Nebuchadnezzar II 018

(i 1) Nebuchadnezzar (II), king of Babylo[n], the one who provides for Esagil [and Ezida], son of Nabopolassar, [king of Babylon, am I].

(i 4) [I provi]ded for Esagil and decorated (it) as beautifully as the stars (lit. “writings”) of the heavens.

(i 6) I completed Ezida and [made] (it) radiant like the sun.

(i 8) I made the sanctuaries of the great gods shine like daylight.

(i 10) At that time, by the command of the god Marduk, the great lord, the one who loves my royal majesty, and the god Nabû, the exalted heir, the one who prolongs the day(s) of my life, the great gods whose temples I provide for rejoiced (and) were happy about the renovation of their sanctuaries. Their minds brightened and they commanded (me) to build a palace, the residence of my royal majesty, in Babylon.

(i 20) In the Ka-dingirra district, which is in Babylon, I built a palace, a building (that is) an object of wonder for the people, the bond of the land, a kummu-building, (and) the abode of my royal majesty. That which no king among the (former) king(s) had built, (I did): I secured its foundation on the surface (lit. “breast”) of the netherworld, at the level of the water table, and raised it as high as a mountain using bitumen and baked brick.

(i 30) From the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea, (in) all of the lands that the god Marduk, my lord, gave me to shepherd, (with regard to) the people living inside them: I looked after the loyal (and) kept the insubmissive in check. I bent their necks to the palace, the residence of my royal majesty, and made them carry [bask]ets (of earth). For controlling (the people of) [widespre]ad lan[ds], I recorded their names and ass[igned them (tasks)].

(ii 10) [I brought] (beams of) h[ard] cedar from Lebanon, the hol[y] forest, [(and) had (them) stretched (over it)] for its roof. I plated i[mmense] doors of cedar with bronze and fi[xed] (them) wherever there were gates, (in) all of them. I ca[st] silver and copper threshold(s) and nukuššû-fitting[s].

(ii 18) I prayed to the god Marduk, the god [who created me] and raised up my hand(s): “By your exalted command, [which cannot be altered, may I be sated with] the luxuriousness of the house that I built. May I [reac]h the prime of (my) li[fe] (and) attain very old age inside it. May a good šēdu-spirit who protects (life) and a god who preserves well-being always be inside it. May I receive inside it the substantial tribute of kings of the (four) quarters (of the world and) all of the people who sit of throne(s), wear crowns, (and) assume the position of king. Inside it, may my descendants rule over the black-headed (people) forever.”