Tablet VI
1 When Marduk heard the gods’ speech
2 He conceived a desire to accomplish clever things.
3 He opened his mouth addressing Ea,
4 He counsels that which he had pondered in his heart,
5 “I will bring together blood to form bone,
6 I will bring into being Lullû, whose name shall be ‘man’.
7 I will create Lullû—man
8 On whom the toil of the gods will be laid that they may rest.
9 I will skilfully alter the organization of the gods:
10 Though they are honoured as one, they shall be divided into two.”
11 Ea answered, as he addressed a word to him,
12 Expressing his comments on the resting of the gods,
13 “Let one brother of theirs be given up.
14 Let him perish that people may be fashioned.
15 Let the great gods assemble
16 And let the guilty one be given up that they may be confirmed.”
17 Marduk assembled the great gods,
18 Using gracious direction as he gave his order,
19 As he spoke the gods heeded him:
20 The king addressed a word to the Anunnaki,
21 “Your former oath was true indeed,
22 (Now also) tell me the solemn truth:
23 Who is the one who instigated warfare,
24 Who made Tia-mat rebel, and set battle in motion?
25 Let him who instigated warfare be given up
26 That I may lay his punishment on him; but you sit and rest.
27 The Igigi, the great gods, answered him,
28 That is, Lugaldimmerankia, the counsellor of the gods, the lord,
29 “Qingu is the one who instigated warfare,
30 Who made Tia-mat rebel and set battle in motion.”
31 They bound him, holding him before Ea,
32 They inflicted the penalty on him and severed his blood-vessels.
33 From his blood he (Ea) created mankind,
34 On whom he imposed the service of the gods, and set the gods free.
35 After the wise Ea had created mankind
36 And had imposed the service of the gods upon them—
37 That task is beyond comprehension
38 For Nudimmud performed the creation with the skill of Marduk—
39 King Marduk divided the gods,
40 All the Anunnaki into upper and lower groups.
41 He assigned 300 in the heavens to guard the decrees of Anu
42 And appointed them as a guard.
43 Next he arranged the organization of the netherworld.
44 In heaven and netherworld he stationed 600 gods.
45 After he had arranged all the decrees,
46 And had distributed incomes among the Anunnaki of heaven and netherworld,
47 The Anunnaki opened their mouths
48 And addressed their lord Marduk,
49 “Now, lord, seeing you have established our freedom
50 What favour can we do for you?
51 Let us make a shrine of great renown:
52 Your chamber will be our resting place wherein we may repose.
53 Let us erect a shrine to house a pedestal
54 Wherein we may repose when we finish (the work).”
55 When Marduk heard this,
56 He beamed as brightly as the light of day,
57 “Build Babylon, the task you have sought.
58 Let bricks for it be moulded, and raise the shrine!”
59 The Anunnaki wielded the pick.
60 For one year they made the needed bricks.
61 When the second year arrived,
62 They raised the peak of Esagil, a replica of the Apsû.
63 They built the lofty temple tower of the Apsû
64 And for Anu, Enlil, and Ea they established its . . as a dwelling.
65 He sat in splendour before them,
66 Suveying its horns, which were level with the base of Ešarra.
67 After they had completed the work on Esagil
68 All the Anunnaki constructed their own shrines.
69 300 Igigi of heaven and 600 of the Apsû, all of them, had assembled.
70 Be-l seated the gods, his fathers, at the banquet
71 In the lofty shrine which they had built for his dwelling,
72 (Saying,) “This is Babylon, your fixed dwelling,
73 Take your pleasure here! Sit down in joy!
74 The great gods sat down,
75 Beer-mugs were set out and they sat at the banquet.
76 After they had enjoyed themselves inside
77 They held a service in awesome Esagil.
78 The regulations and all the rules were confirmed:
79 All the gods divided the stations of heaven and netherwor1d.
80 The college of the Fifty great gods took their seats,
81 The Seven gods of destinies were appointed to give decisions.
82 Be-l received his weapon, the bow, and laid it before them:
83 His divine fathers saw the net which he had made.
84 His fathers saw how skilfully wrought was the structure of the bow
85 As they praised what he had made.
86 Anu lifted it up in the divine assembly,
87 He kissed the bow, saying, “It is my daughter!”
88 Thus he called the names of the bow:
89 “Long Stick” was the first; the second was, “May it hit the mark.”
90 With the third name, “Bow Star”, he made it to shine in the sky,
91 He fixed its heavenly position along with its divine brothers.
92 After Anu had decreed the destiny of the bow,
93 He set down a royal throne, a lofty one even for a god,
94 Anu set it there in the assembly of the gods.
95 The great gods assembled,
96 They exalted the destiny of Marduk and did obeisance.
97 They invoked a curse on themselves
98 And took an oath with water and oil, and put their hands to their throats.
99 They granted him the right to exercise kingship over the gods,
100 They confirmed him as lord of the gods of heaven and netherworld.
101 Anšar gave him his exalted name, Asalluh(i
102 “At the mention of his name, let us show submission!
103 When he speaks, let the gods heed him,
104 Let his command be superior in upper and lower regions.
105 May the son, our avenger, be exalted,
106 Let his lordship be superior and himself without rival.
107 Let him shepherd the black-heads, his creatures,
108 Let them tell of his character to future days without forgetting.
109 Let him establish lavish food offerings for his fathers,
110 Let him provide for their maintenance and be caretaker of their sanctuaries,
111 Let him burn incense to rejoice their sanctums.
112 Let him do on earth the same as he has done in heaven:
113 Let him appoint the black-heads to worship him.
114 The subject humans should take note and call on their gods,
115 Since he commands they should heed their goddesses,
116 Let food offerings be brought [for] (?) their gods and goddesses,
117 May they (?) not be forgotten, may they remember their gods,
118 May they . . . their . . , may they . . their shrines.
119 Though the black-heads worship some one, some another god,
120 He is the god of each and every one of us!
121 Come, let us call the fifty names
122 Of him whose character is resplendent, whose achievement is the same.
123 (1) MARDUK
As he was named by his father Anu from his birth,
124 Who supplies pasturage and watering, making the stables flourish.
125 Who bound the boastful with his weapon, the storm flood,
126 And saved the gods, his fathers, from distress.
127 He is the son, the sun-god of the gods, he is dazzling,
128 Let them ever walk in his bright light.
129 On the peoples that he created, the living beings,
130 He imposed the service of the gods and they took rest.
131 Creation and annihilation, forgiveness and exacting the penalty
132 Occur at his command, so let them fix their eyes on him.
133 (2) Marukka: he is the god who created them
134 Who put the Anunnaki at ease, the Igigi at rest.
135 (3) Marutukku: he is the support of land, city, and its peoples,
136 Henceforth let the peoples ever heed him.
137 (4) Meršakušu: fierce yet deliberating, angry yet relenting,
138 His mind is wide, his heart is all-embracing.
139 (5) Lugaldimmerankia is the name by which we all called him,
140 Whose command we have exalted above that of the gods his fathers.
141 He is the lord of all the gods of heaven and netherworld,
142 The king at whose injunctions the gods in upper and lower regions shudder.
143 (6) Narilugaldimmerankia is the name we gave him, the mentor of every god,
144 Who established our dwellings in heaven and netherworld in time of trouble,
145 Who distributed the heavenly stations between Igigi and Anunnaki,
146 Let the gods tremble at his name and quake on their seats.
147 (7) Asalluh(i is the name by which his father Anu called him,
148 He is the light of the gods, a mighty hero,
149 Who, as his name says, is a protecting angel for god and land,
150 Who by a terrible combat saved our dwelling in time of trouble.
151 (8) Asalluh(i-Namtilla they called him secondly, the life-giving god,
152 Who, in accordance with the form (of) his (name), restored all the ruined gods,
153 The lord, who brought to life the dead gods by his pure incantation,
154 Let us praise him as the destroyer of the crooked enemies.
155 (9) Asalluh(i-Namru, as his name is called thirdly,
156 The pure god, who cleanses our character.”
157 Anšar, Lah(mu, and Lah(amu (each) called him by three of his names,
158 Then they addressed the gods, their sons,
159 “We have each called him by three of his names, 160 Now you call his names, like us.”
161 The gods rejoiced as they heard their speech,
162 In Upšuukkinaki they held a conference,
163 “Of the warrior son, our avenger,
164 Of the provisioner, let us extol the name.”
165 They sat down in their assembly, summoning the destinies,
166 And with all due rites they called his name:
