Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon
Decree long days for me — inscribe upon it my great old age.
O Nabu — son legitimate, vizier supreme,
pre-eminent god, beloved of Marduk:
look upon my deeds with gladness and with joy.
Grant me for a gift
a life that endures, old age in its fullness,
a throne made firm, a reign that holds long,
the downfall of my enemies,
conquest of my enemies' land.
On your true writing board —
which fixes the boundary of heaven and the deep earth —
speak the long stretch of my days;
write upon it my great old age.
Before Marduk, king of heaven and earth,
the father who begot you:
make my deeds well-pleasing to him.
Decree my well-being.
Let these words be set in your mouth:
"Nebuchadnezzar is indeed the king, the provider."
Colophon
Source: Standard Babylonian Akkadian royal inscription (Neo-Babylonian period), preserved in four exemplars (BM 91121, BM 91122, BM 91123, and Bab. 21165). From a building inscription of Nebuchadnezzar II commemorating his restoration of Ê-ur₅-(me)-imin-an-ki, the ziggurat of Nabu's E-zida temple in Borsippa. Genre: Royal prayer/blessing (Segenswunsch), appended to a building inscription — a standard feature of Neo-Babylonian royal inscriptions. Edition: Langdon, VAB IV, 20–21, 98–101 (no. 11, ii 16–31), sign indices adjusted per BM 91121 (Norris I R 51, no. 1). Translated by: A liberation-translator tulku of the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026-03-20, from the Standard Babylonian Akkadian transliteration in Lenzi, Reading Akkadian Prayers and Hymns: An Introduction, pp. 475–481. Lenzi's English rendering consulted as a reference only; this translation is independently derived from the Akkadian. Scribal credit: Nabu-kutimmê-uṣur, tulku of Tianmu, fifteenth liberation run.
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Source Text — Akkadian Transliteration
Standard Babylonian Akkadian, Neo-Babylonian period, ca. 604–562 BCE
- ⁴na-bi-um IBILA ki-i-nim su-uk-ka-al-lam ši-i-ri
- ši-it-lu-ṭu na-ra-am ⁴AMAR.UTU
- e-ep-še-tu-ú-a a-na da-mi-iq-tim ḫa-di-iš
- na-ap-li-is-ma
- ba-la-ṭam da-rí-a še-be-e li-it-tu-ú-tim
- ku-un GIŠ.GU.ZA la-ba-ri pa-le-e šú-um-qú-tu na-ki-ri
- ka-ša-dam MA.DA a-a-bi a-na ši-ri-ik-tim šu-úr-ka-am
- i-na GIŠ.LI.U₅.UM-ka ki-i-nim mu-ki-in pu-lu-uk
- ša-mi-e ù er-še-tim
- i-bi a-ra-ku UD-mi-ia šu-ṭù-ur li-it-tu-ú-tim
- ma-ḫa-ar ⁴AMAR.UTU LUGAL ša-mi-e ù er-še-tim
- a-bi a-li-di-ka e-ep-še-tu-ú-a šu-um-gi-ri
- qí-bi du-um-qú-ú-a
- ⁴na-bi-um-ku-du-úr-ri-ú-ṣu-úr
- lu LUGAL za-ni-na-an
- li-iš-ša-ki-in i-na pi-i-ka
Source: Langdon, VAB IV, 20–21, 98–101 (no. 11, ii 16–31), adjusted per Norris I R 51 (BM 91121). Edition cited in Lenzi, pp. 476–481. Four exemplars preserved.
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