Position in chronology
A hymn to Asarluhi (Asarluhi XA)
Written in modern English
Five lines are lost, and several further phrases are too damaged to read. What remains praises Asarluhi under the name Enki gave him: Id-lu-rugu, River of the Ordeal — a title that fits, since he purifies the innocent like gold and delivers the guilty to destruction. Fed on the milk of intelligence, advice, and reason, his voice rings out; august and firstborn among Enki's sons, he grants something — the word is lost — to every person born. As profound and wise as his father, Asarluhi sees through everything, and nothing escapes him. Lord of the abzu, filled with holy wisdom, he is Marduk, the counselor, tall enough to take in every divine power in heaven and earth at a glance.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSL5 lines missing ...... new ....... ...... august words. Enki has named you with the name Id-lu-rugu (i.e. River of the ordeal, an epithet of Asarluhi), the sublime course ....... You cleanse the just man like gold, and you hand over the wicked to extinction. Nourished on the good milk of intelligence, advice and reason, his voice resounds loudly. August sage, firstborn son of Enki, he gives ...... to all who are born. Profoundly intelligent, as wise as his father, possessed of understanding, Asarluhi penetrates everything. Nothing ...... him. Lordly son of the abzu, endowed with holy wisdom, he is Marduk, the bringer of counsel. Tall in stature, he can survey all the divine powers of heaven and earth.
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.4.01.1 in the ETCSL catalogue. Sumerian literary text reconstructed from multiple cuneiform manuscripts, the great majority Old Babylonian (c. 1900–1600 BCE). Translation reproduced from the ETCSL edition.
Attribution
Image: .
Translation excerpted from ETCSL c.4.01.1: A hymn to Asarluhi (Asarluhi XA). Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E. & Zólyomi, G. (eds.), The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.4.01.1.
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