The Fourth Tablet
1. They prepared for him a lordly chamber,
2 . Before his fathers as prince he took his place.
3. "Thou art chiefest among the great gods,
4. "Thy fate is unequalled, thy word is Anu!
5. "O Marduk, thou art chiefest among the great gods,
6. "Thy fate is unequalled, thy word is Anu!
7. "Henceforth not without avail shall be thy command,
8. "In thy power shall it be to exalt and to abase.
9. "Established shall be the word of thy mouth, irresistible
shall be thy command;
10. "None among the gods shall transgress thy boundary.
11. "Abundance, the desire of the shrines of the gods,
12. "Shall be established in thy sanctuary, even though they lack
(offerings).
13. "O Marduk, thou art our avenger!
14. "We give thee sovereignty over the whole world.
15. "Sit thou down in night, be exalted in thy command.
16. "Thy weapon shall never lose its power, it shall crush thy
foe.
17. "O lord, spare the life of him that putteth his trust in
thee,
18. "But as for the god who began the rebellion, pour out his
life."
19. Then set they in their midst a garment,
20. And unto Marduk their first-born they spake:
21. "May thy fate, O lord, be supreme among the gods,
22. "To destroy and to create; speak thou the word, and (thy
command) shall be fulfilled.
23. "Command now and let the garment vanish;
24. "And speak the word again and let the garment reappear!"
25. Then he spake with his mouth, and the garment vanished;
26. Again he commanded it, and the garment reappeared.
27. When the gods, his fathers, beheld (the fulfilment of) his word,
28. They rejoiced, and they did homage (unto him, saying), "
Marduk is king! "
29. They bestowed upon him the sceptre, and the throne, and the ring,
30. They give him an invincible weapon, which overwhelmeth the foe.
31. "Go, and cut off the life of Tiamat,
32. "And let the wind carry her blood into secret places."
33. After the gods his fathers had decreed for the lord his fate,
34. They caused him to set out on a path of prosperity and success.
35 . He made ready the bow, he chose his weapon,
36. He slung a spear upon him and fastened it . . .
37. He raised the club, in his right hand he grasped (it),
38. The bow and the quiver he hung at his side.
39. He set the lightning in front of him,
40. With burning flame he filled his body.
41. He made a net to enclose the inward parts of Tiamat,
42. The four winds he stationed so that nothing of her might escape;
43. The South wind and the North wind and the East wind and the West
wind
44. He brought near to the net, the gift of his father Anu.
45. He created the evil wind, and the tempest, and the hurricane,
46. And the fourfold wind, and the sevenfold wind, and the whirlwind,
and the wind which had no equal;
47. He sent forth the winds which he had created, the seven of them;
48. T o disturb the inward parts of Tiamat, they followed after him.
49. Then the lord raised the thunderbolt, his mighty weapon,
50. He mounted the chariot, the storm unequalled for terror,
51. He harnessed and yoked unto it four horses,
52. Destructive, ferocious, overwhelming, and swift of pace;
53. [...] were their teeth, they were flecked with foam;
54. They were skilled in [...], they had been trained to trample
underfoot.
55. [...], mighty in battle,
56. Left and [right ...
57. His garment was [...], he was clothed with terror,
58. With overpowering brightness his head was crowned.
59. Then he set out, he took his way,
60. And towards the [rag]ing Tiamat he set his face.
61. On his lips he held [...],
62. ... [...] he grasped in his hand.
63. Then they beheld him, the gods beheld him,
64. The gods his fathers beheld him, the gods beheld him.
65. And the lord drew nigh, he gazed upon the inward parts of Tiamat,
66. He perceived the muttering of Kingu, her spouse.
67. As (Marduk) gazed, (Kingu) was troubled in his gait,
68. His will was destroyed and his motions ceased.
69. And the gods, his helpers, who marched by his side,
70. Beheld their leader's [...], and their sight was troubled.
71. But Tiamat [...], she turned not her neck,
72. With lips that failed not she uttered rebellious words:
73. "[...] thy coming as lord of the gods,
74. "From their places have they gathered, in thy place are
they!"
75. Then the lord [raised] the thunderbolt, his mighty weapon,
76. [And against] Tiamat, who was raging, thus he sent (the word):
77. "[Thou] art become great, thou hast exalted thyself on high,
78. "And thy [heart hath prompted] thee to call to battle.
79. "[...] their fathers [...],
80. "[...] their [...] thou hatest [...].
81. "[Thou hast exalted King]u to be [thy] spouse,
82. "[Thou hast . . . ] him, that, even as Anu, he should issue
decrees.
83. "[...] thou hast followed after evil,
84. "And [against] the .gods my fathers thou hast contrived thy
wicked plan.
85. "Let then thy host be equipped, let thy weapons be girded on!
86. "Stand! I and thou, let us join battle!"
87. When Tiamat heard these words,
88. She was like one possessed, she lost her reason.
89. Tiamat uttered wild, piercing cries,
90. She trembled and shook to her very foundations.
91. She recited an incantation, she pronounced her spell,
92. And the gods of the battle cried out for their weapons.
93. Then advanced Tiamat and Marduk, the counsellor of the gods;
94. To the fight they came on, to the battle they drew nigh.
95. The lord spread out his net and caught her,
96. And the evil wind that was behind (him) he let loose in her face.
97. As Tiamat opened her mouth to its full extent,
98. He drove in the evil wind, while as yet she had not shut her lips.
99. The terrible winds filled her belly,
100. And her courage was taken from her, and her mouth she opened
wide.
101. He seized the spear and burst her belly,
102. He severed her inward parts, he pierced (her) heart.
103. He overcame her and cut off her life;
104. He cast down her body and stood upon it.
105. When he had slain Tiamat, the leader,
106. Her might was broken, her host was scattered.
107. And the gods her helpers, who marched by her side,
108. Trembled, and were afraid, and turned back.
109. They took to flight to save their lives;
110. But they were surrounded, so that they could not escape.
111. He took them captive, he broke their weapons;
112. In the net they were caught and in the snare they sat down.
113. The [...] ... of the world they filled with cries of grief.
114. They received punishment from him, they were held in bondage.
115. And on the eleven creatures which she had filled with the power
of striking terror,
116. Upon the troop of devils, who marched at her [...],
117. He brought affliction, their strength [he ...];
118. Them and their opposition he trampled under his feet.
119. Moreover, Kingu, who had been exalted over them,
120. He conquered, and with the god Dug-ga he counted him.
121. He took from him the Tablets of Destiny that were not rightly
his,
122. He sealed them with a seal and in his own breast he laid them.
123. Now after the hero Marduk had conquered and cast down his
enemies,
124. And had made the arrogant foe even like ...,
125. And had fully established Anshar's triumph over the enemy,
126. And had attained the purpose of Nudimmud,
127. Over the captive gods he strengthened his durance,
128. And unto Tiamat, whom he had conquered, he returned.
129. And the lord stood upon Tiamat's hinder parts,
130. And with his merciless club he smashed her skull.
131. He cut through the channels of her blood,
132. And he made the North wind bear it away into secret places.
133. His fathers beheld, and they rejoiced and were glad;
134. Presents and gifts they brought unto him.
135. Then the lord rested, gazing upon her dead body,
136. While he divided the flesh of the ..., and devised a cunning
plan.
137. He split her up like a flat fish into two halves;
138. One half of her he stablished as a covering for heaven.
139. He fixed a bolt, he stationed a watchman,
140. And bade them not to let her waters come forth.
141. He passed through the heavens, he surveyed the regions (thereof),
142. And over against the Deep he set the dwelling of Nudimmud.
143. And the lord measured the structure of the Deep,
144. And he founded E-shara, a mansion like unto it.
145. The mansion E-shara which he created as heaven,
146. He caused Anu, Bêl, and Ea in their districts to inhabit.
The Fifth Tablet
1. He.(i.e. Marduk) made the stations for the great gods;
2. The stars, their images, as the stars of the Zodiac, he fixed.
3. He ordained the year and into sections he divided it;
4. For the twelve months he fixed three stars.
5. After he had [...] the days of the year [...] images,
6. He founded the station of Nibir 1to determine their bounds;
7. That none might err or go astray,
8. He set the station of Bêl and Ea along with him.
9. He opened great gates on both sides,
10. He made strong the bolt on the left and on the right.
11. In the midst thereof he fixed the zenith;
12. The Moon-god he caused to shine forth, the night he entrusted to
him.
13. He appointed him, a being of the night, to determine the days;
14. Every month without ceasing with the crown he covered(?) him,
(saying):
15. "At the beginning of the month, when thou shinest upon the
land,
16. "Thou commandest the horns to determine six days,
17. "And on the seventh day to [divide] the crown.
18. "On the fourteenth day thou shalt stand opposite, the half
[...].
19. "When the Sun-god on the foundation of heaven [...] thee,
20. "The [...] thou shalt cause to ..., and thou shalt make his
[...].
21. "[...] ... unto the path of the Sun-god shalt thou cause to
draw nigh,
22. "[And on the ... day] thou shalt stand opposite, and the
Sun-god shall ... [...]
23. "[...] to traverse her way.
24. "[...] thou shalt cause to draw nigh, and thou shalt judge
the right.
25. "[...] to destroy
26. "[...] me.
"..."
[The following twenty-two
lines are taken from K. 3,449a,
and probably form part
of the Fifth Tablet.]
(66 ). [...]
(67) [...]
(68 ) From [...]
(69) In E-sagil [...]
(70) To establish [...]
(71) The station of [...]
(72) The great gods [...]
(73) The gods [...]
(74) He took and [...]
(75) The gods [his fathers] beheld the net which he had made,
(76) They beheld the bow and how [its work] was accomplished.
(77) They praised the work which he had done [...]
(78) Then Anu raised [the ...] in the assembly of the gods.
(79) He kissed the bow, (saying), "It is [...]!"
(80) And thus he named the names of the bow, (saying),
(81) "'Long-wood' shall be one name, and the second name [shall
be ...]
(82) "And its third name shall be the Bow-star, in heaven [shall
it ...]"
(83) Then he fixed a station for it [...]
(84) Now after the fate of [...]
(85) [He set] a throne [...]
(86) [...] in heaven [...]
(87) [...] ... [...]
[The following traces
of the last thirteen lines of the Fifth Tablet are taken from the reverse of
K. 11,641 and from the
reverse of K. 8,526.]
(128) "[...] him [...]"
(129) "[...] them [...]"
(130) "[...] him [...]"
(131) "[...] them [...]"
132) "[...] their [...] may [...]"
(133) [...] the gods spake,
(134) [...] the heavens [...]: 1
(135) "[... your] son [...]"
(136) "[...] our [...] hath he [...]"
(137) "[...] he hath caused to live [...]"
(138) "[...] splendour [...]"
(139) "[...] not [...]!"
(140) "[...] we [...]!"
The Sixth Tablet
1. When Marduk heard the word of the gods,
2. His heart prompted him and he devised [a cunning plan].
3. He opened his mouth and unto Ea [he spake],
4. [That which] he had conceived in his heart he imparted [unto him]:
5. "My blood will I take and bone will I [fashion],
6. "I will make man, that man may ... [...].
7. "I will create man who shall inhabit [the earth],"
8. "That the service of the gods may be established, and that
[their] shrines [may be built].
9. "But I will alter the ways of the gods, and I will change
[their paths];
10. "Together shall they be oppressed,
and unto evil shall [they ...]."
11. And Ea answered him and spake the word:
12. "[...] the [...] of the gods I have [changed]
13. [...] ... and one ... [...]
14. [...shall be de]stroyed and men will I [...]
15. [...] and the gods [...]
16. [...] ... and they [...]
17. [...] ... and the gods [...]
18. [...] .... [...]
19. [...] the gods [...]
20. [...] the Anunnaki [...]
21. [...] ... [...]
[The rest of the text
is wanting with the exception of the last few lines of the tablet,
which read as
follows.]3
138. [...] ... [...]
139. [...] ... [...]
140. When [...] ... [...]
141. They rejoiced [...] ... [...]
142. In Upshukkinnaku they set [their dwelling].
143. Of the heroic son, their avenger, [they cried]:
144. "We, whom he succoured, ... [...]!"
145. They seated themselves and in the assembly they named [him ...],
146. They all [cried aloud (?), they exalted [him ...].
The Seventh Tablet
1. O Asari, "Bestower of planting," "[Founder of
sowing],"
2. "Creator of grain and plants," "who caused [the
green herb to spring up]!"
3. O Asaru-alim, "who is revered in the house of counsel,"
"[who aboundeth in counsel],"
4. The gods paid homage, fear [took hold upon them]!
5. O Asaru-alim-nuna, "the mighty one," "the Light of
[the father who begat him],"
6. Who directeth the decrees of Anu, Bel, [and Ea]!"
7. He was their patron, he ordained [their . . . . ];
8. He, whose provision is abundance, goeth forth [...]!
9. Tutu [is] "He who created
them anew;"
10. Should their wants be pure, then are they [satisfied];
11. Should he make an incantation, then are the gods [appeased];
12 . Should they attack him in anger, he withstandeth [their
onslaught]!
13. Let him therefore be exalted, and in the assembly of the gods [let
him ...];
14. None among the gods can [rival him]!
15. Tutu is Zi-ukkina, "the Life of the host [of the gods],"
16. Who established for the gods the bright heavens.
17. He set them on their way, and ordained [their path (?)]
18. Never shall his [...] deeds be forgotten among men.
19. Tutu as Zi-azag thirdly they named, "the Bringer of Purification,"
20. "The God of the Favouring Breeze," "the Lord of
Hearing and Mercy,"
21. "The Creator of Fulness and Abundance," "the
Founder of Plenteousness,"
22. "Who increaseth all that is small."
23. "In sore distress we felt his favouring breeze,"
24. Let them say, let them pay reverence, let them bow in humility
before him!
25. Tutu as Aga-azag may mankind fourthly magnify!
26. "The Lord of the Pure Incantation," "the Quickener
of the Dead,"
27. "Who had mercy upon the captive gods,"
28. "Who removed the yoke from upon the gods his enemies,"
29. "For their forgiveness did he create mankind,"
30. "The Merciful One, with whom it is to bestow life!"
31. May his deeds endure, may they never be forgotten
32. In the mouth of mankind whom his
hands have made!
33. Tutu as Mu-azag, fifthly, his "Pure Incantation" may
their mouth proclaim,
34. "Who through his Pure Incantation hath destroyed all the evil
ones!"
35. Shag-zu, "who knoweth the heart of the gods," "who
seeth through the innermost part!"
36. "The evil-doer he hath not caused to go forth with him!"
37. "Founder of the assembly of the gods," "[who ...]
their heart! "
38. "Subduer of the disobedient," "[...]!"
39. "Who rebellion and [...]!"
41. Tutu as Zi-si,
"the [...],
42. "Who put an end to anger," "[who ...]!"
43. Tutu as Suh-kur, thirdly, "the [Destroyer of the foe],"
44. "Who put their plans to confusion," "[...],"
45. "Who destroyed all the wicked," "[...],"
46. [...] let them [...]!
47. [...] ... [...]
[The following lines
are taken from the fragment K. 12,830, but their position in the text is
uncertain.]
[He named the four quarters (of the world)], mankind [he created],
[And upon] him understanding [...]
[...] ... [...]
[...] Tiamat [...]
[...] ... [...]
[...] distant [...]
[...] may [...].
[The following lines
are taken from the fragment K. 13,761.]
[...]
(10) [...]
"The mighty one [...]!"
... Agi[l ...],
"The Creator of [the earth ...]!"
Zulummu ... [...],
"The Giver of counsel and of whatsoever [...]!"
Mummu, "the Creator [of ...]!"
Mulil, the heavens [...], "Who for ... [...]!"
Gishkul, let [...],
(10) "Who brought the gods to naught[...]!"
Lugal-ab-[...],
"Who in [ ............ ]!"
Pap-[...],
"Who in [...]!"
[...]
[The following lines
are taken from the fragment K. 8,519 and its duplicate K. 13,337; this portion
of the text was not separated by much from that preserved by K. 13,761.]
[...].
[...] ...
[... the Chief (?) of] all lords,"
[... supreme] is his might!
[Lugal-durmah, "the King] of the
band of the gods," "the Lord of rulers,"
"Who is exalted in a royal habitation,"
"[Who] among the gods is gloriously supreme!"
[Adu-nuna], "the Counsellor of Ea," who created the gods his
fathers,
Unto the path of whose majesty
[No] god can ever attain!
[... in] Dul-azag he made it known,
[...] pure is his dwelling!
[... the ...] of those without understanding is Lugal-dul-azaga!
[...] supreme is his might!
[...] their [...] in the midst of Tiamat,
[...] ... of the battle!
[The numbering of the
following lines is based on the marginal numbers upon No. 91,139. + 93,073.]
105. [...] ... [...] him,
106. [...] ... the star, which [shineth in the heavens].
107. May he hold the Beginning and the Future,
may they pay homage unto him,
108. Saying, "He who forced his way through the midst of Tiamat
[without resting],
109. "Let his name be Nibiru, 'the Seizer of the Midst'!
110. "For the stars of heaven he upheld the paths,
111. "He shepherded all the gods like sheep!
112. "He conquered Tiamat, he troubled and ended her life,"
113. In the future of mankind, when the days grow old,
114. May this be heard without ceasing, may it hold sway for ever!
115. Since he created the realm (of heaven) and fashioned the firm
earth,
116. "The Lord of the World," the father Bêl hath called his
name.
117. (This) title, which all the Spirits of Heaven proclaimed,
118. Did Ea hear, and his spirit was rejoiced, (and he said):
119. "He whose name his fathers have made glorious,
120. "Shall be even as I, his name shall be Ea!
121. "The binding of all my decrees shall he control,
122. "All my commands shall he make known! "
123. By the name of "Fifty" did the great gods
124. Proclaim his fifty names, they made his path pre-eminent."
Epilogue
125. Let them be held in remembrance,
and let the first man proclaim them;
126. Let the wise and the understanding consider them together!
127. Let the father repeat them and teach them to his son;
128. Let them be in the ears of the pastor and the shepherd!
129. Let a man rejoice in Marduk, the Lord of the gods,
130. That he may cause his land to be fruitful, and that he himself
may have prosperity!
131. His word standeth fast, his command is unaltered;
132. The utterance of his mouth hath no god ever annulled.
133. He gazed in his anger, he turned not his neck;
134. When he is wroth, no god can withstand his indignation.
135. Wide is his heart, broad is his compassion;
136. The sinner and evil-doer in his presence [...].
137. They received instruction, they spake before him,
138. [...] unto [...].
139. [...] of Marduk may the gods [...].
140. [May] they [... his ] name [...]!
141. [...] they took and [...];
142. [...]!
