Position in chronology
A praise poem of Ishme-Dagan (Ishme-Dagan AC)
Written in modern English
The gods elevated Enki — holy An's firstborn son — to the rank of a lesser Enlil, granting him sevenfold wisdom so that he could reveal all things, give counsel, decide great fates, and dispense wisdom. His dwelling, the pure abzu, has brickwork whose details are lost to damage, but its façade is described as calming to the mind; what followed in that section is gone — one line survives only as fragments, and then an unknown number of lines are missing entirely. When the text resumes, Enlil and Ninlil appear as mighty princes who decree fates, and it is in Nibru's midst that they bestowed divine powers on lord Ninurta. The tablet closes with Ishme-Dagan claiming that he has made these pure, peerless songs of Nibru live in every mouth forever.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSLTo befit heaven and earth grandly, they raised Enki, the lord, the firstborn son of holy An, to the status of junior Enlil. So that he can reveal everything (?), they bestowed sevenfold wisdom upon him as a gift. They have established eternally that he should give counsel, that he should decide great fates, that he ......, and that he should provide wisdom. The pure abzu, the house whose brickwork ......, whose façade settles the mind, ...... to place before him ....... 1 line fragmentary unknown number of lines missing They (Enlil and Ninlil) are powerful princes, lords who decides the fates; in your midst they have bestowed the divine powers on lord Ninurta. Nibru, your pure songs are most precious, surpassing all praise! I, Icme-Dagan, have made every mouth utter them forever.
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.2.5.4.29 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.2.5.4.29: A praise poem of Ishme-Dagan (Ishme-Dagan AC). 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.2.5.4.29.
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