The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Translated by Maureen Gallery Kovacs
Electronic Edition by Wolf Carnahan, I998

Tablet IV

At twenty leagues they broke for some food,
at thirty leagues they stopped for the night,
walking Fifty leagues in a whole day,
a walk of a month and a half.
On the third day they drew near to the Lebanon.
They dug a well facing Shamash (the setting sun),
Gilgamesh climbed up a mountain peak,
made a libation of flour, and said:
"Mountain, bring me a dream, a favorable message from
Shamash."
Enkidu prepared a sleeping place for him for the night;
a violent wind passed through so he attached a covering.
He made him lie down, and... in a circle.
they... like grain from the mountain...
While Gilgamesh rested his chin on his knees,
sleep that pours over mankind overtook him.
in the middle of the night his sleep came to an end,
so he got up and said to his friend:
"My friend, did you not call out to me? Why did I wake up?
Did you not touch me? Why am I so disturbed?
Did a god pass by? Why are my muscles trembling?
Enkidu, my friend, I have had a dream--
and the dream I had was deeply disturbing(?)
in the mountain gorges...
the mountain fell down on me (us?) ...
Wet(?)... like flies(?)...
He who was born in the wilderness,

Enkidu, interpreted the dream for his friend:
"My friend, your dream is favorable.
The dream is extremely important.
My friend, the mountain which you saw in the dream is
Humbaba.
"It means we will capture Humbaba, and kill him
and throw his corpse into the wasteland.
In the morning there will be a favorable message from Shamash.
At twenty leagues they broke for some food,
at thirty leagues they stopped for the night,
walking fifty leagues in a whole day,
a walk of a month and a half.
They dug a well facing Shamash
Gilgamesh climbed up a mountain peak,
made a libation of flour, and said,
"Mountain, bring me a dream, a favorable message from
Shamash."
Enkidu prepared a sleeping place for him for the night;
a violent wind passed through so he attached a covering.
He made him lie down, and... in a circle.
They ... like grain from the mountain...
While Gilgamesh rested his chin on his knees,
sleep that pours over mankind overtook him.
,, in the middle of the night his sleep came to an end,
so he got up and said to his friend:
My friend, did you not call out to me? Why did I wake up?
Did you not touch me? Why am I so disturbed?
Did a god pass by? Why are my muscles trembling?
Enkidu, my friend, I have had a dream,
besides my first dream, a second.
And the dream I had--so striking, so...,so disturbing!' I was grappling with a wild bull of the wilderness,
with his bellow he split the ground, a cloud of dust...to
the sky.
I sank to my knees in front of him.
He holds... that encircled(?) my arm.
(My?) tongue(?) hung out(?) ...
My temples throbbed(?) ...
He gave me water to drink from his waterskin."
"My friend, the god to whom we go
is not the wild bull? He is totally different?
The wild bull that you saw is Shamash, the protector,
in difficulties he holds our hand.
The one who gave you water to drink from his waterskin
is your personal) god, who brings honor to you, Lugalbanda.
We should join together and do one thing,
a deed such as has never (before) been done in the land."
At twenty leagues they broke for some food,
at thirty leagues they stopped for the night,
walking fifty leagues in a whole day,
a walk of a month and a half.
They dug a well facing Shamash,
Gilgamesh climbed up a mountain peak,
made a libation of flour, and said:
"Mountain, bring me a dream, a favorable message from
Shamash."
Enkidu prepared a sleeping place for him for the night;
a violent wind passed through so he attached a covering.
He made him lie down, and... in a circle.
They... like grain from the mountain...
While Gilgamesh rested his chin on his knees,
sleep that pours over mankind overtook him.
In the middle of the night his sleep came to an end,
so he got up and said to his friend:
"My friend, did you nor call out to me? Why did I wake up?
Did you not touch me? Why am I so disturbed?
Did a god pass by) Why are my muscles trembling?
Enkidu, my friend, I have had a third dream,
and the dream I had was deeply disturbing.
,, The heavens roared and the earth rumbled;
(then) it became deathly still, and darkness loomed.
A bolt of lightning cracked and a fire broke out,
and where(?) it kept thickening, there rained death.
Then the white-hot name dimmed, and the fire went out,
and everything that had been falling around turned to ash.
Let us go down into the plain so we can talk it over."
,,, Enkidu heard the dream that he had presented and said to Gilgamesh
(About 40 lines are missing here.)
At twenty leagues they broke for some food, at thirty leagues they stopped for the night,
walking fifty leagues in a whole day,
a walk of a month and a half.
They dug a well facing Shamash,
Gilgamesh climbed up a mountain peak, made a libation of flour, and said:
"Mountain, bring me a dream, a favorable message from
Shamash."
Enkidu prepared a sleeping place for him for the night;
a violent wind passed through so he attached a covering.
He made him lie down, and... in a circle.
They... like grain from the mountain...
While Gilgamesh rested his chin on his knees,
sleep that pours over mankind overtook him.
in the middle of the night his sleep came to an end, so he got up and said to his friend:
"My friend, did you not call out to me? Why did I wake up?
Did you nor touch me? Why am I so disturbed?
Did a god pass by? Why are my muscles trembling)
Enkidu, my friend, I have had a fourth dream,
and the dream I had was deeply disturbing (?).
(About 11 lines are missing)
"He was... cubits tall...
... Gilgamesh
Enkidu listened to his dream
"The dream that you had is favorable, it is extremely important? My friend, this...
Humbaba Eke...
Before it becomes light...
We will achieve (victory?) over him,
Humbaba, against whom we rage,
we will.., and triumph over him.
In the morning there will be a favorable message from Shamash.
At twenty leagues they broke for some food, at thirty leagues they stopped for the night,
walking fifty leagues in a whole day,
a walk of a month and a half.
They dug a well facing Shamash,
Gilgamesh climbed up a mountain peak, made a libation of flour, and said:
"Mountain, bring me a dream, a favorable message from
Shamash."
Enkidu prepared a sleeping place for him for the night;
a violent wind passed through so he attached a covering.
He made him lie down, and... in a circle. They... like grain from the mountain ...
While Gilgamerh rested his chin on his knees,
sleep that pours over mankind overtook him.
,, in the middle of the night his sleep came to an end,
so he got up and said to his friend:
"My friend, did you not call out to me? Why did I wake up? Did you not touch me? Why am I so disturbed?
Did a god pass by? Why are my muscles trembling?
Enkidu, my friend, I had a fifth(?) dream,
and the dream I had was deeply disturbing (?).
...His tears were running in the presence of Shamash. 'What you said in Uruk...,
be mindful of it, stand by me... ?"
Gilgamesh, the offspring of Uruk-Haven,
Shamash heard what issued from his mouth,
and suddenly there resounded a warning sound from the sky.
"Hurry, stand by him so that he (Humbaba) does nor enter
the forest,
and does not go down into the thickets and hide (?)
He has not put on his seven coats of armor(?)
he is wearing only one, but has taken off six."
,,, They(Gilgamesh and Enkidu ')...
They lunge at each other like raging wild bulls...
One name he bellowed full of...
The Guardian of the Forest bellowed ...Humbaha like...
..."'One alone cannot
'Strangers ...
'A slippery path is not feared by two people who help each
other.'
'Twice three times...
'A three-ply rope cannot be cut.'
'The mighty lioness cubs can roll him over."'
Enkidu spoke to Gilgamesh, saying:
"As soon as we have gone down into the Cedar Forest,
let us split open the tree (?) and strip off its branches(?)."
Gilgamesh spoke to Enkidu, saying:
"Why, my friend, we...so wretchedly (?)
We have crossed over all the mountarns together,
in front of us, before we have cut down the Cedar.
My friend, you who are so experienced in battle,
who... fighting,
you...' and (need) not fear death.
Let your voice bellow forth like the kettledrum, let the stiffness in your arms depart,
let the paralysis in your legs go away.
Take my hand, my friend, we will go on together.
Your heart should burn to do battle
--pay no heed to death, do not lose heart!
The one who watches from the side is a careful man,
but the one who walks in front protects himself and saves his
comrade,
and through their fighting they establish fame'"
As the two of them reached the evergreen forest
they cut off their talk, and stood still.