An adab to An for Ur-Ninurta (Ur-Ninurta E): translation

^1-4An the powerful, great among the gods, An the respected, brilliantly manifest god! In fixing a great fate for the king, An has laid his hand truly upon Ur-Ninurta.

⁵ barsud.

^6-19As he passes, alone, as far as the border of the foreign lands, he is indeed the guardian of the Anuna. He seizes all the great divine powers, and places his feet upon the numerous divine powers. The very wise god, the prince who decides destiny, has truly spoken to him; An has truly spoken to Ur-Ninurta. He has made him the mightiest in the Land; An has made Ur-Ninurta the mightiest in the Land. He has bestowed upon Ur-Ninurta a royal throne on a foundation established forever; the august shepherd's crook, which gathers up the divine powers of the Land; and a just sceptre which directs the numerous people. When holy An determines a destiny, the gods of heaven stand by and the Anuna pay attention.

²⁰ cagbatuku.

^21-25In their place of assembly, they said "Let it be so!" An gave to Ur-Ninurta the building of cities, the founding of settlements, the subduing of foreign lands, and the strengthening of the foundations of the Land of Sumer; years of plenty, and a reign of long days.

²⁶ sa-gida.

^27-44An raised his far-reaching gaze to the good shepherd. He spoke to Ur-Ninurta, his beloved son, with kindly words: "May there be shame at your awe-inspiring splendour, while you (?) ride as if on a great storm. May you have no rival in your youthful power. May the Land remain (?) under your rule. May you make your name supreme in the foreign lands, and may they speak good of you. May the land that is of its own will unbending to you, submit to you. Ur-Ninurta, to whom I have given great power: you should trust in my name. May your words clamp down upon the wicked like a great neck-stock. May the rebel land approach at your command, and do reverence to you. In your lordliness may you hold your head high. May you be good to the people. May you be the man of justice, and may it come to your aid. You have justice that comes from the heart; you are one of Utu's retainers. May Inana, who is assuredly your beloved, provide you with long life. May the good protective deities of the en priesthood and of kingship stand faithfully at your side. My Ur-Ninurta, named with the name of Sumer! Go with your head high to the shrine of Nibru, to Dur-an-ki. Brick-built E-kur accepts your offerings: "May the awe-inspiring shepherd stand in attendance with his great food offerings for the house."

⁴⁵ sa-jara.

^46-49 "I am the onnly one among the gods with great divine powers. I amAn the king, the only one among the gods with great divine powers. Ur-Ninurta, my utterances shall never be altered for you."

Its uru.

An adab of An.

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Revision history

24.v.1999-7.vii.1999 : JAB : adapting translation
11.viii.1999 : GZ : proofreading
11.viii.1999 : GZ : SGML tagging
03.ix.1999 : ER : proofreading SGML
03.ix.1999 : ER : converting to HTML 4.0
7.ix.2001 : ER : header and footer reformatted; substantive content of file not changed