Praise to Marduk for Esarhaddon (109)

http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu

(Texts: All Artifacts, Color Coding, & Writings in Bold Type With Italics Inside Parenthesis, are Added by Editor R. Brown, not the Authors, Translators, or Publishers!)

(gods in blue mixed-breed demigods in teal)

        [true] shep[herd], favorite of the lord of lord[s], pious ruler,

           (Marduk & spouse Sarpanit with alien rocket on launchpad)

        the one who is loved by the goddess Zarpanītu (Sarpanit) — the queen, goddess of the entire universe —

         reverent king who was attentive to their rule and praised their valor,

         pious slave, humble, submissive, the one who reveres their great divinity —

        You (are the one) who entrusted him with renovating the des[tro]yed shrines,

         making the cult centers shine, and shepherding all of the people;

         elevated him to the kingship to organize well the forgotten rites and to avenge the land of Akkad;

         (and) to appease the heart of your [gre]at divinity (and) to please your spirit, [you] chose him for power.

        [At that time], in the reign of [a king who prec]eded me, bad [omens occurred].

          [The people of all of the cult cent]ers […] …

        … […] the[y abandoned their] ri[tes and] … […] … […] … […] …

         [… they were inciting] crimin[al acts (and) infringing on] a tab[oo],

         in … […] … […] … [… (and) they] fomented a con[spiracy].

          (Marduk’s Esagil, ziggurat residence)

        [They] put their hands on [the possessions of] Esag[il] and the citizens of [Babylon

         and] plundered [its goods], gold, silver, […] from inside [the temple (and) sold (it) at market value] to the land Elam.

        […] … […] … […] and […] … [the glor]y of [the g]od Marduk, [the great lord], my lord,

         (and) [the deeds that I had do]ne […] … […] … [… the wr]iting of my name […]

         I depicted and […] … [I pl]aced (them) […].

           (Marduk & alien winged sky-discs)

        [May the god Marduk, the] great [lord, look with joy upon m]y good [deeds and]