Proverbs: collection 25

Sumerian literature (ETCSL) · 6 - Proverb collections · 36 sections

1
ud šu2-uš-ru im nu-šeĝ3-ĝe26
It became cloudy, but it did not rain. It rained, but no one undid their belt. Although the Tigris was on its high tide, no water reached the arable lands. It rained on the riverbank, but the dry land did not get any of it.
2
im al-šeĝ3-ĝe26 {kuš}gur21-ra nu-du8-e
3
{id2}idigna a-u5-ba ĝal2-la a-gar3-ra nu-si-sa2
4
peš10 im al-šeĝ3-ĝe26 bar-rim4-ma im nu-ba!(ZU)-e
5
en-e ku6 an-gu7 ga-raš{sar} mu-un-gu7
The en priest eats fish and eats leeks; but cress makes him ill.
6
za3-ḫi-li-a{sar} mu-un-da-an-gig
7
en-e unug{ki}-ga nam ba-e-kud-de3
The lord cursed Unug, but he himself was cursed by the lady of E-ana .
8
e-ne-ra nin e2-an-na-ke4 nam mu-un-na-kud-de3
9
na-an-ni libir-ra mu-un-kal-la
Nanni cherished his old age. He had not finished the building of Enlil's temple. He …… the building of the wall of Nibru. He had abandoned the building of the E-ana, ……. He had captured Simurrum, but had not managed to carry off (?) its tribute. Mighty kingship was not bestowed upon him. Was not Nanni thus brought to the nether world with a depressed heart?
10
e2 {d}en-lil2-la2 i-du3 nu-til3
11
bad3 nibru{ki} i-du3 TUG2 NU MI im-mi-in-DU
12
e2-an-na i-du3 mu-un-šub im-ma-an-DU
13
si-mu-ru{ki} i3-dab5 gu2-bi nu-mu-un-da-gid2-X
14
nam-lugal-la kalag-ga nu-mu-un-na-an-šum2
15
ur5 na-an-ni šag4 sig-ga kur-še3 la-ba-an-de6
16
ud nu-dug3-ga šid-bi [nu]-til3
Although the number of unhappy days is endless (?), yet life is better than death ……. When I …… (2 lines fragmentary)
17
⌈nam⌉-til3 nam-uš2-a dirig X […]
18
[X] X-ga-ĝu10-ne […]
19
[X] X […]
20
[…] X […]
21
[iri{ki} nam-uš2 ĝal2]-⌈la⌉-še3
Into a plague-stricken city one has to be driven like a pack-ass.
22
[anše-bal-a-gin7 ḫe2-ni]-⌈ib2⌉-sar-re-X
23
e2 ⌈lu2 zid-da mu⌉-un-du3-a
A house built by a righteous man is destroyed by a treacherous man.
24
lu2-lul-la mu-un-gul
25
e2-⌈gal ki-ma-an-ze-er⌉ ma-an-⌈ze2-ra⌉
The palace is a slippery place, where one slips. Watch your step when you decide to go home!
26
!-! ga-ĝen-na ⌈ĝiri3-zu⌉ en-nu-uĝ3 ak-ab
27
e2-⌈gal ni2-bi-ta gam⌉-e-de3
The palace bows down, but only of its own accord.
28
e2-gal ud 1(DIŠ)-⌈e ! nir⌉-ra ud 1(DIŠ)-e ! u3-tud-da
The palace -- one day a lamenting mother, the next day a mother giving birth.
29
e2-gal a-ri-a nu-da13-da13 {ĝiš}ma2-⌈gur8⌉ in-nu!(⌈NU-IN⌉) nu-da13-da13
Even the palace cannot avoid the wasteland. Even a barge cannot avoid straw. Even a nobleman cannot avoid corvée work.
30
dumu-gir15 du-lum-ma nu-da13-da13
31
an-ku4-ku4 nu-si-si
What flows in is never enough to fill it, and what flows out can never be stopped -- don't envy the king's property!
32
ib2-ta-e3 nu-silig-ge
33
niĝ2-gur11 lugal-la-ke4
34
igi-zu na-an-il2-en
35
lu2 ma2 dirig-ga lu2 ma2 gaba in-ru-gu2
When a man sailing downstream encounters a man whose boat is travelling upstream, an inspection is an abomination to Suen.
36
niĝ2 ! di-de3 niĝ2-gig {d}suen-na-kam

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.