Before heaven and earth are named, the gods are born within Apsu and Tiamat. Apsu plots to destroy them; Ea kills Apsu; Tiamat prepares for war and spawns eleven monsters.
2And the name of the earth beneath had not been recorded,
3Apsu, the oldest of beings, their progenitor,
4"Mummu" Tiamat, who bare each and all of them--
5Their waters were merged into a single mass.
6A field had not been measured, a marsh had not been searched out,
7When of the gods none was shining,
8A name had not been recorded, a fate had not been fixed,
9The gods came into being in the midst of them.
10The god Lakhmu and the goddess Lakhamu were made to shine, they were named.
11[Together] they increased in stature, they grew tall.
12Anshar and Kishar came into being, and others besides them.
13Long were the days, the years increased.
14The god Anu, their son, the equal of his fathers, [was created].
15The god Anshar made his eldest son Anu in his own image.
16And the god Anu begat Nudimmud (Ea) the image of himself.
17The god Nudimmud was the first among his fathers,
18Endowed with understanding, he who thinketh deeply, the orator
19Exceedingly mighty in strength above his father Anshar who begat him.
20Unrivalled amongst the gods his brothers ...
21The confraternity of the gods was established.
22Tiamat was troubled and she ... their guardian.
23Her belly was stirred up to its uttermost depths.
24...........
25Apsu (the watery abyss) could not diminish their brawl
26And Tiamat gathered herself together ...
27She struck a blow, and their works ...
28Their way was not good,...
29At that time Apsu, the progenitor of the great gods,
30Shouted out and summoned Mummu, the steward of his house, saying
31"[O] Mummu, my steward, who makest my liver to rejoice,
32"Come, to Tiamat we will go."
33They went, they lay down [on a couch] facing Tiamat.
34They took counsel together about the gods [their children].
35Apsu took up his word and said,
36To Tiamat, the holy (?) one, he made mention of a matter, [saying],
37"... their way ...
38"By day I find no peace, by night I have no rest.
39"Verily I will make an end of their way, I will sweep them away,
40"There shall be a sound of lamentation; lo, then we shall rest."
41Tiamat on hearing this
42Was stirred up to wrath and shrieked to her husband,
43... unto sickness. She raged all alone,
44She uttered a curse, and unto [Apsu, spake, saying,],
45"Whatsoever we have made we will destroy.
46"Verily their way shall be filled with disaster; lo, then we shall rest."
47Mummu answered and gave counsel unto Apsu,
48The counsel of Mummu was ... and dire [in respect of the gods]:
49"Come, [do thou destroy] their way which is strong.
50"Then verily by day thou shalt find peace, [and] by night thou shalt have rest."
51Apsu heard him, his face grew bright,
52For that they were planning evil against the gods, his children.
53Mummu embraced his neck ...
54He took him on his knee, he kissed him ...
55They (i.e. Mummu and Apsu) planned the cursing in the assembly,
56They repeated the curses to the gods their eldest sons.
57The gods made answer ...
58They began a lamentation...
59[Endowed] with understanding, the prudent god, the exalted one,
60Ea, who pondereth everything that is, searched out their [plan].
61He brought it to nought (?), he made the form of everything to stand still.
62He recited a cunning incantation, very powerful and holy.
109They formed a band, and went forth to battle to help Tiamat.
110They were exceedingly wroth, they made plots by day and by night without ceasing.
111They offered battle, fuming and raging.
112They set the battle in array, they uttered cries of hostility,
113Ummu-Khubur, who fashioned all things,
114Set up the unrivalled weapon, she spawned huge serpents,
115Sharp of tooth, pitiless in attack (?)
116She filled their bodies with venom instead of blood,
117Grim, monstrous serpents, arrayed in terror,
118She decked them with brightness, she fashioned them in exalted forms,
119So that fright and horror might overcome him that looked upon them,
120So that their bodies might rear up, and no man resist their attack,
121She set up the Viper, and the Snake, and the god Lakhamu,
122The Whirlwind, the ravening Dog, the Scorpion-man,
123The mighty Storm-wind, the Fish-man, the horned Beast (Capricorn?)
124They carried the Weapon which spared not, nor flinched from the battle.
125Most mighty were Tiamat's decrees, they could not be resisted,
126Thus she caused eleven [monsters] of this kind to come into being,
127Among the gods, her first-born son who had collected her company,
128That is to say, Kingu, she set on high, she made him the great one amongst them,
129Leader of the hosts in battle, disposer of the troops,
130Bearer of the firmly grasped weapon, attacker in the fight,
131He who in the battle is the master of the weapon,
132She appointed, she made him to sit down in [goodly apparel]
133[Saying], "I have uttered the incantation for thee. I have magnified thee in the assembly of the gods.
134"I have filled his [sic, read 'thy'] hand with the sovereignty of the whole company of the gods.
135"Mayest thou be magnified, thou who art my only spouse,
136"May the Anunnaki make great thy renown over all of them."
137She gave him the TABLET OF DESTINIES, she fastened it on his breast, [saying],
138"As for thee, thy command shall not fall empty, whatsoever goeth forth from thy mouth shall be established."
139When Kingu was raised on high and had taken the heavens (literally, the god Anutum)
140He fixed the destinies for the gods his sons,
141Open your mouths, let the Fire-god be quenched,
142He who is glorious in battle and is most mighty, shall do great deeds.
In the British Museum tablets lines 63-108 are either wanting entirely, or are too broken to translate, and the last 130 lines of the Berlin fragment are much mutilated. The fragments of text show that Ea waged war against Apsu and Mummu. Ea recited an incantation which caused Apsu to fall asleep. He then "loosed the joints" of Mummu, who in some way suffered, but he was strong enough to attack Ea when he turned to deal with Apsu. Ea overcame both his adversaries and divided Apsu into chambers and laid fetters upon him. In one of the chambers of Apsu a god was begotten and born. According to the Ninevite theologians Ea begat by his wife, who is not named, his son Marduk, and according to the theologians of the City of Ashur, Lakhmu begat by his wife Lakhamu a son who is no other than Anshar, or Ashur. A nurse was appointed to rear him, and he grew up a handsome child, to the great delight of his father. He had four ears and four eyes, a statement which suggests that he was two-headed, and resembled the Latin god Janus.
Editorial restorations by the translator are in [square brackets]; “…” and italic notes mark where the tablet is broken. Bracketed scene-headings are the translator's, not part of the text.