Position in chronology
A hymn to Ningishzida (Ningishzida C)
Written in modern English
The hymn opens with Ningishzida compared to a flood-wave surging through a river, sweeping everything away like a destructive deluge — though the first several lines are too damaged to read fully. From birth, the king has possessed abundance in Ningishzida's name, and the god's praise is declared sweet. The first kirugu ends there. The second begins with Ningishzida addressed directly: beloved of holy An, born in the shining great mountains, bright-eyed, with the appeal of a young man, and the king's right arm on the battlefield. His praise is sung aloud. The third section opens with Ningishzida wandering the earth, but the surface breaks off at that point.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSL...... to you. ...... a flood-wave in the river, sweeping over everything like a destructive flood. My king, from your ....... King, from your birth you have ...... in abundance. Ninjiczida, your praise is sweet ....... 1st kirugu. Lord Ninjiczida, ...... 1 line fragmentary Hero, ...... beloved of holy An, ...... born in the shining great mountains, lord ...... with sparkling eyes, with the attractiveness of a young man, great hero, the king's right arm on the battlefield, lord Ninjiczida, your praise is sweet. They praise you in song. 2nd kirugu. Hero, as you wander on the earth, Ninjiczida,…
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.4.19.3 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.4.19.3: A hymn to Ningishzida (Ningishzida C). 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.4.19.3.
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