In the twentieth year of Sennacherib, king of Assyria and Nineveh, I, Ahiqar, was the king’s scribe. When I was young it was said to me: “No son will be born to you.” The wealth that I had acquired was (too) great to be told. I had sixty wives and I built sixty castles for them, but I had no son. So I, Ahiqar, built a great altar, all of wood, and I set fire to it and put good aloe on it, and I said: “O God, my Lord, when I die and leave no son behind, what will the people say about me? (They will say:) ‘Behold, Ahiqar, the just, the good, the worshipper of God, has died and left no son to bury him, nor any daughter, nor heirs to his possessions, as a cursed (man) who has no successor.’ But I pray you, (O) God, give me a male child, so that when I die he may place dust on my eyes.” And I heard this voice: “O Ahiqar, sage and scribe! All that you have asked of me, I have given you, but I have left you without sons. Be not grieved, for this Nadan, the son of your sister, shall be a son to you. While he is growing up, you shall teach him everything.” And when I heard this, I was grieved again,

(and) I said: “O God, my Lord! Will you give me Nadan, the son of my sister, for a son?” And again I received no further answer. So I obeyed his command and took Nadan, my sister's son. Because he was young, I gave him eight wet nurses, and I raised my son on honey and thickened milk, and made him lie on carpets, and clothed him in fine linen and purple; and my son grew and rose up like a mountain goat. When my son was grown, I taught him literature and wisdom. The king’s answer: When my lord the king came [back] from where he had gone, he called me and said: “O Ahiqar, sage, scribe, and master of my thoughts, when you grow old and die, who will come after you to serve me as you did?” To the king I, Ahiqar, answered: “Live forever, my lord the king! I have a son who is as wise as I am, who knows the craft of the scribe as I do, and who is educated.” The king said: “Bring him and let me see him. If he is able to stand before me, I will set you free in peace, and you shall live out your old age in honour until the end of your days.” Then I brought my son Nadan and presented him to the king. When the king, my lord, saw him, he said: “This day shall be a blessed day in the sight of God, so that Ahiqar, who laboured before my father Esarhaddon and before me, shall be rewarded, and I will put his son in my court while he is still alive, and he shall live out his days in peace.” So I, Ahiqar, bowed down before the king and said: “Live forever, my lord the king!

And as I have laboured before your father and before you until now, so may you show mercy to this youth, my son, that the favour you have shown me may be doubled on him.” When the king heard this, he gave me his right (hand), and I, Ahiqar, bowed down before the king. Nor did I rest from teaching my son until I had filled him with knowledge as with bread and water. This is what I said to him: ‘Hear, my son Nadan, and come to my understanding, and consider my words as the words of God.’ ‘My son Nadan, when you have heard a word, let it die in your heart, and do not reveal it to anyone, lest it become a hot coal in your mouth and burn you, and you bring disgrace upon yourself and complain against God.’ ‘My son, do not tell all that you hear.’ ‘My son, do not loosen a bond that is sealed, and do not seal one that is loosened.’ ‘My son, do not lift your eyes to look at a woman who is adorned and painted; do not desire her in your heart. For if you give her what is in your hands, you will gain no benefit from her, and you will be guilty of a sin against God.’ ‘My son, do not commit adultery with your friend's [⟨wife, ⟩] so that others may not commit adultery with your wife.’ ‘My son, do not be in a hurry [⟨like⟩] the almond tree, which is the first to blossom, but whose fruit is the last to ripen [lit: be eaten]. Rather, be balanced and prudent, like the mulberry tree, which blooms last, but whose fruit is the first to be eaten.’ ‘Let your eyes look down, for if a house ’

‘is built by a loud voice, [in that case] the donkey would build two houses in one day; and if the plough were driven by sheer force, the share would never be freed from a camel's armpit.’ ‘My son, it is better to roll stones with a wise man than to drink wine with a fool.’ ‘My son, pour your wine on the graves of the righteous and do not drink it with wicked people.’ ‘My son, you will not be defiled with a wise man, and you will become wise with a defiled man.’ ‘My son, associate with a wise man so that you may become wise like him, and do not associate with a loquacious and talkative man so that you are not counted with him.’ ‘My son, while you have shoes on your feet, tread down the thorns and make a path for your sons and grandsons.’ ‘My son, the rich man has eaten a serpent, and they say: “He ate it for his health.” But when the poor man has eaten it, they say: “He ate it out of hunger.”’ ‘My son, eat your portion and please your friend.’ ‘My son, do not even eat bread with one who is not ashamed.’ ‘My son, do not envy your enemy's happiness, nor rejoice in his misfortune.’ ‘My son, do not go near a whispering woman or one whose voice is loud.’ ‘My son, do not follow the beauty of a woman, nor desire her in your heart, for the [true] beauty of a woman is her mind, and the word of her mouth is her ornament.’ ‘My son, when’

‘your enemy meets you with evil, meet him with wisdom.’ ‘My son, the wicked falls and does not rise, but the righteous is not shaken, for God is with him.’ ‘My son, do not withhold your son from chastisement, for the chastisement of a boy is like dung in the field, like a bridle for a beast, and like a fetter on a donkey’s foot.’ ‘My son, subdue your son while he is young, before he becomes stronger than you and rebels against you, and you are ashamed of all his deeds.’ ‘My son, get a strong bull and a donkey with good hooves, but do not take a runaway slave or a thieving maid, lest they cause you to lose all you have acquired.’ ‘My son, the words of liars are like fat sparrows, and he who has no understanding eats them [i.e. believes them].’ ‘My son, do not bring upon yourself the curses of your father and mother; do not despise the blessings of your children.’ ‘My son, do not go unarmed, for you do not know when you will meet your enemy.’ ‘My son, as a tree is adorned with its branches and fruit, and a mountain with trees, so a man is adorned with his wife and children. But a man without wife and children is despised and scorned by his enemies, and he is like a tree by the roadside, which every passer-by plucks and every beast of the field strips of its leaves.’ ‘My son, do not say, "My lord is a fool, and I am wise,"’

‘but bear with him in his faults, and you shall become wise.’ ‘My son, do not count yourself wise if others do not count you wise.’ ‘My son, do not lie with your words before your Lord, lest He despise you and say: "Get out of my sight!"’ ‘My son, let your words be true, so that your Lord may say: "Draw near to me and come."’ ‘My son, do not revile God on the day of your affliction, lest he be angry with you when He hears you.’ ‘My son, do not treat one of your slaves better than another, for you do not know which of them will think well of you in the end.’ ‘My son, strike with stones the dog that leaves its master and follows you.’ ‘My son, the flock of many paths will become the prey of wolves.’ ‘My son, judge righteously in your youth, that you may have honour in your old age.’ ‘My son, sweeten your tongue and make your speech pleasant, for the tail of a dog gives him bread, but his mouth brings blows.’ ‘My son, do not let your neighbour tread on your foot, lest he tread on your neck.’ ‘My son, strike a man with a wise word, so that it may be in his heart like a mild fever; for even if you strike the fool with many rods, he will not understand.’ ‘My son, send a wise man, (and) do not multiply your orders. But if you send a fool, go yourself, and do not send him.’ ‘My son, test your friend with bread and water, and then entrust your property and goods to him.’ ‘My son, withdraw first from a marriage, and do not linger for pleasant ointments, lest they turn into sores (on your head).’ ‘My son, he whose hand is full is called wise; and he whose hand is empty is called foolish,’

‘because no one honours a poor man.’ ‘My son, I have eaten bitter things and I have swallowed harsh ones, but I have seen nothing more bitter than poverty.’ ‘My son, I have carried lead and I have turned over iron, but nothing was heavier than a debt that a man must pay without eating or drinking.’ ‘My son, teach your son hunger and thirst, so that he may manage his house according to what his eyes see.’ ‘My son, it is better to be blind in the eyes than blind in the heart. For the blind of the eyes quickly learn the way, walk in it and enter it, but the blind of the heart leave the right way and go astray.’ ‘My son, better is a neighbour who is near than a brother who is far away; and better is a good name than beauty, for a good name lasts forever, but beauty fades.’ ‘My son, death is better than life for a man who has no rest, and the voice of mourning is better than the voice of singing and joy.’ ‘Better is a roll in your hand than a goose in another's pot, and better is a sheep near you than a bull far away, and better is a sparrow in your hand than thousands in flight. My son, better is poverty that gathers than wealth that scatters, and better is a living fox than a dead lion.’ ‘My son, hold back a word in your heart, and it will bring you peace. For once you have spoken it, you may lose your friend.’ ‘My son, do not let a word leave your mouth until you have considered it in your heart, for it is better for a man to stumble with his feet’

‘than to stumble with his tongue.’ ‘My son, when you hear a word from someone, bury it four cubits deep in the ground, so that you may tread on it and it perish.’ ‘My son, do not stand where there is strife, for out of strife comes contention, and from contention comes murder.’ ‘My son, when you see a man who is older than you, sit before him. Even if he does not reward you, God will reward you.’ ‘My son, keep your tongue from lying and your hand from stealing, and you will be called wise.’ ‘My son, do not meddle in a woman’s marriage, for if it goes badly, she will curse you; and if it goes well, she will bless you.’ ‘My son, everyone who is elegant in dress is also elegant in speech, and he who is despicable in dress is also despicable in speech.’ ‘My son, the hand that is full gives, but the hand that is hungry does not.’ ‘My son, strike with stones the dog that leaves its master and follows you, for he will not stay with you.’ ‘My son, let the wise beat you with many blows, but do not let the fool soothe you with sweet perfume.’ ‘My son, the rich man has eaten a serpent, and they say: "He ate it for his health." But when the poor man’

‘has eaten it, they say: “He ate it out of hunger.”’ ‘My son, eat your portion and please your friend.’ ‘My son, do not even eat bread with one who has no shame.’ ‘My son, do not go away from your first friend, lest another take his place.’ ‘My son, do not go down into the garden of the judges, nor betroth yourself to the daughters of the judges.’ ‘My son, help your friend with pleasant words before the ruler, that you may save him from the lion.’ ‘My son, do not rejoice over your enemy when he dies.’ ‘My son, if someone were to rise up without a place, and the sparrow fly without wings, and the raven become white as snow, and the bitter become sweet as honey, then the fool would become wise.’ ‘My son, if you are a priest of God, be on guard before Him, and come before Him in purity.’ ‘My son, to whom God does good, honour him also.’ ‘My son, do not quarrel with anyone on his day, nor stand against a river in its flow.’ ‘My son, human eyes are like a well of water, and they are not satisfied with riches until they are filled with dust.’ ‘My son, do not stay near quarrelsome people, for, my son, after jokes comes a word of quarrel, after quarrel comes strife, and after strife comes murder. ’ Now, Ahiqar stopped his words of wisdom which he taught, and when

Ahiqar showed the king everything that Nadan had done to his possessions and my property. Then I, Ahiqar, taught my teaching to my sister’s son Nadan. I thought that he would learn and keep all this doctrine in his heart, and that he would stand at the king's gate; however, I was not aware that he did not listen to my words, but scattered them like the wind; and he said: “My father Ahiqar is old, and his mind has withdrawn.” My son Nadan began to waste my possessions and my property, and he showed no mercy to my industrious servants and slew them before me; he slew my horses, cattle and mules. When I saw his deeds, I said to him: “Do not approach my possessions! It is said in a parable: ‘What the hand has not acquired, the eye has not spared.’” I showed my lord these things, and the king commanded: “Nobody shall approach the possessions of Ahiqar the scribe. As long as Ahiqar lives, no one shall approach his possessions and his house.” When Ahiqar took Nadan’s brother to raise him up, then, when he saw that I had taken his little brother and raised him, behold, he rose up against me in my house. It displeased him and he was very angry, while Nadan put evil words in his mind, saying: “My father Ahiqar has grown old, and his wisdom is gone, and his wise words are despised, unless he gives his possessions to my brother and removes me from his house.” Ahiqar heard the words of Nadan. So Ahiqar thought, replied and said to Nadan this:

“Woe to my wisdom, my son! How tasteless it has become in you!” When my son heard this, he was very angry, and the evil in his heart rose against me, and he went to the king's gate so that the evil in his heart might be done. And he wrote evil letters [in the name of] Ahiqar and came to the king’s gate to show them. He wrote two letters to the adversary kings of king Sennacherib: one to the king of Persia and Elam, and in it he wrote this: From Ahiqar, scribe and keeper of the seal of king Esarhaddon. Greetings to you, king of Persia and Elam. When you receive this letter, go out quickly and come to Assyria, and you shall take the kingdom without war and fighting. Again, he wrote in it: “When this letter comes to you, meet me halfway at the plain in the south on the 25th of the month Āb, and I will let you enter Nineveh and you shall take the kingdom without battle.” And he made these writings like my [own] handwriting; and he sealed them with my ring and threw them into one of the king’s chambers. Then he wrote other letters as if from my lord the king. “From Esarhaddon to the king’s scribe Ahiqar, Greetings. When you have received this letter, assemble the whole army on the mountain and go from there to the Eagles’ plain on the twenty-fifth of the month, and when you see me approaching you, arrange the troops before me as a man prepared for war, because messengers from the Pharaoh

king of Egypt, have come to me so that they may know what power I have.” And he sent it to me with two men, and when my son gave the letter to the king that was written as if by Ahiqar, then my son gave one of the letters [to the king] as if he had found it; he read it before the king. And when the king heard it, he was very angry and enraged with Ahiqar, and he said: “O God, what fault have I committed against Ahiqar that he should want to destroy me in this way?” Then Nadan answered and said to the king: “Do not be angry, my lord the king. Let us go out to the Eagles’ plain as it is written in this letter; by this we shall know the truth of these things, and whatever you command shall take place.” When the king had commanded that they should prepare to go up to the plain to see the truth of this matter, my son Nadan led the king, and they came and found me and my army with me in the Eagles’ plain. And when I saw him coming to me, I set my army in array before him as for war, trusting in that letter which my son had sent me; and my son said to the king: “Go to your dwelling in peace, my lord, and I will bring Ahiqar before you.” And the king went to his house. When Nadan came to his father Ahiqar with a message, then my son came

to me and said: “My lord, the king has sent me to you and says to you: ‘Everything that you have done, you have done greatly,’ and the king has exalted you greatly. ‘Now, send the troops away—[each one may go] to his house—and you shall come to me.’” Ahiqar, the scribe of Assyria and Nineveh, came to the king, and the king said: “I let you go in honour and peace, and you turned and have been among my enemies,” and he gave me the letter which was similar to my handwriting and was sealed with my ring. And the king said to me: “Read this letter!” and when I read it, my limbs were loosened and my tongue was appalled, and when I sought any wise word, I could not find one, while he gave me the letter that was written in his words. And he read it, and my wisdom vanished into thin air. Then the king commanded that I be killed in his house, and I, Ahiqar, replied to the king and said to him: “Live forever, my lord the king! Since you desire my death, let your will be done, for I have no fault, to my knowledge; but command that I be put to death at the door of my house, and that my body be given for burial.” And the king commanded that it should be so. And Ahiqar sent [a message] to his wife Eshfaghni And I, Ahiqar, sent to my wife that she should come to meet me, and she should take out my daughters and maidens with her, and they should be clothed in fine linen, silk and purple robes, and they should lament as they meet me halfway and weep over me until I die, and make bread for Nabusemakh,

my poor companion, and for the Parthians with him. And she went to meet them halfway and brought them into my house. I, too, came to enter with them as a guest. Then my wife, when she received the messengers, was filled with great wisdom. She did everything that I sent her to do, and she met Nabusemakh and the Parthians halfway and brought them into her house. And while Eshfagni offered bread to Nabusemakh and the Parthians, she also brought them wine and mixed it. Eshfagni served them until all of them became drunk and fell asleep. When the Parthians became drunk, they fell into a deep sleep. And each of them slept in his place. I praised God, the Lord of heaven and earth, for everything that had happened, and I said: “O God, Redeemer of the world, you know everything that has happened and will happen. Look on me with mercy (lit.: eye) before Nabusemakh.” Then I, Ahiqar, when I saw this, replied and said to Nabusemakh: “Lift up your gaze to heaven, Nabusemakh, and look at God, and remember the salt which we ate together, and think on my death. Remember that even you—the father of my lord the king—was put in my hands to kill you, but I did not kill you, because I knew that you had no fault, and I spared you until the king asked for you, and he gave me many gifts. Now hide me and let us not reveal

a word about this, and say that he has not been killed; but, behold, in my prison I have a man who deserves death; take my clothes and put them on him and hand him over to the Parthians so that they kill him. While the man was being killed, they handed him over to the Parthians, and because of their drunkenness they killed that man. And the report spread in Assyria and Nineveh that Ahiqar had been slain.” Then Nabusemakh and Eshfagni, my wife, stood up and made me a hidden place under the earth, three cubits wide and its length four cubits, and its height five cubits under the threshold of the house; they put bread and water by me, and left, and showed my lord the king that he had killed Ahiqar. And this was said by the king of Nineveh: “Ahiqar, the wise scribe, repairer of the breaches of the city, has perished by the words of a boy.” Then the king called my son Nadan and said to him: “Go, make a funeral for your father.” And my son Nadan came to my house and did not make a funeral for me and did not remember me, but gathered lustful men, and they sat singing and rejoicing; they ate and drank [together]. And he stripped and beat my servants and maidservants, and he put shame even on my wife, who had brought him up, for he wanted what a man and a woman do together.

And I heard the sound of the bakers and cooks and also the cupbearers while they were crying and prostrating. And I offered unceasing prayer and supplication to Him who lives eternally. After a few days, Nabusemakh came and opened before me and gave me bread and water. I said to him: “Remember me before the king, and on my behalf say to him: ‘O Lord, God, just and good in heaven and on earth, behold, is it not Ahiqar who took refuge with you and offered you fattened oxen? Behold, he is thrown into a dark pit, where no fire falls. Hear, my Lord, the voice of your servant and have mercy upon him.’” The letter that Pharaoh, King of Egypt, sent to Esarhaddon, King of Assyria and Nineveh Then the king of Egypt, when he heard that I, Ahiqar, had been slain, rejoiced greatly, and he sent a letter to king Esarhaddon. He wrote this in it: “From Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to Esarhaddon, king of Assyria and Nineveh, greeting.” When Esarhaddon received Pharaoh’s ambassadors with the letter and read it: “I have a fortress that shall be built between heaven and earth. Look, send me a wise man, an architect, and to everything that I may ask him he shall give me an answer. When you send me a man who does everything that I say

and does what I ask for, I will send you the tribute of Egypt for three years through him. If you do not send me a man who does what I say, choose and send me the tribute of Assyria and Nineveh for three years by this ambassador.” King Esarhaddon gathered all the nobles of the kingdom and showed them the letter. When this letter was read before the king, he sent and gathered all the nobles and wise men of his kingdom and said to them: “Which of you may go to Egypt and answer Pharaoh?” Then the nobles answered, and all of them said to the king: “My lord the king knows that such matters in your days and those of your father were solved by the scribe Ahiqar. And even now, his son Nadan—he has learned his art (lit.: scribe) and he knows his wisdom—shall go and solve this matter.” When Nadan was called before the king and heard his voice, then, when Nadan heard these words, he cried with a loud voice before the king and said: “The gods themselves cannot do such things; how shall humans do it?” And when the king heard these words, he suffered greatly, became sad and descended from his seat, and sat on the ashes and wept, saying: “Woe to you, scribe and wise Ahiqar, whom I have lost by the words of a boy, and I have nobody like you; who will give you to me today—I will weigh him in gold.” When Nabusemakh informed the king about the scribe Ahiqar, then, when Nabusemakh heard such words of the king, he bowed down and worshipped him and said: “King, live forever! He who condemns the command of his lord is guilty of death; and I, my lord, have transgressed the command of your kingdom. So order them to crucify me on wood. For Ahiqar, whom you commanded

me to kill, is still alive.” When the king answered Nabusemakh in reply, the king said to Nabusemakh: “Nabusemakh, good and just man, you do no evil; but if it is as you say, show me Ahiqar alive, and I will give you many gifts and a myriad talents, a hundred garments of silk.” And when Nabusemakh heard this from the king, he began to say: “I want one thing from my lord the king: swear to me that you will not remember this fault and that you will not be angry with me.” Therefore, the king joyfully swore to him. Then he opened the place before the scribe Ahiqar. At that hour Nabusemakh sat on the chariot and came to me like the wind, and opened before me, and I ascended. For I trusted in God, I was not ashamed. Then I, Ahiqar, bowed down before the king, while my hair had grown down to my shoulders and my beard reached my chest, for my body was covered with dust, and my nails were long like [those of] an eagle. When the king saw me, he wept much, and as he wept in pain he said to me: “O Ahiqar, I have not sinned against you, but your son, whom you raised up, has sinned against you.” When Ahiqar answered, I said to the king: “Now, my lord, I have seen your face; there is no evil in my mind.” Then the king replied and said to me: “Go to your house, shave off your hair, and wash your body with water, and recover your strength for forty days, and then come to me.” Then I went to my house and did as my lord the king commanded me. I sat in my house for twenty days, and when I had recovered, I came to the king,

And when Ahiqar came to the king after his return from the prison, he told him about the letter that the Egyptians had sent to him. Then the king replied and said to me: “See, Ahiqar, what the Egyptians have written to us, and what tribute they have laid on the people of Assyria and Nineveh!” When Ahiqar answered the king, I said to him: “King, live forever! Do not worry about [this] matter. I will go to Egypt and give him the answer, and I will teach a lesson to all your enemies, and I will bring you the tribute of Egypt.” When the king heard this, he was glad with great joy; he made a great feast, and the grief left his mind, and he sacrificed fattened oxen, and gave gifts to me and to Nabusemakh, and set him at the head of all and placed him in the first rank. When Ahiqar wrote a letter to his wife—in the morning I wrote a letter to my wife Eshfagni, [as follows]: “When this letter reaches you, order my hunters to catch young eaglets for me, and order my servants to bring cotton and make me two ropes: their length shall be a thousand ells; and command the carpenters to make me two birdcages; deliver Nabulhal and Tabshalem, my two boys, to women—to seven wet nurses—that they may raise them; let the eaglets grow and let the boys sit on them (the eaglets shall eat) two sheep a day; and the boys shall learn to say: ‘Men, bring mud, mortar and tiles to the architects who are idle.’” My wife was very wise and she did everything that I had commanded her. When Ahiqar took a command from the king and went away two

to Egypt. Then, when the Assyrians and Ninevites heard this, they rejoiced greatly and returned to their places. I, Ahiqar, replied and said to the king: “My lord the king, let me go to Egypt.” And when the king let me, I led my army with me and went. And when I reached the first lodging place, I let my army rest and brought out the eaglets, and I bound the ropes to their feet and set my children on their backs, and I let them loose and they ascended to the height, and the children were crying out as they had been taught: “Bring to the builders tiles, mud and mortar, because the king’s architects are idle.” Then I brought them back to me. The entry of Ahiqar into Egypt with Pharaoh’s ambassadors. And when I came to Egypt, the king’s officials came to me, and the king commanded that Ahiqar enter to him. I entered to him and greeted him. Then he said: “What is your name?” and I said to him: Abiqam, one of the king’s ants.” And when Pharaoh heard this, he was enraged and said to me: “Am I so despised by your lord that he has sent me an ant to give me the answer (to my letter)?” And he said to me: “Go, Abiqam, to your lodging, and come early in the morning to me.” Then Pharaoh commanded his nobles to undress and change their clothes: “Tomorrow dress yourselves in dyed and variegated garments, and let the doors of the palace be covered with red hangings.” The king himself dressed in fine needlework. When Pharaoh commanded Ahiqar and I came into his presence, the king said to me: “What am I like, and what are my nobles like?” And I answered and said to him: “You are like Nisan, and your nobles are like its flowers.” When the king heard [this], he was filled with great joy and said to me: “Abiqam, one time you compared me to Bel, and my nobles to his priests. The second time you compared me to the sun, and my nobles to its rays. The third time you compared me

to the moon, and my nobles to the stars. The fourth time you compared me to Nisan, and my nobles to its flowers. Now tell me, what is Esarhaddon like?” When Ahiqar gives an answer to Pharaoh, then I replied and said to him: “Far be it from me that I should mention my lord the king Esarhaddon while you are sitting, because my lord Esarhaddon is like the God of heaven, and his nobles like lightning. Whenever he wills, he makes the dew and rain and the hail; and when he ascends to the sky, he thunders and moves, and he hinders the sun from rising and its rays from being seen; and he will hinder Bel and his priests from going in and out in the streets, and he will keep the moon from rising and the stars from appearing. If he wants, he calls forth the north and forms wind, and hail and rain. He will beat down Nisan and destroy the flowers.” And when the king heard this, he became very angry, while Pharaoh was asking Ahiqar; because of him and he said to him: “You are Ahiqar.” Then the king said: “Verily, by the life of your lord Esarhaddon, what is your name?” I answered and said to him: “I am Ahiqar, the scribe and seal of king Esarhaddon.” The king said to me: “Are you alive?” and I said: “I am alive, and my lord, king Esarhaddon, has seen me, and my life has been prolonged for me, and God has saved me from what my hands did not do.” The king said to me: “Go, and come to me tomorrow, and tell me a word that has not been heard by me, nor by any of my nobles, nor in the city of Egypt.” When Ahiqar wrote a word that Pharaoh asked for. So I, Ahiqar, went away and wrote a letter that contained this: “From Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to Esarhaddon, king of Assyria and Nineveh, greeting! Kings need kings and judges need judges. And at this time we are in need, for my gifts are diminished, and silver is lacking in

my treasuries; however, command that they send me from your treasuries 900 talents, and in a little while I will restore them to their place.” I rolled up this letter and brought it. I said: neither your nobles nor Egypt has heard a word that is written in this letter; even you and none of them has heard it, and it is true.” And when they read the letter, they were amazed, and the king said to me: “Ahiqar, build me a castle between the earth and the sky, and its height from the earth shall be a thousand ells.” In that hour, I let out the eaglets from their places and tied the ropes in measure and set the boys on them; and they said: “Send up mud, mortar, tiles and bricks to the king’s architects who are idle; and the meadows on which we worked with them made us drunk.” When the nobles saw this, they were astonished. Then I, Ahiqar, took a rod and beat those nobles until they fled, because they were to bring what was needed for the building. Then the king said to me: “You rave wildly, Ahiqar; who is able to carry what they ask for?” And I said to him: “Now, why are you putting the name of Esarhaddon in your mouth? If he were here and wanted to build, he would build two [castles] in one day.” (The king said to me:) “Now, leave the lighthouse, and come to me tomorrow.” And when morning came, I entered to him and he said to me: “Ahiqar, explain to me this matter that has befallen us: the lustful horse of your lord

neighs in Assyria and Nineveh, and our mares hear his voice here, and their foals miscarry.” So I went out from the presence of the king and commanded my servants to catch me a cat, and I whipped it until the Egyptians heard it, and they went and said before the king: “This Ahiqar carried a cat, caught and whipped it.” When the king heard this, he said to me: “Why are you insulting our gods?” I said to him: “King, live forever! This cat has done me serious harm in no small way, for my lord had entrusted me with a rooster, and its voice was very beautiful to me, and when it crowed I was awakened from my sleep and I went to my lord's gate, for the king had asked for me. And at that time it crowed and I was awakened from my sleep and I went to the king’s gate. And nonetheless this is not good—that this cat has done this to me: this night this cat went before me to Assyria and Nineveh and tore off the head of this cock and returned.” Then the king said to me: “Since you have grown old you forget that there are 360 parasangs between Assyria and Egypt; how can this cat have gone, cut off the head of the cock and returned?” Then I said to him: “If it is 360 parasangs from Assyria to Egypt, and your mares hear the voice of my lord’s horse and miscarry their foals, then the same is true of this cat also!” When the king heard this, he was ashamed and said to me: “O Ahiqar, a word remains to tell you from me: ‘I have one great pillar and above it there are twelve cedars planted; and above each of the cedars there are thirty wheels, and above one wheel there are two runners, one white and one black.’” Then I said to the king: “My lord king, this parable that you have said,

the cattle-breeders know it. My lord king, the pillar you spoke of is the year; the twelve cedars are the months of the year; the thirty wheels are the days of the month; and the two runners, one white and the other black, are the day and the night.” Again he said to me: “Let me say one thing I am asking you: make me two ropes from sand that are five ells long, and their inner part shall be like a little toe.” And I said to him: “Command, my lord king, that they bring me a rope of sand from your treasury, and I will make one like it.” So he said to me: “If you do not know how to make it like the rope that I said to you, you will not take the tribute of Egypt.” So I, Ahiqar, went out from before the king and passed the night with much thought, and when morning came, I had an idea. I went out and came behind the palace where the king sat, and I bored a hole in the wall opposite the sun. And the sun entered through the wall of the palace, and in that wall I bored another hole and filled it with sand; and I threw into the hole and they saw, by its course, that the sun was turning. And I answered and said to the king: “Please, my lord king, let them first turn around, and as you wished I have done for you.” And when the king and all his nobles saw this, they were astonished and ashamed. Then the king commanded, and they brought me the upper part of a broken millstone, and the king answered and said to me: “Ahiqar, sew up this millstone for me.”

At that hour I took a mortar of a millstone and threw it before them and said to him: “My lord the king, since I am a stranger here and the tools of my trade are not near me, I have not found anything I was asking for. Command your craftsmen to bring me a pot from this mortar, which is the companion of the millstone, and in that hour I will sew it up.” When the king heard this, he laughed and said: “O, the day on which you were born, Ahiqar, shall be blessed before the gods of Egypt; and since I have seen you alive, I will make a great feast.” The departure of Ahiqar from Egypt and his return to king Esarhaddon. And I stood up against his challenges and I solved and made void the tricks and riddles, and he gave me the tribute of Egypt for three years and 900 talents that were written in that letter. I took these talents that he had borrowed from my lord the king, for they all confessed that “we have all heard it.” I took the talents from the king and the honour from his nobles and I came immediately before Esarhaddon. When Ahiqar returned from Egypt, the king came out to meet me and received me. He made a great day for me and set me at the head of his household; and he said to me: “Ask what you will, Ahiqar, and take it,” and I said to him: “My lord the king, I seek your honour! Whatever you will give me, give it to Nabusemakh, for he gave me my life; I want my sister’s son Nadan, that I may teach him a new doctrine, for he did not accept my former doctrine.” And the king commanded, and they gave me my sister’s son Nadan, and the king said to me: “Go, Ahiqar, to your house and do whatever you like with your son Nadan, for no one will save his body from your hands.” And I took Nadan, my son, and brought him

into my house, and bound him with an iron chain, the weight of which was nine talents, and cast his hands into fetters, and put an iron band round his neck, and struck him a thousand blows on his shoulders, and a thousand and one on his breast, and put him in the porch of the door of my court, and gave him bread by weight and water by measure. I gave Nadan to my boy Nabulhal and I said: “Write down on a tablet all that I am saying to my son Nadan in my words,” and I went out. I answered and said— From this place he utters a teaching that Ahiqar had taught earlier to his sister’s son Nadan—and he said to him: ‘My son, he who does not hear with his ears, they make him hear with his neck.’ ‘My son Nadan answered and said to me: “My lord, why are you angry with your sister’s son?” Again I said to him: “My son, I set you on the throne of honour, but you cast me down from my throne. But my righteousness has saved me.”’ ‘My son, you have been to me like a scorpion striking a ram’s rock.” And it [the rock] answered and said to it: “You have struck an unfeeling heart.” And it said: “You have struck a sting worse than yours.” And he struck the camel in its hoof and he raised his head to the sky and said to it: “Your soul shall be like my soul.”’ ‘My son, you have been to me like a goat standing over a red berry and eating from it. And the red berry said to him: “Why do you eat me, when you treat your skin with my root?” The goat replied and said to it: “I eat you during my life, and after my death they will pull you up by your roots.”’ ‘My son, you have been to me like one who threw a stone at heaven, and it did not reach heaven, but he received punishment from God.’ ‘My son, you were like one who saw ’

‘his companion shivering with cold and took a pitcher of water and poured it over him.’ ‘O my son, if you had killed me, you would have been able to stand in my place; but you should know, my son, that even if the tail of the pig were to grow to seven ells, it would not take the place of the horse, and even if its bristles were soft and woven, it would not ascend to the body of a free man.’ ‘My son, I intended that you should be in my place, that you should acquire my house and my wealth, and that you should inherit them. But God was not pleased, and He did not hear your voice.’ ‘My son, you have been to me like a lion that came upon a donkey in the morning of the day, and said to him: “Welcome, my Lord Cyrus.” But the donkey said to him: “May the same welcome that you give me be given to the man who tied me up last night, but did not tie my loins, lest I should see your face.”’ ‘My son, you have been to me like a snare that was set on a dunghill, and someone saw it and said: “What are you doing here?” and (the snare) said to him: “I am praying to God.” The fig-pecker said: “And this in your mouth—what is it?” The snare said: “Bread for the hungry.” [Then] the fig-pecker approached to take it, and [the snare] caught it by the neck. And while the fig-pecker was flapping, it said: “If this is bread for the poor, may the God to whom you pray never hear your voice.”’ ‘You have been to me like a partridge that is not able to save itself from death. However, it gathers its companions around itself and makes them sink to killing. ’ ‘My son, you have been to me like a lion who rebukes the bulls and lets them live.’ ‘My son, you have been to me like a weevil that destroys the granaries of kings, but has no hold on anything.’ ‘My son, you have been to me like a pot ’

‘on which they have made golden handles, but the soot has not been scraped off the bottom.’ ‘My son, you have been to me like a ploughman who sowed a field that contains twenty seahs. And the ploughman replied and said to it: “I became weary of you, field! But were you not ashamed that you made a peck out of a peck?”’ ‘My son, you have been to me like a he-goat that calls its fellows to the cooks, but does not save itself from slaughter.’ ‘My son, you have been to me like a dog that went into the potter's oven to warm itself, and when it was warm, it got up to bark at them.’ ‘My son, you have been to me like a swine that went to the bathhouse, and when it saw a trench of mud, it went down and bathed in it, and said to them: “Come and bathe!”’ ‘My son, you have been to me like “My finger was on your mouth, and your finger was on my eyes.”’ ‘The dog that did not eat from his lord’s prey shall be the prey of the wolves, and the hand that is not industrious shall be cut off from its shoulder, and the eye with which I cannot see shall be plucked out by the raven. ’ ‘My son, why should I remember you, and how shall my soul find comfort in you?’ ‘My son, if she steals land, where shall she go and eat it?’ ‘My son, I showed you the face of the king and nobles, but you [wanted to do] evil to me; with what shall I reward you?’ ‘My son, you have been to me like the cat to whom they say: “Give up your thieving, and you shall go out and come in as your soul pleases.” And this cat said to them: “Even if I had eyes of silver and hands of gold and feet of pearls, I would not stop it.”’ ‘My son, you were to me ’

‘like a snake that was tied to a bush and thrown into the river. And the lion saw [it] and said: “Evil rides on evil, and worse than either carries them away.” The snake said to him: “Behold, lord, would you return the goats to their lords?”’ ‘My son, you have been to me like stags that have become murderers of their mothers.’ ‘My son, I fed you with all that was good all your days, but you fed me with bread of the soil, and you were not satisfied.’ ‘My son, I anointed you with sweet ointments, but you defiled my body with dust; I made you drink old wines and you did not satisfy me with abundant water.’ ‘My son, you were like a mole that came up out of the ground to confront God about his eyes. An eagle came and carried it off.’ ‘My son Nadan answered and said to me: “Let such things without mercy be far from you, my lord! Do to me according to your mercy, for even God forgives a man who sins his faults; and you, too, forgive me so that I will serve your horses and feed your sheep and swine; and I shall be called an evil man, but you shall be called good.”’ ‘I answered and said to him: “My son, you have been to me like a palm tree which stood by a road and its fruit was not accepted. And its lord came and wanted to cut it down; the palm tree said to him: ‘Leave me one year, and I will give you carobs.’ His master said to it: ‘O fool, you have not been diligent in your fruit; in that which is not your own will you be diligent?’”’ ‘My son, the old age of the eagle is better than the old age of the vulture.’ ‘My son, they say to the wolf:’

‘“Keep far away from the sheep!” It said: “The dust is good for my eyes.” They said to him: “A, B,” the wolf said: “Kid, lamb.”’ ‘My son, they put the head of the donkey on a table, and it rolled off and fell into the dust. They said: “It was angry with itself because it did not receive honour, but wrath.”’ ‘Hear, my son, a proverb that says: “Call him whom you have begotten and raised your son, and [call] your slave a mocker.” My son, more than all words this is true: “Lead your sister's son under your armpit; take him and smite him against a stone.” But, my son, He who gave me life will judge between us.”’ At that hour, he swelled up like a bladder, burst and died. To the one who does good, good shall be found; and he who digs a pit for his friend shall fall into it. The story of Ahiqar, the wise and scribe of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, is finished. Glory be to God.