Tablet 1: Babylon to Tyre
Noble king, blinding all,
Babylon demands you fall.
‘Spend the heat of your youth on violence;
Those who say quench it speak but with foolish tongues.
For when old age blackens you with its tongues
You will shout for defenders
And those who paid their youth forward will be best served.
Over those who have not
Will spring another who wishes
To enjoy divine wives
Before winning his place in the test of war.’
‘Learn to read the figures on a tablet;
Master these, prince, know what your holdings are.
For when your subjects in their greed
Stoop to lies, and try to siphon some,
A king must have the cunning to detect it.’
‘Last and most, prince, praise the great thunder god;
Raise a temple to
The sky king who killed the chaos,
Wielder of Ímhullu, honor the master at war,
For his divinity upholds your own,
Which flows down the Fertile Path.”
These are our mandates. You have obeyed none.
Thus, you wear a crown you have not won.
Our king wishes to rule only the just.
Heaven's guile will be obeyed,
That has laid laws at our feet.
Noble king, blinding all,
Babylon demands you fall.
Tablet 2: Jericho to Tyre
“I told you his greed would eat you like a tower
In its marriage to an earthquake.
You wouldn't listen. This is your reward.
We are no longer allies; we have dispatched our bowmen
To seize your city if it survives his siege.
To commend our long friendship, our priests
Went to the Spirit World on your behalf.
They say that Siddar will protect you from arrows
And that, if you yourself, O mighty king,
Place twelve azurites on your sarcophagus
You will have twelve cups of wine every day of your death.”