Tuesday, April 21, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org

A Bilingual Litany for Enki

✦ ─── ⟐ ─── ✦

BM.68609

This text is a nearly complete bilingual clay tablet from Sippar (modern Tell Abu Habbah, Iraq), dating to the Late Babylonian period. Written in Sumerian with an Akkadian interlinear translation, it preserves a liturgical litany — a ritual plea from the assembled gods to Enki, the god of wisdom, fresh water, and the cosmic arts, begging him to return to his abandoned city of Eridu.

Eridu was the oldest city in Sumerian cosmology — the first settlement that rose from the primordial waters, and the seat of Enki's temple, the Abzu-shrine. When the god departed, the rites ceased, the temples stood empty, and the cosmic order faltered. This litany stages the divine response: every major god — Enlil, Ninlil, Nanna, Utu, the Anunnaki — assembles before Enki in formal audience to make their case. The central argument is devastatingly simple: without you, there is no justice; without you, there is no speech. You are the one who spoke the world into being — now speak again.

The text moves from assembly to plea to catalogue to litany to resolution. Twelve temples are named, from E-unir (the ziggurat of Eridu) to Etemenanki (the great ziggurat of Babylon). The reverse carries a fourfold invitation — enter your temple, your city, your shrine, your dwelling — each paired with the refrain "may the gods return to theirs." The ending is cosmic: may heaven calm you, may earth soothe you.

This is a Good Works Translation from Akkadian and Sumerian, produced by the New Tianmu Anglican Church with AI assistance. The Sumerian is the primary text; the Akkadian interlinear confirms and clarifies the translation. The first twelve lines of the obverse are broken and lost.

[...twelve lines lost...]

[...may it be ca]lmed.
[...may he] calm you.
[...may it be] soothed.
[...may he] soothe you.

[Enlil stood before him,] Ninlil sat before him.
[Shulpa'e stood before him,] Ninmah sat before him.
Nanna stood before him, Ningal sat before him.
Utu stood before him, Sherida sat before him.
Before him the Anunnaki stood in attendance.
In heaven [...]
On earth [...]

That by prayer the lord's heart may be calmed,
that by prayer Enki's spirit may be soothed —
Marduk, by prayer, his heart...
Lord, exalted judge, by prayer, his spirit...

Great lord — without you, who makes a decision?
Enki — without you, who speaks a word?
You spoke! You yourself added the word!
Now speak, and let your city be built!

Eridu, sweet place — may it return to its place!
May your temple be built! May your city be built!
May E-unir be built! May the Abzu-shrine be built!
May Esh-mah be built! May Kuara be built!
May Esagil be built! May Borsippa be built!
May Ezida be built! May E-mahtila be built!
May Etemenanki be built! May E-daranna be built!
May E-nambizida be built! May E-ur-me-imin-anki be built!

Your possessions, your ornaments — may they return to their place!
Your precious rites, your precious lustrations — to their place!
Your exalted designs, your sublime ceremonies — to their place!
Your offerings, your abundant food-offerings — to their place!

Enter your righteous temple — sit in a peaceful dwelling!
May the gods return to their temples!
Enter your righteous city —
may the gods return to their cities!
Enter your righteous shrine —
may the gods return to their shrines!
Enter your righteous dwelling —
may the gods return to their dwellings!

The Abzu, holy place — Eridu, sweet place —
Esh-mah — Kuara — the heart of your Babylon —
Esagil — Ezida — your E-mahtila —

Be calmed! Be at ease! Sit in a peaceful dwelling!
May heaven calm you! May earth soothe you!
Great lord — may your noble heart be calmed!

Colophon

This is a Good Works Translation of eBL fragment BM.68609, a nearly complete Late Babylonian bilingual clay tablet held in the British Museum. The tablet was excavated from Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah, Iraq). It is classified in the eBL corpus as Canonical Literature / Lamentations.

The text is written in Sumerian with an Akkadian interlinear translation on alternate lines. The English translation is derived from both the Sumerian and the Akkadian, working them as parallel witnesses: the Sumerian carries the primary liturgical text, while the Akkadian confirms vocabulary and clarifies syntax. Where only one language is preserved (the temple catalogue on the obverse, the litany refrains on the reverse), that language alone is the source. The first twelve lines of the obverse are entirely broken and lost. Lines 13-16 preserve only the calming/soothing refrains. Lines 22-23 are truncated after "In heaven..." and "On earth..." — the verbs are lost.

The assembly of the gods in lines 17-20 follows Mesopotamian court protocol: male deities stand (gub / izuzzu) and female deities sit (tush / washabu) before the one being petitioned. The divine pairs are Enlil and Ninlil, Shulpa'e and Ninmah, Nanna and Ningal, Utu and Sherida — representing the principal gods of the Sumerian pantheon.

The temple catalogue (obverse 43-48) pairs temples of Enki's city Eridu with temples of Marduk's city Babylon, reflecting the theological relationship between father (Enki/Ea) and son (Marduk/Asalluhi). The temples named are: E-unir ("House of the Towering Wonder," the ziggurat of Eridu), Esh-abzu (the Abzu-shrine of Enki in Eridu), Esh-mah ("Exalted Shrine"), Kuara (city near Eridu, associated with Asalluhi), Esagil ("House Whose Top Is High," Marduk's temple in Babylon), Borsippa (city near Babylon), Ezida ("Righteous House," Nabu's temple in Borsippa), E-mahtila ("House of the Exalted Life"), Etemenanki ("House of the Foundation of Heaven and Earth," the great ziggurat of Babylon), E-daranna ("House of the Ibex of Heaven"), E-nambizida ("House of the Righteous Destiny"), and E-ur-me-imin-anki ("House of the Seven Powers of Heaven and Earth").

The fourfold litany on the reverse (lines 9-24) narrows from temple to city to shrine to dwelling — a liturgical zoom from the cosmic to the domestic, asserting that Enki's return will restore every level of order.

A scribal annotation on obverse line 29 reads "4 MU.MESH GUD.UD.MESH" — a section marker or line count not part of the liturgical text, omitted from the translation.

Source text: eBL corpus, CC BY 4.0 (Electronic Babylonian Literature, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen, accessed via Zenodo DOI 10.5281/zenodo.10018951). ATF transliteration by eBL contributors (George, Geller, Taniguchi).

First freely available English translation. This translation is independently derived from the Sumerian and Akkadian source text and does not reproduce any existing English.

Translated from Akkadian and Sumerian by the New Tianmu Anglican Church with AI assistance (Tulku Tanken, Expeditionary Tulku Life 173), April 2026.

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Source Text: BM.68609

Akkadian and Sumerian bilingual source text from the Electronic Babylonian Literature corpus (eBL), CC BY 4.0. Late Babylonian period, from Sippar (Tell Abu Habbah, Iraq). British Museum. ATF transliteration presented for reference and verification alongside the English translation above.

Obverse

$ 12 lines broken
13. %sux [... (hu)-mu-ni-in-hun]-ga2#
14. [... li]-n[i-ih]-ka
15. %sux [... (hu)-m]u-ni-in-shed7-de3
16. [...] li-shap-shih-ku
17. %sux [{d}mu-ul-lil2 mu-un-na-gu]b {d}nin-lil2 mu-un-na-tush
18. %sux [{d}shul-pa-e3 mu-un-na-g]ub {d}nin-mah mu-un-na-tush
19. %sux {d!}nanna mu#-un#-na#-gub {d}nin-gal mu-un-na-tush
20. %sux {d}utu mu-un-na-gub {d}she3-ri5-da mu-un-na-tush
21. %sux e-ne-ra {d}a-nun-na mu-un-na-su8-su8-ge-esh
22. %sux an-na a-ri-a mu-un
23. %sux ki-a a-ri-a mu-un
24. %sux umun-ra a-ra-zu-a sha3-ba ab-hun-ga2-e-de3
25. ($$) sha be-li2 i-na te-es-li-ti lib3-ba-shu2 u2-na-ah-hu
26. %sux {d}am-an-ki a-ra-zu-a bar-bi ab-shed7-de3
27. ($$) sha2 {d}e2-a ina te-es-li-ti ka-bat-ta-shu2 u2-shap-sha2-hu
28. %sux {d}asal-lu2-hi a-ra-zu-a sha3
29. ($$) 4 MU-ME GUD.UD-ME
30. %sux umun {d}di-ku5-mah-a a-ra-zu-a bar-bi
31. %sux en-gal za-da nu-me-a a-ba ka-ash mu-un-bar-re
32. ($$) be-lum GAL-u2 sha2 la ka-ta man-nu pu-ru-us-sa-a i-par-ra-as
33. %sux en-ki za-da nu-me-a a-ba inim-ma ab-dug4
34. ($$) {d}e2-a ina ba-li-ka man-nu a-ma-ti i-qab-bi
35. %sux za-e bi2-dug4 za-e inim-ma bi2-dah
36. ($$) at-ta ta-aq-bi at-ta-ma tu-uts-tsab
37. %sux i-ne-she3 u3-bi2-dug4 uru2-zu ha-ra-an-du3-a
38. ($$) e i-na-an-na qi2-bi-ma URU-ka li-pu-shu
39. %sux eridu{ki} ki-du10-ga ki-bi ha-ra-ab-gi4-gi4-e-de3
40. ($$) eri-du10 ash2-ru ta-a-bu ana ash2-ri-shu2 li-tur
41. %sux e2-zu ha-ra-an-du3-a uru2-zu ha-ra-an-du3-a
42. ($___$) E2-ku li-pu-shu2 URU-ka MIN
43. %sux e2-u6-nir ha-ra-an-du3-a esh3-abzu ha
44. %sux esh3-mah ha-ra-an-du3-a kuar2{ki} ha
45. %sux e2-sag-il2 ha-ra-an-du3-a bad3-si-ab-ba{ki} ha
46. %sux e2-zi-da ha-ra-an-du3-a e2-mah-ti-la ha
47. %sux e2-te-men2-an-ki ha-ra-an-du3-a e2-dara3-an-na ha
48. %sux e2-nam-bi-zi-da ha-ra-an-du3-a e2-ur4#-me#-imin#-an#-ki# ha#
$ end of surface

Reverse

  1. %sux mu#-un#-ga# ge16#-sa-zu ki-bi ha-ra-ab-gi4#-gi4#-[e-de3]
  2. ($___$) ma-ak-kur-ka shu-kut-ta-ka ana ash-ri-shu2 li-tu-ra#
  3. %sux me-kal-kal-la shu-luh-kal-kal-la-zu ki-bi
  4. ($___$) par-tsu-ka shu-qu-ru-tum shu-luh-hu-ka shu-qu-ru-tum
  5. %sux gish-hur-mah billuda-suh-a-zu ki-ba
  6. ($___$) u3-tsu-ra-tu-ka tsi-ra-a-tu pil-lu-du-ka nu-us-su-qu-tum
  7. %sux siskur2 em3-nidba-shar2-shar2-ra-zu ki
  8. ($___$) ni-qu-ka nin-da-bu-ka du-ush-shu2-tum
  9. %sux e2-zi-za ku4-um-ni dur2 ki-a-ba-an mar-ra-ab#
  10. ($___$) a-na E2-ka ki-ni er-um-ma shub-ta ne2-eh-ta ti-shab
  11. %sux dim3-me-er-e-ne e2-za-ne-ne-a he2-en-shi-in-gur-re-e-ne
  12. ($___$) DINGIR-MESH ana E2-MESH-shu2-nu li-tu-ru
  13. %sux uru2-zi-za ku4-um-ni dur2
  14. ($___$) ana URU-ka ki-ni
  15. %sux dim3-me-er-e-ne uru2-zu-ne-ne-a he2
  16. ($___$) DINGIR-MESH ana URU-MESH-shu2-nu
  17. %sux erim3-zi-za ku4-um-ni dur2
  18. ($___$) ana i-shit-ti-ka kit-ti
  19. %sux dim3-me-er-e-ne erim3-za-ne-ne-a he2
  20. ($___$) DINGIR-MESH ana ish-na-ti-shu2-nu
  21. %sux dag-zi-za ku4-um-ni dur2
  22. ($___$) ana shub-ti-ka kit-ti
  23. %sux dim3-me-er-e-ne dag-za-ne-ne-a he2
  24. ($___$) DINGIR-MESH ana shub-ti-shu2-nu
  25. %sux abzu ki-ku3-ga eridu{ki} ki-du10-ga
  26. ($___$) ash-ru el-lu ash-ru ta-a-bu
  27. %sux esh3#-mah# kuar2{ki} she-eb tin-tir{ki}-zu
  28. %sux [e2-sag-i]l2 e2#-zi#-da# e2-mah-ti-la-zu
  29. %sux [hun-ga2-u ni2 te-na du]r2 ki-a-ba-an mar-ra-ab
  30. ($___$) [nu-uh shup-shi-ih shub-t]u2 ne2-eh-tu2 ti-shab
  31. %sux [an de3-em3-ma3-hun-ga2 ki de3]-em3-ma3-shed7-de3
  32. ($___$) [AN-u2 li-ni-ih-hu-ka KI-t]im li-shap-shih-ka
  33. %sux [umun gu-la sha3-ab alim-ma-zu de3-em3]-e#-da#-hun-ga2
  34. ($___$) [be-lum GAL-u2 lib3-bi kab-tu-ti-ka li-nu]-uh

Source Colophon

Source text from the Electronic Babylonian Literature (eBL) corpus, compiled by the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen under the direction of Enrique Jimenez. Full dataset available at Zenodo (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10018951). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

Fragment identifier: BM.68609. Museum: The British Museum. Collection: Sippar. Period: Late Babylonian (Neo-Babylonian script). ATF transliteration by eBL contributors: historical transliterations by George (1977-2012) and Geller (1980-2015); current transliteration and revisions by Taniguchi (2020). The text was classified as Canonical Literature / Lamentations by the eBL corpus.

The source text above has been transliterated from ATF notation into ASCII-safe form for markdown compatibility. Subscript numerals are written inline (e.g., "shu2" for shu with subscript 2). Determinatives are enclosed in curly braces ({d} = divine, {ki} = place). Hash marks (#) indicate uncertain readings. Square brackets indicate broken or restored text. Dollar signs ($) mark structural annotations. The notation ($___$) marks indented Akkadian interlinear translations. %sux marks Sumerian language lines.

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