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A prayer for Samsu-iluna (Samsu-iluna B): translation

1-11
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Life ....... Life ....... Life ....... ...... of your name ....... ...... holy life ....... Enki ....... Prince Samsu-iluna, ....... ...... terrifying splendour which spreads far and wide. Enki ...... your throne, and ...... bestow on you a sceptre of long years and days; may he ...... your crown ...... like Utu.

12-19May your kingship be as stable as heaven and earth! You are king of numerous lands and peoples! You are the people's good shepherd! You are the herdsman of the settled people! When like Utu you impart just verdicts, ...... justice, ...... you call by name ......, then you, Samsu-iluna, shall be the king of the eloquent words of Utu, and you shall be the foremost of kings.

20-32When like a raging storm you batter the foreign lands that are hostile to you, may your head be raised high, o king; may your head be raised high, o Samsu-iluna! In Babylon, the city of the divine powers of Suen, may you let your cleverness shine like the sun! May Marduk, the god who created you, lift your head high in the midst of lords and princes! On the field of battle, of mêlée and conflict, may he never stray from your side! May he be your helper with weapons, may he cause you to excel until distant days! May An, king of the gods, make your life last until distant days! May Enlil, king of the foreign lands, who confirms your words, make your words weighty! May Inana, the great queen of heaven, grasp you firmly with her holy word! May Enki deliver numerous people into your hands! May Asari, the great ruler of the abzu, who provides advice for all the foreign lands, the lordly one of Eridug, the god who in his ...... calls all the ...... with a good name -- may he be your great princely strength!

33-39May Namma, the mother who ...... the house, place water in your mouth at the ...... of the Land! May Damgalnuna, the great lady of Eridug, when she intercedes joyfully in the good bedchamber,
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pray on your behalf for days of plenty and days ...... from her husband. May the ...... deity, the protective goddess of the abzu, be your source of good omens ...... for ever and ever! O Samsu-iluna, my king!


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Revision history

25.iii.1999-24.iv.1999 : JAB : adapting translation
23.vii.1999 : GZ : proofreading
23.vii.1999 : GZ : SGML tagging
10.ix.1999 : ER : proofreading SGML
10.ix.1999 : ER : converting to HTML 4.0
7.ix.2001 : ER : header and footer reformatted; substantive content of file not changed