HYMNS TO NANNAR/SIN, THE SUMERIAN GOD OF THE MOON

 

Father Nannar, lord, moon-god, prince of the gods,

Father Nannar, lord of Uru, prince of the gods.

Lord, thy deity fills the far-off heavens,

like the vast sea, with reverential fear! ...

Father, begetter of gods and men,

who establishest for them dwellings

and institutest for them that which is good. ...

Chief, mighty, whose heart is great,

god whom no one can name, ...

In heaven, who is supreme ?

As for thee, it is thou alone who art supreme! ...

As for thee, thy decree is made known upon earth,

and the spirits of the abyss kiss the dust!

As for thee, thy decree blows above like the wind,

and stall and pasture become fertile!

As for thee, thy decree is accomplished upon earth below,

and the grass and green things grow! ...

As for thee, thy decree has called into being equity and justice,

and the peoples have promulgated thy law! ...

O Lord, mighty in heaven, sovereign upon earth,

among the gods thy brothers, thou hast no rival!

(Dawn Civ 654)

 

 

Father Nanna, lord, conspicuously crowned, prince of the gods,

Father Nanna, grandly perfect in majesty, prince of the gods;

Father Nanna (measuredly) proceeding in noble raiment, prince of the gods;

fierce young bull, thick of horns, perfect of limbs, with lapis lazuli beard,full of beauty;

fruit, created of itself, grown to full size, good to look at, with whose beauty one is never sated;

womb, giving birth to all, who has settled down in a holy abode;

merciful forgiving father, who holds in his hand the life of all the land;

Lord! -- (the compass of) your divine providence, (vast) as the far-off heavens, the wide sea, is awesome (to

behold).

 

The Treasures of Darkness. Jacobsen, p.7.

 

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