"He approaches the maiden Nisaba in prayer. He has organised pure food-offerings; he has opened up Nisaba's house of learning, and has placed the lapis-lazuli tablet on her knees, for her to consult the holy tablet of the heavenly stars. In Aratta he has placed E-zagina at her disposal. You have built up Erec in abundance, founded from little [...] bricks, you who are granted the most complex wisdom! In the abzu, the great crown of g, where sanctuaries are apportioned [...] -- when Enki, the great princely farmer of the awe-inspiring temple, the carpenter of Eridug, the master of purification rites, the lord of the great en priest's precinct, occupies E-engur, and when he builds up the abzu of Eridug; when he takes counsel in Hal-an-kug, when he splits with an axe the house of boxwood; when the sage's hair is allowed to hang loose, when he opens the house of learning, when he stands in the street of the door of learning; when he finishes the great dining-hall of cedar, when he grasps the date-palm mace, when he strikes the priestly garment with that mace, then he utters seven [words] to Nisaba, the supreme nursemaid: "O Nisaba, good woman, fair woman, woman born in the mountains! Nisaba, may you be the butter in the cattle-pen, may you be the cream in the sheepfold, may you be keeper of the seal in the treasury, may you be a good steward in the palace, may you be a heaper up of grain among the grain piles and in the grain stores!" Because the Prince Enki cherished Nisaba, O father Enki, it is sweet to praise you!"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
A hymn to Nisaba (Nisaba A), , at .
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Enki
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Enki
(/ˈɛŋki/; Sumerian: dEN.KI(G)𒂗𒆠) is the Sumerian god of water, knowledge (gestú), mischief, crafts (gašam), and creation (nudimmud). He was later known as Ea in Akkadian and . He was originally of the city of , but later the influence of his cult spread throughout and to the , and s. He was associated with the southern band of constellations called stars of Ea, but also with the constellation AŠ-IKU
16 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Enki →
Related Quotes
"From sunrise till sunset, may the name of Ezina be praised. People should submit to the yoke of Ezina. Whoever has si…"
"Chant to him the holy song, the incantation sung in its chambers -- the incantation of Nudimmud: "On that day when th…"
"[The] foremost of the gods, omniscient [...] Enki, counsellor of holy An. [...] Adviser, whose statements cannot be c…"
"Nudimmud, lord who determines the fates, who strengthens the Land."
"Enki, great bull of Eridug, [...] greatly exalted among the Anuna."
"May he bestow a long life with vigorous days on Icme-Dagan, the son of Enlil! May father Enki bestow a long life with…"
"VÃṣṇu is perhaps to be identified in part with Enki... A correspondence between VÃṣṇu and Enki explains why it is in …"
"In those ancient days, when the good destinies had been decreed, and after An and Enlil had set up the divine rules o…"
"Enki knit together the marshlands, making young and old reeds grow there; he made birds and fish teem in the pools an…"
"Father Enki be praised!"