Enlil and Ninlil

There was a city — the one we live in.
Nippur was the city — the one we live in.
Among its young men was Enlil.
Among its young women was Ninlil.

I. The Holy City

There was a city — the one we live in.
Nippur was the city — the one we live in.
Dur-Jishnimbar was the city — the one we live in.

The Id-Sala was its holy river.
Kar-Jeshtinna was its quay.
Kar-Asar was its quay where the boats make fast.
Pu-Lal was its well of sweet water.
The Id-Nunbirtum was its branching canal —
fifty sar of farmland measured on every side.

Among the young men of this city was Enlil.
Among the young women was Ninlil.
Among the wise old women was Nun-bar-she-gunu.

II. The Mother's Warning

The wise old woman gave counsel to her daughter —
Nun-bar-she-gunu counseled Ninlil:

The river is holy. Woman, the river is holy.
Do not bathe there.
Do not walk the bank of the Id-Nunbirtum.

His eye is bright — the lord's eye is bright.
He will look at you.

The Great Mountain, Father Enlil — his eye is bright.
He will look at you.
The shepherd who decides all fates — his eye is bright.
He will look at you.

He will want you at once.
He will want to kiss you.
He will want to pour his seed into your womb,
and then he will leave you to it.

III. The Assault at the Canal

She was counseled from the heart.
Wisdom was given to her.

But the river is holy —
and she bathed in the holy river.

And Ninlil walked along the bank of the Id-Nunbirtum.

His eye was bright. The lord's eye was bright.
He looked at her.
The Great Mountain, Father Enlil — his eye was bright.
He looked at her.
The shepherd who decides all fates — his eye was bright.
He looked at her.

The king said to her: I want to lie with you.
But she would not let him.
Enlil said to her: I want to kiss you.
But she would not let him.

My vagina is small — it does not know pregnancy.
My lips are young — they do not know kissing.
If my mother learns of this, she will strike my hand.
If my father learns of this, he will lay hands on me.
No one will stop me from telling my girl friend about you.

Enlil went to his minister Nuska:

Nuska, my minister.
At your service. What do you wish?
Master builder of the Ekur.
At your service, my lord.

Has anyone had sex with, has anyone kissed
a maiden so beautiful, so radiant?
Ninlil — so beautiful, so radiant?

Nuska brought his master across by boat —
the rope of a small vessel, then the great barge.
The lord floated downstream.
He was going to have intercourse with her.
He was going to kiss her.

Father Enlil, floating downstream —
going to have intercourse with her,
going to kiss her.

He grasped hold of her.
He lay with her on the bank.
He had intercourse with her.
He kissed her.

At that one intercourse, at that one kiss,
he poured into her womb the seed of Suen —
of Asimbabbar, the bright moon.

IV. The Exile

Enlil went walking in the Ki-ur.

As he walked through the Ki-ur,
the fifty great gods and the seven who decide all fates
had Enlil arrested in the Ki-ur.

Enlil, you are ritually impure — leave the city.
Nunamnir, you are ritually impure — leave the city.

Enlil departed, as had been decided.
Nunamnir departed, as had been decided.

Enlil went.
Ninlil followed.
Nunamnir went.
The maiden gave chase.

V. The Gatekeeper

Enlil approached the gatekeeper of the city:

Gatekeeper — keeper of the threshold.
Porter — keeper of the holy gate.
When your lady Ninlil comes
and asks about me —
do not tell her where I am.

Ninlil approached the gatekeeper:

Gatekeeper — keeper of the threshold.
Porter — keeper of the holy gate.
When did your lord Enlil pass through?

Enlil answered her, disguised as the gatekeeper:

My lord has not spoken with me, most beautiful one.
Enlil has not spoken with me, most beautiful one.

Ninlil spoke her purpose:

My aim is clear. Let me explain my intent.
Once my womb is empty, you may fill it —
Enlil, lord of all the lands, has already lain with me.
As Enlil is your lord, so am I your lady.

If you are my lady, let my hand touch you.

Your lord's seed — the bright seed — is in my womb.
The seed of Suen — the bright seed — is in my womb.
My master's seed shall rise to the heavens.
Let your seed go down instead — let it go down below.

And Enlil, disguised as the gatekeeper,
brought her into the chamber and lay with her.
He had intercourse with her there.
He kissed her there.

At that one intercourse, at that one kiss,
he poured into her womb the seed of Nergal —
of Meslamtaea.

VI. The River-Man

Enlil went. Ninlil followed.
Nunamnir went. The maiden gave chase.

Enlil approached the man of the Id-Kura —
the man-eating river of the underworld:

Man of the Id-Kura, the man-eating river —
when your lady Ninlil comes
and asks about me —
do not tell her where I am.

Ninlil approached the man of the Id-Kura:

Man of the Id-Kura, the man-eating river —
when did your lord Enlil pass through?

Enlil answered her, disguised as the river-man:

My lord has not spoken with me, most beautiful one.
Enlil has not spoken with me, most beautiful one.

Ninlil spoke her purpose:

My aim is clear. Let me explain my intent.
Once my womb is empty, you may fill it —
Enlil, lord of all the lands, has already lain with me.
As Enlil is your lord, so am I your lady.

If you are my lady, let my hand touch you.

And Enlil, disguised as the man of the Id-Kura,
brought her into the chamber and lay with her.
He had intercourse with her there.
He kissed her there.

At that one intercourse, at that one kiss,
he poured into her womb the seed of Ninazu —
king who stretches the measuring cord across the fields.

VII. The Ferryman

Enlil went. Ninlil followed.
Nunamnir went. The maiden gave chase.

Enlil approached Si-Lu-Igi, the man of the ferryboat:

Si-Lu-Igi, my ferryman —
when your lady Ninlil comes
and asks about me —
do not tell her where I am.

Ninlil approached the ferryman:

Man of the ferryboat —
when did your lord Enlil pass through?

Enlil answered her, disguised as Si-Lu-Igi:

My lord has not spoken with me, most beautiful one.
Enlil has not spoken with me, most beautiful one.

Ninlil spoke her purpose:

My aim is clear. Let me explain my intent.
Once my womb is empty, you may fill it —
Enlil, king of all the lands, has already lain with me.
As Enlil is your lord, so am I your lady.

If you are my lady, let my hand touch you.

And Enlil, disguised as Si-Lu-Igi,
brought her into the chamber and lay with her.
He had intercourse with her there.
He kissed her there.

At that one intercourse, at that one kiss,
he poured into her womb the seed of Enbilulu —
the inspector of canals.

VIII. The Praise

You are lord. You are king.
Enlil — you are lord. You are king.
Nunamnir — you are lord. You are king.

You are the supreme lord.
You are the mighty lord.
Lord who makes the flax grow.
Lord who makes the barley grow.

You are lord of heaven — Lord Plenty — lord of the earth.
Lord of the earth — Lord Plenty — lord of heaven.

Enlil in heaven, Enlil is king.
Lord whose decrees cannot be changed.
His first words will not be reversed.

For the praise of Ninlil the Mother:
praise be to Father Enlil, the Great Mountain.

Colophon

Translated from Sumerian (ETCSL c.1.2.1) for the Good Works Library, New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (University of Oxford) English translation was consulted as a reference check. The myth survives in over forty Old Babylonian tablets and fragments, principally from Nippur (ca. 2000–1600 BCE). The three disguise sequences follow an identical formulaic pattern; the seed-exchange formula expresses the myth's theological core: three underworld gods (Nergal, Ninazu, Enbilulu) are conceived as divine substitutes, each descending below so that Nanna-Suen, the moon already in Ninlil's womb, may rise to the heavens rather than descend.

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Source Text

Enlil and Ninlil (Sumerian: den-líl2 dnin-líl2-da; ETCSL c.1.2.1)

The following is a partial Sumerian transliteration of the opening lines, from the ETCSL composite text. The full 154-line transliteration is accessible at etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk (c.1.2.1); only the opening was returned in full by the fetch.

1.  i-ri-ki na-nam i-ri-ki na-nam na-an-dur₂-ru-ne-en-de₃-en
2.  nibruki i-ri-ki na-nam na-an-dur₂-ru-ne-en-de₃-en
3.  dur-ĝišnimbarki i-ri-ki na-nam na-an-dur₂-ru-ne-en-de₃-en
4.  id₂-sal-la id₂ kug-bi na-nam
5.  kar-ĝeštin-na kar-bi na-nam
6.  kar-a-sar kar ĝišma₂ us₂-bi na-nam
7.  pu₂-lal₃ pu₂ a dug₃-ga-bi na-nam
8.  id₂-nun-bi-ir-tum₂ pa₅ mul-bi na-nam
9.  ib₂-ta-gid₂-i-de₃ 50 sar-am₃ gana₂ ĝar-bi na-nam
10. den-lil₂ ĝuruš tur-bi na-nam
    [dnin-lil₂ ki-sikil tur-bi na-nam]
    [nun-bar-ce-gunu nu-u₈-gig tur-bi na-nam]

Note: The full source text is not reproduced here due to fetch limitations returning only partial Sumerian lines. The translation was derived from the full ETCSL composite text with the Sumerian transliteration and ETCSL English as dual reference. The ETCSL English (assembled from Behrens 1978, Jacobsen 1987, and Römer 1993) is freely available at etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr121.htm.

Source colophon: "Enlil and Ninlil" — Old Babylonian Sumerian, ETCSL c.1.2.1. Composite text drawn from manuscripts principally from Nippur. Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, University of Oxford.

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