(i 1) [Esar]haddon, great king, mighty king, king of the world, king of Assyria, appointed by the god Enlil, priest of the god Aššur; (i 5) son of Sennacherib, great king, mighty king, king of the world, king of Assyria, appointed by the god Enlil, priest of the god Aššur; (i 10) the king who has revered the utterances of the gods Aššur, Šamaš, Bēl, (and) Nabû and has extolled their might ever since his childhood;

(i 14) [by] the broad knowledge (and) wide understanding [that] the [sage of] gods gave me, [...] ...

(i 1') they (the gods) [named] me [for shepherd]ing the land and people.

(i 3') In [order] to give the land and the people verdicts of truth and justice, the gods [Sîn and] Šamaš, the twin gods, took the road of truth and justice monthly.

(i 9') They made (their simultaneous) appearance regularly on days [...] and fourteen. Venus, the brightest of the stars, was seen in the west, (ii 1) [in the Path] of the Ea-stars. Concerning the securing of the land (and) the reconciliation of its gods, it (Venus) (ii 5) reached (its) hypsoma and then disappeared. Mars, the giver of decisions on the land Amurru, shone brightly in the Path of the Ea-stars (and) it revealed its sign (ii 10) concerning the strengthening of the ruler and his land. Messages from ecstatics were constantly available.

(ii 14) Good signs occurred for me concerning the securing of the foundation of the throne of my priestly office forever. Favorable omens concerning (ii 20) the securing of my throne (and) the prolongation of my reign came to me in dreams and through oracles. I saw those (signs), was encouraged, and my mood felt good.

(ii 27) (As for) Baltil (Aššur), the foremost cult city, whose privileged status had been established with (that of) the people of Anu (and) Enlil from early days and (ii 35) whose kanakku-status ... — I, Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, love the inhabitants of Baltil (Aššur) (ii 40) like my own precious life (and thus) it occurred to me and my heart prompted me to greatly increase their freedom more than before.

(iii 3) I wrote anew the tablet of their exemptions. I made (them) larger (and) bigger than before; I raised (them) up (and) glorified (them). I exempted them from barley taxes (and) straw taxes, and from the dues (levied) on the quays (and) crossing points throughout my land. I established the remission of their debts (and) set up divine protection in their gates forever.

(iii 16) The former temple of the god Aššur, which Ušpia, my ancestor, priest of the god Aššur, first built, became dilapidated and Erišum (I), son of Ilu-šūma, my ancestor, priest of the god Aššur, (re)built (it); one hundred and twenty-six years passed and it became dilapidated again, and Šamšī-Adad (I), (iii 25) son of Ilā-kabkabī, my ancestor, priest of the god Aššur, (re)built (it); four hundred and thirty-four years passed and that temple was destroyed in a conflagration, (and) Shalmaneser (I), son of Adad-nārārī (I), my ancestor, priest of the god Aššur, (re)built (it); five hundred and eighty years passed and (iii 35) the inner cella, the residence of the god Aššur, my lord, the bīt-šaḫūru, the temple of the god Kubu, the temple of the god Dibar, (and) the temple of the god Ea became dilapidated, aged, (and) antique.

(iii 42) I was worried, afraid, (and) hesitant about renovating that temple. In the diviner’s bowl, (iv 1) the gods Šamaš and Adad answered me with a firm ‘yes’ and they had (their response) concerning the (re)building of that temple (and) the renovation of its chapel written on a liver.

(iv 7) I, Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, reverent king, pious prince, (iv 10) favorite of the great gods, gathered the people conquered by me (and) made (them) take up hoe and basket. I razed that temple from its battlements to its foundations (and) mixed (the mud for) its revetment with oil, honey, (iv 20) ghee, wine, (and) cedar resin. [They] made [br]icks in brickmolds of iv[ory], boxwood, ebony, musukkannu-wood, cedar, (and) cypress.

(iv 27) I, the pious [sl]ave who reveres him, put [on] an apron (and) made bricks with [my] (own) pure hands. (iv 35) I let the people of the lands see the might [of] the god Aššur, my lord. I raised a basket on my head and carried (it) by myself. (iv 40) I showed (it) to the people in order to inspire awe (in) the lands. The people of the lands, the brick makers, made bricks for one year in happiness, joy, and rejoicing.

(v 3) In a favorable month, on a propitious day, I laid its foundations (v 10) with limestone, a strong mountain stone, over gold, silver, stones, antimony, all kinds of aromatics, pūru-oil, fine oil, honey, ghee, beer, (and) wine, (and) laid (them) on bedrock. (v 15) I made foundation documents (bearing) inscriptions written in my name and placed (them) in it. I mixed its mortar with oil, fine oil, (v 20) pūru-oil, honey, ghee, (and) cedar resin. For the preservation of my life and the lengthening of my days, I carried (v 25) the first brick on my neck and (then) laid its foundations (and) secured its brickwork.

(v 29) When the second year arrived, I raised the top of Ešarra, the residence of the god Aššur, my lord, to the sky. (v 35) Above, I made it tower to the heavens, (and) below, I secured its foundations in the netherworld. I made Eḫursaggula, (v 40) the temple of the great mountain, glisten like the stars (lit. “writing”) of the firmament. I heaped (it) up like a mountain.

(vi 1) I built (and) completed that temple from its foundations to its parapets (and) filled (it) with splendor to be seen. (vi 10) I roofed it with beams of cedar (and) cypress, grown on Mount Sirāra (and) Mount Lebanon, whose fragrance is sweet. I fastened bands of gold on [doors] of cypress and installed (them) in its gates.

(vi 15) I restored the shrines, daises, cult platforms, (and) ruined ground plans; I made (them) good and made (them) shine (vi 20) like the sun. Its top was high (and) reached the heavens; below, its foundations were entwined with the apsû. I made anew whatever furnishings (vi 25) were needed for Ešarra and put (them) in it.

(vi 28) I had the god Aššur, king of the gods, dwell in his lordly, sublime chapel on (his) eternal dais (and) I placed the gods Ninurta, Nusku, (and all of) the gods (and) goddesses in their stations (vi 35) to the right and left. I slaughtered a fattened bull (and) butchered sheep; I killed birds of the heavens and fish from the apsû, (vii 1) without number; (and) I piled up before them the harvest of the sea (and) the abundance of the mountains. The burning of incense, (vii 5) a fragrance of sweet resin, covered the wide heavens like heavy fog. I presented them with gifts from the inhabited settlements, (vii 10) (their) heavy audience gift(s), and I gave (them) gifts. I banned access to A.RI.A.TA.BAR, (that is) ‘Foreign Seed,’ from its midst and appeased his (Aššur’s) anger.

(vii 17) The god Aššur, king of the gods, truly looked on my good deeds and (vii 20) his heart became joyful, his mood shone. He blessed me with a blessing of long days and (vii 25) named me as the builder of the temple. I, together with my nobles (and) the people of my land, (vii 30) held a celebration in the courtyard of Ešarra for three days. I appeased the heart of his great divinity and placated his mood.

(vii 35) I made foundation inscriptions, wrote the deeds that I had done on them, and left (them) forever for future kings, my descendants.

(viii 4) May one of the kings, my descendants, whom the god Aššur names to rule over the land and people, read my foundation inscription, (viii 10) anoint (it) with oil, [make] an offering, (and) return (it) to its place. The god Aššur will (then) he[ar his] pra[yers].

(viii 16) (As for) the one who [alters]

(viii 1') May the god Aššur, [king of the gods], look upon him [with] fury, overthrow [his] king[ship], make his name (and) [his] seed dis[appear] from the land, (and) have no pi[ty on him].

(viii 9A') Duʾūzu (IV), nineteenth day, eponymy of Itti-Adad-anē[nu], governor of Megiddo (679 BC).

(viii 9B') Simānu (III), [...th day, eponymy of] Itti-[Adad-anēnu, governor of Megiddo (679 BC)].