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A prayer to Nanna for Rīm-Sîn (Rīm-Sîn F)

Sumerian literature (ETCSL) · 2 - Royal praise poetry and compositions with a historical background · 46 sections

1. 1

   {d}ri-im-{d}suen lugal me nun-na kingal me šar2-ra nam-nun-na saĝ il2

   Rīm-Sîn, king with princely divine powers, leader with all the divine powers, raising high your princely head! The abzu is the august holy shrine of the E-kiš-nu-ĝal, a great vastness in depth and breadth, the foundation of the innermost holy pure buildings, with a pleasant odour like a forest of aromatic cedars and ḫašḫur trees. It forms the foundations (?) of the temple, within the temple, a protection for the temple; the terrifying splendour of the temple, a great corner, a holy corner within the solid interior. The design of the doorway is a magic bond: a solar disc at whose top is a standard representing a rapacious eagle, violently seizing stags which turn to the left and right. Gods stand guard over the doorway.

2. 2

   abzu eš3 kug maḫ e2-kiš-nu-ĝal2-la-ke4

3. 3

   nam-maḫ gal šag4-ta bar-ta-bi

4. 4

   ki-ĝar e2-e2 šag4 kug sikil-la-ka

5. 5

   ir dug3-ga tir šim {ĝiš}erin-na ḫa-šu-ur2-ra-kam

6. 6

   e2 ki-gal-bi šag4 e2-ke4

7. 7

   an-dul7 e2-e me-lem4 e2-ke4

8. 8

   ub gal ub kug-ge šag4 gen6-na

9. 9

   ĝiš-ḫur kan4-na

10. 10

    ĝiš-bur2-e aš-me saĝ-ĝa2-ni urin ḫu-ri-in laḫ4-laḫ4

11. 11

    lulim-ma zid-da gab2-bu-bi kiĝ2 gal šu dab-dab-be2

12. 12

    diĝir kan4-na en-nu-uĝ3 i3-ak-ne

13. 13

    ĝiš-kin2 maḫ ki-bi ma-ra-šar2-šar2

    In this place, you see numerous tall birch trees. The door frame, the architrave, the lock, the fence (?) around the threshold, the door-leaves, the bolt, the bar of the temple, the supporting wall of the temple terrace, foundation of the innermost holy pure buildings -- all these are of very holy reeds, golden yellow or silver white. Beside the marsh of the abzu of the E-kiš-nu-ĝal, in the holy enclosure where cattle mill about, for the many lustrous …… calves to receive their presents, the …… with their calves stand before you in the sacred ……. You see the old reeds, the old reeds in the water meadows ……, the old lying reeds, the upright reeds …… well-established in these fields. Within the marsh of the abzu of the E-kiš-nu-ĝal, the holy lagoon, the reedbeds in the holy water, you see the …… reeds growing.

14. 14

    zag-du8 a-sal4-bar-ra si-ĝar kun4 dub-bi

15. 15

    {ĝiš}ig {ĝiš}saĝ-kul2 {ĝiš}šu-min3 e2-ke4

16. 16

    ki-sa5 du6 e2-a ki-ĝar e2-e2 šag4 kug sikil-la-ka

17. 17

    gi-zi kug-kug-bi kug-zig3 kug-babbar-ra

18. 18

    da ambar abzu-a e2-kiš-nu-ĝal2-la-kam

19. 19

    eš3 kug-ga ab2 niĝin-na

20. 20

    [X] amar šar2 za-gin3-na-ke4 kadra2-ba-bi dab5-be2-de3

21. 21

    […] X-bi amar-bi-⌈bi⌉

22. 22

    [… kug]-ga ma-<ra>-sug2-⌈ge⌉ […]

23. 23

    [gi] sumun gi sumun-ne2-ke4 u2-[sal-la …]

24. 24

    gi sumun nu2-a gi si sa2 […]

25. 25

    [a]-šag4-ba ki ĝar ma-ra-[…]

26. 26

    šag4 ambar abzu e2-⌈kiš⌉-[nu-ĝal2-la-ke4]

27. 27

    ⌈sug⌉ kug ĝiš-gi a kug-ga ⌈gi⌉ […] ma-ra-mu2-mu2-e

28. 28

    šag4 e2-e kan4 eš3 gal maḫ

    Within the temple is the gateway of the great august sanctuary: endowed with abundant charms like a fine woman whose head is nobly raised high, whose attraction radiates as if with the maturity of fruit, with abundant charms, lovable, but imposing in splendour like the hills. In the midst, at the sides and in the four corners are august protective goddesses, foundations (?) of the statues. Taking turns of office on the day of the new moon, the protective god and the protective goddess of the temple, the serving deities, inhabitants of the temple, as guardians of the outer gateway and of the god's pedestal, can be seen sweeping the ground of the building from the base of the enclosure wall, in accordance with the sublime purification rites of the temple.

29. 29

    mi2 zid ul gur3-ru-a šu du7-a nam-nun-na saĝ il2

30. 30

    ḫi-li sud-sud gurun-gin7 sig7-ga

31. 31

    ul gur3-ru mi2 dug4-ga ḫur-saĝ-gin7 me-lem4-ma šu du7

32. 32

    šag4-ta bar-ta ub-ta 4-bi

33. 33

    alan te-me-bi {d}lamma maḫ e2-ke4

34. 34

    šag4 ud-sakar ĝar-ra bal-bal-e-de3

35. 35

    {d}udug e2 {d}lamma e2-ke4

36. 36

    diĝir gub-ba dumu e2-ke4

37. 37

    dur2 u2-zu-uk-ka-ta en-nu-uĝ3 kan4 bar-ra ĝiri3-gub diĝir-ra

38. 38

    ĝiš-ḫur šu-luḫ maḫ e2-e-ke4 dur2 ki ma-ra-sar-sar

39. 39

    NI ki-gal-bi {d}lamma maḫ e2-e-ke4

    Its …… is an august protective goddess who indeed brings butter, cheese and loaves for you. May the serving deities, the protective goddesses, the good mother goddesses, receive favourable offerings (?) from you for their attention to the temple, so that when you light the wood of the heaped high censers, Nanna and Ningal accept your offering, and so that they pray for you with their holy words. O Rīm-Sîn, you are my king!

40. 40

    i3 ga-ar3-bi ninda-ninda-bi ma-ra-laḫ5 ḫe2-a

41. 41

    diĝir gub-ba {d}lamma diĝir ama sag9-ga e2-e še-ga-ba

42. 42

    saĝ-saĝ niĝ2 sag9-ga-zu ḫe2-bi2-ib-tuku-tuku-ne

43. 43

    niĝ2-na <de5>-ga ĝiš-bi dug4-ga-zu

44. 44

    {d}nanna {d}nin-gal-bi šu ḫe2-eb-šu-teĝ3-ĝe26-ne

45. 45

    inim kug-ga-ne-ne-a šu ḫa-ra-mu2-mu2-ne

46. 46

    {d}ri-im-{d}suen lugal-ĝu10

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.