LAMENT OF THE FLUTES FOR TAMMUZ

Ezekiel 8 Lament for Tammuz on the flute at Jerusalem and in Rome referenced in Romans 15

The lord of destiny(? lives no more, the lord of destiny lives no more.
[Tammuz the.....] lives no more,.....lives no more.
The bewailed one (?) lives no more, the lord of destiny lives no more.
I am queen, my husband lives no more.
 
5. My son lives no more,
Dagalushumagalanna lives no more.
The lord of Arallu lives no more.
The lord of Durgurgurru lives no more.
The shepherd, the lord Tammuz lives no more.
 
10. The lord, the shepherd of the folds lives no more.
The concort of the queen of heaven lives no more.
The lord of the folds lives no more.
The brother of the mother of wine lives no more.
[He who createsj] the fruit of the land lives no more.
 
15. The powerful lord of the land lives no more.
When he slumbers the sheep and lambs slumber also.
When he slumbers the goats and kids slumber also.
As for me, to the abode of the deep will I urn my thoughts,
To the abode of the great ones I turn my thoughts.
 
20. O hero, my lord, ah me," I will say,
Food I eat not, I will say,
Watter I drink not, I will say,
My good maiden, I will say,
My good husbandman, I will say,
 
25. Thy lord, the exalted one, to the nether world has taken his way,
Thy lord, the exalted one, to the nether world has taken his way.
On account of the exalted one of the nether world, him of the radiant face, yea, radient,
On account of the exalted one of the nether world, him of the dovelike voice, ye, dovelike,
On account of the exalted one, the lord, on account of the lord,
 
30. O hero, my lord, ah me, I will say
Food I eat not on account of the lord,
Water I drink not, on account of the lord.
My good maiden, because of the lord,
The hero, your lord has been destroyed.
 
35. The god of grain, the child, your lord, has been destroyed.
His kindly look gives peace no more,
His kindly voice imparts cheer (?) no more;
......in his place, like a dog he sleeps;
My lord in his.......slumbers like a raven.
 
40 Alone is he, himself,
My lord, for whom the wail is raised.
 
(Forty-one lines--a psalm on the flute to Tammuz.)
 

This poem illustrates what Ezekiel may have seen heard in vision, when in spirit he was brought to the northern gate of the temple and heard women wailing for Tammuz. Ezekiel 8:14 George A. Barton, Archaeology and the Bible, Seventh Edition, pg. 533-534

The women were lamenting for Tammuz while the men bowed to the sun in the east.
 
From The Golden Bough:
 
At his vanishing away she lifts up a lament,
'0h my child!' at his vanishing away she lifts up a lament;
'My Damu!' at his vanishing away she lifts up a lament.
'My enchanter and priest!' at his vanishing away she lifts up a lament,
At the shining red cedar, rooted in a spacious place,
In Eanna, above and below, she lifts up a lament.
 
Like the lament that a house lifts up for its master, lifts she up a lament,
Like the lament that a city lifts up for its lord, lifts she up a lament.
Her lament is the lament for a herb that grows not in the bed,
Her lament is the lament for the corn that grows not in the ear.
Her chamber is a possession that brings forth not a possession,
a weary woman, a weary child, far spent.
Her lament is for a great river where no willows grow,
Her lament is for a field, where corn and herbs grow not.
Her lament is for a pool, where fishes grow not
Her lament is for a thicket of reeds, where no reeds grow.
Her lament is for woods, where tamarisks grow not.
Her lament is for a wilderness, where no cypresses grow.
Her lament is for the depth of a garden of trees, where honey and wine grow not.
Her lament is for meadows, where no plants grow.
Her lament is for a palace, where length of life grows not."

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