Thrice they the Earth’s companion encircled, the deep wound by the dragon caused they observed.
By many hollows, the handiwork of smashing demons, was the Moon’s face marked.
In a place of rolling hills they set the rocketship down, in its midst they landed;
From the place the Earth they could observe, and the expanse of the heavens.
Eagles’ helmets they had to don; the atmosphere was for breathing insufficient.
With ease they walked about, in this and that direction they went;
The evil dragon’s handiwork was dryness and desolation.
Unlike Lahmu it is, for a way station it is unsuitable! to his father Marduk was saying.
Let us abandon this place, let us to Earth return!
Do not be hasty, my son! So was Enki to Marduk saying.
Are you not by the celestial dance of Earth and Moon and Sun enchanted?
Unobstructed from here is the viewing, the quarter of the Sun is at hand,
The Earth like a globe in the void by nothing is hanging.
With our instruments we can scan the distant heavens,
The handiwork of the Creator of All in this solitude we can admire!
Let us stay, the circuits observe, how the Moon circles the Earth,
How the Earth its circuits around the Sun is making!
So Enki, by the sights agitated, to his son Marduk was saying.
By his father’s words Marduk was persuaded; in the rocketship they made their dwelling.
For one circuit of Earth, for three circuits on the Moon they remained;
Its motions about the Earth they measured, the duration of a month they calculated.
For six circuits of Earth, for twelve circuits about the Sun, Earth’s year they measured.
How the two were entwined, causing the luminaries to disappear, they recorded.
Then to the Sun’s quarter they attention gave, the paths of Mummu and Lahamu they studied.
With the Earth and the Moon, Lahmu the Sun’s second quarter constituted,
Six were the celestials of the Lower Waters. So was Enki to Marduk explaining.
Six were the celestials of the Upper Waters, beyond the bar, the Hammered Bracelet, they were:
Anshar and Kishar, Anu and Nudimmud, Gaga and Nibiru; these were the six others,
Twelve were they in all, of twelve did the Sun and its family make the count.
Of the upheavals most recent, Marduk of his father was inquiring:
Why have seven celestials in a row places taken? So was he his father asking.
Their circuits about the Sun Enki then considered;
Their grand band around the Sun, their progenitor, Enki carefully observed,
The positions of Earth and Moon therein on a chart Enki marked out,
By the motions of Nibiru, of the Sun not a descendant, the width of the great band he outlined.
The Way of Anu, the king, to name it Enki decided.
In the expanse of the deep heavens, the stars did father and son observe;
By their proximities and groupings was Enki fascinated.
By the circuit of the heavens, from horizon to horizon, he drew images of twelve constellations.
In the Great Band, the Way of Anu, one each with the Sun’s family of twelve he paired,
To each one he designated a station, by names they were to be called.
Then in the heavens below the Way of Anu, whence Nibiru the Sun is approaching,
A bandlike way he designed, the Way of Enki he it designated;
To it twelve constellations by their shapes he also allotted.
The heavens above the Way of Anu, the Upper Tier, the Way of Enlil he called,
Therein too the stars into twelve constellations he assembled.
Thirty-six were the stars’ constellations, in the three Ways were they located.
Henceforth, when Nibiru nears and departs, from Earth by the stars’ stations its course shall be known,
So will the Earth’s position designated as around the Sun it travels!
The start of the cycle, of Celestial Time the measure, Enki to Marduk indicated:
When on Earth I had arrived, the station that was ending by me the Station of the Fishes was named,
The one that followed after my name title, He of the Waters, I called!
So Enki with satisfaction and pride to his son Marduk was saying.
Your wisdon the heavens embraces, your teachings my own understanding extend,
But on Earth and on Nibiru, knowledge and rulership are separated! So did Marduk to his father say.
My son! My son! What is that you do not know, what is it that you are missing? to him Enki was saying.
The secrets of the heavens, the secrets of the Earth with you have I shared!
Alas, my father! Marduk was saying. There was agony in his voice.
When the Anunnaki in the Abzu the toil ceased and the Primitive Worker you set to fashion,
Not my mother but Ninmah, the mother of Ninurta, to assist you was summoned,
Not I but Ningishzidda, of me the younger, to help you was invited,
With them, not with me, your knowledge of life and death did you share!
My son! Enki to Marduk responded. To you command was given of the Igigi and Lahmu to be supreme!
Alas, my father! to him Marduk was saying. Of supremacy by fate we are deprived!
You, my father, are Anu’s Firstborn; yet Enlil, not you, is the Legal Heir;
You, my father, were first to splash down and Eridu establish,
Yet Eridu is in Enlil’s domain, yours is in the distant Abzu.
I am your Firstborn, by your legitimate spouse on Nibiru was I born,
Yet the gold in the city of Ninurta is assembled, therefrom to send or to withhold,
The survival of Nibiru is in his hands, in my hands it is not.
Now to Earth we are returning; what will my task be,
Am I to fame and kingship fated, or again to humiliated be?
In silence did Enki embrace his son, on the desolate Moon to him a promise made:
Of that of which I have been deprived your future lot shall be!
Your celestial time will come, a station mine adjoining yours shall be!
Now this is the account of Sippar, the Place of the Chariots in the Edin,
And how the Primitive Workers to the Edin were returned.
For many circuits of the Earth, from the Earth were father and son absent;
On Earth no plans were implemented, on Lahmu the Igigi were in turmoil.
Enlil to Anu secret words conveyed, his concerns to Anu he from Nibru-ki beamed:
Enki and Marduk to the Moon have gone, for countless circuits there they are staying.
Their doings a mystery are, what they are scheming is not known;
Marduk the way station on Lahmu has abandoned, the Igigi are agog,
By dust storms has the way station been affected, what damage there is to us is not known.
The Place of the Chariots in the Edin must be established,
Therefrom the gold directly from Earth to Nibiru to be carried,
No way station on Lahmu shall henceforth be needed;
The plan of Ninurta it is, great in these matters is his understanding,
Let him the Place of the Chariots near Bad-Tibira establish,
Let Ninurta be its first commander!
Anu to the words of Enlil gave much consideration; to Enlil a response he gave:
Enki and Marduk to Earth are returning;
What about the Moon they have found, let us first to their words listen!
From the Moon Enki and Marduk departed, to Earth they did return;
Of conditions thereon they gave account; a way station is unfeasible now! so they reported.
Let the Place of the Chariots be built! Anu was saying.
Let Marduk be its commander! Enki was saying to Anu.
The task is for Ninurta set aside! Enlil
with anger shouted.
For the Igigi command is no more needed, of the tasks Marduk knowledge has,
Of the Gateway to Heaven let Marduk be in charge! So did Enki to his father say.
Anu the matter with concern contemplated: Rivalries now the sons have affected!
With wisdom was Anu endowed, with wisdom were his decisions:
The Place of the Chariots for new ways the gold to handle is designated,
Let us what henceforth comes in the hands of a new generation place.
Neither Enlil nor Enki, neither Ninurta nor Marduk in command shall be,
Let the third generation responsibility undertake, let Utu be the commander!
Let the Place of the Celestial Chariots be built, let Sippar, Bird City, be its name!
This was the word of Anu; unalterable was the word of the king.
In the eighty-first Shar was the construction started, the plans of Enlil it followed.
Nibru-ki was in the center, a Navel of the Earth by Enlil it was designated,
As on circles by their place and distances the olden cities were located,
Like an arrow from the Lower Sea toward the mountains pointing they were arrayed.
A line on the twin peaks of Arrata, to the skies in the north reaching, he drew,
Where the pointing arrow the Arrata line intersected,
The place for Sippar, the Earth’s Place of the Chariots, he marked out;
To it the arrow directly led, it from Nibru-ki was by an equal circle precisely located!
Ingenious was the plan, by its precision all were made to wonder.
In the eighty-second Shar was the construction of Sippar completed;
To the hero Utu, of Enlil the grandson, its command was given.
An Eagle’s helmet for him was fashioned, with Eagle’s wings was he decorated.
In the first chariot from Nibiru to Sippar directly come, Anu was traveling;
To view for himself the installations he desired, to marvel at what was attained he wanted.
For the occasion the Igigi, by Marduk commanded, from Lahmu to Earth came down,
From the Landing Place and from the Abzu Anunnaki were assembled.
There was backslapping and hailing, a feast and a celebration.
For Anu Inanna, Enlil’s granddaughter, singing and dancing presented;
With affection Anu kissed her; Anunitu, Anu’s Beloved, he fondly called her.
Before departing, Anu the heroes and heroines assembled.
A new era has begun! So was he to them saying.
Supplied directly with the golden salvation, forthcoming is the end of toil!
Once enough gold on Nibiru for protecting is piled in storage,
The toil on Earth can be diminished, heroes and heroines to Nibiru will return!
Thus did Anu the king to the assembled promise, a great hope to them he did extend:
A few more Shars of toil, and homeward they shall be bound!
With much pomp did Anu to Nibiru soar back; gold, pure gold, with him was carried.
His new task Utu with cherish performed; Ninurta of Bad-Tibira command retained.
Marduk to Lahmu did not return; with his father to the Abzu he did not go.
Over all the lands he wished to roam, in his skyship the Earth to comprehend,
Of the Igigi, some on Lahmu, some on Earth, Utu was the commander made.
After Anu to Nibiru returned, on Earth the leaders great expectations had:
With renewed vigor to labor, the Anunnaki they expected.
Gold quickly to amass, thereby quicker homebound to be.
That, alas, was not what came to pass!
In the Abzu, relief, not continued toil, was the Anunnaki’s expectation,
Now that the Earthlings are proliferating, let them provide the labor!
So were the Anunnaki in the Abzu saying.
In the Edin, the tasks were greater; more abodes, more provisions were required.
For Primitive Workers, to the Abzu confined, did the Edin heroes clamor.
For forty Shars was relief only to the Abzu provided! The heroes in the Edin shouted,
Our toil has increased beyond endurance, let us have the Workers too!
While Enlil and Enki the matter were debating, Ninurta the decision into his hands took:
With fifty heroes an expedition to the Abzu he led, with weapons were they armed.
In the forests and the steppes of the Abzu, the Earthlings they chased,
With nets they them captured, male and female to the Edin they them brought.
To do all manner of chores, in the orchards and in the cities, they trained them.
By the doings was Enki angered, by them was Enlil enraged:
My expelliing of Adamu and Ti-Amat you have overturned! So Enlil to Ninurta said.
Let the mutiny once in the Abzu occurring not in the Edin be repeated!
So to Enlil Ninurta said. With the Earthlings in the Edin, the heroes are becalmed,
A few more Shars, and it will no longer matter! So did Ninurta to Enlil say.
Enlil was not appeased; with grumbling, Let it so be! to his son he said.
Let the gold pile up quickly, let us all to Nibiru soon return!
In the Edin, the Anunnaki the Earthlings with admiration observed:
Intelligence they possessed, of commands they had understanding.
They took over all manner of chores; unclothed they were the tasks performing.
Males with females among them were constantly mating, quick were their proliferations:
In one Shar, sometimes four, sometimes more, were their generations!
As the Earthlings grew in numbers, workers the Anunnaki had,
With food the Anunnaki were not satiated;
In the cities and in the orchard, in the valleys and in the hills,
The Earthlings for food were constantly foraging.
In those days grains had not yet been brought forth,
There was no ewe, a lamb had not yet been fashioned.
About these matters, Enlil to Enki angry words was saying:
By your doings confusion was created, by you let salvation be devised!
Now this is the account of how Civilized Man was brought about,
How by a secret of Enki Adapa and Titi in the Edin were brought forth.
By the proliferation of the Earthlings, Enki was pleased, Enki was worried;
The lot of the Anunnaki was greatly eased, their discontent was diminished,
By the proliferation the Anunnaki shunned toil, the workers as serfs were becoming.
For seven Shars the Anunnaki’s lot was greatly eased, diminished was their discontent.
By the proliferation of the Earthlings, what by itself was growing for all insufficient was;
In three more Shars of fish and fowl there was a shortage, what by itself grows Anunnaki and Earthlings did not satiate.
In his heart, Enki a new undertaking was scheming; to create a Civilized Mankind in his heart he conceived.
Grains that are sown by them to be cultivated, ewes that become sheep let them shepherd!
In his heart Enki a new undertaking was scheming; how this to attain he contemplated.
The Primitive Workers in the Abzu he for this scheme observed,
The Earthlings in the Edin, in the cities and in the orchards he considered.
What could for the tasks make them suited? What by the life essence has not been combined?
The offspring of the Earthlings he observed, an alarming matter he noticed:
By their repeated copulations, back toward their wild forebears they were degraded!
Enki in the marshlands looked about, on the rivers he sailed and observed;
With him was only Isimud, his vizier, who secrets kept.
On the river’s bank, bathing and frolicking Earthlings he noticed;
Two females among them were wild with beauty, firm were their breasts.
Their sight the
phallus of Enki caused to water, a burning desire he had.
Shall I not kiss the young ones? Enki his vizier Isimud was asking.
I the boat will hither row, kiss the young ones! Isimud to Enki was saying.
The boat thereto Isimud directed, from the boat to dry land Enki stepped.
A young one to him Enki called, a tree fruit she to him offered.
Enki bent down, the young one he embraced, on her lips he kissed her;
Sweet were her lips, firm with ripeness were her breasts.
Into her womb he poured his semen, in a mating he knew her.
Into her womb she took the holy semen, by the semen of the lord Enki she was impregnated.
The second young one to him Enki called, berries from the field she him offered.
Enki bent down, the young one he embraced, on her lips he kissed her;
Sweet were her lips, firm with ripeness were her breasts.
Into her womb he poured his semen, in a mating he knew her.
Into her womb she took the holy semen, by the semen of the lord Enki she was impregnated.
With the young ones stay, whether pregnancies come about ascertain!
So was Enki to his vizier Isimud saying.
Isimud by the young ones sat down; by the fourth count their bulges appeared.
By the tenth count, the ninth having been completed,
The first young one squatted and birth gave, by her a male child was born;
The second young one squatted and birth gave, by her a female child was born.
At dawn and dusk, which a day delimit, on the same day the two were born,
The Gracious Ones, Dawn and Dusk, thereafter in legends they were known.
In the ninety-third Shar the two, by Enki fathered, in the Edin were born.
Word of the births Isimud to Enki quickly brought.
By the births Enki was ecstatic: Whoever such a thing has ever known!
Between Anunnaki and Earthling, conception was attained,
Civilized Man I have brought into being!
To his vizier Isimud Enki instructions gave: A secret must my deed remain!
Let the newborns by their mothers be suckled; thereafter into my household them bring,
Among the bulrushes in reed baskets have I them found! Thus to all you will say!
By their mothers were the newborns suckled and nurtured;
To Enki’s household in Eridu thereafter Isimud them brought.
Among the bulrushes, in reed baskets, have I them found! So did Isimud to all say.
The Lost Book of Enki Page 14