The Night Weeping

A bilingual eršema — a ritual lament in the Emesal dialect, the "women's language" of Sumerian liturgy — preserved on a Neo-Assyrian tablet (K.2442, 7th century BCE) from the library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh. The composition is much older, reaching back to the Old Babylonian period or earlier. It was performed as a coda to a balaĝ (drum-lament) to soothe divine anger after the destruction of a city. The text opens with a litany of the gods — the divine family stretching from Eridu to Babylon to Nippur to Lagash — then shifts to a goddess's first-person lament over her destroyed city, temple, fold, and sheepfold. The goddess, most likely Bau of Lagash, mourns through the night, names Enlil as the source of the destruction, and cries: "Alas my city! Alas my child!" The closing formula asks that the angry god's heart be calmed — the ritual mourning itself being what soothes the divine wrath.

The Litany

Twins of the Euphrates —

Ea, wild bull of the city of Eridu,
Mother of the Exalted Shrine — Damgalnuna,
Asalluhi, lord of Babylon,
his beloved spouse — Zarpanitu,
the bison [...]
the bride of the warrior of Urash,
Ennugi, child of Enlil,
[...]
Lord Munduru — Lady Meshuddu,
[...]
Good Kalkal, gatekeeper of Ekur,
[...]
Ninsar, delight of Ekur,
[...]
Faithful shepherd — Lord of the Pure Sheepfold,
[...]
Mother Bau, lady of the Pure City,
[...]
Great Mother — Abu, child of the prince.

The Night Weeping

Like a great princess of the land — in my fury,
like a pure child of the Mother of Gods — in my fury,
like a princess, the guardian spirit of the inner shrine — in my fury,
ornament of the pure city — in my fury,
shrine of Eninnu — in my fury,
steppe of Lagash — in my fury —

In anger over her city she cries out.
In anger over her temple she cries out.

"Alas my city! Alas my children!" — when she speaks.
"Alas my spouse! Alas my child!" — when she speaks.

In the house she pours out dark cries.
Dark laments she pours out — she is drenched in them.

Bowed to the ground, they stand.

The lord's fury has overwhelmed me.
The Great Mountain's fury has overwhelmed me.
Lord Enlil has overwhelmed me.

"Woe!" she cries, and "Woe!" again —
for the answer sought, for the turning year:
how I would rejoice!

My destroyed house brought weeping,
brought anguish to the heart.
My destroyed city — its tears, its heartbreak.
My demolished fold — its tears, its heartbreak.
My scattered sheepfold — its tears, its heartbreak.
The silence of my house — its tears —
who will console me?

My house in its destruction brought weeping —
who will console me?

May your heart be calmed. May your exterior be cooled.

Colophon

Text: K.2442, a bilingual eršema (Emesal Sumerian with Akkadian interlinear glosses), classified in the Electronic Babylonian Literature corpus as "Eršema (Paired with Balaĝ)." Neo-Assyrian period, from the library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh.

Translation: Good Works Translation by Tanken (探検), Expeditionary Tulku, New Tianmu Anglican Church, April 2026. Translated independently from the ATF (Ascii Transliteration Format) transliteration of the cuneiform tablet as published in the eBL corpus (Zenodo, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10018951, CC BY 4.0).

First free English translation. No complete English translation of K.2442 is known to be freely available. Published academic translations may exist behind paywalls. This translation was derived independently from reading the ATF signs; no existing English translation was consulted.

Method: The tablet is bilingual — odd-numbered lines are Emesal Sumerian, even-numbered lines are Akkadian interlinear glosses. The English translation renders the Emesal Sumerian text as the primary source, using the Akkadian glosses to resolve ambiguous signs and confirm readings. The Akkadian interlinear is treated as an ancient commentary, not as the source text.

Condition: The tablet is fragmentary. The obverse (Column 1) preserves lines 1'–22' of the divine litany; the beginning of the litany is lost. The reverse (Column 2) preserves lines 1'–38' of the lament; the end of the column is broken. Text in square brackets [...] is restored from parallel compositions (marked with angle brackets in the ATF).

Uncertainties:

The refrain me-er-ra-gu₁₀-NE ("in my fury") is partially restored from parallels in the reverse section.
Line 21' (reverse): šu ba-an-gi could mean "has overwhelmed me," "has seized me," or "has released [fury upon] me." The Akkadian gloss u₂-šal-li-man-ni suggests "has driven me to lament." I chose "has overwhelmed me" as the most encompassing rendering.
Lines 25'–27' (reverse): The transition from grief ("Woe!") to conditional joy ("how I would rejoice!") follows the Akkadian kī aḫad. The ritual context suggests the mourner expresses hope that the lament will succeed in calming the deity — an embedded prayer within the grief.
The identity of the lamenting goddess is inferred from context: the references to Eninnu (Ningirsu's temple), the steppe of Lagash, and the presence of Mother Bau in the divine litany point to Bau, patron goddess and divine mother of Lagash.

Scribal credit: Formatted for the Good Work Library by Tanken (探検).

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Source Text: K.2442 — ATF Transliteration

Cuneiform transliteration in Ascii Transliteration Format (ATF) from the Electronic Babylonian Literature (eBL) corpus. Emesal Sumerian lines marked %es; Akkadian interlinear glosses unmarked or marked ($___$). Signs in square brackets are restored; signs with # are uncertain readings; signs in angle brackets <(...)> are restorations from parallel compositions.

@obverse
@column 1
1'. %es [maš]-tab-ba [{id₂}buranun{ki}-ra]
2'. ($$) tu-ʾ-am-[tu ...]
3'. %es {d}am-an-ki & [am uru₂ ze₂-eb{ki}-ba-ke₄]
4'. %es ama eš₃-mah & [{d}dam-gal-nun-na-ke₄]
5'. %es {d}asar-lu₂-hi & [umun tin-tir{ki}-ke₄]
6'. %es mu-ud-na-ni & [ki ag₂-zu {d}pa₄-nun-an-ki-ke₄]
7'. %es alim-ma & [...]
8'. %es e₂-gi₄-a & [ur-sag {d}uraš-a]
9'. %es {d}en-nu-gi & [dumu {d}en-lil₂-la₂-ra]
10'. ($$) {d}MIN & {d#}[MIN?]
11'. %es {d}umun-mu-du-ru & {d#}[gašan-me-šu-du₇]
12'. ($$) {d}PA.TUG₂ & u? [...]
13'. %es {d}kal-kal sa₆-ga & i₃-[du₈-gal e₂-kur-ra]
14'. ($$) {d}MIN da-an-qu & i₃-[ṭu ...]
15'. %es {d}gašan-SAR me-ri-la₂ & e₂-[kur-ra-ke₄]
16'. ($$) {d}nin-sar & na-a[š₂ ...]
17'. %es sipa zi-da & {d}umun-[amaš-ku₃-ga]
18'. ($$) RE.E₂.UM ki-i-nu & be-e[l ...]
19'. %es ama {d}ba-u₂ & gašan-u[ru₂-ku₃-ga-ki ...]
20'. ($$) um-mi {d}MIN & be-l[et ...]
21'. %es ama gu-la & {d}a[b-u₂ dumu nun-na ...]
22'. ($$) um-mu ra-bi-tu₄ & ša₂ {d}[MIN mar ru-be₂-e]
$ end of side

@reverse
@column 2
1'. %es egi₂# [mah gu₂-en-na-gen me-er-<(ra-gu₁₀-NE)>]
2'. %es du[mu ku₃ gašan-MAR.KI-gen me-er-<(ra-gu₁₀-NE)>]
3'. %es eg[i₂ {d}lamma e₂-ša₃-ba-gen me-er-<(ra-gu₁₀-NE)>]
4'. %es d[u₆ uru₂ ku₃-ga me-er-<(ra-gu₁₀-NE)>]
5'. %es e[š₃ e₂-ninnu me-er-<(ra-gu₁₀-NE)>]
6'. %es ed[en-bar lagaš{ki} me-er-<(ra-gu₁₀-NE)>]
7'. %es i[b₂-ba na-ag₂ uru₂-ni im-mer-ir-ra-gu₁₀]
8'. ($$) i[na ug-ga-ti aš-šum URU-ša₂ ša₂ iš-šal-lu]
9'. %es i[b₂-ba na-ag₂ e₂-ni im-me-ir-ra-gu₁₀]
10'. ($$) i[na ug-ga-ti aš-šum E₂-ša₂ (...)]
11'. %es a ur[u₂-gu₁₀ a dumu-gu₁₀ im-me-du₁₁-ga-ta]
12'. ($$) a-h[u-lap URU-ia a-hu-lap E₂-ia i-na qa-be₂-e]
13'. %es a dam-[gu₁₀ a dumu-gu₁₀ im-me-du₁₁-ga-ta]
14'. ($$) a-hu-la[p mu-ti-ia a-hu-lap ma-ri-ia ina qa-be₂-e]
15'. %es e₂ gu₃ [gi₆-a mu-un-de₂-de₂-e]
16'. ($$) ina E₂ ri-i[g-ma ina mu-ši ...]
17'. %es a-še-er gi₆-a# [mu-un-de₂-de₂-e : (mu-un-mar-ra-ta)]
18'. ($$) ta#-ni-hu ša₂ m[u?-ši? ...]
19'. %es gu₂ ki mar-mar-[ra i₃-su₈-su₈-ge-eš]
20'. ($$) kan-ša₂-a-tu₄ [iz-za-az-za-ni]
21'. %es mi-ir-ra e-lum-e# [šu ba-an-gi]
22'. ($$) kab-tu ina e-zi-z[i-šu₂ u₂-šal-li-man-ni]
23'. %es mi-ir-ra kur gal-e š[u <(ba-an-gi)>]
24'. %es umun {d}mu-ul-lil₂-la₂ š[u <(ba-an-gi)>]
25'-26'. %es u₃-u₈ ma-ab-be₂ u₃-u₈ ma-ab-b[e₂ DU na-nam ur₅-re] | ($$) m[u?-un-hul₂-la]
27'. ($$) u₂-a a-qab-bi MIN ana ša iš-ša[l-lu₄ ana šat-ti₄ ki-i a-ha-ad]
28'. %es e₂-gu₁₀ gul-la-bi er₂ na-[ag₂-ga₂-ni ...]
29'. %es ($$) [...]
30'. ($$) bi-ti ab-tu bi-ki-t[a ub-lam-ma ŠA₃-šu₂ ta-ni-ha ub-lam-ma]
31'. %es uru₂-gu₁₀ hul-la-bi [er₂ na-ag₂-ga₂-ni ša₃-<(kuš₂-u₃ na-ag₂-ga₂-ni)>]
32'. %es tur₃ gul-gul-la-bi [er₂ na-ag₂-ga₂-ni ša₃-<(kuš₂-u₃ na-ag₂-ga₂-ni)>]
33'. %es amaš bu-bu-ra-bi [er₂ na-ag₂-ga₂-ni ša₃-<(kuš₂-u₃ na-ag₂-ga₂-ni)>]
34'-35'. %es e₂-a ge₁₆-le-eg₃-ga₂-ni# [er₂ na-ag₂-ga₂-ni-ir] | ($$) [a-ba mu-un-sed-de₃]
36'-37'. ($$) bi-ti ina šah-lu-uq-t[i bi-ki-tu₄ ub-lam] | ($___$) [man-nu u₂-na-ah-ha-an-ni]
$ single ruling
38'. %es [ša₃-zu] he₂-en-[hug-e bar-zu he₂-en-sed-de₃]
$ rest of column broken

Source Colophon

Source: Electronic Babylonian Literature (eBL) corpus, LMU Munich. Fragment K.2442 (British Museum). Accessed via Zenodo dataset (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10018951), CC BY 4.0 license. ATF transliteration presented as published in the corpus.

Museum Number: K.2442, British Museum, London. From the Kuyunjik collection (library of Ashurbanipal, Nineveh).

Period: Neo-Assyrian copy of an older Sumerian composition.

Genre: Eršema (Paired with Balaĝ), per eBL classification. A ritual lament in the Emesal dialect, traditionally performed as a coda to a balaĝ drum-lament by the gala priest.

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