Tablet IV
1 They set a lordly dais for him
2 And he took his seat before his fathers to receive kingship.
3 (They said,) “You are the most honoured among the great gods,
4 Your destiny is unequalled, your command is like Anu’s.
5 Marduk, you are the most honoured among the great gods,
6 Your destiny is unequalled, your command is like Anu’s.
7 Henceforth your order will not be annulled,
8 It is in your power to exalt and abase.
9 Your utterance is sure, your command cannot be rebelled against,
10 None of the gods will transgress the line you draw.
11 Shrines for all the gods needs provisioning,
12 That you may be established where their sanctuaries are.
13 You are Marduk, our avenger,
14 We have given you kingship over the sum of the whole universe.
15 Take your seat in the assembly, let your word be exalted,
16 Let your weapons not miss the mark, but may they slay your enemies.
17 Be-l, spare him who trusts in you,
18 But destroy the god who set his mind on evil.”
19 They set a constellation in the middle
20 And addressed Marduk, their son,
21 “Your destiny, Be-l, is superior to that of all the gods,
22 Command and bring about annihilation and re-creation.
23 Let the constellation disappear at your utterance,
24 With a second command let the constellation reappear.”
25 He gave the command and the constellation disappeared,
26 With a second command the constellation came into being again.
27 When the gods, his fathers, saw (the effect of) his utterance,
28 They rejoiced and offered congratulation: “Marduk is the king!”
29 They added to him a mace, a throne, and a rod,
30 They gave him an irresistible weapon that overwhelms the foe:
31 (They said,) “Go, cut Tia-mat’s throat,
32 And let the winds bear up her blood to give the news.”
33 The gods, his fathers, decreed the destiny of Be-l,
34 And set him on the road, the way of prosperity and success.
35 He fashioned a bow and made it his weapon,
36 He set an arrow in place, put the bow string on.
37 He took up his club and held it in his right hand,
38 His bow and quiver he hung at his side.
39 He placed lightning before him,
40 And filled his body with tongues of flame.
41 He made a net to enmesh the entrails of Tia-mat,
42 And stationed the four winds that no part of her escape.
43 The South Wind, the North Wind, the East Wind, the West Wind,
44 He put beside his net, winds given by his father, Anu.
45 He fashioned the Evil Wind, the Dust Storm, Tempest,
46 The Four-fold Wind, the Seven-fold Wind, the Chaos-spreading Wind, the . . . . .Wind.
47 He sent out the seven winds that he had fashioned,
48 And they took their stand behind him to harass Tia-mat’s entrails.
49 Be-l took up the Storm-flood, his great weapon,
50 He rode the fearful chariot of the irresistible storm.
51 Four steeds he yoked to it and harnessed them to it,
52 The Destroyer, The Merciless, The Trampler, The Fleet.
53 Their lips were parted, their teeth bore venom,
54 They were strangers to weariness, trained to sweep forward.
55 At his right hand he stationed raging battle and strife,
56 On the left, conflict that overwhelms a united battle array.
57 He was clad in a tunic, a fearful coat of mail,
58 And on has head he wore an aura of terror.
59 Be-l proceeded and set out on his way,
60 He set his face toward the raging Tia-mat.
61 In his lips he held a spell,
62 He grasped a plant to counter poison in his hand,
63 Thereupon they milled around him, the gods milled around him,
64 The gods, his fathers, milled around him, the gods milled around him.
65 Be-l drew near, surveying the maw of Tia-mat,
66 He observed the tricks of Qingu, her spouse.
67 As he looked, he lost his nerve,
68 His determination went and he faltered.
69 His divine aides, who were marching at his side,
70 Saw the warrior, the foremost, and their vision became dim.
71 Tia-mat cast her spell without turning her neck,
72 In her lips she held untruth and lies,
73 “[ . ] . . . . . . . . . . . . .
74 In their [ . ] . they have assembled by you.”
75 Be-l [lifted up] the Storm-flood, his great weapon,
76 And with these words threw it at the raging Tia-mat,
77 “Why are you aggressive and arrogant,
78 And strive to provoke battle?
79 The younger generation have shouted, outraging their elders,
80 But you, their mother, hold pity in contempt.
81 Qingu you have named to be your spouse,
82 And you have improperly appointed him to the rank of Anuship.
83 Against Anšar, king of the gods, you have stirred up trouble,
84 And against the gods, my fathers, your trouble is established.
85 Deploy your troops, gird on your weapons,
86 You and I will take our stand and do battle.”
87 When Tia-mat heard this
88 She went insane and lost her reason.
89 Tia-mat cried aloud and fiercely,
90 All her lower members trembled beneath her.
91 She was reciting an incantation, kept reciting her spell,
92 While the (battle-)gods were sharpening their weapons of war.
93 Tia-mat and Marduk, the sage of the gods, came together,
94 Joining in strife, drawing near to battle.
95 Be-l spread out his net and enmeshed her;
96 He let loose the Evil Wind, the rear guard, in her face.
97 Tia-mat opened her mouth to swallow it,
98 She let the Evil Wind in so that she could not close her lips.
99 The fierce winds weighed down her belly,
100 Her inwards were distended and she opened her mouth wide.
101 He let fly an arrow and pierced her belly,
102 He tore open her entrails and slit her inwards,
103 He bound her and extinguished her life,
104 He threw down her corpse and stood on it.
105 After he had killed Tia-mat, the leader,
106 Her assembly dispersed, her host scattered.
107 Her divine aides, who went beside her,
108 In trembling and fear beat a retreat.
109 . . . . to save their lives,
110 But they were completely surrounded, unable to escape.
111 He bound them and broke their weapons,
112 And they lay enmeshed, sitting in a snare,
113 Hiding in corners, filled with grief,
114 Bearing his punishment, held in a prison.
115 The eleven creatures who were laden with fearfulness,
116 The throng of devils who went as grooms at her right hand,
117 He put ropes upon them and bound their arms,
118 Together with their warfare he trampled them beneath him.
119 Now Qingu, who had risen to power among them,
120 He bound and reckoned with the Dead Gods.
121 He took from him the Tablet of Destinies, which was not properly his,
122 Sealed it with a seal and fastened it to his own breast.
123 After the warrior Marduk had bound and slain his enemies,
124 Had . . . . the arrogant enemy . . . ,
125 Had established victory for Anšar over all his foes,
126 Had fulfilled the desire of Nudimmud,
127 He strengthened his hold on the Bound Gods,
128 And returned to Tia-mat, whom he had bound.
129 Be-l placed his feet on the lower parts of Tia-mat
130 And with his merciless club smashed her skull.
131 He severed her arteries
132 And let the North wind bear up (her blood) to give the news.
133 His fathers saw it and were glad and exulted;
134 They brought gifts and presents to him.
135 Be-l rested, surveying the corpse,
136 In order to divide the lump by a clever scheme.
137 He split her into two like a dried fish:
138 One half of her he set up and stretched out as the heavens.
139 He stretched the skin and appointed a watch
140 With the instruction not to let her waters escape.
141 He crossed over the heavens, surveyed the celestial parts,
142 And adjusted them to match the Apsû, Nudimmud’s abode.
143 Be-l measured the shape of the Apsû
144 And set up Ešarra, a replica of Ešgalla.
145 In Ešgalla, Ešarra which he had built, and the heavens,
146 He settled in their shrines Anu, Enlil, and Ea.
