In the future, in days to come, at any time, let the king who is in the
land, guard the words of righteousness which I have written on my stele.
Let him not alter the judgment of the land which I judged nor the
decisions I decided. Let him not destroy my bas-relief. If that man has
wisdom and is capable of directing his land, let him attend to the words
which I have written upon my stele, let him apprehend the path, the rule,
the law of the land which I judged, and the decision I decided for the
land, and so let him guide forward the black-headed race; let him judge
their judgment and decide their decision, let him cut off from his land
the proud and violent, let him rejoice the flesh of his people. Ḥammurabi,
the king of righteousness, to whom Shamash has granted rights, am I. My
words are precious, my deeds have no rival. Above and below I am the
whirlwind that scours the deep and the height. If that man has hearkened
to my words which I have written on my stele and has not frustrated
justice, has not altered my words, has not injured my bas-reliefs, may
Shamash make lasting his sceptre; like me, as a king of righteousness, let
him guide his people in justice.
But if that man does not hearken to my words which I wrote on my stele,
forgets my curses, fears not the malediction of God, sets aside the
judgment which I judged, alters my words and destroys my bas-reliefs,
effaces my inscribed name and writes in his own name; or, for fear of
these curses has charged another to do so; that man, be he king, lord,
patêsi, or noble, whose name is ever so renowned, may the great god (Anu),
the father of gods, who named my reign, turn him back, shatter his sceptre
in pieces, curse his fortunes; may Bêl the lord who fixes the fates, whose
command is not set aside, who extended my sovereignty, cause for him an
endless revolt, an impulse to fly from his home, and set for his fortune a
reign of sighs, short days, years of want, darkness that has no ray of
light and a death in the sight of all men. May he decree with his heavy
curse the ruin of his city, the scattering of his people, the removal of
his sovereignty, the disappearance of his name and his race from the land.
May Beltu, the great mother, whose command is weighty in Ê-KUR, the lady
who made my plans prosperous, make his words in the matter of justice and
law to be hateful before Bêl. May she bring about the downfall of his
country, the loss of his people, the efflux of his life like water, by the
order of the Bêl, the king. May Ea, the grand prince, whose destiny takes
premier rank, the messenger of the gods, who knows all, who has prolonged
my life, distort his understanding and intellect, curse him with
forgetfulness, dam up his rivers at their source. In his land may Ashnan
(the deity of wheat), the life of the people, not grow. May Shamash, great
judge of heaven and earth, who governs the creatures of life, the lord of
help, cut off his sovereignty; judge not his judgment; carry away his
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