Plain text of The Death of Gilgamesh
Segment A
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1-14 ...... hero ...... has lain down and is never to rise again. ...... has lain down and is never to rise again. He of well-proportioned limbs ...... has lain down and is never to rise again. ...... has lain down and is never to rise again. He who ...... wickedness has lain down and is never to rise again. The young man ...... has lain down and is never to rise again. He who was perfect in ...... and feats of strength has lain down and is never to rise again. ...... has lain down and is never to rise again. The lord of Kulaba has lain down and is never to rise again. He who spoke most wisely has lain down and is never to rise again. The plunderer of many countries has lain down and is never to rise again. He who climbed the mountains has lain down and is never to rise again. He has lain down on his death-bed and is never to rise again. He has lain down on a couch of sighs and is never to rise again.
15-38 Unable to stand up, unable to sit down, he laments. Unable to eat, unable to drink, he laments. Held fast by the door-bolt of death, he is unable to rise. Like a fish ......, he ...... ill. Like a gazelle caught in a trap, he ...... couch. Death, with no hands or feet ......, Death .......
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...... great mountains ......
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Segment B
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For six days, he ...... ill. ...... on his skin like resin. Lord Gilgamec ...... ill. ...... Unug and Kulaba. ...... the words spoken .......
9-14 Then lord Gilgamec ...... lay down on the death-bed. The king ...... sleep. ...... his dream ....... ...... assembly .......
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Segment C
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"...... you will be accounted honoured. ...... render verdicts. ......"
10-20 ...... Gilgamec .......
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...... lord of Kulaba, ...... hero of the pristine mountain, ...... handiwork of heaven,
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...... Ninsumun, ...... Lugalbanda, ......
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Segment D
1-11 "...... having travelled all the roads that there are, having fetched ...... from its ......, having killed ......, you set up ...... for future days ....... Having founded ......, you reached ....... Having brought down the old ...... forgotten forever and ......, he carried out correctly ....... ...... the flood ...... the settlements of the Land."
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Segment E
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[Lines on a funerary light and rites for the dead omitted.]
12-27 "Oh Gilgamec! God, the Lord of the Great Mountain, has made kingship your destiny, but not eternal life -- lord Gilgamec, this is how to interpret the dream. The ...... and ...... of life should not make you feel sad, should not make you despair, should not make you feel depressed. You must have been told that this is what the bane of being human involves. You must have been told that this is what the cutting of your umbilical cord involved. The darkest day of humans awaits you now. The solitary place of humans awaits you now. The unstoppable flood-wave awaits you now. The unavoidable battle awaits you now. The unequal struggle awaits you now. The skirmish from which there is no escape awaits you now. But you should not go to the afterlife with heart knotted in anger. May ...... palm-fibre .......
28 "Go ahead ......
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Segment F
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...... Enkidu, your young comrade.
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...... is lying alone. ...... is lying alone. ...... the king .......
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...... will come to you. ...... will come to you. ...... will come to you. ...... will come to you. ...... will come to you. ...... will come to you. ...... will come to you."
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Segment G
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...... Gilgamec ......
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...... they answered him. ...... he weeps. Why is ...... made ......? ......
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"The birds of the sky ...... cannot escape. The fish of the deep water cannot see ....... Having spread his net, the young fisherman will catch you. Who has ever seen anyone who could ascend ...... from the ...... of the nether world? No king has ever been destined a fate like yours. Who ...... anyone among mankind, whoever they may be, ...... like you? ...... your soul ...... pass judgments ....... "
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Segment H
1-21 Kulaba ....... As Unug rose ......, as Kulaba rose ....... Within the first month ......, it was not five or ten days before they ...... the Euphrates. ...... its shells. Then, as in the bed of the Euphrates, the earth cracked dry. ...... was built from stone. ...... was built from stone. ...... were hard diorite. ...... its latches were hard stone. ...... were cast in gold. ...... heavy blocks of stone. ...... heavy blocks of stone. ...... brought in ....... ...... for future days.
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...... should not find ....... ...... Gilgamec ...... has established in .......
22 His beloved .......
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Segment I
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...... opened .......
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...... of lord Gilgamec ....... ...... scratched the nose for him, ...... pulled out their hair for him.
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Another version from Nibru
(probably the final section of another version)
1-7 His beloved wife, his beloved children, his beloved favourite and junior wife, his beloved musician, cup-bearer and ......, his beloved barber, his beloved ......, his beloved palace retainers and servants and his beloved objects stood in their places in the purified palace in the middle of Unug.
8-28 Gilgamec, the son of Ninsumun, set out gifts in charity for the sake of God. He gave to the needy and to the servants of the houses of worship, and to the priests and priestesses, living and gone.
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29-36 ...... lie down ...... Ninsumun ....... Gilgamec, the son of Ninsumun, ...... poured water .......
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...... scratched the nose for him. The people ...... of his city ...... will not ...... anymore. They spread out their ...... in the dust.
37-42 Then the young lord, lord Gilgamec, who never ceases to ...... -- Gilgamec, the son of Ninsumun, ...... offshoot ......; no king who could match him has ever been born,
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Gilgamec, lord of Kulaba, it is sweet to praise you!
A version from Me-Turan
Segment A
1-12 The great wild bull has lain down and is never to rise again. Lord Gilgamec has lain down and is never to rise again. He who was unique in ...... has lain down and is never to rise again. The hero fitted out with a shoulder-belt has lain down and is never to rise again. He who was unique in strength has lain down and is never to rise again. He who diminished wickedness has lain down and is never to rise again. He who spoke most wisely has lain down and is never to rise again. The plunderer of many countries has lain down and is never to rise again. He who knew how to climb the mountains has lain down and is never to rise again. The lord of Kulaba has lain down and is never to rise again. He has lain down on his death-bed and is never to rise again. He has lain down on a couch of sighs and is never to rise again.
13-19 Unable to stand up, unable to sit down, he laments. Unable to eat, unable to drink, he laments. Held fast by the door-bolt of death, he is unable to rise. Like a ...... fish ...... in a cistern, he ...... ill. Like a captured gazelle buck, he ...... couch. Death, with no hands or feet, who ...... one by night,
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Segment B
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1-5 Then the young lord, lord Gilgamec,
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Segment C
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Then the young lord, lord Gilgamec,
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Segment D
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1-11 11 lines fragmentary
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Segment E
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Gilgamec ......
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Segment F
1-22 2 lines fragmentary
Then the young lord, lord Gilgamec, lay down on his death-bed.
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After lord Gilgamec had arrived at the assembly of the angels, the pre-eminent place, they said to lord Gilgamec concerning him: "As regards your case: after having travelled all the roads that there are, having fetched cedar, the unique tree, from its mountains, having killed Huwawa in his forest, you set up many stelae for future days, for days to come. Having founded many houses of worship, you reached Zi-ud-sura in his dwelling place. Having brought down to the Land the ordinances of Sumer, which at that time were forgotten forever, the orders, and the rituals, he carried out correctly the rites of hand washing and mouth washing .......
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The counsel was given to the All-Wise. He answered the Most High: "In those days, in those distant days, in those nights, in those distant nights, in those years, in those distant years, after the assembly had made the Flood sweep over to destroy the seed of mankind, among us it was only I who was for life, and so he remained alive -- Zi-ud-sura, although a human being, remained alive. Then you made me swear by heaven and by earth, and ...... that no human will be allowed to live forever any more. Now, as we look at Gilgamec, could not he escape because of his mother?"
38-41 (The decree is given:) "Let the name of Gilgamec be pre-eminent among the departed, below among the dead, so that he will be remembered for his judgments and the verdicts he rendered, and what he said will be as weighty as the words of the righteous who went before him."
42-62 Then the young lord Gilgamec became depressed because of all mankind. "You should not despair, you should not feel depressed.
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Mighty youths and ...... a semicircle .......
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63-81 "Go ahead to the place where your fathers lie, to the place where your father, your grandfather, your mother, your sisters, your ......, to where your precious friend, your companion, your friend Enkidu, your young comrade, and the governors appointed by the king to the Great City are, to the place where the sergeants of the army lie, to where the captains of the troops lie,
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From the house of ......, the ...... will come to meet you. Your jewel will come to meet you, your precious one will come to meet you. The elders of your city will come to meet you. You should not despair, you should not feel depressed."
82-86 "He will now be counted among the honoured. He will be counted a companion of the righteous. ...... He will pass judgments and render verdicts, and what he says will be as weighty as the words of the righteous before him."
87-99 And then the young lord, lord Gilgamec, woke up ....... ...... his eyes, ....... ...... a dream ......! ...... a dream ......!
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"Am I to become again as I were ...... on the lap of my own mother Ninsumun? ...... who makes the great mountains tremble. Death, with no hands or feet, takes away ......."
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100-115 God made him see a dream: After lord Gilgamec had arrived at the assembly, the pre-eminent place, they said to lord Gilgamec concerning him: "As regards your case: after having travelled all the roads that there are, having fetched cedar, the unique tree, from its mountains, having killed Huwawa in his forest, you set up many stelae for future days ....... Having founded many houses of worship,
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Having brought down to the Land the ordinances of Sumer, which at that time were forgotten forever, the orders, and the rituals, he carried out correctly the rites of hand washing and mouth washing. ...... the settlements of the countries."
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...... Gilgamec ....... The counsel was given to the All-Wise. He answered the Most High: "In those days, in those distant days, in those nights, in those distant nights, in those years, in those distant years, after the assembly had made the Flood sweep over to destroy the seed of mankind ......, among us it was only I who was for life. He remained alive; Zi-ud-sura alone, although a human being, remained alive. Then you made me swear by heaven and by earth, and I swore that no human will be allowed to live forever any more. Now, as we look at Gilgamec, could not he escape because of his mother?"
131-134 (The decree is given:) "Let the name of Gilgamec be pre-eminent among the departed, below among the dead, so that he will be remembered for his judgments and the verdicts he rendered, and what he said will be as weighty as the words of the righteous before him."
135-142 Then the young lord, lord Gilgamec, became depressed because of all mankind. "You should not despair, you should not feel depressed.
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Mighty youths and ...... a semicircle ....... Without him (i.e. Gilgamec) .......
143-153 "You must have been told that this is what your being a human involves. You must have been told that this is what the cutting of your umbilical cord involved. The darkest day of humans awaits you now. The solitary place of humans awaits you now. The unstoppable flood-wave awaits you now. The unequal struggle awaits you now. The unavoidable battle awaits you now. The evil from which there is no escape awaits you now. But you should not go to the afterlife with heart knotted in anger. May it be ...... before God. Let it be unravelled like palm-fibre and peeled like garlic.
154-167 "Go ahead to the place where your fathers lie, to the place where your father, your grandfather, your mother, your sisters, your ......, to where your precious friend, your companion, your friend Enkidu, your young comrade, and the governors appointed by the king to the Great City are, to the place where the sergeants of the army lie, to where the captains of the troops lie. ...... the Great City Arali ......
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168-172 "From the house of the sisters, the sisters will come to meet you. From the house of ......, ...... will come to meet you. Your jewel will come to meet you, your precious one will come to meet you. The elders of your city will come to meet you. You should not despair, you should not feel depressed."
173-174 "He ...... He will be counted a companion of the righteous.
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Segment G
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Segment H
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His architect designed his tomb like ....... God showed him where the solution of the dream lies by ....... No one but the ...... of the king could solve the vision.
10-32 The lord imposed a levy on his city. The herald made the horn signal sound in all the lands: "Unug, arise! Open up the Euphrates! Kulaba, arise! Divert the waters of the Euphrates!" Unug's levy was a flood, Kulaba's levy was a clouded sky. Meanwhile not even the first month had passed, it was not five or ten days before they had opened up the Euphrates and diverted its high water. The sun looked down on its shells with admiration. Then as soon as the water in the bed of the Euphrates had receded, his tomb was built there from stone. Its walls were built from stone. Its door leaves were installed in the sockets of the entrance. Its bolt and thresholds were hard stone. Its door-pivots were hard stone. They installed its gold beams. Heavy blocks of stone were moved to ....... ...... was covered with a thick layer of dark soil. ...... for future days.
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...... who are searching for it should not find its precinct. He set up a solid house in the middle of Unug.
33-41 His beloved wife, his beloved children, his beloved favourite and junior wife,
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Segment I
1-7 ...... Gilgamec ......
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...... entered, ...... its entrance. ...... opened up the Euphrates, ...... its water.
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8-10 Then the young lord, lord Gilgamec,
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Segment J
1-11 2 lines fragmentary
...... Gilgamec ......
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Segment K
1-2 ...... to the city ....... ...... smeared with dust .......
3-12 ...... lord Gilgamec despaired and felt depressed. For all the people, whoever they may be, their names, once uttered, do not sink into oblivion. God provides them with offspring for that purpose, and they are mentioned in the Land. Praise be to God; praising Him is sweet.