Segment A

1-23 The Lord, by far ... He to whom the great pay attention; whose great powers know no opponents, whose ... excel all others, whose ... is achieved by no one; whose ... is very sweet in heaven and on earth, whose ... founds cities, whose ... establishes the Land; wisdom is perfect as time passes; wise in command, re-establishing justice, adviser who never tires of discussion; giving verdicts, judge of heaven and earth, guiding the living, the shepherd of the black-headed, by His ... making the foreign countries bow low.

24-42 He whose ... strengthens the boundaries of heaven and earth, whose utterances unite them; lord whose ominous silence pervades the foreign lands, whose actions are spine-chilling, whose complex judgments cannot be revealed by anyone, whose knowledge is honoured by the foreign lands, whose strength is a great battle-net covering the disobedient; indefatigable in heaven, in possession of every one of the powers in their totality, linking together the ancient plans; south wind which covers the four quarters; whose ... cannot be grasped, whose fame is enough to make people quake; great in heaven, surpassing on earth, exceptional and wide-reaching in Sumer, lord of princes, king of kings! He determined a good destiny in the holy city for me, Ishme-Dagan, son of Dagan.

43-52 He named me with a favourable name even when my seed was inserted into the womb. God stood by at my birth, and He established the office of en for me, even when my umbilical cord was cut. God, my Lord, bestowed on me the shepherdship of Sumer, and assigned to me an angel as a tireless protector, adding also therewith a correct stature.

53-75 His splendour ... the mountains, and His roar reaches beyond heaven and earth. He selected me from my people, and announced me to the Land. God, King of all, gave me lordship over the south and over the uplands. By His instigation, I was encouraged, and crook and staff were placed in my hands. In the great place, in His radiant heart He determined as my destiny that I should sit on an exalted dais until distant days, to enjoy in favour the reign which is my lot; that I should delight in serving Him, and that I should daily attend to the Great House. God, the great lord of the deep, confirmed for me the good and great crown, ... everything, and richly conferred on me seven wisdoms. He established for me a royal throne that gathers together the powers, established an excellent lordly dais, and made my crown shine brilliantly until distant days.

76-89 The ministering angel placed the royal sceptre in my hand, revealed the powers of the Great House to me, established there for me an awe-inspiring podium, and ensured that the Lord's heart was in a joyful mood. The mighty Warrior approached the Lord in speech on my behalf and secured the favourable words for me. He has made my reign of kingship excellent, has made me great in lordship, and is indeed my helper. In the Great House he prays continually on my behalf, and is indeed the constable of my kingship. He, who with mighty weapons makes all the foreign countries bow low, has put great power into my right hand.

90-99 God put justice and reliable words in my mouth. To make judgments, to reach decisions, to lead the people aright, to excel in rectitude, to keep the righteous on the track and to destroy the wicked, so that each man should speak justice to his brother, should make obeisance to his father, should not speak contrary words to his elder sister, and should respect his mother; so that the weak should not be handed over to the strong, so that the feeble should ...; so that the strong should not do just what he pleases, and so that one man should not be assigned to another through debt; to destroy wickedness and violence, and to make righteousness flourish -- all this God made my apportioned share.

100-111 The star of heaven and earth, a sign of God, ... pointed me out. God looked at me with His life-giving look, to give me long, long days in the holy house, combining the priestly office of en with the kingship and caring unceasingly for the temple, and for my neck to become thick like a wild bull's in Unug as my splendour covers Kulaba.

112-132 The angels and the lords who determine destiny there, the guardians of Nibru, and the protectors of the Great House, those who among the great determine destinies there, have uttered an unchangeable "So be it!" On His most favourable day, God, King of the foreign lands, chose me, Ishme-Dagan, son of Dagan. He looked upon me joyfully in the Great House, and spoke well of me to Sumer. ... a favourable reign in Nibru. I, Ishme-Dagan ... restored Urim ... in splendour. God has commanded the favourable ... of my throne, the promotion of concord in Sumer and Akkad in their power, and restoration of the brick buildings; and that I should daily tend the Great House, that I should unceasingly provide for Nibru, and that I should care for the great place.

133-159 I, Ishme-Dagan, have bent my neck to the commands of my Lord; I have paid attention to the utterances of my master. I have established justice in Sumer; I have secured Nibru like heaven itself. I have gathered together the powers of the Great House, I have paid attention to its old ordinances, and I have restored its neglected rites. I have brought marvellous food offerings for the sake of God. In the ..., established with bread, ... great regular offerings, I made numerous the fat bulls and fat sheep, fish and birds, in the house of my master. I made them smell tasty in the great ovens. With ... I doubled the regular offerings. Like water I poured out ... and liquor from the offerings storeroom, like the rainwater that is released from heaven.

160-182 I brought ... and I poured out delicious ... mixed with aromatic cedar essence, over the brickwork of the Great House. Daily I made the Great House like a harvest-place, and each month on its seventh and fifteenth days I made the temple festive. Both inside and outside the house I spread the scent of ... laying oil, cream, first-fruits of the gardens, dates, on the table of my master. The main part of my food, drink, his favourite things. I am the strong young man of the Great House. I am the foremost, with awe-inspiring strength, making excellent food offerings. I am untiring, indefatigable. Daily I shall issue instructions for what is to be eaten and what I will give to drink, fulfilling the great commands of the Great House: thereby I carry out correctly the instructions of my Lord.

183-195 I bring great gladness to the city whose interior and exterior are as blue-green as the sky, Nibru, the mooring pole of heaven and earth. I have exempted its labourers from carrying earth in baskets, and I have freed its troops from fighting. I have released its gold, silver, cattle and sheep, the tribute of the citizens of Nibru. As for the temple of my Lord, I have exempted their labourers from service. Filtered beer, barley, oil and sheep's wool have been made a tithe. I ... Sumer and Akkad. I ... wickedness and violence, and established justice in Sumer and Akkad. I am the shepherd who loves justice. I am born of Sumer, a son of Nibru.

196-199 I am one who is always for ... I am wise-eyed, of refined intelligence. I am full of advice, energetic in ... I am all-knowing, singled out from the people.

200-223 I am a judge who gives no explanations; I am a decision-maker who goes straight to the point. The strong does not behave extravagantly towards others, the mighty does not abuse the weak any more. People are not made subject to the lordly. If he does not wish to enter my presence, the feeble person may speak contrary words. ... Sumer and Akkad ... Until the distant future ... I have ... the destructive men. I have destroyed ... the dispossessed who speak with enmity. I have exerted myself. I have ... rebellion and destructive criminals. I have supported the appeals of the bondsmen, waifs and widows who cry "Alas!" I have brought about the extermination of the cut-throats who roam the desert. I have kept the just on the proper track, following the wife and the little child. I have sent people nobly into the fields, and established holy shrines in the desert. I have built the city itself for a long future in the whole world.

224-235 The foreign lands gaze at me, Ishme-Dagan, as if at their father who engendered them. When like the sun I decide a just verdict, the people bring their prayers to the holy shrines. As I establish and realise my powerful statements, advise the people and strengthen the palace, who is to challenge my powerful statements? ... the foreign lands, their people ... death and abomination. For all these reasons my Lord has prolonged my days.

236-250 Ishme-Dagan, born for heaven, chosen by the heart -- I am kind like a father, attentive like a mother. I am a lofty wall, the encouragement of the Land. I am a tall mes tree with thick roots, and broad shining branches. I am the canopy of Sumer, a pleasant shade; I am a place which even a tall person cannot reach. I am the helper of the troops, the focal point of the Land. I am a warrior on the way to battle, I am a powerful runner who goes like the north wind. I am wise, superior in every respect. I am a belligerent wild bull, kicking up the dust everywhere; I am a one-horned bull. I stand in the forefront of the shields. I am the hero of heroes, with the strength of a battle-mace, as I smite the rebel lands right and left.

251-256 I am gold dust, I am lapis lazuli in its lode, I light the Land like a lamp. I am the good seed of kingship, the seed of rulership. I am the scion of a cedar, a forest of cypresses. I am boxwood decorated with attractiveness.

257-273 In accordance with the great destiny decided by my Lord, my battle-cry overspreads the remotest parts of the mountains. In the rebel cities no one approaches me or fixes their weapons against me. They bring their tribute spontaneously at the Lord's command. ... to the mountains. ... stone, cornelian, ... stone. For me the black-headed bring great timbers to the Land, while Dilmun bestows lavishly on me its linen, dates and date spadices. The Martu, who know no houses, who know no cities -- who live in the hills -- bring me row upon row of woolly sheep. From the upland mountains, from the ... places, cedar, cypress and boxwood were together brought to me. My Lord, who batters the foreign lands into submission, kept the people on a single track, and made them unanimous for me, who am all for Him.

274-296 Since the time when Sumer and Akkad had been dispersed, no king had set up a gift in the shining Great House. God opened the house of life to me from His loving heart. In the Great House I arranged the great treasures, and allocated durable treasuries. For my Lord, I erected a throne whose form was beyond form itself. I made the dais ready in the great place. I, Ishme-Dagan, son of Dagan, stood the throne for my Lord on a dais decorated in a masterly and highly skilled manner with precious stones and translucent lapis lazuli. I put them into a favourable mood, with happy hearts; I delighted greatly with those gifts. I measured my gift, and my heartfelt act was accepted.

297-315 I ... a sturdy copper vessel, shaped in moulds, prayerful as myself, respectful in the Great House, as a gift offering. ... the copper ...; muscles, sinews and body of a lion. I dedicated ... to my master, and brought in mighty timbers, objects of wonder. Then I brought in my great copper gifts, into the most holy place, full of life, and embellished them. I dedicated ... for my life. It is I who am favourable to ...; I, Ishme-Dagan, embellished my inscription.

316-329 I also brought into the temple a copper gift in memory of my own father, and of my grandfather. I am the king ..., the patient lord.

330-354 I made sure that my praises were spoken, by creating numerous songs. I installed my scholars and chief singers. The skilful singers composed for me adab, tigi, sumunsha, malgatum, shir-gida, royal praise poems perfect in content, arahi, balbale, zamzam and kunjar compositions. They magnify my name in the places where odes are performed. That I am omniscient and broad in wisdom, that I am knowledgeable about the troops, that I direct the people as a wise shepherd who is brilliant in the face of weapons, that I am skilful in everything, that God has looked favourably on me, that by the word of the Lord ..., that He is my protection, that He has given me wisdom, that He loves me greatly, ...

355-358 My chaff in its furrows ... my earth; my embankments are piled up, my irrigation ditches are ... at which the foreign lands bow down; it is wool from the highlands.

359-377 That the scribal art, in the place of skilled craftsmanship, ... power; that I have solved calculation problems, counting and reckoning in all their depth and breadth, checking, coefficients, establishing the surface of a field, and laying out the reed measuring-pole; that I have learnt with my talented hands, my pure hands, to write the tablets of Sumer and Akkad; that I have lent lustre to the academy by completely mastering the reed stylus and the scribal art; that I have devoted myself to the art of singing, and know the occasions when praise songs are to be sung; that I am eminent in the performance style for songs; that I know how to intersperse appropriate words with the accompaniment of the fingers and instruments; that I have mastered the instruments; that I have occupied myself with the developed aspects of the art of singing and the recondite points of songs -- all these things the scholars and the composers of my songs have put in my great songs and have declared in my hymns.

378-383 The powerful king, if he stands before God with upraised hands, should swear in the name of God. Everything that is in my odes, or which is written on my stela, is definitely not false, but genuine! Reverence for me should be in every mouth.

384-393 In the temple my songs should be performed splendidly, and my odes should be handed down. Their attractiveness should be right in the heart of the Land, and mouths should carry the words as far as its borders. ... the requirements of the banquet; he should put their attractiveness into the heart. ... treasures, lasting property of the king's heirs, jewels of lordship, fixing them forever in the mouth of the singers.

394-399 I have ... the regular offerings. ... Nibru, the pleasant place; I have put in order the plans of Sumer and Akkad. Therefore my Lord has made my days ..., and as He has made my reign follow another reign, so may He make my descendants even greater.

400-419 As he (one of the king's descendants) performs the duties of shepherdship in the temple, may he perform my songs for my Lord; and may the Great House, my beloved place, resound with my name. My great praise songs shall be performed daily ...; for the beneficent lord ... to him whom the singer loves. He shall perform my songs at the evening and morning meals. He shall perform my odes in the temples. As I, Ishme-Dagan, should stand ready and show respect, may I have no rivals, even as far as the borders of the mountains. He has made me great in Sumer and Akkad, and given me a seat on the royal dais; my songs are brilliantly ...

King Ishme-Dagan is excellent.

Segment B

1-24 The temple ...; the heart of the Lord. The protectors of the Great House. For my ... of great valuables, for my ... of important treasures; that I have erected a throne ...; that I have ... a great waggon, that I have had a couch made; that I have had a massive pillar brought in for my master; that I have had the fifty-headed battle-mace, an exceptional weapon, cast ..., that I have had a great copper throne placed in an elevated location; that I have had brought into the temple a copper statue moulded to the shape of my limbs and a diorite statue worked to my form; that I have placed ...

Segment C

1-13 ... the black-headed people ... abundance in heaven and earth. Again, let there be a chief singer; let there be a scholar and a songsmith; let there be a composer of odes and a performer of songs; let there be a sweet-voiced singer of the king; let there be a joyful-hearted alternating singer; let there be a calm-voiced singer; let there be a singer with answering voice.

Segment D

1-17 ... diorite in the shrine of Nibru ... did not move ... from its place, did not write ..., did no wickedness or violence, then may he lift ... in the shining Great House and raise its head to heaven. ... that he bestowed on the Land, may he prolong. But ... that he judged in wickedness, or wrote his name, or who violently cursed the enemy, then God, King of all,