...... She was faithfully
sitting (?) on ......, admirable and full of charms. ......, the noble
son -- who like him can compare with An and Enlil? Haia, the ......,
put the holy semen into her womb. Nun-bar-ce-gunu (a name of Nisaba)
faithfully gave birth to ......, she brought her up in her ...... and
suckled her at her breasts full of good milk. The ...... of the young
girl burgeoned, and she became full of flourishing beauty. In the
...... of Nisaba, at the gate of the E-zagin, ...... she stood, the
object of admiration, like a tall, beautifully shaped cow.
At that time Enlil had not yet been given a wife in the E-kur;
Ninlil's name was not yet famous in the Ki-ur. After traveling through
Sumer and to the ends of the universe, he ......; in his search
throughout the Land, Enlil, the Great Mountain, stopped at Erec. As he
looked around there, he found the woman of his choice. He approached
her and, overflowing with joy, engaged her in conversation: "I
will make you perfect in a queen's dress; after standing in the
street, you will be ....... How impressed I am by your beauty, even if
you are a shameless person!" In her youthful inexperience Sud
answered Enlil: "If I want to stand proudly at our gate, who
dares to give me a bad reputation? What are your intentions? Why have
you come here? ...... from my sight!" Others (?) had already
tried to deceive ......, and made her (?) angry. Enlil ...... answered
Sud, ...... standing closer to her: "Come, I want to speak to
you! I will have a talk with you about your becoming my wife. Kiss me,
my lady of most beautiful eyes -- the matter rests in your
hands." But the words had barely left his mouth when, right in
front of him, she went into the house.
The heart of the wise lord pounded. He called for Nuska. "What is
your wish?" He gave the following instructions to him: "I
want you to go back to Erec, the city of Nisaba, the city whose
foundations are august. Do not delay! Repeat to her what I am going to
tell you: "I am a young man, I have sent this message to you
because of my wish: I want to take your daughter as wife. Give me your
consent. I will send you presents in my name, ...... my marriage
gifts. I am Enlil, the descendant and offspring of Ancar, the noble,
the lord of heaven and earth. The name of your daughter shall become
Ninlil, and all the foreign countries shall ...... it. I will present
her with the Ja-jic-cua as her storehouse. I will give her the Ki-ur
to be her beloved private quarters. She shall sit (1 ms. has instead:
live) with me in the E-kur, my (1 ms. has instead: the) august dais.
She shall determine fates. She shall apportion the divine powers among
the Anuna, the great gods. And as for you, I will place in your hands
the lives of the black-headed people." When you get there, let
the woman I have chosen for her beauty ...... her mother. Do not go to
her empty-handed, but take her some jewellery in your left hand. Waste
no time. Return with her answer quickly."
When Nuska, the head of the assembly, had received Enlil's
instructions, he wasted no time ......; he directed his steps to Erec.
He entered E-zagin, the residence of Nanibgal (a name of Nisaba) and
prostrated himself before Nanibgal on her dais. ...... of Enlil
......, and she (?) asked him ......: "...... what ......?"
7 lines missing
1 line fragmentary
( Nuska speaks:) "...... Sud ....... What you have told me
......." Then Nanibgal went on speaking flatteringly to the
minister: "Adviser, fit for his (?) king, ever observant (?)! Who
like you could give counsel daily to the Great Mountain? How could I
contest the king's message which his slave has received? If there is
truth in what you have told me -- and may there be no falsehood -- who
could reject one who bestows such exceedingly great favours? ......
makes our mood and hearts happy. Let us consider that amends have been
made. By bringing the marriage gifts and the presents in his name the
insult is wiped away. Tell him: "You shall become my son-in-law;
do as you wish!" Tell Enlil, the Great Mountain: "Do as you
wish!" Let his sister come from her side, and she shall accompany
Sud from here. Aruru shall become Sud's sister-in-law: let her be
shown the household. Inform your lord thus in his august Ki-ur. Repeat
this to Enlil in the privacy of his holy bedchamber."
After ...... had instructed ......, ...... and Nuska took his seat on
it.
1 line missing
Nanibgal called ...... and gave her advice: "My little one,
asleep indoors (?) ...... your pure ......, the pleasant private
quarters ....... ...... leave the House of Nisaba's Wisdom. ......,
Nuska is knowing and wise. ...... to his presence and pour him
beer." According to the instructions of her mother, she washed
his hands and placed a tankard in his hands. The minister opened his
left hand and gave her the jewellery, ....... everything ...... and
set it before her. She received the gifts ....... He ...... directed
his steps to Nibru. ...... kissed the ground before Enlil. ...... the
great Lady had said ......, as she had instructed him, he repeated (?)
.......: "(She said:) "Adviser, fit for his (?) king, ever
observant (?)! Who like you could give counsel daily to the Great
Mountain? How could I contest the king's message which his slave has
received? If there is truth in what you have told me -- and may there
be no falsehood -- who could reject one who bestows such exceedingly
great favours? ...... makes our mood and hearts happy. Let us consider
that amends have been made. By bringing the marriage gifts and the
presents in his name the insult is wiped away. Tell him: "You
shall become my son-in-law; do as you wish!" Tell Enlil, the
Great Mountain: "Do as you wish!" Let his sister come from
her side, and she shall accompany Sud from here. Aruru shall become
Sud's sister-in-law: let her be shown the household. Inform your lord
thus in his august Ki-ur. Repeat this to Enlil in the privacy of his
holy bedchamber.""
..... made ...... feel good, brought great rejoicing in Enlil's heart.
He raised his head ......, and animals came running. ...... herds of
four-legged animals that graze together in the desert. He caught
...... living in the mountains, he made wild bulls, red deer,
elephants, fallow deer, gazelles, bears, wild sheep and rams, lynxes,
foxes, wild cats, tigers, mountain sheep, water buffaloes, monkeys,
and thick-horned fat cattle jostle together noisily. Cows and their
calves, wild cattle with wide-spread horns, ...... rope, ewes and
lambs, goats and kids, romping ...... (1 later ms. from Susa has
instead: ...... and fighting), large kids with long beards, scratching
with their hooves, lambs, ......, and majestic sheep were dispatched
by Enlil toward Erec.
Large cheeses, mustard-flavored cheeses, small cheeses, ......, milk,
cold hard-boiled eggs, butter (?), the sweetest dry honey and white
honey, ......, and thick and large ...... were dispatched by Enlil
toward Erec.
......, dates, figs, large pomegranates, ......, jipar fruits, plums
(?), halub nuts, almonds, acorns, Dilmun dates packed in baskets,
dark-colored date spadices, large pomegranate seeds squeezed out from
their rinds, big clusters of early grapes, ...... trees in fruit,
trees from orchards, ...... grown in winter, and fruits from orchards
were dispatched by Enlil toward Erec.
Ores (?) from Harali, the faraway land, ....... storehouses, ......,
rock-crystal, gold, silver, ......, the yield of the uplands ......,
heavy loads of them, were dispatched by Enlil toward Erec. After the
personal presents, the transported goods ......, Ninmah and the
minister ....... The dust from their march reached high into the sky
like rain clouds. Enormous marriage gifts were being brought for
Nanibgal to Erec; the city was getting full inside and out, ...... it
was to be replete. The rest ...... on the outlying roads .......
...... blue sky .......
1 line missing
2 lines fragmentary
Nanibgal, the mother-in-law of Enlil, the woman who had been
slandered, was treated kindly by Nuska (?) (1 ms. has instead: ......
the mother-in-law of Enlil, the woman ...... Ezina ......) -- but the
lady disregarded the flatterer, and spoke to her daughter: "May
you be Enlil's favourite wife (1 ms. has instead: the wife of Enlil's
heart), and may he speak to you sweetly. May he embrace you, the most
beautiful of all, and tell you: "Beloved, open wide!" May
the two of you never lose the pleasure (?) of excitement; make it last
(?) a long time. (1 ms. has instead: May it be that the pleasure (?)
of excitement will never be lost.) You two ...... on the hill, and
have children afterwards! When you enter the house to live there, may
abundance precede you, and may joy follow you. May the people line up
for you wherever you go, and may all the people ...... for you. The
fate I have determined for you should be fulfilled (1 ms. has instead:
cannot be altered)! Go with head held high into the E-mah."
Then Aruru grasped her by the hand and led her away into the Ec-mah.
She brought her into the E-kur, the house of Enlil, and ....... In the
sleeping quarters, in the flowered bed ...... like a cedar forest,
Enlil made (?) love to his wife and took great pleasure in it.
1 line fragmentary
The lord whose statements are ...... the lady; ...... Nintud, the
"Lady who gives birth" ....... ...... En-batibira's (perhaps
a name of Aruru) countenance, ....... He presented her with ......,
everything ......, and .......
( Enlil speaks:) "From now on, a woman shall be the ......; a
foreign woman shall be the mistress of the house. May my beautiful
wife, who was born by holy Nisaba, be Ezina, the growing grain, the
life of Sumer. When you appear in the furrows like a beautiful young
girl, may Ickur, the canal inspector, be your provider, supplying you
with water from the ground. The height of the year is marked with your
new prime flax and your new prime grain; Enlil and Ninlil procreate
them (?) as desired.
1 line unclear
The harvest crop raises its head high for the great festival of Enlil.
The scribal art, the tablets decorated with writing, the stylus, the
tablet board, the computing of accounts, adding and subtracting, the
shining measuring rope, the ......, the head of the surveyor's peg,
the measuring rod, the marking of the boundaries, and the ...... are
fittingly in your hands. The farmer (?) ....... Woman, the proudest
among the Great Princes, ......, from now on, Sud ...... Ninlil
......."
unknown no. of lines missing
SEGMENT B
A holy song of praise ....... Enlil and Ninlil ......!
Version B
(1 later ms. from Susa preserves a slightly variant version of ll.
142ff.)
( Nisaba speaks:) "...... spend (?) your time on the hill!
....... Enter ......! And may abundance precede you ......! May the
people line up for you ......; may all the people ...... for you. Your
...... which I have determined for you should be fulfilled; ......
with head held high into the Ec-mah."
Aruru grasped her ...... and ...... her away into the Ec-mah. She
brought her into the shining E-kur, and poured the best perfume over
her face. In the sleeping quarters, in the flowered bed fragrant like
a cedar forest, Enlil made (?) love to his wife and took great
pleasure in it. He sat her (?) on his dais appropriate to the status
of Enlil, and made the people pray to her. The lord whose statements
are powerful also determined a fate for the Lady ( Aruru) , the woman
of his favour; he gave her the name Nintud, the "Lady who gives
birth", the "Lady who spreads her knees". He made
beautiful En-batibira's (perhaps a name of Aruru) countenance, .......
He presented her with the ...... of a mistress, everything pertaining
to women that no man must see, and .......
( Enlil speaks:) "From now on, a woman shall be the ......; a
woman shall be the mistress of the house. May my favourite wife, who
was born by holy Nisaba, be Ezina, the grain, the life of the Land.
When she appears in the furrows like a beautiful young girl, may
...... be her provider, watering her with water from the ground, as
she grows prime grain and prime flax ......
1 line unclear
...... the harvest crop ...... the great festival of Enlil .......
......, the measuring rod, the marking of the boundaries, and the
preparation of canals and levees are fittingly in your hands. The
farmer entrusted cultivation into your hands. Proud woman, surpassing
the mountains! You who always fulfill your desires -- from now on,
Sud, Enlil is the king and Ninlil is the queen. The goddess without
name has a famous name now, ......
1 line unclear
May it be you who determines that destiny ...... attends to it
......."
As the presents are given in the shrine Nibru, a holy song of praise
is sung. Enlil, the lord of the countries, .......
