22. _ḥu-e an-na ḥa-e ṭú(r)-ra šà(LIB)-nì(IM) ma-ni-ib-si_ The birds of heaven and the fish of the sea are filled with fear of thee! 23. _a-a ^dimmer Mu-ul-lil-li da-da maḥ mu-e-gin(DU) sag-e-zi si-ba-e e-nab_ O father Bêl, in great strength thou goest, the head of life, the shepherd of the stars! 24. _ù-mu-un ka na-àm-gá(MAL) iz-ba eri ga mu-e-gin(DU) gín(GI) si ti-šù(KU) me-a_ O lord, the mouth of production thou openest, as a prolific city thou goest, the reed for the fulness of life thou art. 25. _a-a ^dimmer Mu-ul-lil sag zi sag nê(r)-la šú ti ba-ni-ib-ag_ O father Bêl, the head of life, the head of strength, the power of life thou makest thyself! 26. _šú-gil niš-ia mu-bi im_ Altogether there are twenty-five lines in the tablet. 27. _êr(A.ŠI) lim-ma_ Hymn of praise. This composition is a hymn of praise to Bêl, who is directly addressed. His name, Mu-ul-lil, appears in 14 of the 25 lines of the hymn, in which he is called distinctively “father”, the title occurring 8 times. The god is addressed in the second person, as is seen in line 16, where _za-e_, the personal pronoun of the second person, is applied to him, and also in the pronominal phase of the second person, _za-da_, found in lines 18 and 19, not to mention other less striking symbols of the second person singular. The hymn consists of many laudatory epithets descriptive of Bêl’s divine nature and work. His fatherhood and lordship are dwelt upon. He is a righteous and all-wise father. His lordship extends not only over the land, but up into the air as well. He provides subsistence for the creatures of earth, being also the organizer of city and state. He superintends also the operations of nature in the atmosphere being the dread of heaven, the lord of gods, the occasion of fear among the birds and fishes, the shepherd of the storms (or stars). The time of the origin of this hymn is a matter of conjecture. The form of the signs offers some evidence. What the early kings say of Bêl also throws some light on the subject. The signs are, of course, later than the picture-writing of the hieroglyph, and also later than the linear script suited to stone. These signs are made in clay, hence the wedge appears. The design of the signs used here has met with some transformation since the hieroglyph was used, but it has not yet reached the chaste and symmetrical form given by the hand of the Assyrian. In short the signs of this hymn are old Babylonian, almost identical with those used in the inscriptions of Eannatum, Entemena, Gudea and Ḥammurabi. There are, however, some later and even New-Babylonian signs among them, pointing perhaps to transcription subsequent to the original composition.