From your heart, the true plan — evil does not seize it. E-kiš-nu-ĝal, your interior — a great dragon, evil does not know your heart.
A šir-namšub — a protective incantation-song — composed for Ur-Namma, founder of the Third Dynasty of Ur (r. c. 2112–2095 BCE). The genre name means "protective charm-song": these were compositions with an apotropaic function, their performance understood to ward off evil forces. This šir-namšub is addressed to Nanna (also called Suen and Ashimbabbar), the Moon God — patron of Ur, lord of the great temple E-kiš-nu-ĝal, and the deity whose monthly cycle governed divination and fate-decreeing across ancient Mesopotamia. To be chosen by Ashimbabbar was the highest claim a king of Ur could make.
The composition is forty lines preserved in a single manuscript (L 1499, Istanbul Archaeological Museum). Approximately six lines are lost at the beginning; lines twenty through twenty-four are substantially damaged. What survives falls into two distinct movements. The first half praises the E-kiš-nu-ĝal ("House Without Equal in Might") and the city of Urim (Ur), building through a fourfold liturgical refrain — "Together may your name be exalted!" — that gives the hymn its ceremonial, repeated-performance character. The second half is antiphonal: paired couplets alternating between "the king who does X" and "Ur-Namma: Y follows for him," covering the king's mastery of celestial divination, the blessing of the House of Suen, the decree of the great rivers, and the decree of the divine lady (almost certainly Ningal, Nanna's consort).
The central declaration of the composition — that the E-kiš-nu-ĝal is a "great dragon" whose interior evil cannot know — connects the protective function of the šir-namšub genre to the physical sanctuary of the temple. The king protected by this song is the king whose patron temple is itself inviolable.
Translated from ETCSL c.2.4.1.5 (Sumerian transliteration, single manuscript). The reference translation t.2.4.1.5 was accessible and consulted after the independent draft for structural verification. Translation independently derived from the Sumerian. Lacunae marked honestly.
I. The E-kiš-nu-ĝal
Your gate rises up — great waters, none can rival them.
Shrine of holy Urim, your heart the mountain of abundance,
your outside the mountain of plenty.
E-kiš-nu-ĝal, the cunningly-made mountain —
its interior, no one knows.
Place of life-giving birth, in cedar-wood,
the land rejoices for your name.
Your lord — the verdant lord, whose name has been called —
child of divine Ninsun, adornment of all the lands.
Urim — your great divine powers spread among the gods,
dwelling in the land.
Together may your name be exalted!
Your gate laden with the trembling awe of the verdant sky,
its brilliance equal to Utu's, spreading from the horizon
where the day is laid to rest.
From your inner sanctuary, the place where the gods decree fates —
I who make verdicts right.
Together may your name be exalted!
II. The Inviolable Interior
From your heart, the true plan — evil does not seize it.
E-kiš-nu-ĝal, your interior — a great dragon,
evil does not know your heart.
Your gi-gun, your offerings, spread before divine Enlil.
The great forecourt — the place where fates are decreed,
where all the great gods decree for him.
E-temen-ni-guru, befitting its own radiance.
From the place of his birth —
together may your name be exalted!
III. [Damaged — lines 20–24]
The verdant lord — the true shepherd — Ur-Namma.
Holy Urim...
The house shining like Utu...
Together may your name be exalted — Ur-Namma...
Lapis lazuli beard, spreading wide...
IV. The Antiphony
The king laden with allure, divine radiance covering the land —
Ur-Namma, whom Ashimbabbar has chosen in his holy heart.
Wrongdoing does not pass before his face — justice.
Ur-Namma has set the treasury in order.
The king who knows the star-bright celestial signs —
Ur-Namma speaks the auspicious oracle.
Who knows words, who knows the celestial signs of the en-ship —
Ur-Namma speaks the auspicious oracle.
The king — for the house of divine Suen —
Ur-Namma: may it become cool and refreshing for him.
The king — for the Tigris and the Euphrates —
Ur-Namma: they decree fate for him.
Its lady, the lady of wealth, the lady of the house of [...] —
Ur-Namma: she decrees fate for him.
The noble lady speaks to him with true care.
Ur-Namma... [remaining lines damaged]
Colophon
Ur-Namma E (ETCSL c.2.4.1.5). Sumerian royal hymn, Third Dynasty of Ur, c. 2112–2095 BCE. Genre: šir-namšub (protective incantation-song). Single manuscript: L 1499 (ISET 1 166 f., Istanbul Archaeological Museum). Approximately six lines lost at the beginning; lines 20–24 substantially damaged; line 40 mostly lost.
Key translation notes: šir-namšub = protective incantation-song — these compositions served an apotropaic function in temple liturgy; Ašimbabbar = epithet of Nanna/Suen, meaning "who lights up the night"; E-kiš-nu-ĝal₂ = "House Without Equal in Might," Nanna's great temple at Ur; E-temen-ni₂-gur₃-ru = "House Whose Foundation-Platform is Laden with Its Own Aura," the common name of Ur-Namma's great ziggurat at Ur; e₂-gi-gun₄-na = the gi-gun, an elevated chapel-shrine of Nanna; dub-la₂-maḥ = the great forecourt, where the divine assembly gathered to decree fates; teš₂ mu-zu ḫe₂-i-i = "together may your name be exalted!" — the fourfold liturgical refrain; maš-gi = the confirmed/auspicious oracle — under Nanna's patronage as moon god, lunar observations formed the basis of Mesopotamian divination; pa-mul-pa-mul = "star-bright celestial signs," the astral portents mastered by the diviner-king; ni₂ ḫe₂-eb-ši-ib₂-te-en-te (line 34) = "may it become cool and refreshing for him," a standard blessing of divine peace; su₆ za-gin₃ su₃-su₃ (line 24) = "lapis lazuli beard flowing wide," the iconic attribute of Nanna and the Ur III divine kings.
The first-person voice in line 12 ("I who make verdicts right") is Ur-Namma speaking — the just king appended to the liturgical refrain, claiming divine mandate for his judicial role. The "child of divine Ninsun" in line 6 is Ur-Namma (who consistently claims Ninsun as his divine mother, shared with Gilgamesh); "the verdant lord, whose name has been called" in line 5 is Nanna. The two figures are deliberately placed side by side — god and king, each chosen by the divine order.
Reference translation t.2.4.1.5 (ETCSL) was accessible and consulted after the independent draft for structural verification. Translation is independently derived from the Sumerian transliteration.
A Good Works Translation. New Tianmu Anglican Church.
Translated by: Amagi, Liberation Translator tulku (Run 52), 2026-03-22.
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Source Text
Ur-Namma E (ETCSL c.2.4.1.5) — Sumerian Transliteration
Single manuscript: L 1499 (ISET 1 166 f.). Transliteration from ETCSL composite text. Conventions: / \ = partially preserved sign; [ ] = lacuna; X = undeciphered sign; ? = uncertain reading; (ms: X) = manuscript variant.
- /abul-zu /ed₂?-[a a maḥ gaba-šu-ĝar nu-tuku]
- [eš₃] /urim₅[ki] [šag₄-zu kur] /ḫe₂-ĝal₂ bar-[zu ḫur-saĝ ḫe-nun-na]
- [e₂]-/kiš-[nu-ĝal₂] [ḫur-saĝ] galam-ma šag₄-bi [lu₂ nu]-/zu\
- ki ut-ti-/zu\ [...] ĝiš-erin-na mu-zu-še₃ kalam ḫul₂-[a]
- en-zu en sig₇-ga mu pad₃-da
- dumu dNin-sun₂-ka me-te kur-kur-ra
- urim₅ki me gal-zu a-ra₂-ab dijir-re-ne
- kalam-ma ĝal₂-la /teš₂\ mu-zu ḫe₂-i-i
- ka₂-zu an sig₇-ga su-zi gur₃-ru
- ĝal₂ da₁₃-da₁₃-bi (ms: GA) dUtu an-ur₂-ta ud mi-/ne?-ĝar-ra-ta
- gi-šag₄-zu-ta ki nam tar-re dijir-re-ne
- di si sa₂ kud!-me-en teš₂ mu-zu ḫe₂-i-i
- šag₄-ga-
-ta ĝiš-ḫur zid-da ḫul-ĝal₂ nu-[dab₅]-/be₂\ - e₂-kiš-nu-ĝal₂ šag₄-zu ušumgal ḫul-ĝal₂ nu-/un-zu
- e₂-gi-gun₄-na-zu nidba-zu KID DIM? dEn-/lil₂?\ su₃-ru?
- dub-la₂-maḥ ki nam tar-re-za dijir gal-gal-e-ne
- nam mi-ni-ib-tar-re-ne
- e₂-temen-ni₂-/gur₃-ru\ tum₂-ma
- u₃-tu-/da\ [...] /teš₂\ mu-zu ḫe₂-i-i
- en sig₇-[ga ... sipad] zid ur-dNamma
- /urim₅[ki] [...]
- e₂-sig₃-/ga\ /dUtu-gin₇ AN?\ [...]
- teš₂ mu-zu ḫe₂-i-i ur-dNamma X [...]
- su₆ za-gin₃ su₃-su₃ X [...]
- lugal ḫi-li gur₃-ru me-lem₄ /kalam-[ma dul-la]
- ur-dNamma dAš-im₂-babbar-re šag₄ kug-ge [ba-ni-in-pad₃]
- niĝ₂-erim₂ igi-ni-še₃ nu-dib-ba niĝ₂-si-[sa₂]
- dUr-dNamma-ke₄ niĝ₂-gur₁₁ sa₂ bi₂-in-dug₄
- lugal-e pa-mul-pa-mul zu
- dUr-dNamma-ke₄ maš-gi i-i im-me
- inim zu en-na-ke₄ pa-mul-pa-mul zu
- dUr-dNamma-ke₄ maš-gi i-[i] im-me
- lugal-e e₂ dSuen-na-ke₄
- dUr-dNamma-ke₄ ni₂ ḫe₂-eb-ši-ib₂-te-en-te
- lugal-e id₂Idigna id₂Buranun-ke₄
- dUr-dNamma-ke₄ nam mu-/ni-ib (ms: ZU) -/tar-re\
- nin-bi nin-niĝ₂-gur₁₁-ra-ke₄ nin e₂-[...]
- dUr-dNamma-ke₄ nam mu-ni-ib-tar-[re]
- munus a /nun-na-ke₄ mi₂ zid-de₃-/eš\ [mu-un-e]
- d[Ur-dNamma]-/ke₄\ GA₂xX NE NA [...]
Source Colophon
ETCSL c.2.4.1.5. Single manuscript: L 1499 (ISET 1 166 f., Istanbul Archaeological Museum, Nippur collection). Cited in Flückiger-Hawker, Urnamma of Ur in Sumerian Literary Tradition (1999). Source accessed via the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL), Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford.
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