The seven demons or devil hostile to god. Evil Demon
Series Translator by R.C. Thompson London 1903.
The
Devils and Evil Spirits of Babylonia
This story is the sixteenth
tablet of a series called the "Evil Demon Series," of which we have
an Assyrian with a parallel Sumerian text. Presumably, therefore, it
was a very ancient legend.
Raging storms, evil gods are
they, Ruthless demons, who in heaven's vault were created, are they,
Workers of evil are they, They lift up the head to evil, every day to
evil Destruction to work.
Of these seven
the first is the South wind...
The second is a dragon, whose mouth is opened... That none can
measure.
The third is a grim leopard, which carries off the young
...
The fourth is a terrible Shibbu ...
The fifth is a furious Wolf, who knoweth not to flee,
The sixth is a rampant ... which marches against god and
king.
The seventh is a storm,
an evil
wind, which
takes
vengeance,
Seven are they, messengers
to King
Anu are they, From city
to city darkness work they, A hurricane, which mightily hunts in the
heavens, are they Thick
clouds, that
bring
darkness in heaven, are
they, Gusts of wind
rising, which cast
gloom over the bright day, are they, With the Imkhullu (1) the evil
wind, forcing their way, are they,
The overflowing of Adad mighty
destroyers, are they, At the right of Adad stalking, are they, In the
height of heaven, like lightning flashing, are they, To wreak destruction forward go they , In
the broad heaven, the home of Anu, the King, evilly do they arise,
and none to oppose.
(1) The Imkhullu (Imhullu)
appears also in the Babylonian Creation Epic "The
Enuma Elish".
"IMHULLU the atrocious wind,
the tempest, the whirlwind, the hurricane, the wind of four and the
wind of seven, the tumid wind, worst of all".
When Enlil heard these tidings,
a plan in his heart he pondered, With Ea, exalted Massu of the gods,
he took counsel. Sin, Shamash, and Ishtar, whom he had set to order
the vault of heaven, With Anu he divided the lordship of the whole
heaven, To these three gods, his offspring Day and night, without ceasing, he ordained to stand,
When the seven evil
gods stormed the vault of heaven, Before the gleaming Sin, they set
themselves angrily, The mighty Shamash, Adad the warrior, they brought on their side,
Ishtar, with Anu the King, moved into a shining dwelling, exercising dominion over the
heavens,
ANU Son of the first pair of gods, Anshar
and Kishar. Consort was Antu (Anatum) later replaced by Ishtar He was
the son of Anshar
and Kishar.
[Nearly ten lines here are
unreadable.]
Day and night he was dark
(Sin), in the dwelling of his dominion he sat not down, The
evil
gods, the messengers of
Anu, the King, are they, Raising their evil heads, in the night shaking themselves, are they,
Evil searching
out, are they, From the
heaven, like a wind,
over the land rush they. Enlil saw the darkening of the hero Sin in
heaven,
The lord spoke to his minister
Nusku, O My minister Nusku, my message unto the ocean bring, The
tidings of my son Sin, who in heaven has been sadly darkened, Unto
Ea, in the ocean, announce it."
Nusku exalted the word of his
lord, To Ea, in the ocean, he went quickly, To the prince, the
exalted Massu the lord Nudimmud.
Nusku, the word of his lord
there announced Ea in the ocean heard that word, He bit his lip and
filled his mouth with wailing; Ea called his son Marduk, and gave him
the message: "Go, my son Marduk, Son of a prince, the gleaming Sin
has been sadly darkened in heaven, His darkening is seen in the
heavens, The seven evil gods, death-dealing, fearless are they, The
seven evil gods, like a flood, rush on, the land they fall upon, do
they, Against the land, like a storm, they rise, do they, Before the
gleaming Sin, they set themselves angrily; The mighty Shamash, Adad
the warrior, they brought on their side."
DESCRIPTIONS OF "THE
SEVEN"
I
Destructive storms and evil
winds are they, A storm of evil, presaging the baneful storm, A storm
of evil, forerunner of the baneful storm. Mighty children, mighty
sons are they, Messengers of Namtar are they, Throne-bearers of
Ereshkigal. The flood driving through the land are they. Seven gods
of the wide heavens, Seven gods of the broad earth, Seven robber-gods are they. Seven gods of universal sway,
Seven evil gods, Seven evil demons, Seven evil and violent demons, Seven in heaven,
seven on earth.
II
Neither male nor female are
they. Destructive
whirlwinds they, Having neither wife nor offspring. Compassion
and mercy they do not know. Prayer and supplication they do not hear.
Horses reared in the mountains, Hostile to Ea. Throne-bearers of the gods are
they.
Standing on the highway,
befouling the
street. Evil are they,
evil are they, Seven they are, seven they are, Twice seven they
are.
III
The high enclosures, the broad
enclosures like a flood they pass through. From house to house they
dash along. No door can shut them out, No bolt can turn them back.
Through the door, like a
snake, they glide,
Through the hinge, like the wind, they storm. Tearing the wife from
the embrace of the man, Snatching the child from the knees of a man,
Driving the freedman
from his family home.
CHARM AGAINST THE SEVEN EVIL
SPIRITS
Seven are they, seven are they!
In the channel of the deep seven are they! In the radiance of heaven
seven are they! In the channel of the deep in a palace grew they up.
Male they are not, female they are not. In the midst of the deep are
their paths. Wife they have not, son they have not. Order and
kindness know they not. Prayer and supplication hear they not. The
cavern in the mountain they enter.
Unto Ea are they hostile. The throne-bearers of the gods are
they. Disturbing the lily in the torrents are they set. Baleful are
they, baleful are they. Seven are they, seven are they, seven twice
again are they.
May the spirits of heaven
remember, may the spirits of earth remember.
Babylonia
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