Three Incantations for the Hours of Darkness (IM.76964)
Three incantations on a single clay tablet, composed for the hours of darkness. The first two are hymns to Nusku, the Mesopotamian god of fire and lamplight, who stands guard in the night and watches over the sleeping. The third is a passage from the Maqlû — "The Burning" — the great nine-tablet anti-witchcraft ritual of ancient Mesopotamia, in which the exorcist burns effigies of witches while reciting spells of expulsion. The fourth is an incantation to Pazuzu, the fierce wind-demon who — paradoxically — serves as protector against other demons, barring disease and suffering from the house.
The tablet was found at Uruk (modern Warka, southern Iraq), from the library of a mašmaššu-priest named Iqīšāya, son of Ishtar-shumu-eresh, of the Ekur-zakir family. The colophon preserves a curse against anyone who would steal it: "He who carries it away — may Adad and Shala destroy him." The three sections form a complete nighttime defensive system: divine fire (Nusku), sympathetic fertility magic (Maqlû), and demonic power turned against itself (Pazuzu). The exorcist did not distinguish between these modalities. Fire, spell, and demon were one act of protection.
This is the first freely available English translation. Translated from the Akkadian cuneiform by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
The First Hymn to Nusku
[...] ...
In the house you enter — set well-being!
Commend me to Shamash and Marduk for well-being!
May the great gods do what gladdens the heart of Marduk!
May the name of the great lord Marduk endure forever in the world!
Enter, O divine light — set favour in your mouth; may well-being be placed upon your lips!
Bless the house you have entered, O Nusku!
The Second Hymn to Nusku
Incantation.
Nusku, king of the night who illuminates the day —
you stand in the night and watch over the people.
Without you, neither judgment nor decision can be given.
The Shedu-demon, the Alluhappu-demon, the Hajjatu-demon,
the crouching demons of the evil gods,
the Gallu-demon, the Lilitu, the Maid of the Night —
they press into the farthest hiding places.
Drive out the Saghulhazu! Chase away the Utukku! Seize the evil one!
Shulak, wanderer of the night whose touch is death —
I saw you and turned to your divinity:
set a guard of well-being and life over me!
Station a protecting Shedu-spirit and a healing god at my head.
May they guide me through the whole night until dawn!
Perfect Nusku, lord of wisdom —
let me proclaim your greatness before the sun, day after day!
The Third Hymn to Nusku
Incantation.
Nusku, heir of the Emah,
who receives the oracles of the great gods —
the torch is your message, the secret is in your hands!
It is within your power to erase sin.
Enlil is willing — commend me for well-being!
Make straight your path to the Ekur!
When you enter the Ekur, may Enlil rejoice over you;
may Ninlil delight in you!
Sadaranunna, your beloved wife —
may she ever seek your face!
May Enlil fill your cella with joy.
When you eat bread, may it delight you!
When you drink water and fine pure meal,
may your mood be soothed.
Before Anu [...]
Ninlil, who exalted your head;
Ninurta, your beloved brother —
take up the cause of So-and-so, son of So-and-so;
speak well of him; with your mouth [...]
Bless the Ekur where you have entered, O Nusku!
Its ritual: the head of a female gazelle, a curse-object, in oil [...]
You recite this incantation into it ... you anoint a young child [...]
[...]
The Self-Impregnation Spell
From the Maqlû, Tablet VII.
Incantation.
I am impregnating you, my self;
I am impregnating you, my body —
as Shakkan impregnated his herd,
the ewe her lamb,
the gazelle her young,
the jenny her foal;
as the plough impregnated the earth
and the earth received her seed —
I cast the spell upon my self.
May it impregnate my self and drive out the evil,
and may the great gods extirpate the witchcraft from my body!
[fragmentary incantation]
The Pazuzu Incantation
Incantation.
You, the strong one —
who scales the mountain,
who withstands all the winds!
Furious wind whose rising is wild,
fierce, furious, who goes forth in fury,
who makes the quarters of the world tremble,
who devastates the high mountains,
who dries the swamp
and withers his reeds!
He crossed toward [...]
He dispatched toward [...]
He descended toward [...]
He ascended toward [...]
He descended toward [...]
He ascended toward [...]
When you [...]:
Torment of man, sickness of man, suffering of man —
do not enter the house I enter!
Do not approach the house I approach!
Do not draw near the house I draw near!
By Anu and Antu,
by Enlil and Ninlil,
by Ea and Damkina,
by the great gods of heaven and earth —
you are adjured! You are indeed adjured!
Incantation formula.
Colophon
Written according to its original and collated. Tablet of Iqīšāya, son of Ishtar-shumu-eresh, descendant of Ekur-zākir the exorcist-priest. Hand of Ishtar-shumu-eresh, his son. Who fears Anu, Antu, and Ea shall not carry it away. Deliberately he shall not let it be lost. On that day, to the house of its owner he shall return it. He who carries it away — may Adad and Shala destroy him.
This is a Good Works Translation from Akkadian cuneiform by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
Source: IM.76964, from the Electronic Babylonian Literature (eBL) corpus, LMU Munich. The tablet is held in the Iraq Museum, Baghdad. Published transliteration from the eBL platform (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10018951), licensed CC BY 4.0.
Translation: Independently derived from the Akkadian ATF (Assyriological Transliteration Format) sign values and normalized readings. The eBL's inline English glosses (#tr.en annotations) and the normalized Akkadian (%n annotations) were consulted as reference to verify difficult readings but the English is independently produced. Specific references consulted: Abusch, The Witchcraft Series Maqlû (2015) via eBL bibliographic citations for the Maqlû VII passage (reverse lines 3'-6'); Heeßel, edition of the Pazuzu incantation (reverse lines 10'-28') via eBL citations.
Uncertainties: The obverse is fragmentary at the beginning (line 1' unreadable). Lines 15'-21' of the reverse (Pazuzu's directional movements) are reconstructed from verb forms only — the destinations are broken. Lines 28-31 of the obverse (ritual instructions) are partially damaged. The gender of the gazelle in the ritual rubric (MUNUS.AŠ₂.GAR₃) follows the Sumerian logographic reading. The colophon is reconstructed after the parallel colophon of IM.77002.
Genre: Nighttime protective ritual compilation — Nusku hymns (fire-god invocations for nighttime protection), Maqlû (anti-witchcraft "burning" ritual, Tablet VII excerpt), and Pazuzu incantation (demonic apotropaic protection). The three modalities — divine fire, sympathetic magic, and paradoxical demon-invocation — form a complete defensive system for the hours of darkness.
Context: The Maqlû ("Burning") is a nine-tablet incantation series and the most extensive anti-witchcraft ritual from ancient Mesopotamia. Performed at night, the exorcist invoked Nusku (god of fire) and burned effigies of witches while reciting spells to destroy their sorcery. The Maqlû passage on this tablet (Tablet VII, lines 22-28) uses fertility imagery — comparing the magical self-protection to the impregnation of the earth by the plough — to expel witchcraft from the body. Pazuzu, despite being a demon, served paradoxically as a protector — his fierce power was directed against other evil spirits, particularly Lamashtu, the child-killing demoness. Pazuzu amulets have been found across Mesopotamia, confirming his apotropaic role.
First English translation. No freely available English translation of this tablet existed prior to this work.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Translated by Tanken (探検), Expeditionary Tulku, Life 219.
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Source Text: IM.76964
Akkadian cuneiform transliteration from the Electronic Babylonian Literature (eBL) corpus, LMU Munich. ATF (Assyriological Transliteration Format). Presented for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
Obverse
1'. [...]-u₂ : x# [...]
2'. [ana bīt t]e-ru-bu SIG₅#-[ti₃ šukun]
3'. [iâši ana] {d#}UTU u {d}AMAR.UTU ana SIG₅-ti₃ p[i-iq-da-an-ni]
4'. [ṭūb li]b₃-bi {d}AMAR.UTU DINGIR-MEŠ GAL-MEŠ li-p[u-šu]
5'. [zikir bēlu] GAL#-u₂ {d}AMAR.UTU ina kiš-šat lu d[a-ri]
6'. [erba {d}n]u-ur₂ šu-kun ba-ni-tu₂ ina KA-ka liš-ša₂-kin SIG₅-ti₃ ina NUNDUN-k[a]
7'. [ana] E₂# te-ru-bu ku-ru-bi {d}[nusku]
8'. [EN₂] {d}nusku šar₃ mu-ši mu-nam-mir u₂-mu : ta-az-za-az ina mu-ši ni-ši t[a-bar-ri]
9'. [ina b]a-li-ka šip-ṭu u pu-ru-us-su-u₂ ul# [ŠUM₂-in]
10'. [še]-e#-du al-lu-hab-ba ha-a-ṭu : ra-bi-iṣ DINGIR-MEŠ [lemnūti]
11'. [ga]l₅-lu-u₂ li-li-tu₂ ar₂-dat li-li-i : im-mid pu-uz-ru ša₃#-[ha-ti]
12'. šu-ṣu SAG.HUL.HA.ZU ṭu-ru-du [utukku kušud lemnu]
13'. {d}šu-lak mut-tal-lik mu-ši ša₂ li-pi-su U[Š₂]
14'. a-mur-ka-a-ma as-sa-hur DINGIR-u₂-ut#-ka : EN.NUN šu-[ul-mi u balāṭi šukun elīya]
15'. {d}ALAD na-ṣir u DINGIR-MEŠ mu-šal-lim šu-uz-[ziz ina rēšīya]
16'. li-it-tar-ru-uʾ-in-nu kal mu-ši a-d[i namāri]
17'. {d}nusku git₂-ma-lu be-lu ta-šim-tu₂ : nar-bi-k[a lušāpi ina pān šamši uddakam]
18'. EN₂ {d}nusku IBILA E₂.MAH ša₂ te-re-e-tu₂ DINGIR-MEŠ GAL-MEŠ : [diparu našpartaka pirištu qātīka]
19'. i-ba-aš₂-ši KI-ka gi-il-lat pa-sa-su : {d}en-li[l₂ magir ana šulme piqdannī]
20'. šu-te-eš-šer har-ra-an-ka a-na E₂#.[KUR]
21'. ana E₂.KUR ina e-re-bi-ka {d#}+[en]-lil₂ li-hi-di-k[a ninlil līriška]
22'. {d}SA.DARA₃.NUN.NA hi-ir-[tu₂] na-ra-mat-ka [pānūka lirtīš]
23'. U₅ {d}+en-lil₂ ku-um-ma-k[a r]i-iš-tu₄ li-im-lu : t[a-kul aklu liṭīb pānīka]
24'. ta-aš₂-tu₂ mu-u₂ sa-as-qa-a KU₃-MEŠ l[i-nu]-uh kab-tat-ka : a-na {d}a-ni[m ...]
25'. {d}nin-lil₂ mul₄-lat re-eš-ka# : {d}nin-urta a-hu [ta-li-me-ka]
26'. ṣa-bat a-bu-tu ša₂ NENNI₂ A NENNI₂ qi₂#-bi# SIG₅-ti₃ : ina KA-k[a ...]
27'. a-na E₂.KUR te-ru-bu ku-ru-u[b {d}nusku ...]
28'. AG.AG.BI SAG.DU MUNUS.AŠ₂.GAR₃# ar₂-rat ina I₃.[GIŠ ...]
29'. EN₂ an-nit ana lib₃-bi ŠID# x# {lu₂}TUR ŠEŠ₂-ma [...]
30'. EN₂ U₃.DI x# x# [(x)] la pi-šer₃ ana# x# [...]
31'. [...] x# x# [...] IGI.M[IN ...]
Reverse
1'. [...]
2'. EN₂ u x [...]
3'. EN₂ a-r[a-hi-ka ramānī arahhēka pagrī kīma šakkan irhû būlšu]
4'. U₈ UDU-šu₂ M[AŠ.DA₃ armâšu atānu mūršu epinnu erṣeta irhû erṣetu imhuru zērāša]
5'. ad-di EN₂ ana# r[a-ma-ni-ia lirhe ramānīma lišēṣi lumnu]
6'. u kiš-pi [ša zumrīya lissuhū ilū rabûtu]
7'. EN₂ ha-ra na x [...]
8'. ši iq-bi mu x [...]
9'. ma ha hi in ŠA₃ x [...]
10'. EN₂ at-ta dan-nu [ēlû šadî māhiru kalû šārī]
11'. IM ez-za ša₂ te-bu-[u₂-šu₂ ...]
12'. šam-ri ez-zu [ša šamriš illaku]
13'. mu-na-ʾi-šu₂ kib-[ra-a-ti mušahrib šadî elûti]
14'. mu-ub-bil AMBAR : [mubbil qanâtēšu]
15'. ip-rik a-na [...]
16'. u-šer₃ a-na [...]
17'. ur-rid a-na [...]
18'. i-la-aʾ a-na [...]
19'. ur-rid a-na [...]
20'. i-la-aʾ a-na [...]
21'. e-nu-ma at-tu-nu [...]
22'. di-ʾu a-pa-a-tu₂ n[i ašri apâti muruṣ apâti]
23'. ana E₂ KU₄-ub l[a terrub]
24'. ana E₂ TI-u₂ l[a teṭehhē]
25'. ana E₂ DIM₄-qa l[a tasanniq]
26'. niš {d}DIŠ u an-[tu₄ nīš enlil u ninlil]
27'. niš {d}BE u {d}da[m-ki-na]
28'. niš DINGIR-MEŠ GAL-MEŠ AN-e [u erṣeti tummâta lū tummâta TU₆ EN₂]
Colophon
29'. [GI]M SUMUN-šu₂ SAR-ma ba-ru₃ [IM {m}BA-ša₂-a bu₁₂-kur₂ {m}{d}INANNA-MU-KAM ŠA₃.BAL.BAL]
30'. [{m}]e₂-kur-za-kir {lu₂}MAŠ.MAŠ Š[U {m}{d}INANNA-MU-KAM DUMU.A.NI pa-lih {d}a-nu-um an-tu₄]
31'. [u {d}BE] NU TUM₃-šu₂ ina me-reš-[ti la u₂-šam-kiš-šu ina U₄-šu₂ ana E₂ UMUN-šu₂]
32'. [HE₂-GUR-šu₂] ša₂ i-TUM₃-šu₂ {d}[IM u {d}ša-la lit-bal-šu₂]
Source Colophon
Akkadian cuneiform transliteration from the Electronic Babylonian Literature (eBL) corpus, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10018951. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Original tablet: IM.76964, Iraq Museum, Baghdad. Provenance: Uruk (modern Warka), from the library of a mašmaššu-priest of the Ekur-zākir family. Period: Late Babylonian (likely Seleucid-Parthian era, based on the Uruk scholarly library context).
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