- 1-20......
-
- 21. You climb to
the mountains surveying the earth,
- 22. You
suspend from the heavens the circle of the lands.
- 23. You care for
all the peoples of the lands,
- 24. And
everything that Ea, king of the counsellors, had created is
entrusted to you.
- 25. Whatever has
breath you shepherd without exception,
-
- 26. You are their
keeper in upper and lower regions.
- 27. Regularly and
without cease you traverse the heavens,
- 28. Every day you
pass over the broad earth. . . .
- 33. Shepherd of
that beneath, keeper of that above,
- 34. You,
Shamash, direct, you are the light of everything.
- 35. You never
fail to cross the wide expanse of sea,
- 36. The depth of
which the Igigi know not.
- 37. Shamash, your
glare reaches down to the abyss
- 38. So that
monsters of the deep behold your light. . .
.
- 45. Among all the
Igigi there is none who toils but you,
- 46. None who is
supreme like you in the whole pantheon of gods.
- 47. At your
rising the gods of the land assemble,
- 48. Your fierce
glare covers the land.
- 49. Of all the
lands of varied speech,
- 50.. You know
their plans, you scan their way.
- 51.. The whole of
mankind bows to you,
- 52. Shamash, the
universe
longs for your light. . . .
- 88. A man who
covets his neighbour's wife
- 89. Will [ . . .]
before his appointed day.
- 90.. A -nasty
snare is prepared for him. [ . . .]
- 91. Your weapon
will strike at him, and there will be none to save
him.
- 92. [His] father
will not stand for his defense,
- 93. And at the
judge's command his brothers will not plead.
- 94. He will be
caught in a
copper trap that he did not foresee.
- 95. You destroy
the horns of a scheming villain,
- 96. A zealous [.
. .] his foundations are undermined.
- 97. You give the
unscrupulous judge experience of fetters,
- 98. Him who
accepts a present and yet lets justice miscarry you make
bear his punishment.
- 99. As for him
who declines a present but nevertheless takes the part of
the weak,
- 100.. It is
pleasing to Shamash, and he will prolong his life. . .
.
- 124. The progeny
of evil-doers will [fail.]
- 125. Those whose
mouth says 'No'-their case is before you.
- 126. In a moment
you discern what they say;
- 127. You hear and
examine them; you determine the lawsuit of the
wronged.
- 128. Every single
person is entrusted to your hands;
- 129. You manage
their omens; that which is perplexing you make
plain.
- 130. You observe,
Shamash, prayer, supplication, and benediction,
- 131.
Obeisance, kneeling, ritual murmurs, and prostration.
- 132. The feeble
man calls you from the hollow of his mouth,
- 133. The humble,
the weak, the afflicted, the poor,
- 134. She whose
son is captive constantly and unceasingly confronts
you.
- 135. He whose
family is remote, whose city is distant,
- 136. The shepherd
[amid) the terror of the steppe confronts you,
- 137. The herdsman
in warfare, the keeper of sheep among enemies.
- 138. Shamash,
there confronts you the caravan, those journeying in
fear,
- 139. The
travelling merchant, the agent who is carrying
capital.
- 140. Shamash,
there confronts you the fisherman with his net,
- 141. The hunter,
the bowman who drives the game,
- 142. With his
bird net the fowler confronts You.
- 143. The prowling
thief, the enemy of Shamash,
- 144. The marauder
along the tracks of the steppe confronts you.
- 145. The roving
dead, the vagrant soul,
- 146. They
confront you, Shamash, and you hear all.
- 147. You do not
obstruct those that confront you. . . .
- 148. For my sake,
Shamash, do not curse them!
- 149. You
grant
revelations, Shamash, to the families of men,
- 150. Your harsh
face and fierce light you give to them. . . .
- 154. The heavens
are not enough as the vessel into which you gaze,
- 155. The sum of
the lands is inadequate as a seer's bowl.......
- 159. You deliver
people surrounded by mighty waves,
- 160.
In return
you receive their pure, clear libations. . . .
- 165. They in
their reverence laud the mention of you,
- 166. And
worship
your majesty for ever. . . .
- 174. Which are
the mountains not clothed with your beams?
- 175. Which are
the regions not warmed by the brightness of your
light?
- 176. Brightener
of gloom, illuminator of darkness,
- 177. Dispeller of
darkness, illuminator of the broad earth.
- 178 f.....
-
- Translation by W.
G. Lambert, in his Babylonian Wisdom Literature
- (Oxford, 1960,)I,
127 ff.
-
- Shamash has
connections to Lucifer, the musician in the garden of
eden and of Sophia / Zoe the enlightener and life giver
of mankind.
-
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