Position in chronology
A prayer (?) for Rim-Sin (Rim-Sin A)
Written in modern English
The text calls on Enlil, king of heaven and earth, whose words are reliable, to bless the shepherd Rim-Sin — the speaker's king. May Enlil stand before whoever provides him life-giving offerings at Nippur, and grant him grain, the sustenance of humankind. May Rim-Sin rule in joy, his royal throne made strong, his reign extended, his sceptre reaching both the southern lowlands and the uplands, and his subjects bowed before him. His offerings at Nippur's E-kur temple — whether small or great — are mentioned, though that line breaks off; syrup shall drip from its fingers like ghee. The speaker then compares himself to the cherished son of a man, sweet as honey and ghee, and asks that offerings proceed in joy — a final line mentions silver being given, but the surface is too damaged to read the rest.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSLMay Enlil, king of heaven and earth, whose utterances are trusty and whose words are ......, ...... the shepherd Rim-Sîn, ...... my king ....... May he who gives him life-giving (?) food-offerings in Nibru stand in prayer before him. May Enlil bestow upon him grain, the benefit of mankind. May he pass his time in joy in the ...... of his country. They will ...... Rim-Sîn my king. May he strengthen for him his royal throne and extend his reign. May he decree his sceptre for the south and the uplands. May he make the king's inferiors bow down before him. The offerings of Rim-Sîn my king, small or great, at Nibru in the E-kur ....... Syrup shall drip like ghee from its fingers. I am as the son of one man, honey and ghee. My king, let offerings ...... in my joy. They give me silver .......
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.2.6.9.1 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.2.6.9.1: A prayer (?) for Rim-Sin (Rim-Sin A). 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.2.6.9.1.
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