pronounced an incantation, uttered her sacred formula.
Marduk is undismayed: