Sumerian·Book

Position in chronology

A prayer for Rim-Sin entering the gate (Rim-Sin D)

~1800 BCE·Old Babylonian

Written in modern English

Rim-Sin, king of abundance and foremost among rulers, is wished right and justice as his constant companions. When he passes through the Great Gate of Ur, the gate's divine guardians — a protective god and a protective goddess of peace — are asked to shine favorably upon him. Several phrases are too damaged to read. The guardians are then asked to carry his greeting before the moon god Nanna and his consort Ningal, and to return to him an answer of life and peace, along with good news that will lift his spirits.

A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.

Translation — scholar edition

ETCSL
High confidence
Rim-Sîn, king of abundance, august doyen of rulers, may right and justice be your helpers. May they make a good ...... for you. May they make ...... for you. Rim-Sîn, named with a name by An and Enlil, when you enter the Great Gate, the gate of Urim, may the favourable protective god and the protective goddess of peace, gatekeepers of the Great Gate, shine upon you ....... May they bring you back an answer of life and peace ...... to your greeting which they bring before Nanna and Ningal. May they cause a good ...... that brings happiness, a mood of encouragement, to issue for you…

Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).

Scholarly note

Composition c.2.6.9.4 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.2.6.9.4: A prayer for Rim-Sin entering the gate (Rim-Sin D). 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.2.6.9.4.

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