"Everyone who's not against me, is with me." - Julius Caesar
Dialogue between a Man and His God. (Babylonia c. 1683 to1640 BCE)
A young man was weeping to his god like a friend, constantly praying, he… his… His heart was aflame, his toil grim. His liver was grieving from its suffering. He is bent over in suffering; he is prostrate. His toil has become too heavy for him, he has drawn near to weep. He brays like the weaned foal of a donkey. He has got loud in the god's presence, his chief, a bull is his speech, [his] voice, two lamenters. His lips bear a lament to his lord. He recounts to his lord the toil he has gone through. The man explains the suffering he is enduring:
"My lord, I have reflected within my reins… in my heart. I do not know what sin I have committed. Have I eaten a very evil forbidden fruit? Does brother look down on brother…? has not… me… beneath you, the lord of the house of rejoicing… there is present for me the lord of justice who decrees… may his choice intelligence… to guard himself for … my… [you] begot me and… I got distressed… like/when… my spirit came to an end… of my days. [From] my childhood to my maturity, the days have lengthened… In… of grace, you have shown me evil, my lord! 'You have caused…' it will be said. My misfortune has increased, it attaches itself to [my] feet, [it has inflicted] blows upon me. You are making the mouth [filled with food] bitter to me, its… has become like stinkwort. You have… you have muddied the water... since my childhood… the side of the mountain… the ascent has no descent… You have set my feet on the earth… You have made to bear. You have made my… care for me… you have filled up… you have heaped up… of my house, my father, the man of my clan… of his slave… his… him… his…
… he raised him to the earth… with a physician's oil… He [gave] food and his garments… he cheered his spirit, and spoke to him of the relief his good health [would bring]: "Gird your loins, do not be dispirited, the years are finished - the days I filled with toil. If you had not been ordained to life, how possibly could you have suffered the severe malady to its end? You experienced distress, but my… is withdrawn. You have borne its heavy load to its completion. People have …ed you, but [now] the way is open for you. Your path is straight and compassion is bestowed on you. You who in future days will not forget [your] god, your creator, and that you are well favored. I am your god, your creator, your help. My guards are watching over you with power for your [protection]. I will open for you a place of refuge, eternal life, I will provide for you. As for you, unflinchingly anoint the parched, feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty to drink."
"But he who has cast sorceries, [whose] … have… May he stare at your food as he melts, flows down and dis[solves]. For you, the gate of prosperity and life is open… go in and out of it and prosper." Make straight his way, open his path, may the prayer of your servant sink into your mind. (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJkvNwo0qNU)
Note: This dialogue is attributed to Kalbanum, and was written in Akkadian in the Old Babylonian period. However, it shares much of its style with an earlier Sumerian work, “Man and His God”, a penitential prayer of the Ur III period (see https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section5/tr524.htm ).
Note: This dialogue is attributed to Kalbanum, and was written in Akkadian in the Old Babylonian period. However, it shares much of its style with an earlier Sumerian work, “Man and His God”, a penitential prayer of the Ur III period (see https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section5/tr524.htm ).