INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR

                                                                TRANSLATED BY REV. J.M. RODWELL, M.A.


Babylonian inscriptions are by no means so replete with interest as the Assyrian. The latter embrace the various expeditions in which the Assyrian monarchs were engaged, and bring us into contact with the names and locality of rivers, cities, and mountain-ranges, with contemporary princes in Judea and elsewhere, and abound in details as to domestic habits, civil usages, and the implements and modes of warfare. But the Babylonian inscriptions refer mainly to the construction of temples, palaces, and other public buildings, and at the same time present especial difficulties in their numerous architectural terms which it is often impossible to translate with any certainty. They are, however, interesting as records of the piety and religious feelings of the sovereigns of Babylon, and as affording numerous topographical notices of that famous city; while the boastful language of the inscription will often remind the reader of Nebuchadnezzar's words in Dan. iv. 30: "Is not this great Babylon, that Ihave built for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?" Compare column vii, line 32.

The reign of Nebuchadnezzar extended from B.C. 604 to 561. In B.C. 598 he laid siege to Jerusalem (2 Kings xxiv.) and made Jehoiachin prisoner, and in 588 again captured the city, and carried Zedekiah, who had rebelled against him, captive to Babylon (2 Kings xxv.). Josephus gives an account of his expeditions against Tyre and Egypt, which are also mentioned with many details in Ezek. xxvii.-xxix.

The name Nebuchadnezzar, or more accurately Nebuchadrezzar (Jer. xxi. 2, 7, etc.), is derived from the Jewish Scriptures. But in the inscriptions it reads Nebo-kudurri-ussur, _i.e.,_ "may Nebo protect the crown"; a name analogous to that of his father Nebo(Nabu)-habal-ussur. ("Nebo protect the son") and to that of Belshazzar, _i.e.,_ "Bel protect the prince." The phonetic writing of Nebuchadnezzar is _"An-pa-sa-du-sis,"_ each of which syllables has been identified through the syllabaries. The word "_kudurri_" is probably the [Hebrew: kether] of Esther vi. 8, and the [Greek: kidaris] of the Greeks. The inscriptions of which a translation follows was found at Babylon by Sir Harford Jones Bridges, and now forms part of the India House Collection. It is engraved on a short column of black basalt, and is divided into ten columns, containing 619 lines.

It may be worth while to remark that in the name given to the prophet Daniel, Belteshazzar, _i.e.,_ Balat-su-ussur ("preserve thou his life"), and in Abednego ("servant of Nebo"), we have two of the component parts of the name of Nebuchadnezzar himself.

INSCRIPTION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR


COLUMN I


1   Nebuchadnezzar
2   King of Babylon,
3   glorious Prince,
4   worshipper of Marduk,
5   adorer of the lofty one,
6   glorifier of Nabu,
7   the exalted, the possessor of intelligence,
8   who the processions of their divinities
9   hath increased;
10  a worshipper of their Lordships,
11  firm, not to be destroyed;
12  who for the embellishment
13  of Bit-Saggatu and Bit-Zida[1]
14  appointed days hath set apart, and
15  the shrines of Babylon
16  and of Borsippa
17  hath steadily increased;
18  exalted Chief, Lord of peace,
19  embellisher of Bit-Saggatu and Bit-Zida,
20  the valiant son
21  of Nabopolassar
22  King of Babylon am I.

23  When he, the Lord god my maker made me,
24  the god Merodach, he deposited
25  my germ in my mother's (womb):
26  then being conceived
27  I was made.
28  Under the inspection of Assur my judge
29  the processions of the god I enlarged,
30  (namely) of Merodach great Lord, the god my maker.
31  His skilful works
32  highly have I glorified;
33  and of Nebo his eldest son
34  exalter of My Royalty
35  the processions (in honor of)[2] his exalted deity
36  I firmly established.
37  With all my heart firmly
38  (in) worship of their deities I uprose
39  in reverence for Nebo their Lord.

40  Whereas Merodach, great Lord,
41  the head of My ancient Royalty,
42  hath empowered me over multitudes of men,
43  and (whereas) Nebo bestower of thrones in heaven and
    earth,
44  for the sustentation of men,
45  a sceptre of righteousness
46  hath caused my hand to hold;
47  now I, that sacred way
48  for the resting-place of their divinities,
49  for a memorial of all their names,
50  as a worshipper of Nebo, Yav and Istar,
51  for Merodach my Lord I strengthened.
52  Its threshold I firmly laid, and
53  my devotion of heart he accepted, and
54  him did I proclaim
55  ... Lord of all beings, and[3]
56  as Prince of the lofty house, and
57  thou, (O Nebuchadnezzar) hast proclaimed the name of
    him
58  who has been beneficent unto thee.
59  His name, (O god,) thou wilt preserve,
60  the path of righteousness thou hast prescribed to him.
61  I, a Prince, and thy worshipper
62  am the work of thy hand;
63  thou hast created me, and[4]
64  the empire over multitudes of men
65  thou hast assigned me,
66  according to thy favor, O Lord,
67  which thou hast accorded
68  to them all.[5]
69  May thy lofty Lordship be exalted!
70  in the worship of thy divinity
71  may it subsist! in my heart
72  may it continue, and my life which to thee is devoted

_(Continued on Column II_.)

[Footnote 1: Two of the principal temples of Babylon. The former occurs
below, Col. ii. 40, where it is followed by the epithet, "Temple of his
power." Dr. Oppert always renders it "la Pyramide et la Tour."]

[Footnote 2: Literally, "the goings." Compare Ps. lxviii. 24: "They have
seen thy goings, O God," i.e., processions.]

[Footnote 3: Of this line Mr. Norris (Dict., p. 166) states "that he
cannot suggest any rendering."]

[Footnote 4: It seems as if the hand were addressed.]

[Footnote 5: I.e., "in making me their ruler."]



COLUMN II


1   mayest thou bless!

2   He, the Chief, the honorable,
3   the Prince of the gods, the great Merodach,
4   my gracious Lord, heard
5   and received my prayer;
6   he favored it, and by his exalted power,
7   reverence for his deity
8   placed he in my heart:
9   to bear his tabernacle
10  he hath made my heart firm,
11  with reverence for thy power,
12  for exalted service,
13  greatly and eternally.

14  The foundation of his temple it was
15  which from the upper waters
16  to the lower waters
17  in a remote way,
18  in a spot exposed to winds,
19  in a place whose pavements had been broken,
20  low, dried up,
21  a rugged way,
22  a difficult path,
23  I extended.
24  The disobedient I stirred up,
25  and I collected the poor and
26  gave full directions (for the work) and
27  in numbers I supported them.
28  Wares and ornaments
29  for the women I brought forth,
30  silver, molten gold, precious stones,
31  metal, _umritgana_ and cedar woods,
32  (however their names be written)
33  a splendid abundance,
34  the produce of mountains,
35  sea clay,[1]
36  beautiful things in abundance,
37  riches and sources of joy,
38  for my city Babylon,
39  into his presence have I brought
40  for Bit-Saggatu
41  the temple of his power,
42  ornaments for Dakan[2]
43  Bit-Kua, the shrine
44  of Merodach, Lord of the house of the gods,
45  I have made conspicuous with fine linen[3]
46  and its seats
47  with splendid gold,
48  as for royalty and deity,
49  with lapis lazuli and alabaster blocks[4]
50  I carefully covered them over;
51  a gate of passage, the gate Beautiful,[5]
52  and the gate of Bit-Zida and Bit-Saggatu
53  I caused to be made brilliant as the sun.
54  A fulness of the treasures of countries I accumulated;[6]
55  around the city it was placed as an ornament,
56  when at the festival of Lilmuku at the beginning of the
    year,
57  on the eighth day (and) eleventh day,
58  the divine Prince, Deity of heaven and earth, the Lord
    god,
59  they raised within it.
60  (The statue) of the god El, the beauty of the sphere,
61  reverently they bring;
62  treasure have they displayed before it,
63  a monument to lasting days,
64  a monument of my life.

65  They also placed within it

_(Continued on Column III_.)

[Footnote 1: Mr. Norris conjectures "amber."]

[Footnote 2: Dagon.]

[Footnote 3: "Sassanis." The root is probably identical with the Hebrew
"shesh," "fine linen"; thus in Ex. xxvi. I: "Thou shalt make the
tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen."]

[Footnote 4: These are found still in the ruins of Babylon.]

[Footntoe 5: Compare the Beautiful Gate of the Jewish Temple.]

[Footnote 6: Mr. Norris in his Dictionary professes his inability to
master the first words of this line, p. 580. The same remark applies to
line 58. The above rendering is suggested to me by Mr. G. Smith.]



COLUMN III


1   his altar, an altar of Royalty;
2   an altar of Lordship,
3   (for) the Chief of the gods, the Prince Merodach,
4   whose fashion the former Prince
5   had fashioned in silver,
6   with bright gold accurately weighed out
7   I overlaid.
8   Beautiful things for the temple Bit-Saggatu
9   seen at its very summit,
10  the shrine of Merodach, with statues and marbles
11  I embellished
12  as the stars of heaven.
13  The fanes of Babylon
14  I built, I adorned.
15  Of the house, the foundation of the heaven and earth,
16  I reared the summit
17  with blocks of noble lapis lazuli:
18  to the construction of Bit-Saggatu
19  my heart uplifted me;
20  in abundance I wrought
21  the best of my pine trees
22  which from Lebanon
23  together with tall _Babil-_wood I brought,
24  for the portico of the temple of Merodach:
25  the shrine of his Lordship
26  I made good, and interior walls
27  with pine and tall cedar woods:
28  the portico of the temple of Merodach,
29  with brilliant gold I caused to cover,
30  the lower thresholds, the cedar awnings,
31  with gold and precious stones
32  I embellished:
33  in the erection of Bit-Saggatu
34  I proceeded: I supplicated
35  the King of gods, the Lord of Lords:
36  in Borsippa, the city of his loftiness,
37,38  I raised Bit-Zida: a durable house
39  in the midst thereof I caused to be made.
40  With silver, gold, precious stones,
41  bronze, _ummakana_ and pine woods,
42  those thresholds I completed:
43  the pine wood portico
44  of the shrine of Nebo
45  with gold I caused to cover,
46  the pine wood portico of the gate of the temple of
    Merodach
47  I caused to overlay with bright silver.
48  The bulls and columns of the gate of the shrine
49  the thresholds, the _sigari_ of _ri-_wood, conduits
50  of _Babnaku_ wood and their statues
51  with cedar wood awnings
52  of lofty building,
53  and silver, I adorned.
54  The avenues of the shrine
55  and the approach to the house,
56  of conspicuous brick
57  sanctuaries in its midst
58  with perforated silver work.
59  Bulls, columns, doorways,
60,61  in marble beautifully I built;
62,63  I erected a shrine and with rows
64  of wreathed work I filled it:
65  the fanes of Borsippa
66  I made and embellished;
67  the temple of the seven spheres
68  ...[1]
69  with bricks of noble lapis lazuli
70  I reared its summit:
71  the tabernacle of Nahr-kanul
72  the chariot of his greatness

_(Continued on Column IV_.)

[Footnote 1: Lacuna.]



COLUMN IV


1   the tabernacle, the shrine Lilmuku,
2   the festival of Babylon,
3,4  his pageant of dignity
5   within it, I caused to decorate
6   with beryls and stones.

7   A temple for sacrifices, the lofty citadel
8   of Bel and Merodach, god of gods,
9   a threshold of joy and supremacy
10  among angels and spirits,
11  with the stores of Babylon,
12  with cement and brick,
13  like a mountain I erected.

14  A great temple of Ninharissi[1]
15  in the centre of Babylon
16  to the great goddess the mother who created me,
17  in Babylon I made.
18  To Nebo of lofty intelligence
19  who hath bestowed (on me) the sceptre of justice,
20  to preside over all peoples,
21  a temple of rule over men, and a site for this his temple
22,23  in Babylon, of cement and brick
24  the fashion I fashioned.

25,26  To the Moon-god, the strengthener of my hands
27  a large house of alabaster as his temple
28  in Babylon I made.
29  To the sun, the judge supreme
30  who perfects good in my body,
31  a house for that guide of men, even his house'
32,33  in Babylon, of cement and brick,
34  skilfully did I make.

35  To the god Yav, establisher of fertility
36  in my land, Bit-Numkan as his temple
37  in Babylon I built.

38  To the goddess Gula, the regulator
39  and benefactress of my life,
40  Bit-Samit, and Bit-haris the lofty,
41,42  as fanes in Babylon, in cement and brick
43  strongly did I build.

44  To the divine Lady of Bit Anna,
45  my gracious mistress,
46  Bit-Kiku in front of her house
47  so as to strengthen the wall of Babylon
48  I skilfully constructed.

49,50  To Ninip the breaker of the sword of my foes
51  a temple in Borsippa I made;
52  and to the Lady Gula[2]
53  the beautifier of my person[3]
54  Bit-Gula, Bit-Tila, Bit-Ziba-Tila,
55  her three temples
56  in Borsippa I erected:
57  to the god Yav who confers
58  the fertilizing rain upon my land,
59,60  his house (also) in Borsippa I strongly built:
61  to the Moon-god who upholds
62  the fulness of my prosperity
63  Bit-ti-Anna[4] as his temple,
64  on the mound near Bit-Ziba
65  I beautifully constructed:
66,67  Imgur-Bel and Nimetti-Belkit
68  the great walls of Babylon,
69  ...[5] I built,
70  which Nabopolassar
71  King, King of Babylon, the father who begat me,
72  had commenced but not completed their beauty

_(Continued on Column V_.)

[Footnote 1: Wife of the sun.]

[Footnote 2: In I Mich. iv. 5. Gula is said to be the wife of the southern
sun.]

[Footnote 3: Or, "the favorer of my praises."]

[Footnote 4: The goddess Anna is identical with the Nana whose image was
by her own command restored by Assurbanipal to the temple of Bit-Anna
after an absence in Elam of 1,635 years. See Smith's "Assurb.," pp. 234,
235.]

[Footnote 5: Lacuna.]



COLUMN V


1   Its fosse he dug
2   and of two high embankments
3   in cement and brick
4   he finished the mass:
5,6  an embankment for pathways he made,
7,8  Buttresses of brick beyond the Euphrates
9,10  he constructed, but did not complete:
11,12  the rest from ...[1]
13  the best of their lands I accumulated:
14  a place for sacrifice, as ornament,
15,16  as far as Aibur-sabu[2] near Babylon
17  opposite the principal gate
18  with brick and _durmina-turda_ stone
19  as a shrine of the great Lord, the god Merodach
20  I built as a house for processions.
21,22  I his eldest son, the chosen of his heart,
23,24  Imgur-Bel and Nimetti-Bel
25,26  the great walls of Babylon, completed:
27  buttresses for the embankment of its fosse,
28  and two long embankments
29  with cement and brick I built, and
30  with the embankment my father had made
31,32  I joined them; and to the city for protection
33,34  I brought near an embankment of enclosure
35  beyond the river, westward.
36  The wall of Babylon
37,38  I carried round Aibur-sabu
39  in the vicinity of Babylon:
40  for a shrine of the great Lord Merodach
41,42  the whole enclosure I filled (with buildings)
43  with brick made of _kamina-turda_ stone
44  and brick of stone cut out of mountains.
45,46  Aibur-sabu from the High gate,
47,48  as far as Istar-Sakipat I made,
49,50  for a shrine for his divinity I made good,
51  and with what my father had made
52,53  I joined, and built it;
54,55,56  and the access to Istar-Sakipat I made,
57,58  which is Imgur-Bel and Nimetti-Bel,
59  the great gates, the whole temple of the gods,
60,61  in completeness near to Babylon
62  I brought down;
63,64  the materials of those great gates
65  I put together and

_(Continued on Column VI_.)

[Footnote 1: Lacuna.]

[Footnote 2: An ornamental piece of water near Babylon.]



COLUMN VI


1   their foundations opposite to the waters
2,3  in cement and brick I founded,
4   and of strong stone of _zamat-hati,_
5   bulls and images,
6   the building of its interior
7   skilfully I constructed:
8,9,10  tall cedars for their porticos I arranged,
11  _ikki_ wood, cedar wood,
12  with coverings of copper,
13  on domes and arches:
14,15  work in bronze I overlaid substantially on its gates,
16,17  bulls of strong bronze and molten images
18  for their thresholds, strongly.
19  Those large gates
20  for the admiration of multitudes of men
21  with wreathed work I filled:
22  the abode of Imzu-Bel
23  the invincible castle of Babylon,
24  which no previous King had effected,
25  4,000 cubits complete,
26  the walls of Babylon
27  whose banner is invincible,
28  as a high fortress by the ford of the rising sun,
29  I carried round Babylon.
30  Its fosse I dug and its mass
31  with cement and brick
32,33  I reared up and a tall tower at its side
34  like a mountain I built.
35,36  The great gates whose walls I constructed
37  with _ikki_ and pine woods and coverings of copper
38  I overlaid them,
39  to keep off enemies from the front
40  of the wall of unconquered Babylon.
41,42  Great waters like the might of the sea
43  I brought near in abundance
44  and their passing by
45  was like the passing by of the great billows
46  of the Western ocean:
47,48  passages through them were none,
49,50  but heaps of earth I heaped up,
51  and embankments of brickwork
52  I caused to be constructed.
53,54  The fortresses I skilfully strengthened
55  and the city of Babylon
56  I fitted to be a treasure-city.
57  The handsome pile
58,59  the fort of Borsippa I made anew:
60,61  its fosse I dug out and in cement and brick
62  I reared up its mass
63  Nebuchadnezzar

_(Continued on Column VII._)



COLUMN VII


1   King of Babylon
2   whom Merodach, the Sun, the great Lord,
3   for the holy places of his city
4   Babylon hath called, am I:
5   and Bit-Saggatu and Bit-Zida
6   like the radiance of the Sun I restored:
7   the fanes of the great gods
8   I completely brightened.
9   At former dates from the days of old
10  to the days ...[1]
11  of Nabopolassar King of Babylon
12  the exalted father who begat me,
13  many a Prince who preceded me
14,15  whose names El had proclaimed for royalty
16  for the city, my city, the festivals of these gods
17  in the perfected places
18  a princely temple, a large temple did they make
19  and erected it as their dwelling-places.
20,21  Their spoils in the midst they accumulated,
22  they heaped up, and their treasures
23  for the festival Lilmuku
24  of the good Lord, Merodach god of gods
25  they transferred into the midst of Babylon;
26,27  when at length Merodach who made me for royalty
28  and the god Nero his mighty son,
29  committed his people to me
30  as precious lives.
31  Highly have I exalted their cities;
32  (but) above Babylon and Borsippa
33  I have not added a city
34  in the realm of Babylonia
35  as a city of my lofty foundation.

36  A great temple, a house of admiration for men,
37,38  a vast construction, a lofty pile,
39,40  a palace of My Royalty for the land of Babylon,
41  in the midst of the city of Babylon
42,43  from Imgur Bel to Libit-higal
44  the ford of the Sun-rise,
45  from the bank of the Euphrates
46  as far as Aibur-sabu
47  which Nabopolassar
48  King of Babylon the father who begat me
49,50  made in brick and raised up in its midst,
51  but whose foundation was damaged
52  by waters and floods
53,54  at Bit-Imli near Babylon,
55,56  and the gates of that palace were thrown down,
57,58  of this the structure with brickwork I repaired
59  with its foundation and boundary wall,
60  and a depth of waters I collected:
61,62  then opposite the waters I laid its foundation
63  and with cement and brick

_(Continued on Column VIII_.)

[Footnote 1: Lacuna.]



COLUMN VIII


1,2  I skilfully surrounded it;
3,4  tall cedars for its porticos I fitted;
5,6  _ikki_ and cedar woods with layers of copper,
7   on domes and arches
8,9  and with bronze work, I strongly overlaid its gates
10  with silver, gold, precious stones,
11,12  whatsoever they call them, in heaps;
13  I valiantly collected spoils;
14  as an adornment of the house were they arranged,
15  and were collected within it;
16,17  trophies, abundance, royal treasures,
18  I accumulated and gathered together.
19  As to the moving of My Royalty
20  to any other city,
21  there has not arisen a desire:
22  among any other people
23  no royal palace have I built:
24  the merchandise and treasures of my kingdom
25,26,27  I did not deposit within the provinces of Babylon:
28  a pile for my residence
29,30  to grace My Royalty was not found:
31  Therefore with reverence for Merodach my Lord,
32,33  the exterior and interior in Babylon
34  as his treasure city
35,36  and for the elevation of the abode of My Royalty
37  his shrine I neglected not:
38  its weak parts which were not completed,
39  its compartments that were not remembered,
40  as a securely compacted edifice
41,42  I dedicated and set up as a preparation for war
43,44  by Imgur Bel, the fortress of invincible Babylon,
45  400 cubits in its completeness,
46  a wall of Nimitti-Bel
47  an outwork of Babylon
48,49  for defence.  Two lofty embankments,
50  in cement and brick,
51  a fortress like a mountain I made,
52  and in their sub-structure
53  I built a brickwork;
54  then on its summit a large edifice
55  for the residence of My Royalty
56,57  with cement and brick I skilfully built
58  and brought it down by the side of the temple:
59  and in the exact middle, on the second day
60  its foundation in a solid depth
61,62  I made good and its summit I carried round;
63  and on the 15th day its beauty

_(Continued on Column IX_.)



COLUMN IX


1   I skilfully completed
2   and exalted as an abode of Royalty.
3,4  Tall pines, the produce of lofty mountains,
5   thick _asuhu_ wood
6,7  and _surman_ wood in choice pillars
8   for its covered porticos I arranged.
9   _ikki_ and _musritkanna_ woods
10  cedar and _surman_ woods
11  brought forth, and in heaps,
12  with a surface of silver and gold
13  and with coverings of copper,
14,15  on domes and arches, and with works of metal
16  its gates I strongly overlaid
17  and completely with _zamat_-stone
18  I finished off its top.
19,20  A strong wall in cement and brick
21  like a mountain I carried round
22,23  a wall, a brick fortress, a great fortress
24  with long blocks of stone
25,26  gatherings from great lands I made
27,28  and like hills I upraised its head.
29,30  That house for admiration I caused to build
31  and for a banner to hosts of men:
32  with carved work I fitted it;
33  the strong power of reverence for
34  the presence of Royalty
35  environs its walls;
36,37  the least thing not upright enters it not,
38  that evil may not make head.
39  The walls of the fortress of Babylon
40,41  its defence in war I raised
42  and the circuit of the city of Babylon.
43,44  I have strengthened skilfully.
45  To Merodach my Lord
46  my hand I lifted:
47  O Merodach the Lord, Chief of the gods,
48,49  a surpassing Prince thou hast made me,
50  and empire over multitudes of men,
51,52  hast intrusted to me as precious lives;
53  thy power have I extended on high,
54,55  over Babylon thy city, before all mankind.
56  No city of the land have I exalted
57,58  as was exalted the reverence of thy deity:
59  I caused it to rest: and may thy power
60,61  bring its treasures abundantly to my land.
62  I, whether as King and embellisher,
63  am the rejoicer of thy heart
64  or whether as High Priest appointed,
65  embellishing all thy fortresses,

(_Continued on Column X_.)



COLUMN X


1,2  For thy glory, O exalted Merodach
3   a house have I made.
4   May its greatness advance!
5   May its fulness increase!
6,7  in its midst abundance may it acquire!
8   May its memorials be augmented!
9   May it receive within itself
10  the abundant tribute
11,12  of the Kings of nations and of all peoples![1]
13,14  From the West to the East by the rising sun
15  may I have no foemen!
16  May they not be multiplied
17,18  within, in the midst thereof, forever,
19  Over the dark races may he rule!

[Footnote 1: Compare Dan. i. 2, "He brought the vessels into the
treasure-house of his god."]