An adab to Enlil for Shulgi (Shulgi G): translation

^1-8Enlil, the eminent one, the sovereign lord, whose utterance is trustworthy; Nunamnir, the eternal shepherd of the Land, who hails from the great mountain; the great counsellor, the first and foremost in heaven and on earth, who is in control of all the divine powers; lord, who is imbued with great fearsomeness in accordance with his nobility, a perfected heavenly star, who takes good care of the primeval and choice divine powers, who alone is the lofty god; lord, life-giving light, who leads the people all over the world along one track; huge net spread over heaven and earth, rope stretched over all the lands! Who ever instructed Enlil, who ever rivalled him?

^9-14He thought up something of great importance and he made public what his heart, a mighty river, carried: the hidden secrets (?) of his holy thought. The matter is a holy and pure one, it concerns the divine powers of the E-kur, the fated good brick embedded (?) in the bottom of the abzu, it is something most important: a trustworthy man will rebuild the E-kur, thereby acquiring a lasting name. The son of this trustworthy man will long hold the sceptre, and their throne will never be overthrown.

^15-20To that end, Acimbabbar appeared shining in the E-kur, pleaded to his father Enlil and made him bring a childbearing mother (?); in the E-duga, Nanna, the princely son, asked for the thing to happen. The en priestess gave birth to the trustworthy man from his semen placed in the womb. Enlil, the powerful shepherd, caused a young man to emerge: a royal child, one who is perfectly fitted for the throne-dais, Culgi the king.

^21-27Enlil gave him a good name: "A lion's seed, who provides the E-kur generously, the beloved one of Ninlil; the one granted authority in the E-kur; the king of Urim, the one with shining heart, the shepherd, the protective genius of the Land." Enlil chose Culgi in his pure heart and entrusted the Land to him. As the shepherd of all the countries, Enlil leant the crook and the staff against his arm, and placed the immutable sceptre of Nanna in his hand; he made him raise his head high, sitting on an unshakeable royal seat.

^28-30The day was for prayers, the night was for supplications; the Land rested in peace. The shepherd of prosperity, Culgi, he with a lasting name, the king of jubilation, the mighty one, the semen engendered by the faithful man, praised Enlil.

^31-31This is the sagida.

^32-33Culgi, the mighty king, ......, who exults in his triumph, the ...... king vanquished the rebellious land with the agakar weapon of Inana.

^34-34It is the antiphon of the sagida.

^35-43May Enlil the trustworthy, whose words are lofty -- good fate determined by him takes precedence -- who makes sturdy flax and barley grow -- may he prolong the life of Culgi, the provider of the E-kur -- hence its flax is indeed fine flax, its barley is indeed fine barley -- the property of Nanna, the houseborn-slave of the E-kur, him whom Ninlil named at his birth Culgi, the shepherd of the Land, the man whom Enlil knows, the steward of the temple.

^44-48So that its voluminous offering meals would bring joy to the E-kur, Enlil called upon Urim, the good city founded by the princely one, the inside of which is a holy treasure chest which, like the abzu, no eye can see -- the city of good purification rites and pure hand-washing rites; and what he says is trustworthy.

^49-53For his setting up the abundant sacrificial tin cups, for his having served evening meals in the dining-hall of the E-kur, Enlil determined a princely fate for the shepherd, him who is worthy of the kingship and the lofty throne-dais, Culgi, who is adorned with the ma garment of the en priests.

^54-59The one beautiful like heaven, ......, Nanna, the king, the ......, gave him good ...... in the Ki-ur, the great place. At the command (?) of Enlil, he ......, he roars for him (?) against the foreign land that no one dares to oppose. He stabilizes the countryside, and the people lie at his feet.

^60-62Culgi, the shepherd is the honey man beloved by Nibru; may the true shepherd, Culgi, refresh himself in the pleasant shade of Enlil's brickwork!

^63-63It is the sajara.

^64-64O Culgi, Enlil has brought forth happy days for you in your reign!

^65-65It is the antiphon of the sajara.

^66-68Heaven's king, earth's great mountain, father Enlil, heaven's king, earth's great mountain, thought up something great: he chose Culgi in his heart for a good reign!

^69-69It is its urune. An adab of Enlil.

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Revision history

12.v.1998-14.v.1998 : GZ : adapting translation
23.vii.1998 : JAB : proofreading
05.v.1999 : GZ : minor corrections
05.v.1999 : GZ : SGML tagging
14.v.1999 : ER : proofreading SGML
14.v.1999 : ER : converting to HTML 4.0
7.ix.2001 : ER : header and footer reformatted; substantive content of file not changed