_gu_: GÛ is a composite sign whose original parts are NI and BE and which means “full of death”. According to the derivation, GÛ then may be read as “destruction” (MSL. p. 156). GÛ has also an Assyrian equivalent _gû_ meaning “plant”, “vegetation” (Br. 11138 and HW. p. 582). The consideration of GÛ as meaning “vegetation” looks only on the perishable side of the object. The sign has few values. Here, it is clearly old Babylonian resembling the linear form. _má-má-me-en_ here equals _a⋅û_, “go out”, used of plants and trees (Br. 4303). The more generally used word for _a⋅û_ is _ê_ (UD.DU) (see on line 15). _má_: the name of the sign is NISIGÛ (see note on _še-ir_, line 1). The sign is old Babylonian here. _me-en_ (see on line 16). _še_: the sign is old Babylonian here. Its most common Assyrian equivalent is _šê’u_, “grain” (see line 1). If we gave Û-UM the broader meaning of “production”, at the same time reading GÛ as “destruction”, we would have the fine antithetical parallelism: “O father Bêl, who bringest forth destruction and who bringest forth production.” Such a reading would give quite correctly the course of thought, for Bêl is god of the atmosphere, lord of the clouds, and commander of the rain-storms which are either sources of growth on earth or of ruin. On the other hand, the translation which I have adopted seems perhaps preferable. 21. _^dimmer Mu-ul-lil me-lam-zu gúr-ra ha-mu-ni-ib-( )-ne-ne_ O Bêl, before the great glory may they be (in fear?)! _me-lam-zu_: from the combination of ME and LAM we get the Assyrian _melammu_, “glory”. _me_: MIMÛ with the value _išib_ means _ellu_, “bright” (see line 16 for further comment). _lam_: one of the values of IZÛ, seems to equal _išâtu_, “flame”, but the usual value of IZÛ for _išâtu_ is _bil_ (see line 6, _de_), _me-lam_ literally means “bright flame”. _zu_, besides being an ideogram for _idû_, “know”, is the usual pronominal suffix of the second person singular (see on _zu_, line 1), as in this passage. _gúr-ra_ gives a good sense, though the signs resemble KU and RA giving _šù-ra_, a double postposition. The text however is defective. _gúr-ra_ equals _kabtu_ (Br. 10183), making the phrase read “before thy great glory”. _gúr_: KIL also has the value _gurun_ equal to _ebnu_, “fruit” (Br. 10179). _ra_ (see on line 3). _ḥa_: KÙA is the usual Sumerian sign used with a verb, to give a precative sense as here. The sign here is old Babylonian and resembles the pictorial form which is clearly that of “a fish” (see on line 22). The original pictorial figure is one of the few to be found in which curved lines predominate.