Position in chronology
A praise poem of Shulgi (Shulgi E)
Written in modern English
Enlil — whose beard sweeps across the mountains, who grips the crook that holds the Land steady, who stands as the everlasting shepherd of all people — looked at Shulgi, king of Ur, with open eyes and a full heart, and spoke well of him. Out of that goodwill, the lord placed the sceptre in Shulgi's hands. Enlil's word has brought blessings everywhere to Shulgi: the king who was crowned in brick-built Eridu, who received the lapis-lazuli diadem in Uruk, who is Nanna's beloved shepherd and was born to sit on the throne. Whenever Shulgi brings firewood — the text is uncertain here — Enlil looks upon him and speaks with gladness.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSLEnlil, foundation platform of heaven and earth, who holds the crook that makes the Land firm, whose beard flows over the mountains, who reveres his own divine powers -- Enlil, the everlasting shepherd of the Land, has addressed me, Culgi, king of Urim, favourably, looking at me with wide-open eyes. In the overflowing of his heart, the lord bestowed the sceptre on me. Everywhere the word of Enlil has brought benefits to me, who was specially crowned in brick-built Eridug; to me, who was invested with the lapis-lazuli diadem in Unug; to me, the beloved shepherd of Nanna, fit for the throne. When I bring firewood (?), he looks at me and speaks gladly to me.
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.2.4.2.05 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.2.4.2.05: A praise poem of Shulgi (Shulgi E). 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.2.4.2.05.
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