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A hymn to Inana for Išme-Dagan (Išme-Dagan K)

Sumerian literature (ETCSL) · 2 - Royal praise poetry and compositions with a historical background · 45 sections

1. 1

   ki-sikil {d}inana dumu {d}suen-na-ka

   Young woman Inana, Suen's daughter, who makes the divine powers of the Land supreme, who achieves everything, who seizes the divine powers in heaven and gathers them up on earth, who proceeds proudly with her head reaching the heavens, whose radiance makes the nighttime secure like a fire which lights up into the distance -- no god can stand up as her opposition, …….

2. 2

   me kalam-⌈ma dirig⌉ niĝ2-nam-e sa2 di

3. 3

   an-na me dab5-dab5-be2 ki-a me ur4-ur4-e

4. 4

   il2-la ? saĝ an-ne2 us2-e

5. 5

   me-lem4-a-ni izi sud-e il2-la-gin7 ĝi6 u3-na bi2-gen6

6. 6

   diĝir na-me gaba-ri-ni-še3 nu-gub-bu e-ne-ra im-ma-zal

7. 7

   {d}inana-ra an tuku4-tuku4-e ki sag3-sag3-ge

   Holy Inana was endowed by Enlil and Ninlil with the capacity to make the heavens shake, to make the earth tremble, to hold the four directions in her hand and to act grandly as their lady, to shout with wide open mouth in battle and combat and to wreak carnage (?), to butt all at once valiantly (?) like a wild bull, to make the earth drink the blood of enemies like water and to pile up their bodies, to take captive their overwhelmed (?) troops and to make them serve, to make the people ascend from below to above, to make the foreign numerous people change their place, and to turn light to darkness and darkness to light. They made her without rival in heaven and on earth. They bestowed on her the power to establish a woman's domain in ……. They detemined as her fate to ……, to make them content together.

8. 8

   ub-da 4-ba šu-ni ĝal2-le nam-nin gal-bi ak

9. 9

   me3 šen-šen-e ka du8-e ĝiš ĝiš-e la2-e

10. 10

    nam-ur-saĝ-bi am sumun2-gin7 teš2-bi-da du7-du7

11. 11

    uš2 erim2-ma a-gin7 ki-e na8-na8 !-bi ĝar-ĝar-e

12. 12

    erin2 gar3 dar-ra-bi nam-ra-aš šum2-mu igi-a sug2-ga-bi

13. 13

    uĝ3 ki-ta an-na-še3 ed3-de3 uĝ3 kur2 šar2 ki šu bal-e

14. 14

    zalag ku10-ku10-še3 du3 ku10-ku10 zalag-še3 dib-be2

15. 15

    [{d}en-lil2] [{d}]nin-lil2-bi kug {d}inana-ra mu-na-an-šum2-mu-uš

16. 16

    [an ki]-a gaba-ri nu-mu-ni-in-tuku-uš

17. 17

    e2 [X X] ama5 ki ĝa2-ĝa2 saĝ-e-eš mu-ni-in-rig7-eš

18. 18

    dam X […]-⌈?⌉ šum2-mu teš2-bi dug3-ge nam-še3 mu-ni-in-tar-re-eš

19. 19

    ni2-tuku-na ki-tuš ki ĝar-ra-na šag4 zalag-ga ĝa2-ĝa2

    Inana was entrusted by Enlil and Ninlil with the capacity to gladden the heart of those who revere her in their established residences, but not to soothe the mood of those who do not revere her in their well-built houses; to turn a man into a woman and a woman into a man, to change one into the other, to make young women dress as men on their right side, to make young men dress as women on their left side, to put spindles into the hands of men ……, and to give weapons to the women; to see that women amuse themselves by using children's language, to see that children amuse themselves by using women's language, to …… skill, to ……. They built a palace, her house of ladyship, for the mistress of heaven, and invested it with fearsome radiance. They made it into the neck-stock of all the foreign countries, and imbued it with awe-inspiring, terrifying splendour.

20. 20

    ni2 nu-tuku-na e2 du3-a-na ur5 sag9-ge nu-ĝa2-ĝa2

21. 21

    nitaḫ munus-a munus nitaḫ-a-bi ku4-ku4 šu bal ba-a-ak

22. 22

    ki-sikil-e-ne nam-ĝuruš-e tug2 zid-da mu4-mu4

23. 23

    ĝuruš-e-ne nam-ki-sikil-e-eš2 tug2 gab2-bu mu4-mu4

24. 24

    X zu [nitaḫ-e]-ne ?bal šu-? ?-ĝa2 munus-e-ne-er {ĝiš}tukul šum2-mu

25. 25

    eme bungu munus-e e-ne di

26. 26

    eme munus-e bungu e-ne [di]

27. 27

    niĝ2 galam-ma ĝar-ĝar ĝa2 kur2-ra KA-ge TUM [X]

28. 28

    {d}en-lil2 {d}nin-lil2-bi {d}inana-ra šu-ni-še3 mu-un-ĝar-[re-eš]

29. 29

    e2-gal e2 nam-nin-ka-ni nu-gig an-na-ra

30. 30

    mu-na-an-du3-uš [su] zig3 im-da-ri-eš

31. 31

    {ĝiš}rab3 kur-kur-ra-ka mi-ni-in-kur9-re-eš ni2 me-lem4 bi2-in-guru3-uš

32. 32

    saĝ gig2 šu ri-ri-e-de3 KA-bi X MA X […]

    To clamp down (?) on the black-headed people, to ……, to decide justly the lawsuits of the numerous people, to select the just, ……, to …… who speaks (?) violently -- all these were entrusted into Inana's hands by them.

33. 33

    di uĝ3 šar2-ra si sa2-e-de3 zid tam-me X […]

34. 34

    lu2 niĝ2-a2-zig3 ka-ga14 mi-ni-in-ĝal2-la-ar ĝar-[X]

35. 35

    kilib3-ba-bi kug {d}inana-ra šu-ni im-mi-in-si-[si-eš]

36. 36

    {d}iš-me-{d}da-gan saĝ us2 muš nu-tum2-mu MU A2 X X šum2

    Enlil and Ninlil gave her Išme-Dagan, the constant attendant, …… as her husband ……. The duty to build temples for the gods, to furnish their daily portions, to purify their raised temples and to sanctify their daises, to secure their daily liquor, syrup and choice beer in their dining halls -- all this was bestowed on Inana and Išme-Dagan by Enlil and Ninlil.

37. 37

    {d}en-lil2 {d}nin-lil2-bi nu-pad3 dam-še3 mu-na-an-šum2-mu-uš

38. 38

    e2 diĝir-re-e-ne du3-du3-de3 šukur2-ud-bi šub-šub-bu-de3

39. 39

    gi-gun4-na-bi šen-šen-e-de3 barag-bi kug-ge-de3

40. 40

    unu2-ba kurun2 lal3 ⌈kaš⌉ kurun-bi ud šu2-uš gen6-ne2-de3

41. 41

    {d}inana {d}iš-me-{d}da-gan-bi

42. 42

    {d}en-lil2 {d}nin-lil2-bi saĝ-e-eš mu-ni-in-rig7-eš

43. 43

    nibru{ki} maḫ en nin-zu-gin7 diĝir na-me nu-dib

    August Nibru, no god excels like your lord and lady! In your midst they have bestowed the divine powers on the young woman Inana. I, Išme-Dagan, have put in everyone's mouth for all time.

44. 44

    šag4-zu-a ki-sikil {d}inana-ra me mu-na-ni-in-šum2-mu-uš

45. 45

    {d}iš-me-{d}da-gan-me-en du-ri2-še3 ka-ga14 mu-ni-ĝar

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL), Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. Copyright holders: Jeremy Black, Graham Cunningham, Jarle Ebeling, Esther Flückiger-Hawker, Eleanor Robson, Jon Taylor and Gábor Zólyomi. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. Source.