The text is indexed by lines within a column [column.line], and every 10th line is marked with a HTML anchor for referencing.
Babylonian inscriptions are by no means so replete with interest as the Assyrian. The latter embrace the various expeditions in which the Assyrian monarchs were engaged, and bring us into contact with the names and locality of rivers, cities, and mountain-ranges, with contemporary princes in Judea and elsewhere, and abound in details as to domestic habits, civil usages, and the implements and modes of warfare. But the Babylonian inscriptions refer mainly to the construction of temples, palaces, and other public buildings, and at the same time present especial difficulties in their numerous architectural terms which it is often impossible to translate with any certainty. They are, however, interesting as records of the piety and religious feelings of the sovereigns of Babylon, and as affording numerous topographical notices of that famous city; while the boastful language of the inscription will often remind the reader of Nebuchadnezzar's words in Dan. iv. 30: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?" Compare column vii, line 32.
The reign of Nebuchadnezzar extended from B.C. 604 to 561. In B.C. 598 he laid siege to Jerusalem (2 Kings xxiv.) and made Jehoiachin prisoner, and in 588 again captured the city, and carried Zedekiah, who had rebelled against him, captive to Babylon (2 Kings xxv.). Josephus gives an account of his expeditions against Tyre and Egypt, which are also mentioned with many details in Ezek. xxvii.-xxix.
The name Nebuchadnezzar, or more accurately Nebuchadrezzar (Jer. xxi. 2, 7, etc.), is derived from the Jewish Scriptures. But in the inscriptions it reads Nebo-kudurri-ussur, i.e., "may Nebo protect the crown"; a name analogous to that of his father Nebo(Nabu)-habal-ussur. ("Nebo protect the son") and to that of Belshazzar, i.e., "Bel protect the prince." The phonetic writing of Nebuchadnezzar is "An-pa-sa-du-sis," each of which syllables has been identified through the syllabaries. The word "kudurri" is probably the (Hebrew - KeTeR) of (Page 251) Esther vi. 8, and the (Greek - kidaris) of the Greeks. The inscriptions of which a translation follows was found at Babylon by Sir Harford Jones Bridges, and now forms part of the India House Collection. It is engraved on a short column of black basalt, and is divided into ten columns, containing 619 lines.
It may be worth while to remark that in the name given to the prophet Daniel, Belteshazzar, i.e., Balat-su-ussur ("preserve thou his life"), and in Abednego ("servant of Nebo"), we have two of the component parts of the name of Nebuchadnezzar himself.
[1.1] Nebuchadnezzar
[1.2] King of
Babylon,
[1.3] glorious Prince,
[1.4] worshipper of Marduk,
[1.5]
adorer of the lofty one,
[1.6] glorifier of Nabu,
[1.7] the exalted, the
possessor of intelligence,
[1.8] who the processions of their
divinities
[1.9] hath increased;
[1.10] a worshipper of their
Lordships,
[1.11] firm, not to be destroyed;
[1.12] who for the
embellishment
[1.13] of Bit-Saggatu and Bit-Zida
[1.14] appointed days
hath set apart, and
[1.15] the shrines of Babylon
[1.16] and of
Borsippa
[1.17] hath steadily increased;
[1.18] exalted Chief, Lord of
peace,
[1.19] embellisher of Bit-Saggatu and Bit-Zida,
[1.20] the valiant son
[1.21] of
Nabopolassar
[1.22] King of Babylon am I.
[1.23] When he, the Lord god my maker made me,
[1.24] the god Merodach, he
deposited
[1.25] my germ in my mother's (womb):
[1.26] then being
conceived
[1.27] I was made.
[1.28] Under the inspection of Assur my
judge
[1.29] the processions of the god I enlarged,
[1.30] (namely) of Merodach great Lord, the
god my maker.
[1.31] His skilful works
[1.32] highly have I
glorified;
[1.33] and of Nebo his eldest son
[1.34] exalter of My
Royalty
[1.35] the processions (in honor of) his exalted deity
[1.36] I
firmly established.
[1.37] With all my heart firmly
[1.38] (in) worship of
their deities I uprose
[1.39] in reverence for Nebo their Lord.
[1.40] Whereas Merodach, great
Lord,
[1.41] the head of My ancient Royalty,
[1.42] hath empowered me over
multitudes of men,
[1.43] and (whereas) Nebo bestower of thrones in heaven
and earth,
[1.44] for the sustentation of men,
[1.45] a sceptre of
righteousness
[1.46] hath caused my hand to hold;
[1.47] now I, that
sacred way
[1.48] for the resting-place of their divinities,
[1.49] for a
memorial of all their names,
[1.50] as
a worshipper of Nebo, Yav and Istar,
[1.51] for Merodach my Lord I
strengthened.
[1.52] Its threshold I firmly laid, and
[1.53] my devotion
of heart he accepted, and
[1.54] him did I proclaim
[1.55] . . . Lord of
all beings, and
[1.56] as Prince of the lofty house, and
[1.57] thou, (O
Nebuchadnezzar) hast proclaimed the name of him
[1.58] who has been
beneficent unto thee.
[1.59] His name, (O god,) thou wilt preserve,
[1.60] the path of righteousness thou hast
prescribed to him.
[1.61] I, a Prince, and thy worshipper
[1.62] am the
work of thy hand;
[1.63] thou hast created me, and
[1.64] the empire over
multitudes of men
[1.65] thou hast assigned me,
[1.66] according to thy
favor, O Lord,
[1.67] which thou hast accorded
[1.68] to them
all.
[1.69] May thy lofty Lordship be exalted!
[1.70] in the worship of thy
divinity
[1.71] may it subsist! in my heart
[1.72] may it continue, and my
life which to thee is devoted
(Continued on Column 2)
[2.2] He, the Chief, the honorable,
[2.3] the Prince of the gods, the
great Merodach,
[2.4] my gracious Lord, heard
[2.5] and received my
prayer;
[2.6] he favored it, and by his exalted power,
[2.7] reverence for
his deity
[2.8] placed he in my heart:
[2.9] to bear his tabernacle
[2.10] he hath made my heart firm,
[2.11]
with reverence for thy power,
[2.12] for exalted service,
[2.13] greatly
and eternally.
[2.14] The foundation of his temple it was
[2.15] which from the upper
waters
[2.16] to the lower waters
[2.17] in a remote way,
[2.18] in a
spot exposed to winds,
[2.19] in a place whose pavements had been
broken,
[2.20] low, dried up,
[2.21]
a rugged way,
[2.22] a difficult path,
[2.23] I extended.
[2.24] The
disobedient I stirred up,
[2.25] and I collected the poor and
[2.26] gave
full directions (for the work) and
[2.27] in numbers I supported
them.
[2.28] Wares and ornaments
[2.29] for the women I brought
forth,
[2.30] silver, molten gold,
precious stones,
[2.31] metal, umritgana and cedar woods,
[2.32]
(however their names be written)
[2.33] a splendid abundance,
[2.34] the
produce of mountains,
[2.35] sea clay,
[2.36] beautiful things in
abundance,
[2.37] riches and sources of joy,
[2.38] for my city
Babylon,
[2.39] into his presence have I brought
[2.40] for Bit-Saggatu
[2.41] the temple
of his power,
[2.42] ornaments for Dakan
[2.43] Bit-Kua, the shrine
[2.44] of Merodach, Lord of the house of the
gods,
[2.45] I have made conspicuous with fine linen
[2.46] and its
seats
[2.47] with splendid gold,
[2.48] as for royalty and
deity,
[2.49] with lapis lazuli and alabaster blocks
[2.50] I carefully covered them
over;
[2.51] a gate of passage, the gate Beautiful,
[2.52] and the gate of
Bit-Zida and Bit-Saggatu
[2.53] I caused to be made brilliant as the
sun.
[2.54] A fulness of the treasures of countries I accumulated;
[2.55]
around the city it was placed as an ornament,
[2.56] when at the festival of
Lilmuku at the beginning of the year,
[2.57] on the eighth day (and) eleventh
day,
[2.58] the divine Prince, Deity of heaven and earth, the Lord
god,
[2.59] they raised within it.
[2.60] (The statue) of the god El, the beauty
of the sphere,
[2.61] reverently they bring;
[2.62] treasure have they
displayed before it,
[2.63] a monument to lasting days,
[2.64] a monument
of my life.
[2.65] They also placed within it
(Continued on Column 3)
[3.1] his altar, an altar of
Royalty;
[3.2] an altar of Lordship,
[3.3] (for) the Chief of the gods,
the Prince Merodach,
[3.4] whose fashion the former Prince
[3.5] had
fashioned in silver,
[3.6] with bright gold accurately weighed out
[3.7] I
overlaid.
[3.8] Beautiful things for the temple Bit-Saggatu
[3.9] seen at
its very summit,
[3.10] the shrine of
Merodach, with statues and marbles
[3.11] I embellished
[3.12] as the
stars of heaven.
[3.13] The fanes of Babylon
[3.14] I built, I
adorned.
[3.15] Of the house, the foundation of the heaven and
earth,
[3.16] I reared the summit
[3.17] with blocks of noble lapis
lazuli:
[3.18] to the construction of Bit-Saggatu
[3.19] my heart uplifted
me;
[3.20] in abundance I
wrought
[3.21] the best of my pine trees
[3.22] which from
Lebanon
[3.23] together with tall Babil-wood I brought,
[3.24] for
the portico of the temple of Merodach:
[3.25] the shrine of his
Lordship
[3.26] I made good, and interior walls
[3.27] with pine and tall
cedar woods:
[3.28] the portico of the temple of Merodach,
[3.29] with
brilliant gold I caused to cover,
[3.30] the lower thresholds, the cedar
awnings,
[3.31] with gold and precious stones
[3.32] I
embellished:
[3.33] in the erection of Bit-Saggatu
[3.34] I proceeded: I
supplicated
[3.35] the King of gods, the Lord of Lords:
[3.36] in
Borsippa, the city of his loftiness,
[3.37, 38] I raised Bit-Zida: a durable
house
[3.39] in the midst thereof I caused to be made.
[3.40] With silver, gold, precious
stones,
[3.41] bronze, ummakana and pine woods,
[3.42] those
thresholds I completed:
[3.43] the pine wood portico
[3.44] of the shrine
of Nebo
[3.45] with gold I caused to cover,
[3.46] the pine wood portico
of the gate of the temple of Merodach
[3.47] I caused to overlay with bright
silver.
[3.48] The bulls and columns of the gate of the shrine
[3.49] the
thresholds, the sigari of ri-wood, conduits
[3.50] of Babnaku wood and their
statues
[3.51] with cedar wood awnings
[3.52] of lofty building,
[3.53]
and silver, I adorned.
[3.54] The avenues of the shrine
[3.55] and the
approach to the house,
[3.56] of conspicuous brick
[3.57] sanctuaries in
its midst
[3.58] with perforated silver work.
[3.59] Bulls, columns,
doorways,
[3.60, 61] in marble
beautifully I built;
[3.62, 63] I erected a shrine and with rows
[3.64] of
wreathed work I filled it:
[3.65] the fanes of Barsippa
[3.66] I made and
embellished:
[3.67] the temple of the seven spheres
[3.68] . . .
[3.69]
with bricks of noble lapis lazuli
[3.70] I reared its summit:
[3.71] the
tabernacle of Nahr-kanul
[3.72] the chariot of his greatness
(Continued
on Column 4)
[4.1] the tabernacle, the shrine
Lilmuku,
[4.2] the festival of Babylon,
[4.3, 4] his pageant of
dignity
[4.5] within it, I caused to decorate
[4.6] with beryls and
stones.
[4.7] A temple for sacrifices, the lofty citadel
[4.8] of Bel and
Merodach, god of gods,
[4.9] a threshold of joy and supremacy
[4.10] among angels and spirits,
[4.11]
with the stores of Babylon,
[4.12] with cement and brick,
[4.13] like a
mountain I erected.
[4.14] A great temple of Ninharissi
[4.15] in the centre of
Babylon
[4.16] to the great goddess the mother who created me,
[4.17] in
Babylon I made.
[4.18] To Nebo of lofty intelligence
[4.19] who hath
bestowed (on me) the sceptre of justice,
[4.20] to preside over all peoples,
[4.21]
a temple of rule over men, and a site for this his temple
[4.22, 23] in
Babylon, of cement and brick
[4.24] the fashion I fashioned.
[4.25, 26] To the Moon-god, the strengthener of my hands
[4.27] a large
house of alabaster as his temple
[4.28] in Babylon I made.
[4.29] To the sun, the judge supreme
[4.30] who perfects good in my
body,
[4.31] a house for that guide of men, even his house,
[4.32, 33] in
Babylon, of cement and brick,
[4.34] skilfully did I make.
[4.35] To the god Yav, establisher of fertility
[4.36] in my land,
Bit-Numkan as his temple
[4.37] in Babylon I built.
[4.38] To the goddess Gula, the regulator
[4.39] and benefactress of my
life,
[4.40] Bit-Samit, and Bit-haris
the lofty,
[4.41, 42] as fanes in Babylon, in cement and brick
[4.43]
strongly did I build.
[4.44] To the divine Lady of Bit Anna,
[4.45] my gracious
mistress,
[4.46] Bit-Kiku in front of her house
[4.47] so as to strengthen
the wall of Babylon
[4.48] I skilfully constructed.
[4.49, 50] To Ninip the breaker of the
sword of my foes
[4.51] a temple in Borsippa I made;
[4.52] and to the
Lady Gula
[4.53] the beautifier of my person
[4.54] Bit-Gula, Bit-Tila,
Bit-Ziba-Tila,
[4.55] her three temples
[4.56] in Borsippa I
erected:
[4.57] to the god Yav who confers
[4.58] the fertilizing rain
upon my land,
[4.59, 60] his house
(also) in Borsippa I strongly built:
[4.61] to the Moon-god who
upholds
[4.62] the fulness of my prosperity
[4.63] Bit-ti-Anna as his
temple,
[4.64] on the mound near Bit-Ziba
[4.65] I beautifully
constructed:
[4.66, 67] Imgur-Bel and Nimetti-Belkit
[4.68] the great
walls of Babylon,
[4.69] . . . I built,
[4.70] which Nabopolassar
[4.71] King,
King of Babylon, the father who begat me,
[4.72] had commenced but not
completed their beauty
(Continued on Column 5)
[5.1] Its fosse he dug
[5.2] and of
two high embankments
[5.3] in cement and brick
[5.4] he finished the
mass:
[5.5, 6] an embankment for pathways he made,
[5.7, 8] Buttresses of
brick beyond the Euphrates
[5.9, 10] he
constructed, but did not complete:
[5.11, 12] the rest from . . .
[5.13]
the best of their lands I accumulated:
[5.14] a place for sacrifice, as
ornament,
[5.15, 16] as far as Aibur-sabu near Babylon
[5.17] opposite the
principal gate
[5.18] with brick and durmina-turda stone
[5.19] as
a shrine of the great Lord, the god Merodach
[5.20] I built as a house for
processions.
[5.21, 22] I his eldest son, the chosen of his heart,
[5.23,
24] Imgur-Bel and Nimetti-Bel
[5.25, 26] the great walls of Babylon,
completed:
[5.27] buttresses for the embankment of its fosse,
[5.28] and
two long embankments
[5.29] with cement and brick I built, and
[5.30] with the embankment my father had
made
[5.31, 32] I joined them; and to the city for protection
[5.33, 34] I
brought near an embankment of enclosure
[5.35] beyond the river,
westward.
[5.36] The wall of Babylon
[5.37, 38] I carried round
Aibur-sabu
[5.39] in the vicinity of Babylon:
[5.40] for a shrine of the great Lord
Merodach
[5.41, 42] the whole enclosure I filled (with buildings)
[5.43]
with brick made of kamina-turda stone
[5.44] and brick of stone cut
out of mountains.
[5.45, 46] Aibur-sabu from the High gate,
[5.47, 48] as
far as Istar-Sakipat I made,
[5.49, 50]
for a shrine for his divinity I made good,
[5.51] and with what my father had
made
[5.52, 53] I joined, and built it;
[5.54, 55, 56] and the access to
Istar-Sakipat I made,
[5.57, 58] which is Imgur-Bel and
Nimetti-Bel,
[5.59] the great gates, the whole temple of the gods
[5.60, 61] in completeness near to
Babylon
[5.62] I brought down;
[5.63, 64] the materials of those great
gates
[5.65] I put together and
(Continued on Column 6)
[6.1] their foundations opposite to the
waters
[6.2, 3] in cement and brick I founded,
[6.4] and of strong stone
of zamat-hati,
[6.5] bulls and images,
[6.6] the building of its
interior
[6.7] skilfully I constructed:
[6.8, 9, 10] tall cedars for their porticos I
arranged,
[6.11] ikki wood, cedar wood,
[6.12] with coverings of
copper,
[6.13] on domes and arches:
[6.14, 15] work in bronze I overlaid
substantially on its gates,
[6.16, 17] bulls of strong bronze and molten
images
[6.18] for their thresholds, strongly.
[6.19] Those large
gates
[6.20] for the admiration of
multitudes of men
[6.21] with wreathed work I filled:
[6.22] the abode of
Imzu-Bel
[6.23] the invincible castle of Babylon,
[6.24] which no previous
King had effected,
[6.25] 4,000 cubits complete,
[6.26] the walls of
Babylon
[6.27] whose banner is invincible,
[6.28] as a high fortress by
the ford of the rising sun,
[6.29] I carried round Babylon.
[6.30] Its fosse I dug and its mass
[6.31]
with cement and brick
[6.32, 33] I reared up and a tall tower at its
side
[6.34] like a mountain I built.
[6.35, 36] The great gates whose
walls I constructed
[6.37] with ikki and pine woods and coverings of
copper
[6.38] I overlaid them,
[6.39] to keep off enemies from the
front
[6.40] of the wall of unconquered
Babylon.
[6.41, 42] Great waters like the might of the sea
[6.43] I
brought near in abundance
[6.44] and their passing by
[6.45] was like the
passing by of the great billows
[6.46] of the Western ocean:
[6.47, 48]
passages through them were none,
[6.49,
50] but heaps of earth I heaped up,
[6.51] and embankments of
brickwork
[6.52] I caused to be constructed.
[6.53, 54] The fortresses I
skilfully strengthened
[6.55] and the city of Babylon
[6.56] I fitted to
be a treasure-city.
[6.57] The handsome pile
[6.58, 59] the fort of
Borsippa I made anew:
[6.60, 61] its
fosse I dug out and in cement and brick
[6.62] I reared up its mass
[6.63]
Nebuchadnezzar
(Continued on Column 7)
[7.1] King of Babylon
[7.2] whom
Merodach, the Sun, the great Lord,
[7.3] for the holy places of his
city
[7.4] Babylon hath called, am I:
[7.5] and Bit-Saggatu and
Bit-Zida
[7.6] like the radiance of the Sun I restored:
[7.7] the fanes of
the great gods
[7.8] I completely brightened.
[7.9] At former dates from
the days of old
[7.10] to the days . .
.
[7.11] of Nabopolassar King of Babylon
[7.12] the exalted father who
begat me,
[7.13] many a Prince who preceded me
[7.14, 15] whose names El
had proclaimed for royalty
[7.16] for the city, my city, the festivals of
these gods
[7.17] in the perfected places
[7.18] a princely temple, a
large temple did they make
[7.19] and erected it as their
dwelling-places.
[7.20, 21] Their
spoils in the midst they accumulated,
[7.22] they heaped up, and their
treasures
[7.23] for the festival Lilmuku
[7.24] of the good Lord,
Merodach god of gods
[7.25] they transferred into the midst of
Babylon;
[7.26, 27] when at length Merodach who made me for royalty
[7.28]
and the god Nero his mighty son,
[7.29] committed his people to me
[7.30] as precious lives.
[7.31] Highly
have I exalted their cities;
[7.32] (but) above Babylon and
Borsippa
[7.33] I have not added a city
[7.34] in the realm of
Babylonia
[7.35] as a city of my lofty foundation.
[7.36] A great temple, a house of admiration for men,
[7.37, 38] a vast
construction, a lofty pile,
[7.39, 40]
a palace of My Royalty for the land of Babylon,
[7.41] in the midst of the
city of Baby1on
[7.42, 43] from Imgur Bel to Libit-higal
[7.44] the ford
of the Sun-rise,
[7.45] from the bank of the Euphrates
[7.46] as far as
Aibur-sabu
[7.47] which Nabopolassar
[7.48] King of Babylon the father who
begat me
[7.49, 50] made in brick and
raised up in its midst,
[7.51] but whose foundation was damaged
[7.52] by
waters and floods
[7.53, 54] at Bit-Imli near Babylon,
[7.55, 56] and the
gates of that palace were thrown down,
[7.57, 58] of this the structure with
brickwork I repaired
[7.59] with its foundation and boundary wall,
[7.60] and a depth of waters I
collected:
[7.61, 62] then opposite the waters I laid its
foundation
[7.63] and with cement and brick
(Continued on Column
8)
[8.1, 2] I skilfully surrounded
it;
[8.3, 4] tall cedars for its porticos I fitted;
[8.5, 6] ikki
and cedar woods with layers of copper,
[8.7] on domes and arches
[8.8, 9]
and with bronze work, I strongly overlaid its gates
[8.10] with silver, gold, precious
stones,
[8.11, 12] whatsoever they call them, in heaps;
[8.13] I valiantly
collected spoils;
[8.14] as an adornment of the house were they
arranged,
[8.15] and were collected within it;
[8.16, 17] trophies,
abundance, royal treasures,
[8.18] I accumulated and gathered
together.
[8.19] As to the moving of My Royalty
[8.20] to any other city,
[8.21] there has
not arisen a desire:
[8.22] among any other people
[8.23] no royal palace
have I built:
[8.24] the merchandise and treasures of my kingdom
[8.25,
26, 27] I did not deposit within the provinces of Babylon:
[8.28] a pile for
my residence
[8.29, 30] to grace My
Royalty was not found:
[8.31] Therefore with reverence for Merodach my
Lord,
[8.32, 33] the exterior and interior in Babylon
[8.34] as his
treasure city
[8.35, 36] and for the elevation of the abode of My
Royalty
[8.37] his shrine I neglected not:
[8.38] its weak parts which
were not completed,
[8.39] its compartments that were not remembered,
[8.40] as a securely compacted
edifice
[8.41, 42] I dedicated and set up as a preparation for war
[8.43,
44] by Imgur Bel, the fortress of invincible Babylon,
[8.45] 400 cubits in
its completeness,
[8.46] a wall of Nimitti-Bel
[8.47] an outwork of
Babylon
[8.48, 49] for defence. Two lofty embankments,
[8.50] in cement and brick,
[8.51] a
fortress like a mountain I made,
[8.52] and in their sub-structure
[8.53]
I built a brickwork;
[8.54] then on its summit a large edifice
[8.55] for
the residence of My Royalty
[8.56, 57] with cement and brick I skilfully
built
[8.58] and brought it down by the side of the temple:
[8.59] and in
the exact middle, on the second day
[8.60] its foundation in a solid
depth
[8.61, 62] I made good and its summit I carried round;
[8.63] and on
the 15th day its beauty
(Continued on Column 9)
[9.1] I skilfully completed
[9.2] and
exalted as an abode of Royalty.
[9.3, 4] Tall pines, the produce of lofty
mountains,
[9.5] thick asuhu wood
[9.6, 7] and surman wood
in choice pillars
[9.8] for its covered porticos I arranged.
[9.9]
ikki and musritkanna woods
[9.10] cedar and surman
woods
[9.11] I brought forth, and in heaps,
[9.12] with a surface of
silver and gold
[9.13] and with coverings of copper,
[9.14, 15] on domes
and arches, and with works of metal
[9.16] its gates I strongly
overlaid
[9.17] and completely with zamat-stone
[9.18] I finished
off its top.
[9.19, 20] A strong wall
in cement and brick
[9.21] like a mountain I carried round
[9.22, 23] a
wall, a brick fortress, a great fortress
[9.24] with long blocks of
stone
[9.25, 26] gatherings from great lands I made
[9.27, 28] and like
hills I upraised its head.
[9.29, 30]
That house for admiration I caused to build
[9.31] and for a banner to hosts
of men:
[9.32] with carved work I fitted it;
[9.33] the strong power of
reverence for
[9.34] the presence of Royalty
[9.35] environs its
walls;
[9.36, 37] the least thing not upright enters it not,
[9.38] that
evil may not make head.
[9.39] The walls of the fortress of Babylon
[9.40, 41] its defence in war I
raised
[9.42] and the circuit of the city of Babylon.
[9.43, 44] I have
strengthened skilfully.
[9.45] To Merodach my Lord
[9.46] my hand I
lifted:
[9.47] 0 Merodach the Lord, Chief of the gods,
[9.48, 49] a
surpassing Prince thou hast made me,
[9.50] and empire over multitudes of
men,
[9.51, 52] hast intrusted to me as precious lives;
[9.53] thy power
have I extended on high,
[9.54, 55] over Babylon thy city, before all
mankind.
[9.56] No city of the land have I exalted
[9.57, 58] as was
exalted the reverence of thy deity:
[9.59] I caused it to rest: and may thy
power
[9.60, 61] bring its treasures
abundantly to my land.
[9.62] I, whether as King and embellisher,
[9.63]
am the rejoicer of thy heart
[9.64] or whether as High Priest
appointed,
[9.65] embellishing all thy fortresses,
(Continued on Column
10)
[10.1, 2] For thy glory, O exalted
Merodach
[10.3] a house have I made.
[10.4] May its greatness
advance!
[10.5] May its fulness increase!
[10.6, 7] in its midst abundance
may it acquire!
[10.8] May its memorials be augmented!
[10.9] May it
receive within itself
[10.10] the
abundant tribute
[10.11, 12] of the Kings of nations and of all
peoples!
[10.13, 14] From the West to the East by the rising sun
[10.15]
may I have no foemen!
[10.16] May they not be multiplied
[10.17, 18]
within, in the midst thereof, forever,
[10.19] Over the dark races may he
rule!
End of Translation
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