Position in chronology
An adab (?) to Ninurta for Ishme-Dagan (Ishme-Dagan O)
Written in modern English
The text opens with a hymn to Ninurta, greatest warrior in heaven and earth, the god who holds all fifty divine powers perfectly in hand within the E-kur temple. He is Enlil's governor, a raging storm that drives terror into foreign lands and casts dread over all people — a god without equal. Several lines are too damaged to read, but what survives calls him the ornament of Enlil's holy shrine, outstanding in strength and radiance, and names him the neck-stock of the gods — a figure of supreme authority among the Anuna deities.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSLGreat hero, strongest in heaven and earth! Ninurta, who controls perfectly the fifty divine powers in the E-kur! ...... governor for his father, rising raging storm, who extends terror ...... towards the foreign countries. ...... roaring ......, who casts fear upon the people, who has no rival! Ninurta, surpassing in vigour! ...... great and majestic strength ......, ...... of Enlil, ...... of Enlil, ornament of the august shrine! ...... whose radiance ......! 1 line fragmentary ...... the neck-stock of the gods. 1 line fragmentary ...... among the Anuna gods. ...... exceptionally mighty…
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.2.5.4.15 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.2.5.4.15: An adab (?) to Ninurta for Ishme-Dagan (Ishme-Dagan O). 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.2.5.4.15.
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