Words broke from the lips of Anshar; he said to his counselor Kaka, 'You are the counselor in whom my heart finds its happiness, the one who judges truly and persuades fairly; go to Lahmu and Lahamu, I am sending you down to primeval sediments, call together the generations of the gods.  'Let them speak, let them sit down to banquet together, they shall eat the feast and drink the new-drawn liquor and then they shall all confirm in his destiny the avenger, Marduk!

Kaka go off, stand in front of them and repeat what I say.  '"I am sent here by your son Anshar, I am charged to tell you his secret thoughts, '"She loathes us, our mother Tiamat has raised up that Company, she rages in turbulence and all have joined her, all those gods whom you begot, Together they jostle the ranks to march with Tiamat. Day and night furiously they plot, the growling roaring rout, ready for battle, while the Old Hag, the first mother, mothers a new brood.  She has loosed the irresistible missile, spawned enormous serpents with cutting fangs, chock-full of venom instead of blood, snarling dragons wearing their glory like gods. (Whoever sees this thing receives the shock of death, for when they heave those bodies up they never turn them back.)

'"She has made the Worm
the Dragon
the Female Monster
the Great Lion
the Mad Dog
the Man Scorpion
the Howling Storm
Kulili
Kusariqu

"There is not pity in their weapons, they do not flinch from battle for her law is binding, irrevocable.  '"Eleven monsters she has made, but she took from among the gods the clumsy laborer KINGU one of the first generation to be her Captain, War-leader, Assembly-gatherer, ordering the supplies, leading the van to battle SUPREME COMMANDER OF THE WARS.  All this she gave him when she set up their Company, she has said, '"Now it is in your hands, my spell will hold them bound, they must obey my will. You are supreme, my one husband, your word will hold the rebel horde.'  '"She has given to him the Tablets of Fate and fastened them on to his breast, '"Now and for ever more your word is irrevocable, your judgments will last! They will quench the fire and the swinging mace will fail of its power.'

So Kingu has received the authority that belonged before to Anu, they have confirmed in their several natures the brood of monsters.  '"I sent Anu but he could not face her, Nudimmud came flying back in terror, then Marduk stood up, a wise god, one of your lineage, his heart has compelled him to set out and face Tiamat but first he said this, '"Creator of the gods who decides their destiny, if I must be your avenger, defeating Tiamat, saving your lives, '"Call the Assembly, give me precedence over all the rest; and when you sit down to pass your decrees, cheerfully sit in Ubshukinnna, the Hall of the Synod, now and for ever let my word be law; '"I, not you, will decide the world's nature, the things to come. My decrees shall never be altered, never annulled, but my creation endures to the ends of the world.

'"Come soon and confirm the destiny of Marduk and the sooner he is off to meet the Great Adversary."'

He left and took his way down to Lahmu and Lahamu, stooping he kissed the primeval sediments, bowed to the ground at their feet and delivered the message to old gods, 'I have been sent here by your son Anu, I am charged to tall you his secret thoughts. 'She loathes us, our mother Tiamat has raised up that Company, she rages in turbulence and all have joined her, all those gods whom you begot.  'Together they jostle the ranks to match with Tiamat, day and night furiously they plot, the growling roaring rout, ready for battle, while the Old Hag, the first mother, mothers a new brood. 'She has loosed the irresistible missile, spawned enormous serpents with cutting fangs, chock-full of venom instead of blood, snarling dragons wearing their glory like gods. (Whoever sees this thing receives the shock of death, for when they heave those b odies up over the sides they never turn them back.

'She has made the Worm
the Dragon
the Female Monster
the Great Lion
the Mad Dog
the Man Scorpion
the Howling Storm
Kulili
Kusariqu

'There is no pity in their weapons, they do not flinch from battle for her law is binding, irrevocable. Eleven such monsters she has made, but she took from among the gods, the clumsy KINGU one of the first generation to be her Captain, War-leader, Assembly-gatherer, ordering the supplies, leading the van to battle SUPREME COMMANDER OF THE WARS.  All this she gave him when she set up their Company, she has said, '"Now it is in your hands, my spell will hold them bound, they must obey my will. You are supreme, my one husband, your word will hold the rebel horde.'  '"She has given to him the Tablets of Fate and fastened them on to his breast, "Now and for ever more your word is irrevocable, your judgments will last! They will quench the fire and the swinging mace will fail of its power.'  '"So Kingu has received the authority that belonged before to Anu, they have confirmed in their several natures the brood of monsters.

'"I sent Anu but he could not face her, Nudimmud came flying back in terror, then Marduk stood up, a wise god, one of your lineage, his heart has compelled him to set out and face Tiamat but first he said this, '"Creator of the gods who decides their destiny, if I must be your avenger, defeating Tiamat, saving your lives, '"Call the Assembly, give me precedence over all the rest; and when you sit down to pass your decrees, cheerfully sit in Ubshukinnna, the Hall of the Synod, now and for ever let my word be law; '"I, not you, will decide the world's nature, the things to come. My decrees shall never be altered, never annulled, but my creation endures to the ends of the world. '"Come soon and confirm the destiny of Marduk and the sooner he is off to meet the Great Adversary."'

When Lahmu and Lahamu heard this they muttered together, all the gods moaned with distress, 'What a strange and terrible decision, the coil of Tiamat is too deep for us to fathom.'  Then they prepared for the journey, all the gods who determine the nature of the world and of things to come came in to Anshar, the filled Ubshukinna, greeted each other with a kiss. In the Hall of the Synod the ancestral voices were heard, they sat down to the banquet, they ate the feast, they drank the new-drawn liquor  and the tubes through which they sucked dripped with intoxicating wine.  Their souls expanded, their bodies grew heavy and drowsy; and this was the state of the gods when they settled the fate of Marduk.

END OF TABLET THREE