The Letter-Prayer (Petition to a God)
A petition addressed not to the governor but to one's god: 'Why have you let this befall your servant?'
Some Sumerian prayers take the literary form of a letter — written, like a petition to a king or governor, but addressed to a god. The petitioner names the deity with honor, describes their suffering or injustice, protests their own devotion, and asks the god to intervene. Because Mesopotamians could write to their superiors to seek redress, it felt natural to write the same way to the divine superior who governed one's fate. These letter-prayers give us an unusually personal, almost legal voice of complaint and appeal directed heavenward.
Key passages(20)
Letter from Inanaka to the goddess Nintinuga
Say to Nintinuga, the reliable stewardess of the E-kur, the physician of the Land; repeat to the lady, whose incantation heals the multitude of people, whose spells make the people recover, to my the
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Letter from Lugal-nesaĝe to Enlil-massu
Say this to Enlil-massu who enhances pronounces advice and counsel, the mellifluous mouth which makes speech persuasive. Repeat it to the son who serves his god and respects his father and mother. Say
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Say to Nanna, the firstborn son of Enlil, who loves prayers; repeat to the lord whose light spreads widely, the crown of heaven and earth, the great lord who loves to revive man; the father of the bla
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Letter from Kug-Nanna to the god Ninšubur
Say to to the counsellor who constantly cares for ……, the god who distributes the divine powers, who utters pleasing words, who …… a verdant branch by his head; the linen-clad god of the abzu, the chi
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Letter from Gudea to his personal deity
Speak to my god: this is what Gudea, your servant, says: I am like a sheep who has no reliable shepherd; there is no reliable herdsman to lead me on. An unintelligent merchant transported me (?) for
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Say to the king who entreats the gods fervently and, serving the gods, prepares the food offerings; repeat to the one elevated in stature who has the ability to give advice and counsel, the merciful o
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Say to Lugal-ibila what Inim-Inana says: Don't neglect the Sumerian language. For the second time, I am sending you a message in correct language. …… is ……. Don't let the children who sit before you
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Say to Enlil-massu what Inim-Inana says: They told me everything and I am pleased beyond exaggeration. May the precious protective power of a lifetime; Lugal-šu, Nabi-Enlil and Enlil-alsag, the schol
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Letter from the scribe Nanna-manšum to the goddess Ninisina
Speak to Ninisina, first-born child of holy An, eminent among ladies, …… of Lord Nunamnir; who perfects the divine powers of E-kur, …… of the great mother Ninlil, with notions in her heart which are e
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Incantation: Ištar-Kakkabi, goddess of the morning, Mistress of the ladies, elevated among the goddesses, Brightness of the Igigi, light of the lands, Elevated among of the gods, illuminator of the [.
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Say to Utu my lord, the exalted judge of heaven and earth, who cares for the Land, who renders verdicts; just god, who loves to keep man alive, who heeds entreaty, who extends mercy, who knows …… comp
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Royal courier, start the journey! I want to send you to Nibru -- deliver this message! You are going on a long journey. My mother is worried, she cannot sleep is too (?) …… to sleep . Although the way
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Letter from Lugal-nesaĝe to a king radiant as the moon
Say this to the king who has made his radiance resplendent over all the lands like the moonlight. Repeat it to the king who renders just verdicts like Utu and regulates decisions like Ištaran, to my k
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Letter from Ur-saga to a king fearing the loss of his father's household
Speak to my lord, the bull wild bull bison (?) with sparkling eyes, who wears a lapis-lazuli beard: Repeat to my golden statue born on a favourable day, to my water buffalo reared in a holy fold, cho
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Letter from Lugal-nesaĝe to a king radiant as the sun
Say this to the king who like the sun has made the heart of the Land radiant. Repeat it to the one who removed oppressive toil from the furrow, who defeated confronted Tidnum and holds its sceptre, wh
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A prayer to Enki for Ḫammu-rābi (Ḫammu-rābi B)
May Lugal-Šubur place on your head the desert crown of kingship! May Enki, the lord of life, …… life, and in the E-unir, the house of the plans of heaven and earth which rides upon all the divine powe
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A prayer to Nanna for Rīm-Sîn (Rīm-Sîn E)
……, who is fitted for holy lustration rites, Rīm-Sîn, purification priest of An, who is fitted for pure prayers rites, whom you summoned from the holy womb ……, has been elevated to lordship over the L
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T [ o the gre ] at [ lord,... ], powerful, sple [ n ] di [ d,... ], foremost among the Igīgū and Anunnakū gods, lord of [... ], unrivalled king, my lord,... [... ]: I, Ashurbanipal, king of [ Assyria
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[ For the goddess ] Ištar, the exalted lady who resides in the city Ar [ bela,... ]..., who subjugates [... ] Ashurbanipal, who (m) to/for... [... ], (whom) you gave the just scepter, which expands th
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Aya, lady of the Ebabbar! Keep your obedient prince, Hammu-rapi, alive!
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