Enlil's commands are by
far the loftiest, his words are holy, his utterances are immutable!
The fate he decides is everlasting, his glance makes the mountains
anxious, his ...... reaches into the interior of the mountains.
All the gods of the earth bow down to father Enlil , who sits
comfortably on the holy dais, the lofty dais, to Nunamnir, whose
lordship and prince ship are most perfect. The Anunna gods enter
before him and obey his instructions faithfully.
The mighty lord, the greatest in heaven and earth, the knowledgeable
judge, the wise one of wide-ranging wisdom, has taken his seat in the
Duranki , and made the Ki-ur , the great place, resplendent with
majesty. He has taken up residence in Nibru, the lofty bond between
heaven and earth.
The front of the city is laden with terrible fearsomeness and
radiance, its back is such that even the mightiest god does not dare
to attack, and its interior is the blade of a sharp dagger, a blade of
catastrophe. For the rebel lands it is a snare, a trap, a net.
It cuts short the life of those who speak too mightily. It permits no
evil word to be spoken in judgment. ......, deception, inimical
speech, hostility, impropriety, ill-treatment, wickedness, wrongdoing,
looking askance, violence, slandering, arrogance, licentious speech,
egotism and boasting are abominations not tolerated within the city.
The borders of Nibru form a great net, within which the hurin eagle
spreads wide its talons. The evil or wicked man does not escape its
grasp. In this city endowed with steadfastness, for which
righteousness and justice have been made a lasting possession, and
which is clothed in pure clothing on the quay, the younger brother
honors the older brother and treats him with human dignity; people pay
attention to a father's word, and submit themselves to his protection;
the child behaves humbly and modestly towards his mother and attains a
ripe old age.
In the city, the holy settlement of Enlil , in Nibru, the beloved
shrine of father Great Mountain, he has made the dais of abundance,
the E-kur, the shining temple, rise from the soil; he has made it grow
on pure land as high as a towering mountain. Its prince, the Great
Mountain, father Enlil , has taken his seat on the dais of the E-kur ,
the lofty shrine.
No god can cause harm to the temple's divine powers. Its holy
hand-washing rites are everlasting like the earth. Its divine powers
are the divine powers of the Abzu: no one can look upon them.
Its interior is a wide sea which knows no horizon. In its ......
glistening as a banner, the bonds and ancient divine powers are made
perfect. Its words are prayers, its incantations are supplications.
Its word is a favorable omen ......, its rites are most precious. At
the festivals, there is plenty of fat and cream; they are full of
abundance. Its divine plans bring joy and rejoicing, its verdicts are
great.
Daily there is a great festival, and at the end of the day there is an
abundant harvest. The temple of Enlil is a mountain of abundance; to
reach out, to look with greedy eyes, to seize are abominations in it.
The lagar priests of this temple whose lord has grown together with it
are expert in blessing; its gudu priests of the Abzu are suited for
lustration rites; its nuec priests are perfect in the holy prayers.
Its great farmer is the good shepherd of the Land, who was born
vigorous on a propitious day. The farmer, suited for the broad fields,
comes with rich offerings; he does not ...... into the shining E-kur.
Enlil , when you marked out the holy settlements, you also built
Nibru, your own city.
You ...... the Ki-ur , the mountain, your pure place. You founded it
in the Duranki , in the middle of the four quarters of the earth. Its
soil is the life of the Land, and the life of all the foreign
countries. Its brickwork is red gold, its foundation is lapis lazuli.
You made it glisten on high in Sumer as if it were the horns of a wild
bull. It makes all the foreign countries tremble with fear. At its
great festivals, the people pass their time in abundance.
Enlil , holy Urac is favored with beauty for you; you are greatly
suited for the Abzu, the holy throne ; you refresh yourself in the
deep underworld, the holy chamber. Your presence spreads awesomeness
over the E-kur, the shining temple, the lofty dwelling.
Its fearsomeness and radiance reach up to heaven, its shadow stretches
over all the foreign lands, and its crenellation reaches up to the
midst of heaven. All lords and sovereigns regularly supply holy
offerings there, approaching Enlil with prayers and supplications.
Enlil , if you look upon the shepherd favorably, if you elevate the
one truly called in the Land, then the foreign countries are in his
hands, the foreign countries are at his feet! Even the most distant
foreign countries submit to him. He will then cause enormous incomes
and heavy tributes, as if they were cool water, to reach the treasury.
In the great courtyard he will supply offerings regularly. Into the
E-kur , the shining temple, he will bring .......
Enlil , faithful shepherd of the teeming multitudes, herdsman, leader
of all living creatures, has manifested his rank of great prince,
adorning himself with the holy crown. As the Wind of the Mountain
occupied the dais, he spanned the sky as the rainbow. Like a floating
cloud, he moved alone.
He alone is the prince of heaven, the dragon of the earth. The lofty
god of the Anunna himself determines the fates. No god can look upon
him. His great minister and commander Nusku learns his commands and
his intentions from him, consults with him and then executes his
far-reaching instructions on his behalf. He prays to him with holy
prayers and divine powers.
Without the Great Mountain Enlil , no city would be built, no
settlement would be founded; no cow-pen would be built, no sheepfold
would be established; no king would be elevated, no lord would be
given birth; no high priest or priestess would perform extispicy;
soldiers would have no generals or captains; no carp-filled waters
would ...... the rivers at their peak; the carp would not ...... come
straight up from the sea, they would not dart about.
The sea would not produce all its heavy treasure, no freshwater fish
would lay eggs in the reedbeds, no bird of the sky would build nests
in the spacious land; in the sky the thick clouds would not open their
mouths; on the fields, dappled grain would not fill the arable lands,
vegetation would not grow lushly on the plain; in the gardens, the
spreading trees of the mountain would not yield fruits.
Without the Great Mountain, Enlil , Nintud would not kill, she would
not strike dead; no cow would drop its calf in the cattle-pen, no ewe
would bring forth ...... lamb in its sheepfold; the living creatures
which multiply by themselves would not lie down in their ......; the
four-legged animals would not propagate, they would not mate.
Enlil , your ingenuity takes one's breath away! By its nature it is
like entangled threads which cannot be unraveled, crossed threads
which the eye cannot follow. Your divinity can be relied on. You are
your own counselor and adviser, you are a lord on your own. Who can
comprehend your actions No divine powers are as resplendent as yours.
No god can look you in the face.
You, Enlil , are lord, god, king. You are a judge who makes decisions
about heaven and earth. Your lofty word is as heavy as heaven, and
there is no one who can lift it. The Anunna gods ...... at your word.
Your word is weighty in heaven, a foundation on the earth. In the
heavens, it is a great ......, reaching up to the sky.
On the earth it is a foundation which cannot be destroyed. When it
relates to the heavens, it brings abundance: abundance will pour from
the heavens. When it relates to the earth, it brings prosperity: the
earth will produce prosperity.
Your word means flax, your word means grain. Your word means the early
flooding, the life of the lands. It makes the living creatures, the
animals which copulate and breathe joyfully in the greenery. You,
Enlil, the good shepherd, know their ways. ...... the sparkling stars.
You married Ninlil , the holy consort, whose words are of the heart,
her of noble countenance in a holy ma garment, her of beautiful shape
and limbs, the trustworthy lady of your choice. Covered with allure,
the lady who knows what is fitting for the E-kur , whose words of
advice are perfect, whose words bring comfort like fine oil for the
heart, who shares the holy throne, the pure throne with you, she takes
counsel and discusses matters with you. You decide the fates together
at the place facing the sunrise. Ninlil , the lady of heaven and
earth, the lady of all the lands, is honoured in the praise of the
Great Mountain.
Prominent one whose words are well established, whose command and
support are things which are immutable, whose utterances take
precedence, whose plans are firm words, Great Mountain, father Enlil,
your praise is sublime.
