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An axe for Nergal

Sumerian literature (ETCSL) · 5 - Other literature · 16 sections

1. 1

   nibru{ki}-ta-lu2

   Nibruta-lu, the son of the merchant Lugal-šuba, has had this tin axe made for Nergal. Its wooden part is of arganum tree of the mountains, a wood which is superior even to the alal stone; its stone part is of antasura, a stone which has no equal. The arm of the man who strikes with it will never get tired.

2. 2

   dumu lugal-šuba dam-gar3-ra-ke4

3. 3

   {d}nergal-ra

4. 4

   ḫa-zi-in nagga mu-na-ni-in-dim2

5. 5

   ĝiš-bi {ĝiš}ar-ga-nu-um ḫur-saĝ-ĝa2

6. 6

   a-lal3-e dirig-ga-am3

7. 7

   na4-bi an-ta-sur-ra-am3

8. 8

   gaba-ri nu-tuku-am3

9. 9

   ḫe2-sag3-ge a2-ni na-an-kuš2-u3

10. 10

    ḫe2-eb2-ta-TAR-e

    Should it break, I will repair it for Nergal. Should it disappear, I will replace it for him. May Nergal look after me during my life, and may he provide me with clean water in the underworld after my death.

11. 11

    ga-mu-na-ab-silim

12. 12

    u2-gu ḫe2-ni-ib-de2-e

13. 13

    ki-bi ga-mu-na-ab-gi4

14. 14

    ud til3-la-ĝa2 igi ḫu-mu-un-du8

15. 15

    ud ba-ug7-en kur-ra

16. 16

    a sig9-ga ḫu-mu-un-na8-na8

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.