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Letter from Gudea to his personal deity

Sumerian literature (ETCSL) · 3 - Literary letters and letter-prayers · 10 sections

1. 1

   ⌈diĝir⌉-ĝa2 u3-na-⌈dug4⌉

   Speak to my god: this is what Gudea, your servant, says:

2. 2

   {m}gu3-⌈de2⌉-a arad-zu na-ab-⌈be2⌉-a

3. 3

   udu-gin7 sipad gen6-na nu-tuku

   I am like a sheep who has no reliable shepherd; there is no reliable herdsman to lead me on.

4. 4

   na-gada gen6-na nu-mu-un-tum2-tum2-mu

5. 5

   dam-gara3 saĝ du3-du3 nu-zu bal-! mu-X-ak

   An unintelligent merchant transported me (?) for trading purposes. With a vicious whip he …… me cruelly like a donkey.

6. 6

   anše-gin7 {kuš}usan3 ḫul-ĝal2-la ḫul-ĝal2-la bi2-in-[X]

7. 7

   saĝ i3-tuku inim nu-um-! igi tuku igi mu-[…]-⌈un⌉-X

   I am noble (?) but do not utter a word, being vigilantly (?) ……. Seven times …… has not …… my accomplishments. Seven times my god (?) has not been able to find out about their extent.

8. 8

   niĝ2 ak-a-ĝu10 ? a-ra2 7-e nu-un-DU X X

9. 9

   zag-ba a-ra2 7-e nu-mu-un-da-pad3-[X]-X

10. 10

    diĝir-ĝu10 ⌈lu2⌉ kur2 di nu-me-en šag4-zu ⌈!⌉-! ⌈ḫa⌉-ma-ab-gi4-⌈gi4⌉

    My god, I am not one to be hostile. May you show sympathy towards me once again.

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.