Position in chronology
A shir-gida to Nuska (Nuska B)
Written in modern English
Enlil decreed Nuska's birth in the E-kur temple; Nudimmud, king of prosperity, honored him in the abzu. Nuska is the majestic minister of Enlil, his praise sweet and fitting, and the poem's speaker declares an intention to sing that praise. Enlil, the good shepherd, is Nuska's source of light; Ninlil gave him his majestic name; Enki gave him wisdom. Born to Enul and Ninul, Nuska is bound to lordly lineage — he is the E-kur's own song, the minister perfectly matched to his king, the man Enlil holds closest to his heart.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSL......, Enlil decreed your birth in the E-kur! Nuska, Enlil decreed your birth in the E-kur! Lord Nudimmud, the king of prosperity, honoured you in the abzu. Good minister, I shall praise you! Nuska, majestic minister of Enlil, your praise is good and most sweet. My king, I shall praise you in song! You are the light of the good shepherd Enlil, and you have been given a majestic name by Ninlil. You have been given wisdom by Enki. You were born to Enul and Ninul, and so you are united with the lordly seed. You are the E-kur's song. You are a minister fit for his king: Nuska, you are the man of Enlil's heart.
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.4.29.2 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.4.29.2: A shir-gida to Nuska (Nuska B). 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.4.29.2.
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