Prayer to Sin (the moon god)

 

"Grimoire". If anyone knows where they have gone, please let me know.

 

 

A prayer to accompany an offering made on the thirtieth day of the month, a festival of the Moon-god. This prayer belongs to the common type of

prayers used with the ritual of "raising of the hand". After a lengthy invocation of hymnic chracter, the supplicant prays for general well-being as well

as for forgiveness of his sins. The text from which this translation is made comes from tablets found in the library of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria,

668-633 BC.

 

Notes:

 

The moon-god is identified with An, the chief god of the pantheon.

Ekur is the name of the principal temple in Nippur.

Namrasit is the name of the moon-god meaning "bright rising".

 

O Sin, O Nanna, glorified one ...,

Sin, unique one, who makes bright ...,

Who furnishes light for the people ...,

To guide the dark-headed people aright ...,

Bright is thy light in heaven ....

Brilliant is thy torch like fire ....

Thy brightness has filled the broad land.

The people are radiant;

they take courage at seeing thee.

O Anu of heaven whose designs no one can conceive,

Surpassing is thy light like Shamash thy first-born.

Bowed down in thy presence are the great gods;

the decisions of the land are laid before thee;

When the great gods inquire of thee

thou dost give counsel.

They sit (in) their assembly (and) debate under thee;

O Sin, shining one of Ekur,

when they ask thee thou dost give the oracle of the gods.

On account of the evil of an eclipse of the moon

which took place in such and such a month,

on such and such a day,

On account of the evil of bad and unfavorable portents

and signs which have happened in my palace and my country,

In the dark of the moon,

the time of thy oracle,

the mystery of the great gods,

On the thirtieth day, thy festival,

the day of delight of thy divinity,

O Namrasit, unequaled in power,

whose designs no one can conceive,

I have spread out for thee a pure incense-offering of the night;

I have poured out for thee the best sweet drink.

I am kneeling; I tarry (thus);

I seek after thee.

Bring upon me wishes for well-being and justice.

May my god and my goddess,

who for many days have been angry with me,

In truth and justice be favorable to me;

may my road be propitious; may my path be straight.

After he [the personal god mentioned two lines previously] has sent Zaqar,

the 1god of dreams,

During the night may I hear the undoing of my sins;

let my guilt be poured out;

(And) forever let me devotedly serve thee.

 

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