This is Tablet II of the Surpu ("Burning") series — the great exorcistic ritual of ancient Mesopotamia. Where Tablet III names the curses and declares them undone, Tablet II names the sins themselves: every possible way a person could transgress — against word and judgment, against the weak and the widow, against every bond of family and friendship — and then invokes every divine power in heaven and earth to release the sufferer.

The Surpu was performed by the āšipu (exorcist-priest) over a patient believed to be suffering under a curse. The patient's specific transgression was unknown — it might be any of a hundred things. The ritual's solution is radical: name them all. Every act of corruption, every cruelty, every broken bond, every taboo crossed, every god offended. Then, having named everything the patient might have done, call upon everything in the cosmos to release them. The catalogue of sins and the litany of release are the two halves of the same mercy.

This tablet from the Iraq Museum (IM.76972, Late Babylonian period, from the city of Uruk) preserves three sections of Surpu II: the social and moral sins (lines 11–38), the sins of taboo and sorcery (lines 63–74), and the Great Release litany invoking over forty divine powers from Nergal to Ištar (lines 135–177). Together with its companion text "The Undoing of Every Curse" (Surpu III, IM.76940), the archive now holds the central theological arc of the Surpu series: the naming of every sin and the undoing of every curse.

Translation

Obverse

Column 1

1'. [...]¹

2'. [for go]od, evil [he spoke];

3'. [for e]vil, good [he spoke];

4'. [... in a law]suit he m[ade (someone) speak] falsehood;²

5'. [...] he ma[de] the judge [learn];³

6'. [...] he sta[nds] (among) ruins;⁴

7'. they know, but they do not tell;

8'. they speak, and then they take it bac[k];⁵

9'. the weak man, the wronged man, the weak woman he treat[s] with contempt;⁶

10'. in the court of his city he turned the widow away;⁷

11'. he cut off the son from the father;

12'. he cut off the father from the son;

13'. he cut off the daughter from the mother;

14'. he cut off the mother from the daughter;

15'. he cut off the daughter-in-law from the mother-in-law;

16'. he cut off the mother-in-law from the daughter-in-law;

17'. he cut off brother from his brother;

18'. he cut off friend from his friend;

19'. they cut off companion from companion; the captive they did not set free;

20'. the one in fetters they did not loose;

21'. to the one in the prison-house they did not show light;

22'. of the captive: "Hold him fast!";

23'. of the one in fetters: "Bind him!" they said;

24'. he does not know the punishment of the god;

25'. he does not know the penalty of the goddess;

26'. he slights the god, he has forgotten the goddess;

27'. against his god, his sin; against his goddess, his offense;

28'. toward bennu (?), slights;⁸

29'. toward the elder brother, hatred;

30'. [father] and mother he has despised;⁹

31'. [against the eld]er [sister] he sinned;

32'. [with the sm]all (measure) he gave, with the large he received;

33'. [for "there is n]ot," "there is" he said.

Column 2

1'. [...]¹⁰

2'. un[seemly things he taught, things unfitting he instructed];¹¹

3'. unf[itting ...];

4'. after [evil he went];

5'. the boundary [of ... he crossed];¹²

6'. what is not goo[d he did];

7'. to witchcraft [and sorcery he put his hands];

8'. for the forbidden thing, [the grievous thing that he ate];

9'. for the [many] sins [that he sinned];

10'. for the as[sembly that he scattered];

11'. for [the close-knit kin that he broke apart];

12'. for [every god and goddess that he slighted];

13'. for [what he promised with his heart and his mouth, and did not give].

Reverse

Column 4

1'. [...] lord of the steppe;¹³

2'. [release, O Nergal,] lord of absolution;

3'. [release, O Shuqamu]na and Shimaliya;

4'. [release, O go]ds of heaven and earth, as many as are called by name;

5'. [...] [release, O Bra]zier, son of Ea-the-King;¹⁴

6'. may [Bel] and Belet release;

7'. may Anu and Antu release;

8'. may Enlil release, the king who fashions the destinies;

9'. may Ninlil release, queen of Ekiur;

10'. may Ekiur release, the storehouse of hišti (?);¹⁵

11'. may Enkum (and) Ninkum release;

12'. may Enshar release, may Ninshar release; may Ea release, king of the Ap[su];

13'. may the Apsu release, the house of wisdom;

14'. may Eridu release, may Eshabzu release;

15'. may Marduk release, king of the Igigi;

16'. may Zarpanitu release, queen of Esagil;

17'. may Esagil (and) Babylon release, the dwelling of the great god[s];

18'. may Nabu and Nanaya release, in Ezi[da];

19'. may Tashmetu release, the great bri[de];

20'. may Madanu release, throne-bear[er of Esagil];¹⁶

21'. may Qibi-dumqi release, who brings in good fortu[ne];

22'. may Der and Edimgalkalamma release;

23'. may Ishtaran (and) Deritu release;

24'. may [the city ...] release, (and) the god of that city, and Lahuratil;¹⁷

25'. may Yambar, Humbar, Napriš release, the most ex[alted] gods;¹⁸

26'. Star(?): South wind, North wind, East wind, West wind:¹⁹

27'. may the four winds blow and loosen his curse;

28'. may Ishtar release, in Uruk the sheepfold;

29'. may Belet-Eanna release, in Eanna her chamber;²⁰

30'. may Anunitu release, in Agade, the city of [her] delig[ht];

31'. may Agade release, may Eulmash release;

32'. may Ishhara release, lady of the inhabited wor[ld];

33'. may Shiya-BAD release, Ishtar of wisd[om];²¹

34'. Erra, Erragal, Errakal[kal],

35'. Las, Haya, Lu[husha — may they release];

36'. Lugal-edin, [Latarak] ... (the rest is broken)

Notes on the reading

This is the second tablet of Šurpu, the Babylonian "Burning" ritual, in a late (Hellenistic) copy from Uruk: column 1 lists the sins, broken bonds and injustices that may lie on the sufferer; column 2 begins the "for the ..." clauses naming what is to be undone; and reverse column 4 is a long litany calling on gods, temples, cities and winds to "release" him. Column 1 and reverse column 4 are well preserved and read with confidence, apart from the opening lines of column 1 (lines 1'–6', where the beginnings are lost and several signs are doubtful) and the obscure but intact be-en-nu of line 28'. Column 2 survives only in its first one or two signs per line; nearly all of its English rests on eBL's restorations from duplicates and is bracketed accordingly, and its first line is left unrendered. In column 4 the hardest readings are the damaged city-name beside the Elamite gods (24'), the phrase šutummu hišti (10'), the intact but unexplained MUL before the four winds (26') and the divine name Shiya-BAD (33'). The tablet breaks off in the middle of the list of plague and underworld gods (34'–36').

Colophon

A Good Works Translation from the Akkadian by the Good Works Library, 2026, made directly from the eBL transliteration of IM 76972 printed below. Before translating, every English translation line and editorial note was removed from the working text, so the English here is independently derived from the cuneiform signs. The translation was then checked line by line against the Akkadian by a second reader. Each line of the English renders the source line with the same number. Broken passages stay broken: [...] marks a gap, and words in square brackets are restorations, explained in the notes.

Earlier English translation: the English translation given line by line in the Electronic Babylonian Literature (eBL) corpus (freely available). This is a new translation made independently from the source language.

Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation and editorial work.

© 2026 Tianmu Anglican Church. This English translation is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0: you may share and adapt it for non-commercial use with credit to the Good Works Library, tianmu.org. The source text keeps its own terms. For other uses, see Rights and Reuse.

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Source Text: IM 76972 (transliteration)

Akkadian transliteration from the Electronic Babylonian Literature (eBL) corpus, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, licensed CC BY 4.0, with its English translation lines and notes omitted. %n marks eBL's normalized Akkadian, and %akk the return to the transliteration.

Obverse

Column 1

1'. [...] x# [... <>]

2'. [a-na ba]-ni#-tu₄ le-mut#-[tu₄ %n iqbû %akk <>]

3'. [a-na l]e-mut-tu₄ ba-ni-t[u₄ %n iqbû %akk <>]

4'. [... di?]-i#!?-ni ṣa-lip₂-tu₄ u₂#-[šad-bi-bu <>]

5'. [...]-tu₂ da-a-a-nu u₂-[ša₂-hi-zu <>]

6'. x# [...-n]i!? ab-ta-a-tu₂ iz-z[a-az-zu <>]

7'. i-du-u₂# la i-qab-bu#-[u₂ <>]

8'. i-qab-bu-u₂ ut-ta-r[u?# <>]

9'. en-šu(ZU) hab-lu e-niš-tu₂ i-da-ṣ[u!? <>]

10'. al-mat-tu₄ ina di-i-ni URU-šu₂ u₂-sah-hi-ir!(NI) [BU]

11'. it-ti AD DUMU ip-ru-us [BU]

12'. it-ti DUMU AD ip-ru-us [BU]

13'. it-ti AMA DUMU.MUNUS ip-ru-us [BU]

14'. it-ti DUMU.MUNUS AMA ip-ru-us <<BU#>>

15'. it-ti e-me-tu₄ kal-la-tu₄ ip-ru-us <>

16'. it-ti kal-la-tu₄ e-me-tu₄ ip-ru-us <>

17'. it-ti ŠEŠ ŠEŠ-šu₂ ip-ru-us <>

18'. it-ti ib-ri i-bir-šu₂ ip-ru-us <>

19'. it-ti ru-u₈-a ru-u₈-a ip-ru-su <> : ṣab-tu₄ la u₂-maš-ši-ru <>

20'. ka-sa-a la u₂-ram-mu-u₂ <>

21'. ša₂ E₂ ṣi-bit-tu₄ la u₂-kal-li-mu nu-u₂-ru <>

22'. ana ṣab-tu₄ ṣa-bat-su-u₂ <>

23'. ana ka-sa-a ka-si-ši-šu-ma iq-bu-u₂ <>

24'. ul i-di šer₃-ti i-lu <>

25'. ul i-di en-net {d}15 <>

26'. DINGIR-MEŠ i-da-ṣi {d}15 im-ta-ši <>

27'. a-na DINGIR-MEŠ-šu₂ ar₂-ni-šu₂ ana {d}15-šu₂ gil₂-lat-su <>

28'. a-na be-en-nu da-ṣa-a-tu₄ <>

29'. a#-na# ŠEŠ GAL-u₂ ze-ra-a-tu₄ <>

30'. [AD] u#!? AMA im-te-eš <>

31'. [a-na NIN GA]L-ti ug-dal-lil <>

32'. [ina ṣe-her]-ti# it-ta-din ina ra-bi-tu₄ im-ta-har <<BU#>>

33'. [a-na ia-a]ʾ-nu# i-ba-aš₂-ši iq-ta-bi <<BU#>> (end of column)

Column 2

1'. bar#-[ru %n paršu pîšu pardā sahâ šaptāšu]

2'. la a[m-ra-a-ti %n lummudu lā naṭāti šūhuzu]

3'. la na#-[ṭa-ti ...]

4'. ar₂-ki [ %n lemutta tebû]

5'. i-te-e [MUNUS GI %n itīqu]

6'. la ba-ni-[tu₄ %n īpušu]

7'. a-na kiš-pi# [ %n ruhê qātīšu ūbilu]

8'. ina NIG₂.GIG# [ %n marṣi ša īkulu]

9'. ina ar₂-nu# [ %n mādūti ša ihtaṭû]

10'. ina p[u-uh-ri %n ša usapihhu]

11'. ina# [ %n illati kaṣirti ša uparriru]

12'. ina# [ %n gabbi ili u ištari ša imēšu]

13'. ina# [ %n libbīšu u pîšu iqbû lā iddinu] (end of column)

Reverse

Column 4

1'. [...] EN EDIN <>

2'. [ %n puṭur Nergal %akk ] EN tap-šer₃-ti <>

3'. [ %n puṭrā %akk {d}šu-qa-mu]-nu u {d}ši-ma-li-ia <>

4'. [ %n puṭrā %akk DIN]GIR-MEŠ# ša₂ AN-e u KI-ti₃ ma-la MU-šu₂-nu za-kar <>

5'. x# [ %n puṭrā %akk ki]-nu-nu DUMU {d}e₂-a-LUGAL <<BU#>>

6'. {d#}[EN] u {d}GAŠAN lip-ṭu-ru <<BU#>>

7'. {d#}a#-nu u an-tu₄ lip-ṭu-ru <<BU#>>

8'. {d}+EN.LIL₂ lip-ṭu-ru LUGAL ba-nu-u₂ NAM-MEŠ [BU]

9'. {d}NIN.LIL₂ lip-ṭu-ru šar-rat E₂.KI.UR₃ [BU]

10'. E₂.KI.UR₃ lip-ṭu-ru šu-tum₃-mu hi-iš-ti [BU]

11'. {d}ENKUM {d}NINKUM lip-ṭur [BU]

12'. {d}EN#.ŠAR₂ lip-ṭur {d}NIN.ŠAR₂ lip-ṭur# <> : {d}e₂-a lip-ṭu-ru LUGAL ap#-[si-i <>]

13'. ap-si#-i lip-ṭur E₂ ne₂-me-qi₂ [BU]

14'. ERIDU{ki} lip-ṭur EŠ₃.ABZU# lip-ṭur [BU]

15'. {d}AMAR.UTU lip-ṭur LUGAL {d#}i₂-gi₃-gi₃ [BU]

16'. {d}zar-pa-ni-tu₄ lip-ṭur šar-rat# E₂#.SAG.IL₂# [BU]

17'. E₂.SAG.IL₂ TIN.TIR{ki} lip-ṭur šu-bat DINGIR-MEŠ GAL#-ME[Š <>]

18'. {d}+AG u {d}na-na-a lip-ṭur ina E₂.ZI#.D[A <>]

19'. {d}taš-me-tu₄ lip-ṭur kal-lat GAL-t[u₄ <>]

20'. {d}DI.KU₅ lip-ṭur gu-za-lu-[u₂ E₂.SAG.IL₂ <>]

21'. {d}qi₂-bi-ia-dum-qi₂ lip-ṭur mu-še-rib SIG₅-[ti₃ <>]

22'. BAD₃.AN{ki} u E₂.DIM.GAL.KALAM.MA lip-ṭu-ru# [BU]

23'. {d}KA.DI {d}de-ri-tu₄ lip-ṭu-ru# [BU]

24'. lip-ṭur <ina? MUŠ₃?>.ŠEŠ₂{ki} {d}+MUŠ₃.ŠEŠ₂{ki} u {d}la-hu-ra-til?# [BU]

25'. {d}ia-am-bar {d}hum-ba-ar {d}nap-riš lip-ṭu-ru DINGIR-MEŠ šur#-[bu-tu₂ <>]

26'. MUL {tu₁₅}U₁₈.LU {tu₁₅}SI.<SA₂> {tu₁₅}KUR.RA {tu₁₅}MAR.TU [BU]

27'. TU₁₅ er-bet#-ti li-ziq-qu-nim-ma li-paṭ-ṭi-ru ma-mit-su₂ [BU]

28'. {d}15 lip-ṭur ina UNUG{ki} su-pu₂-ru [BU]

29'. {d}be-let-E₂.AN.NA lip-ṭur ina E₂.AN.NA maš-tak-ki-šu₂ [BU]

30'. {d}a-nun-ni-tu₄ lip-ṭur ina A.GA.DE₃{ki} URU ta-šil-l[a-ti-ša₂ <>]

31'. A.GA.DE₃{ki} lip-ṭur E₂.UL.MAŠ lip-ṭur# [BU]

32'. {d}iš-ha-ra lip-ṭur be-let da-ad₂#-[me <>]

33'. {d}ši-ia-BAD₃ lip-ṭur {d}15 ne₂-me#-[qi₂ <>]

34'. {d}ER₃#.RA {d}ER₃#.RA#.GAL {d}ER₃.RA.KA[L.KAL <>]

35'. {d}la-aṣ [{d}]ha#-ia₃ {d}L[U₂.HUŠ.A lip-ṭu-ru <>]

36'. {d#}LUGAL#-EDIN# [{d}la-ta-rak] (broken)

Source Colophon

Transliteration of IM 76972 from the Electronic Babylonian Literature (eBL) project, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (ebl.lmu.de), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.10018951, CC BY 4.0, fetched 2026-10-16. eBL's English translation lines and notes were removed before translation.

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