The Babylonian poem of the righteous sufferer
I who ate mud like a fish will proclaim his fury —
for swiftly he restored me as he restores the dead.
I will praise the lord of wisdom, the deliberate god —
furious through the night, forgiving at dawn.
Marduk, lord of wisdom, the deliberate god —
furious through the night, forgiving at dawn.
His rage, like a storm that scours the steppe —
his breath, like morning wind, is sweet.
His anger irresistible, his fury a flood —
yet his heart is merciful, his mood turns.
He whose hand the heavens cannot hold,
whose gentle palm rescues the dying.
Marduk — he whose hand the heavens cannot hold,
whose gentle palm rescues the dying.
At his fury, graves are torn open —
from ruin, he raises the fallen.
He frowns — the guardian spirits retreat.
He looks — and his god turns back to the one he cast off.
His punishment falls swift and heavy —
in an instant he turns, a mother.
He hastens to show his beloved kindness,
as a cow keeps turning back for her calf.
His blows are barbed — they pierce to the bone.
His bandages soothe — they heal the one death took.
He speaks — and imputes sin.
On the day of his justice, debt and guilt dissolve.
He himself sends the shivering demon —
with his word, he banishes frost and trembling.
Who dims the flood of Adad, the blow of Erra —
who reconciles the angry god and goddess.
The Lord reads the heart of every god —
no god knows his way.
Marduk reads the heart of every god —
no god can learn his counsel.
As heavy as his hand is, his heart is merciful.
As lethal as his weapons are, his purpose is to sustain.
Without his will, who can soothe his striking?
Without his intent, who can hold back his hand?
I who ate mud like a fish will proclaim his fury —
for swiftly he restored me as he restores the dead.
I will teach the people: his mercy draws near.
May his gracious concern carry away their sin.
Colophon
Source text: Standard Babylonian Akkadian, attested on over four dozen tablets and fragments from Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian sites. The full poem runs four tablets of approximately 120 lines each. This translation covers Tablet I, lines 1–40, the introductory hymn to Marduk that frames the entire poem. Critical edition: Amar Annus and Alan Lenzi, Ludlul bēl nēmeqi: The Standard Babylonian Poem of the Righteous Sufferer (State Archives of Assyria Cuneiform Texts 7; Helsinki: University of Helsinki Press, 2010). Edition used for transliteration: Alan Lenzi, ed., Reading Akkadian Prayers and Hymns: An Introduction (Ancient Near East Monographs 3; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2011), pp. 486–496. The Lenzi English rendering was consulted as a reference to verify meaning in ambiguous passages (lines 14, 22, 37–38); this translation is independently derived from the Akkadian. Translated by: Marduk-rēmāni, tulku of Tianmu, sixteenth liberation run, 2026-03-20.
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Source Text: Ludlul bēl nēmeqi (Tablet I)
Standard Babylonian Akkadian, Tablet I, lines 1–40. Transliteration after Annus and Lenzi (2010) as presented in Lenzi (2011), pp. 486–496. Square brackets indicate restoration; superscript numbers indicate uncertain signs.
- lud-lul EN né-me-qí DINGIR muš-[ta-lum]
- e-ziz mu-ši mu-up-pa-šir ur-ri
- ᵈAMAR.UTU EN né-me-qí DINGIR muš-ta-lum
- e-ziz mu-ši mu-up-pa-šir ur-ri
- šá ki-ma UD-mi me-ḫe-e na-mu-ú ug-gat-su
- ù ki-i ma-nit še-re-e-ti za-aq-šú ṭa-a-bu
- uz-zu-uš-šu la ma-ḫar a-bu-bu ru-ub-šú
- mu-us-saḥ-ḫir ka-ra-as-su ka-bat-ta-šú ṭa-a-a-rat
- šá nak-bat qa-ti-šú la i-na-áš-šu-ú šá-ma-a²-ú
- rit-tuš rab-ba-a-ti ú-kaš-šu mi-i-ta
- ᵈAMAR.UTU šá nak-bat qa-ti-šú la i-na-áš-šu-ú šá-ma-a²-ú
- rab-ba-a-ti rit-ta-a-šú ú-kaš-šu mi-i-ta
- šá i-na lib-ba-ti-šú up-ta-at-ta-a qab-ra-a-tum
- i-nu-šú ina ka-ra-še-e ú-šat-bé ma-aq-tí
- ik-ke-lem-mu-ma i-né-es-su-ú ᵈLAMMA u ᵈALAD
- ip-pal-la-as-ma a-na šá is-ki-pu-šú DINGIR-šú i-saḥ-ḫur-šú
- ak-ṣa-at a-na sur-ri en-nit-ta-šú ka-bit-ti
- ik-ka-riṭ-ma za-mar-ma i-tar a-lit-tuš
- id-du-ud-ma ri-ma-šu ú-kan-ni
- ù ki-i a-ra-aḥ bu-ú-ri it-ta-na-as-ḫa-ra EGIR-šú
- za-aq-ta ni-ṭa-tu-šú ú-saḥ-ḫa-la zu-um-ra
- pa-á[š]-ḫu ṣi-in-du-šú ú-bal-la-ṭu nam-ta-ra
- i-qab-bi-ma gíl-la-ta uš-raš-ši
- ina UD i-šar-ti-šú up-ta-aṭ-ṭa-ru e²-il-tum u an-nu
- šu-ú-ma ú-tuk-ka [r]a-²i-i-ba ú-šar-ši
- ina te-e-šú uš-d[ap]-pa-ru šu-ru-up-pu-ú u ḫur-ba-šú
- muš-man-ṭi [ri-ḫi-iš]-ti ᵈIŠKUR mi-ḫi-iš-ti ᵈÈr-ra
- mu-sal-lim DINGIR u ᵈ15 šab-ba-su-ti
- be-lum [mí]m-ma šÀ-bí DINGIR.MEŠ i-bar-ri
- ma-na-m[a ina DINGIR.M]eš a-lak-ta-šú ul i-de
- ᵈAMAR.UTU [mi]m-ma šÀ-bí DINGIR.MEŠ i-bar-ri
- DINGIR a-a-um-ma ul i-lam-mad ṭè-en-šú
- a-na ki-i kab-ta-at šu-su šÀ-ba-šú re-me-ni
- a-na ki-i gaṣ-ṣu GIŠ.TUKUL.MEŠ-šú ka-bat-ta-šú muš-neš-šat
- šá la šÀ-bi-šú man-nu mì-ḫi-iš-ta-šú li-šap-ši-iḥ
- e-la kab-ta-ti-šú a-a-ú li-šá-lil ŠU.II-su
- lu-šá-pi ug-gat-su šá ki-ma nu-ú-ni a-ku-lu ru-šum-tú
- i-nu-nam-ma za-mar ki-i ú-bal-li-ṭu mi-tu-tu
- lu-šal-mid-ma UN.MEŠ qit-ru-ba gu-ma-al-šin
- ḫi-is-sa-as-su SIG₅-tu[m] ar-na-ši-na lit-bal
Source Colophon
Source: Annus and Lenzi (2010), critical edition; transliteration via Lenzi (2011). The poem is preserved on tablets from Nineveh (Kuyunjik), Sippar, Nimrud (Kalhu), and Babylon, among other sites. The standard edition follows manuscript tradition from three principal regions. Lacunae in the Sippar manuscripts have been supplemented by the Birmingham tablet (Iraq 64 [2002]), not available in older editions.
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