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"Sumerian Proverb of the Day"
Based on the ETCSL collection: Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Ebeling, J., Flückiger-Hawker, E., Robson, E., Taylor, J., and Zólyomi, G., The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature ( http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/ ), Oxford 1998-2006.
Direct link to ePSD: The Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary ( http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/epsd )
"Sumerian Cuneiform writing" (based on unicode "UR-III" fonts) with direct link to ePSD.
For transliteration you can use
- 'j' for 'ĝ' and 'c' for 'š',
- '/' or '?' before and after determinatives
(e.g., /d/en-lil2 or unug/ki/),- '-' or ',' for word parts,
- '.' for compound cuneiform,
- '(' and ')' to specify used cuneiform,
e.g., /d/ba-u2 nin(SAL.KUG) iri-kug-ga
or ?d?ba,u2 nin(SAL.KUG) iri,kug,ga
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Notes are welcome: veg.csaba@gmail.com
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niĝ2 ga-til3 nu ga-til3 niĝ2 ba-til nu ba-til
Something offered is not offered. Something finished is not finished.
Nothing changes.
dumu si nu-sa2 ama-a-ni na-an-u3-tud
A disorderly son -- his mother should not have given birth to him.
His god should not have created him.
dnin-ĝiš-zid-da-ra ga-til3 na-an-na-ab-be2-en
You should not say to Ninĝišzida(God of the Underworld): "Let me live!"
Let it be plentiful, so that it is not deficient.
Let it be excessive, so that it does not have to be supplemented.
he2-eb(IB)-šeg6(NE) na-an-te-en-te-en
Let it be piping hot, so that it does not become cold.
za-e ge26(GA2)-e mu-de3-dug4 ge26-e za-e mu-de3-dug4
You speak with me and I speak with you.
Like an ox, you do not know how to turn back.
Offerings create life.
Offerings are the glory of the gods.
usu(A2.KAL) diĝir-ĝa2 ni2-ĝa2 ba-til
The strength of my god completes my own.
"I will go today" is what a herdsman says;
ud ul-la ga-gen sipad-tur-ra-kam
"I will go tomorrow" is what a shepherd-boy says.
ga-gen ga-gen-na-am3 ud mi-ni-ib-zal-zal-e
"I will go" is "I will go", and the time passes.
dumu-gu10-me-en diĝir-zu kur2-ra-am3
You are still my son, even if your god has turned against you.
in-na in-bi-im aš2-e aš2-bi-im
It is an insult resulting from an insult. It is a curse resulting from a curse.
nam-tar-ra ki gibil-gibil-la2-bi
It is the constant renewal of destiny.
aš2-e gi4-a aš2-a ba-ni-in-gi4
A curse which is reciprocated will be retaliated against with yet another curse.
Fate is a raging storm blowing over the Land.
You're a scribe but you don't even know how to write your own name?
dub-sar eme-gir15 nu-mu-un-zu-a
What kind of a scribe is a scribe
who does not know Sumerian?
dub-sar-re mu 1(DIŠ)-am3 he2-en-zu
If a scribe knows only a single line
šu-ni he2-sag9-sag9 e-ne-am3 dub-sar-re
but his handwriting is good, he is indeed a scribe!
Those who get excited should not become foremen.
A shepherd should not become a farmer.
What comes out from the heart of the tree
is known by the heart of the tree.
in-gu7 nu-un-gu7 numun sag9-ga-am3
Whether he ate it or not, the seed was good.
lul dug4-ga-ab zid dug4-ga-ab lul ba-e-sig10-ge5
Tell a lie and then tell the truth: it will be considered a lie.
kug tuku šag4 an-hul2 še tuku ur5 an-sag9
He who has silver is happy; he who has grain feels comfortable;
niĝ2-ur2-limmu2 tuku-e u3 mu-un-ši-ku-ku
he who has livestock can sleep.
My things changed things.
It is a thing of short duration.
niĝ2-hul(IGI.UR) dim2-ma-zu a-na-am3 na-an-na-ab-be2-en
Whatever it is that hurts you, don't talk to anyone about it.
niĝ2 am3-da-tuku-tuku igi am3-da-uru3-e
He who possesses many things is constantly on guard.
niĝ2 i3-pad3-da-zu nu-ub-be2-en
You don't speak of that which you have found.
You talk only about what you have lost.
The good thing is to find it.
The bad thing is to have lost it.
niĝ2 mah gu7-gu7-e u3 nu-um-ši-ku-ku
He who eats too much cannot sleep.
šag4-ge šag4 hul gig nu-ub-tu-ud
A heart never created hatred;
dug4-ge šag4 hul gig ib2-tu-ud
speech created hatred.
2(MIN)-a-bi lu2 1(DIŠ)-gin7-nam
The two of them are like one man.
niĝ2 igi nu-du8-a-gin7 mu-un-ak
He did something never seen before.
Having wives is human.
Having children is from the gods.
šag4 ki aĝ2 niĝ2 e2 du3-du3-u3-dam
A loving heart builds houses.
šag4 hul gig niĝ2 e2 gul-gul-lu-dam
A hating heart destroys houses.
No-one walks for a second time
2(MAN)-kam-ma-še3 lu2 na-me nu-dib2-be2
at the place where a lion has eaten a man.
ezem-ma-kam dam na-an-tuku-tuku-un-e-še
Don't choose a wife during a festival!
He who knows but does not speak is a fool.
ud5-de3 nu-ĝen-na e2-ri-a an-zu
Although it has never been there, the goat knows the waste land.
Like a dog you have nowhere to sleep.
𒌨 𒂠 𒊑 𒄘 𒁍 𒁍 𒀊 𒍢 𒂗 𒌨 𒌉 𒆠 𒉘 𒀊 𒍢 𒂗
ur-gir15-re gu2 gid2-gid2-ab-ze2-en ur-tur ki aĝ2-ab-ze2-en
Control the dog, but love the puppy!
ur sag9-ga ur-tur-še3 ba-an-kur9
A dog which is played with turns into a puppy.
He is a dog without a tail.
til3-la lul-la hul na-an-gu-ul-e
As long as you live, you should not increase evil by lying;
for if you do, to succumb will be your lot.
If you get rid of the shepherd,
then his sheep will not return.
anše-kur lu2 u5-a-ni u3-mu-ni-in-šub
The horse, after throwing off his rider, said:
tukum-bi gu2-un-ĝu10 da-ri2-še3
"Were my load to be like this forever,
how weak I would become!"
a-a igi i-ni-in-bar nam-tar-ĝu10 ba-dib-ba
I looked into the water. My destiny was drifting past.
ud nam-tar gig-ga-ka ba-tu-ud-de3-en
I was born on an ill-fated day.
dinana-ke4 šag4 gig-ga-ĝu10 i3 he2-eb-de2
May Inana pour oil on my heart that aches.
izi nu-ub-da-an-ten-a-aš li-gi4-in-zu sar-ra-ab
Before the fire has gone out, write your exercise tablet!
The heavens were destroyed, the earth was shaken.
After the heavens were destroyed and the earth was shaken,
the people were still standing there on their own.
zag tag-ga dinana ĝeštug2 u18-lu ma-mu2-da-ka-ni
For him who is rejected by Inana, his dream is to forget.
ud mu-e-ši-zal a-na-am3 šu mu-da-ti
The time passed, and what did you gain?
šag4-ĝu10 ĝiškiri6 ha-ra-dirig-ga
The sun never leaves my heart,
which surpasses a garden.