Ashurbanipal 223

(iii 36') Wording (of the inscription) that was erased from the bed (and) the throne of the god Bēl (Marduk), which were deposited in the temple of (the god) Aššur, (and that of the inscription) written upon (them) in the name of Ashurbanipal. Simānu (III), the twenty-seventh day, eponymy of Awiānu (655), th[ey were returned t]o Ba[byl]on [(...)].

(iv 1') [...] ... [...] ... [..., O l]ord, being furious (and) relenting, [destroying (and) c]reating, (and) depopulating (and) (re)populating (regions) [are] in your hands. (iv 5´) (As for) Esagil, the terrifying cella, the seat of [your] supreme pow[er, you command]ed your beloved king to restore you[r] divine work.

(iv 7') I, Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria, your pious servant; [son of E]sarhaddon, king of Assyria; (grand)son of Sennacherib, king of Assyria; [who reve]res the command of your great divinity, who is assiduous towards your places (of worship) and your daises, who carries out in full your cultic rites, (and) who placates your mood:

(iv 11') I completed [Esa]gil. I decorated the replica of the apsû, the palace of your lordly majesty, with [g]old, making (it) shine like daylight. [I mad]e the exalted chariot of the king of the gods (Marduk), the vehicle of the lord of lords. [I skillfully made a bed of] [m]usukkannu-[woo]d, a durable wood, (as) a pleasure bed, (iv 15´) [that is c]lad with [pašallu-gold] (and) studded with precious stones, [...] whose sid[e]s are surrounded with [...] ... [...] it was truly set up [fo]r the god Marduk (and) the godde[ss Zarp]anītu, the de[ities who l]ove each other. [To preserve] my [li]fe (and) prolong my days, I presented (these objects) as a gift (to them).

(iv 20') [When] they perform [the m]arriage rites (and) enter the house of lovemaking, may both gods speak about my [...] to each other, (and) may they bless my kingship [with] their holy [p]ronouncement(s), which cannot be altered. May they let me, the one who is assiduous towards their places (of worship), achieve my heart’s [d]esire. May they flatten my enemies (for me), the one who fulfills their heart’s wish.

(iv 25') [(But) as for the one who] erases my inscribed name and writes his (own) name, (or) effaces (and) destroys [the m]ention of the king who is assiduous towards the sanctuaries of the god Marduk (and) the goddess Zarpanītu by any crafty device that there is, may the god Marduk, king of the gods, take away his libido (and) make his seed disappear, (and) may the goddess Zarpanītu speak evil about him in the bedroom, the (private) room of the head of the family.