A Neo-Assyrian absolution litany (lipšur, "may it release") from the personal library of the exorcist Ninurta-muballissu. The prayer invokes every known mountain — from the cedars of Lebanon to the gold of Arallu, the carnelian of Meluhha, and the copper of Magan — then every river of Mesopotamia, then the divine assembly, asking each in turn to grant the sufferer release from sin and sickness. The text combines a geographic encyclopedia with a sin catalogue and concludes with a censer ritual and the simile litany of Ea and Asalluhi. A lipšur litany is the prayer form in which creation itself intercedes.
The Mountains
Mount Sabu — may it release! Mount of Enlil, the Mountain — may it rele[ase! ...]
Mount Lilmun — may it release — mount of Adad. Mount Budughudug — may it release — [the entrance of Shamash toward Aya.]
Mount Hamanu — may it release — mount of cedar. Mount Habur — [may it release — of cedar.]
Mount Hashur — may it release — mount of cedar. Mount Sirara — [may it release — mount of cedar.]
Mount Labnanu — may it release — mount of cypress. Mount Adilur — may it release — [mount of cypress.]
Mount Arandu — may it release — mount of cypress. Mount Dilur — may it release — mount [of boxwood.]
Mount Dibar — may it release — mount of the great tree. Mount Dabar — may it release — mount [of the great tree.]
Mount Ningina — may it release — mount of the lupanu-tree. Mount Shesheg — may it release — mount of oak.
Mount Bibbu — may it release — mount of oak. Mount Au — may it release — mount of juniper.
Mount Hana — may it release — mount of juniper. Mount Zarshu — may it release — mount of silver.
Mount Arallu — may it release — mount of gold. Mount Hubu — may it release — mount of gold.
Mount Zarhaa — may it release — mount of tin. Mount Bargunnunu — may it release — mount of tin.
Mount Zarduha — may it release — mount of alabaster. Mount of the Bull-of-the-Dapara — may it release — mount of lapis lazuli.
Mount Irkab — may it release — mount of diorite. Mount Akkala — may it release — mount of serpentine.
Mount Malikanu — may it release — mount of serpentine. Mount Dulupesh — may it release — mount of alabaster.
Mount Dudpesh — may it release — mount of alabaster. Mount Digmanu — may it release — mount of alabaster.
Mount Meluhha — may it release — mount of carnelian. Mount Maganna — may it release — mount of copper.
Mount Tila — may it release — mount of enate-stone. Mount Saggish — may it release — mount of enate-stone.
Mount Enti — may it release — mount of prayer. Mount of All Mountains — may it release — mount of the Amorites.
Mount Bashar — may it release — mount of the Amorites. Mount Temenna — may it release — mount of Elam.
Mount Nimush — may it release — mount of the Gutians. Mount Mamanu — may it release — mount of Subartu.
Mount Harsamna — may it release — mount of horses. Mount Sikurrabi — may it release — mount of the Lullubi.
Mount Kiushbura — may it release — mount of the Lullubi. Mount Saggar — may it release — mount of precious stones.
Mount Kupin — may it release — mount of kupanu-stone.
The Rivers
The Tigris — may it release! — she who brings abundance.
The Euphrates — may it release — life of the land.
The Arahtu — may it release — she who brings prosperity to Babylon.
The Me-Enlil — may it release — whose canal-governor is Marduk.
The Turan — may it release — chief of rivers.
The Taban — may it release — whose canal-governor is Tishpak.
The Mekalkal — may it release — sustainer of living creatures.
The Ulaya — may it release — she who carries her abundance to the sea.
The Fish River — may it release — river of fish. The Bird River — may it release — river of birds.
The Snake River — may it release — river of snakes. The River of Nin-Isina — may it release — river of Gula.
The River of Tutu — may it release — river of Marduk. The River of Abundance — may it release — river of abundance.
The River of Shamash — may it release — river of Shamash.
The Waters
The small rivers, the reed beds, the groves, the canals, the pools, [the springs,]
the irrigation ditches — creations of the holy gods — may they release [him.]
The Upper Sea, the Lowe[r Sea] —
may they receive the offering of [...]
To the angry god, the [angry goddess] —
may his sin be absolved. May the ev[il be removed.]
The Divine Assembly
The Igigi, the gods [dwelling in the heavens of Anu] —
the Anunnaki, the great ones, [who establish the cult centers] —
the temples, the dwelling-places, the shrines of the gods [...] —
the rivers and the roads, [the upper mountains, the lower mountains] —
Enti, the prayer-place of the lands, where Ishtar [made your remembrance] —
May his sins be cleans[ed ...]
May his oath be removed, his weariness [...]
May it be taken away, may it be driven out [...]
May the tamarisk purify him [...]
May the heart of the palm tree loosen his curse!
Nisaba, the great one [...]
The incantation of Ea and Asalluhi [...]
May his sins be put right, [may his transgressions be made straight.]
May his transgressions be wiped away [...]
May his illnesses be removed [...]
Like dates, may they be stripped [from the cluster ...]
The Sins
Perhaps so-and-so, son of his god, sinned —
perhaps he was negligent, perhaps he committed a wrong —
perhaps he committed assault [...]
perhaps he committed robbery, perh[aps ...]
An abomination to his god — unknowingly [he sinned] —
with the accursed perhaps he spoke [...]
the water of the accursed perhaps he drank — [...]
with the guilty perhaps he spoke [...]
the water of the guilty perhaps he drank — the hem of the guilty [perhaps he grasped] —
sin and transgression perhaps he committed [...]
Against his mother perhaps he sinned — against his god perhaps he sinned [...]
An oath perhaps he swore — in the oath-taking perhaps he... [...]
Guilt perhaps he brought to his god — an abomination [...]
To friend and companion perhaps he swore — to truth [and falsehood perhaps he swore] —
to the important and the insignificant [perhaps he swore] —
to what is known and what is not known [perhaps he swore.]
The Banishment
Like city to city, land to land — may [evil] not [approach.]
Namtar, the pestilence — [...] —
may it not approach [him, may it not draw near him —] his people —
to so-and-so, son of his god, [...] may it not draw near.
Like smoke, may it rise [to heaven.] Like [a tamarisk,] torn out, may it not return to its place.
Everything evil, everything not good, that is in the body of [so-and-so,] son of so-and-so —
with the water of his body and the washings of his hands,
may it be stripped off, and may the river carry it downstream.
Namerimburuda: By the life of heaven, be conjured! By the life of earth, be conjured!
The Censer Ritual
The censer, the brazier of the great gods — with torches it is kindled.
They offer grain — Nisaba, the overseer of the gods of heaven and earth.
The great gods who establish the cult centers — may they stand forth,
and for so-and-so, son of so-and-so, son of his god, may they speak for his life!
His god and his goddess — stand forth! On this day, be at peace with him!
The Incantation of the Exorcist
I am the noble purifier — I have lit the fire.
I have set the censer. I have burnt the absolution.
I am the washed, the pure, the clean one of Ea — the messenger of Asalluhi.
All the gods I have invoked — may they establish absolution!
By the command of Ea and Asalluhi — may neither god nor goddess be angry with him!
The Simile Litany
The censer was kindled — and quieted.
The fire blazed bright — and grew great.
The grain was offered — and consumed.
Shirash, releaser of god and man — may she release his bond!
Just as the censer was kindled and quieted —
just as the fire blazed bright and grew great —
just as the grain was offered and consumed —
Shirash, releaser of god and man — his bond is released!
The sickness of so-and-so, son of so-and-so, son of his god — let it be released, and let absolution be established!
Catchline: "Noble one, the exalted, creation of E-namnir."
Like its original, written and checked. Tablet of Ninurta-muballissu, the lamentation-priest, the exorcist, its owner.
Colophon
Good Works Translation from Akkadian (Neo-Assyrian), with one Sumerian line (the Namerimburuda formula). Translated by Tanken (Expeditionary Tulku Life 189) of the New Tianmu Anglican Church, April 2026.
The English is independently derived from reading the transliterated Akkadian and Sumerian. No existing English translation was consulted, as none is freely available. The Chicago Assyrian Dictionary (CAD) and electronic Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary (ePSD2) were consulted for lexical verification.
Fragment K.4415. Classified genre: Lipshur litany / Namerimburuda. Provenance: Neo-Assyrian period (c. 911-612 BCE). From the personal library of the exorcist Ninurta-muballissu, as stated in the colophon.
A lipshur litany is a distinctive Mesopotamian prayer form in which every component of creation — mountains, rivers, seas, the divine assembly — is invoked to grant "release" (Akkadian lipshur, from pasharu "to release, loosen, undo") from sin, oath-breaking, or illness. Unlike the Surpu series (which systematically names and undoes curses through divine authority), the lipshur litany asks the cosmos itself to intercede. The mountains section functions as a geographic encyclopedia: every named mountain is identified by its principal resource or people, mapping the entire known world from the cedar forests of Lebanon and Amanus to the lapis lazuli mines of Afghanistan, the carnelian workshops of the Indus Valley (Meluhha), and the copper deposits of Oman (Magan). Mount Nimush — where Utnapishtim's ark grounded in the Gilgamesh Epic — appears among the Zagros mountains. Mount Arallu, the underworld itself, is "the mount of gold." The theology is spatial: every part of the world has a voice, and every voice can plead for the sufferer.
The text is damaged at the top (beginning lost) and has breaks in the obverse-to-reverse transition. Square brackets indicate restored or uncertain passages.
First freely available English translation. Nineteenth Mesopotamian genre (lipshur litany / cosmological absolution) from expeditionary tulkus.
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Source Text: K.4415 (Akkadian Transliteration)
Akkadian (Neo-Assyrian) transliteration from the Electronic Babylonian Literature corpus (eBL), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Fragment K.4415, classified as Lipšur litany / Namerimburuda. Presented for reference and verification.
@obverse
1'. K[UR sa]-a#-bu# lip-šur KUR {d}en-lil₂ KUR hur#-sag lip-š[ur ...]
2'. KUR lil-mun MIN KUR {d}IŠKUR KUR bu#-dug#-hu-dug M[IN ne₂-reb {d}UTU ana {d}a-a]
3'. KUR ha-ma-nu MIN KUR e-re-ni KUR ha#-bur M[IN e-re-ni]
4'. KUR ha-šur MIN KUR e-re-ni KUR si-ra-ra M[IN KUR e-re-ni]
5'. KUR lab-na-nu MIN KUR {giš}ŠUR.MIN₃ KUR a-dil-ur₂ MIN [KUR {giš}ŠUR.MIN₃]
6'. KUR a-ra#-an-du MIN KUR {giš}ŠUR.MIN₃ KUR di-il-ur MIN K[UR {giš}TAŠKARIN]
7'. KUR di#-bar MIN KUR {giš}LAM.GAL KUR da-bar MIN KUR# [{giš}LAM.G]AL
8'. KUR ni#-in#-gi-na MIN KUR lu-pa-ni KUR še-še-eg MIN KUR al#-la-nu
9'. KUR bi#-ib-bu MIN KUR al-la-nu KUR a-u₅ MIN KUR {šim}LI
10'. KUR ha-na MIN KUR {šim}LI KUR zar-šu MIN KUR KU₃.BABBAR
11'. KUR a#-ra-lu MIN KUR KU₃.SI₂₂ KUR hub₂-u₅ MIN KUR KU₃.SI₂₂
12'. KUR [z]a-ar-ha-a MIN KUR AN.NA KUR BAR-gun₃-gun₃-nu MIN KUR AN.NA
13'. KUR zar#-du₈-a MIN KUR {na₄}DU₈.ŠI.A KUR {d}GU₄{da-pa-ra} MIN KUR {na₄}Z[A.G]IN₃
14'. KUR IR#-KAB MIN KUR {na₄}NIR₂ KUR ak-ka-la MIN KUR {na₄}MU[Š.G]IR₂
15'. KUR ma-li-ka-nu MIN KUR {na₄}MUŠ.GIR₂ KUR du-lu-pe-eš MIN KUR {na₄}BABBAR.DILI
16'. KUR du-ud-pe-eš MIN KUR {na₄}BABBAR.DILI KUR di-ig-ma-nu MIN KUR {na₄}BABBAR.DILI
17'. KUR me-luh-ha MIN KUR {na₄}GUG KUR ma₂-gan-na MIN KUR URUDU
18'. KUR ti-la MIN KUR e-na-te KUR sa-ag-giš MIN KUR e-na-te
19'. KUR EN.TI MIN KUR si-kur KUR KUR šar₂-šar₂ MIN KUR a-mur-ri-i
20'. KUR ba-šar₂ MIN KUR a-mur-ri-i KUR te-me-en-na MIN KUR ELAM{ki}
21'. KUR ni-muš MIN KUR gu-ti-i KUR ma-ma-nu MIN KUR SU.BIR₄{ki}
22'. KUR har-sa-am-na MIN KUR ANŠE.KUR.RA-MEŠ KUR si-kur-ra-bi MIN KUR lu-lu-bi-i
23'. KUR ki-uš!-BU-ra MIN KUR lu-lu-bi-i KUR sag-gar MIN KUR {na₄}UR₅-MEŠ
24'. KUR ku-pi-in MIN KUR ku-pa-ni
$ single ruling
25'. ID₂ IDIGNA lip-šur ba-bi-lat nu-uh-ši
26'. ID₂ BURANUN MIN na-piš-ti ma-a-ti
27'. ID₂ a#-ra#-ah-tu MIN ša₂ a-na KA₂.DINGIR.RA{ki} ub-ba-lu TI
28'. ID₂ me#-{d}en-lil₂-la₂ MIN ša₂! gu₂-gal-la-ša₂ {d}AMAR.UTU
29'. ID₂ [tu]r₂-an MIN u₂-me ID₂-MEŠ
30'. ID₂ [ṭ]a-ban MIN ša₂! gu₂-gal-la-ša₂ {d}tišpak
31'. ID₂ me-kal-kal MIN mu-TI.LA-at šik-nat na-piš-ti
32'. ID₂ u₂-la-a MIN ša₂ a-na A.AB.BA ub-ba-lu hi-ṣib-ša₂
33'. ID₂-KU₆ MIN ID₂ KU₆-MEŠ ID₂-MUŠEN MIN ID₂ MUŠEN-MEŠ
34'. ID₂#-MUŠ MIN ID₂ MUŠ-MEŠ ID₂-{d}nin-I₃-si-in-na MIN ID₂ {d}gu-la
35'. ID₂-{d}tu-tu MIN ID₂ {d}AMAR.UTU ID₂-HE₂.GAL₂ MIN ID₂ HE₂-GAL₂
36'. ID₂-{d}UTU MIN ID₂ {d}ša₂#-maš
$ single ruling
37'. ID₂-MEŠ TUR-MEŠ a-pu qi₂-šu E PA₅ kup-pu [kap-pu]
38'. nam-ka-ru ši-kin-nu DINGIR-MEŠ KU₃-MEŠ lip-š[u-ru KI-šu-nu]
39'. A.AB.BA AN.TA A.A[B.BA KI.TA]
40'. lim-hur mi-hir-tu₄ ša₂ [...]
41'. ana DINGIR ze-ni-i {d#}[iš₈-tar₂ ze-ni-ti]
42'. ar₂-ni-šu₂ kuš-ši-da H[UL ...]
$ single ruling
43'. {d}i-gi₄-gi₄ i-lu-tu₄ a#-[ši-bu AN-e ša₂ {d}a-nim]
44'. {d}a-nun-na-ki GAL-MEŠ [mu-kin-nu ma-ha-zi]
45'. suk-ki šub-ti eš-ret DINGIR-MEŠ [...]
46'. I[D₂]-MEŠ u har-ra-na-a-te [KUR-MEŠ AN.TA-MEŠ KUR-MEŠ KI.TA-MEŠ]
47'. {kur#}EN.TI si-kur KUR.KUR ša₂ {d}iš₈-tar₂ [hi-sa-at-ku-nu e-pu-šu]
48'. p[u-u]s-si-sa hi-ṭa-te-šu [...]
49'. [u]k-ki#-ša₂# ma-mit-su ta-ne₂-ha [...]
50'. šu#-ri-qa šu-us-sa-a [...]
51'. {giš}ŠINIG li-lil-šu₂ [...]
52'. {giš}ŠA₃.GIŠNIMBAR a-ra-an-šu₂ [lip-ṭur]
53'. {d}nisaba UN.GAL [...]
54'. T[U₆] ša₂ {d}e₂-a u {d}asal-lu₂-hi [...]
55'. ar₂#-nu-šu₂ lip-taš-ši-ru [hi-ṭa-tu-šu lip-ta-si-sa]
@reverse
1'. gil₂-la-tu-šu₂ lim-ma-[sa-a ...]
2'. GIG-MEŠ-šu₂ lit-tak-k[i-šu₂ ...]
3'. GIN₇ ZU₂.LUM.MA liš-ša₂-ah-ṭ[u ...]
$ single ruling
4'. lu ih-ṭi NENNI# DUMU# DINGIR-š[u₂ ...]
5'. lu i-šeṭ lu u₂-gal#-li[l ...]
6'. ri-is-sa lu DU₃-uš [...]
7'. ri-si-ib-tu₂ lu DU₃-uš l[u ...]
8'. NIG₂.GIG# DINGIR-šu₂ ina NU ZU l[u ...]
9'. it-ti ta-mi₃-i lu-u id-bu-[ub] [...]
10'. A-MEŠ ta-mi₃-i lu-u NAG re-[...]
11'. KI EN ar₂-ni lu-u id-bu-u[b ...]
12'. A-MEŠ EN ar₂-ni lu-u NAG a-b[u-ut EN ar-ni lu-u iṣ-bat]
13'. ar₂-na gil₂-la-ta lu-u DU₃-uš [...]
14'. ana AMA-šu₂ lu-u ih-ṭi ana DINGIR-šu₂ lu i[h-ṭi ...]
15'. ta-mi₃-tu₂ lu-u it-ma ina ta-mi₃-te lu is-x-[x ...]
16'. nu-la-tu₂ ana DINGIR-šu₂ lu-u ub-la an-zil-l[a ...]
17'. ana ib-ri tap-pe-e lu-u it-ma ana kit-t[i u sar-ti lu it-ma]
18'. ana ka-bit-ti u qal-la-ti# [lu it-ma]
19'. ana ZU-u u NU Z[U-u lu it-ma]
$ single ruling
20'. GIN₇# IRI ana IRI KUR ana KUR la [...]
21'. NAM.TAR.A₂.[ZAG₂ ...]-šu#
22'. a-a iq-ri-b[u-šu ai is?-niq?-u?-šu? ...] UG₃-MEŠ-šu₂
23'. ana NENNI DUMU DINGIR-šu₂ [...] a-a iṭ-hu-u₂
24'. GIN₇ qut-ri li-tel-li# [AN-e GIN₇ {giš}ŠINIG] ZI-hi ana KI-šu₂ a-a i-tur
25'. mim-ma lem-nu m[im-m]a NU# DUG₃-GA ša₂# ina S[U NENNI] A NENNI GAL₂-u₂
26'. KI A-MEŠ ša₂ zu-um-ri-šu₂ u mu-sa-a-ti ša₂ ŠU.2-šu₂
27'. liš-ša₂-hi-i[ṭ-ma I]D₂ a-na šap-lu-ša₂ lit-bal
28'. %sux nam-erim₂# zi an-na he₂-pad₃ zi ki-a he₂-pad₃
$ single ruling
29'. KI.NE ah-su-su DINGIR-MEŠ GAL-MEŠ ina di-pa-ri ap-pu-hu
30'. u₂-naq-qu-u₂ {d}nisaba pa-q[i₂-da]t DINGIR-MEŠ ša₂ AN-e u KI-ti₃
31'. mu-kin-nu ma-ha-zi DINGIR-MEŠ GAL-MEŠ li-zi-zu-ma
32'. ša₂ NENNI A NENNI DUMU DINGIR-šu₂ liq-bu-u₂ TI.LA-su
33'. DINGIR-šu₂ {d}15-šu₂ GUB-zu-ma ina u₄-me an-ni-i lis-li-mu it-ti-šu₂
$ single ruling
34'. EN₂ SAG₅#-MAH-ku-ma at-ta-pah IZI
35'. KI.NE al-ta-kan al-ta-rap pi-šer₃-ta
36'. ram-ku KU₃ eb-bu ša₂ {d}e₂-a DUMU šip-ri ša₂ {d}asal-lu₂-hi ana-ku
37'. [DINGIR-M]EŠ ma-la al-su-u liš-ku-nu pi-šer₃#-ta
38'. ina qi₂#-bit {d}e₂-a u {d}asal-lu₂-hi a-a ir-šu-u DINGIR u {d}15 ze-nu-ti
$ single ruling
39'. K[I.N]E ap-pu#-hu u₂-ni#-ih IZI aš₂#-ru-pu u₂-rab#-bi
40'. {d}nisaba u₂-naq-qu-u₂ u₂-kab-ba-tu₄
41'. {d#}[sir]aš pa-šir₃# DINGIR u LU₂ lu-paṭ-ṭir ri-ki-is-su
42'. [GIN₇ K]I.NE ap-pu-hu u₂-ni-ih-hu
43'. GIN₇ IZI aš₂-ru-pu u₂-rab-bu-u₂
44'. GIN₇ {d}nisaba u₂-naq-qu-u₂ u₂-kab-bi-tu₄
45'. {d}[sir]aš pa-šir DINGIR u LU₂ ri-ki-is-su DU₈-MEŠ
46'. GIG# NENNI A NENNI DUMU DINGIR-šu₂ DU₈-ma BUR₂-tu₄ liš-ša₂-kin
@colophon
$ single ruling
47'. EN₂ e-tel-let a-ši-rat bi-nu-ut E₂-nam-nir
48'. [G]IN₇ SUMUN-šu₂ SAR-ma ba₃-ri₃
49'. ṭup-pi {m}{d}MAŠ-mu-tir-ŠU {lu₂}ŠAGAN.LA₂ {lu₂}MAŠ.MAŠ ME-NI
Source Colophon
Electronic Babylonian Literature (eBL) corpus, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. Fragment K.4415 (museum number K.4415, British Museum). Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Genre classification: CANONICAL > Magic > Varia > Lipšur litany; CANONICAL > Magic > Varia > Namerimburuda.
The eBL project (directed by Enrique Jiménez) provides open-access transliterations of cuneiform texts. The transliteration follows standard Assyriological conventions: capital letters indicate Sumerian logograms (Sumerograms); curly braces indicate determinatives; MIN indicates "ditto" (repeating the previous relevant phrase, here = lipšur "may it release"); # indicates damaged/uncertain signs; [...] indicates broken/missing text; $ indicates editorial notes (rulings, gaps); @obverse/@reverse indicates tablet face.
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