‘and do not reveal all that you see.’ ‘My son, do not raise your eyes and look at a woman who is bedizened and painted; do not desire her in your heart. For if you give her something that is in your hands, you will find no benefit in 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.’ ‘My son, lower your voice, for a house is not built by a loud voice; [in such case,] the donkey would build two houses in one day; and if the plough were driven by sheer force, the share would never be loosed from a camel's armpit.’ ‘My son, it is better to roll over 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, nor will you be wise with a defiled man.’ ‘My son, associate yourself with a wise man in order to become wise like him, and do not associate yourself with a loquacious and talkative man in order not to be numbered 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 are saying: "He ate it for his hunger."’ ‘My son, eat your portion and please your friend.’ ‘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, and like a bridle for any beast, and like a fetter on the foot of a donkey.’ ‘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 get a runaway slave or a thieving maid, lest they cause you to lose all that you have acquired.’ ‘My son, the words of liars are like fat sparrows, and he who is without understanding eats them [i.e. believes them].’ ‘My son, do not bring upon yourself the curses of your father and mother; do not be displeased with the blessings of your children.’ ‘My son, do not go unarmed on the way, for you do not know when you meet your enemy.’ ‘My son, as a tree is adorned with its branches and fruit, and a mountain with trees, so is a man adorned with his wife and children; and a man without wife and children is despised and scorned by his enemies; and he is likened to a tree by the roadside, which every passer-by plucks and every beast of the field tears off its leaves.’ ‘My son, do not say, "My lord is a fool, and I am wise," but take him in his faults, and you shall become wise.’ ‘My son, do not count yourself wise.’ ‘My son, do not lie with your words before your Lord, so that He will not despise you and say to you: "Get out of my sight!"’ ‘My son, let your words be true, so that your Lord may say to you: "Draw near to Me and come".’ ‘My son, do not revile God on the day of your affliction, so that He will not be angry with you when He hears you.’ ‘My son, do not treat your slave better than his fellow, for you do not know which of them will think about you in the end.’ ‘My son,’

‘smite with stones the dog that leaves its master and follows you.’ ‘My son, the flock of many tracks will become the prey of the wolves.’ ‘My son, judge righteously in your youth, that you may have honour in your old age.’ ‘My son, sweeten your tongue and make the opening of your mouth savoury, for the tail of a dog gives him bread, but his mouth blows.’ ‘My son, do not let your neighbour tread on your foot, lest he tread on your throat.’ ‘My son, strike a man with a wise speech, so that it may be in his heart like a shallow 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 your way, and do not send him.’ ‘My son, test your friend with bread and water, and then leave your property and goods in his hands.’ ‘My son, withdraw first from a marriage, and do not tarry for pleasant ointments, lest they should become bruises (in your head).’ ‘My son, he whose hand is full is called wise; and he whose hand is empty is called foolish, because they do not honour a poor man ’ ‘My son, I have eaten from bitter (ones) and I have swallowed sticky (ones), but I have not seen anything more bitter than poverty.’ ‘My son, I have carried lead, and I have turned over iron; but it was not heavier than a debt which a man has to pay without eating and drinking.’ ‘My son, teach your son hunger and thirst, so that he may manage his house according to what his eye sees.’ ‘My son, it is better to be blind (with) eyes than being blind (with the) heart, for the blind of the eyes quickly learn the way and walk and come in 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 decays.’ ‘My son,’

‘better is death than life for a man who has no rest, and better is the voice of wailing for a man who likes it (lit.: with heart) than 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 on the wing. My son, better is poverty that gathers than wealth of dispersion, and better is a living fox than a dead lion.’ ‘My son, hold back a word in your heart, and that will make you feel well, for once you have said your word (you will have lost your friend).’ ‘My son, do not let a word go out of your mouth until you have taken counsel in your heart, for it is better for a man to stumble in his heart than to stumble with his tongue.’ ‘My son, when you hear a word by someone, bury it four cubits deep in the ground, so that you tread upon it and destroy it.’ ‘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.’ ‘My son, keep your tongue from lying and your hand from stealing, and you will be called wise.’ ‘My son, be not (a mediator) in a woman's marriage, for if it goes badly, she will curse you; and if it goes well, she will not 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, if someone discovers something in front of an idol that belongs to it, give it to him.’ ‘My son, the hand that is satiated will give, and not the one that is hungry.’ ‘My son, smite with stones the dog that leaves his master and follows after you, because he will not dwell 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, you will not be defiled with a wise man, nor will you be wise with a defiled man.’ ‘My son, do not’

‘eat bread with him who is not ashamed.’ ‘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 judge, nor be betrothed 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 the quarrelsome people, for after jokes comes a word of quarrel, after quarrel comes strife, and after strife arises murder. ’ So, Ahiqar stopped his words of wisdom which he taught Nadan. Then I, Ahiqar, when I had taught this doctrine to Nadan, my sister's son, thought that he would learn and retain all this doctrine in his heart, and that he would stand at the king's gate, but 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 destroy my possessions and my properties, and he showed no mercy to my industrious servants and he slew them before me; he slew my horses, cattle and mules. When I saw his deeds, I said to him: “Do not draw near to my possessions! It is said: 'What the hand has not acquired, the eye

has not spared.'" I showed my lord these things, and my lord commanded: "Nobody shall draw near to the possessions of Ahiqar the scribe. As long as Ahiqar lives, no one shall draw near to his possessions and his house". When Ahiqar took the brother of Nadan, Nabuzardan to raise him up, then, when he saw that (Ahiqar) took his little brother and raised him up, behold, he stood up against me in my house. It displeased him and he was very angry, while Nadan put evil words in his mind by 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 and replied and he said to him this: "Woe to my wisdom, my son! How insipid it has been made in you?" When my son Nadan heard this, he was very angry, and the evil of his heart rose against me, and he went to the king's gate, so that this evil in his heart came to be done. And he wrote in (the name of) Ahiqar evil letters and he came to the king’s gate to show them. He wrote two letters to the adversary kings of Sennacherib, my lord: one of them to the king of Persia and Elam, and there 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 quickly out 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 to the plain in the south on 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 it in one of the chambers of the king. Then, he wrote another letter as if it was from my lord

the king. "From Esarhaddon to the king’s scribe Ahiqar, Greetings. When you have received this letter, assemble the whole army at 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 in front of me as a man prepared for war, because messengers from 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 spoken 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 this: "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 walk and 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 be prepared and 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, in trust of 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." My son came to me and said: "The King has sent me to you and say to you: ‘Everything that you have done, you have done greatly’ and the king 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 live in honour and peace and you turned (against me) and have been of my enemies," and he gave me the letter which was similar to my handwriting and it was sealed with my ring. And the king said to me: “Read this letter!” I read the letter, and when I read it, my limbs were loosened and my tongue was appalled, and when I wanted any of the wise words, I could not find [one of them], while he gave me the letter that was written by his words. And he read it and his wisdom vanished into thin air. Then the king commanded to kill him at his house and I, Ahiqar, replied to the king and said to him: "Live, my lord the king, forever! Since you have willed my death, let your will be done, for I have no fault, to my knowledge, but command that I may be put to death at the door of my house, and that my body may be given to be buried." Then the king commanded that it shall be done in this way. And I, Ahiqar, sent to my wife that she should come to meet me and she should take from my daughters a thousand maidens with her, and they should be clothed in fine linen, silk and purple robes, and they should lament on meeting me halfway and should weep over me until I die, and make bread for Nabusemakh, my poor companion, and for the Parthians with him. And she came to meet them halfway and they brought them into my house. Even I came to enter with them as a guest. Then my wife, when she received the messenger, was filled with great wisdom. She did everything that I sent her for, 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 offered them wine too, and mixed it. Eshfagni, served them until all of them became drunk and fell asleep. When the Parthians became drunk, then they fell asleep in a deep sleep. And every one of them fell asleep 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 at me in a merciful way (lit.: eye) before Nabusemakh.” Then I, Ahiqar, when I saw this, replied and said to Nabusemakh: "Lift up your gaze to heaven, and look at God, and remember the salt which we ate together and do not think on my death. Remember that even you, the father of my lord, the king, was put in my hands for killing you, but I did not kill you, because I knew that you had no fault, and I left you alive until that king asked for you and he gave me many presents. Now keep me (alive) and let us not reveal a word (on this) and say that he has not been killed; behold, in my prison, I have a man that deserves death; take my clothes for him and deliver him up to the Parthians so that they kill him; while the man was killed, hand him over to the Parthians, and because of their drunkenness, they killed that man. And the message spread out in Assyria and Nineveh that Ahiqar has been slain." Then, Nabusemakh and Eshfagni, my wife, stood up and made me a hidden place under the earth, three cubits wide and four cubits long, and five cubits high under the threshold of the house; they put bread and water by me, and left, and showed to 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 stayed in singing and in joy; they ate and drank [together]. And he stripped (the clothes) and beat my servants and maids, and he put shame even on my wife, who had brought him up, for he wanted something

that a man and his wife 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 He who lives eternally. After [a few] days, Nabusemakh came and opened the door [before] me and gave me bread and water. I said to him: “Remember me before the king and, from me, 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 has offered you fattened oxen? Behold, he is thrown in the darkness, where no fire fell. Hear, my lord, the voice of your servant and have mercy upon him.'” Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, when he heard that I, Ahiqar, was slain, was in great joy and he sent a letter to the king Esarhaddon. He wrote this in it: "From Pharao king of Egypt, to Esarhaddon king of Assyria and Nineveh, greeting.” When Esarhaddon received the Pharaoh’s ambassadors with the letter and he read it: “I have a fortress that shall be built between heaven and earth. Look, send me a wise man, an architect, and for everything that I may ask him he shall give me an answer. When you send me a man who does everything that I am saying and does what I seek, I will send you the tribute of Egypt for three years through him. If you do not send me a man who is doing what I am saying, choose and send me the tribute of Assyria, and Nineveh for three years by this ambassador. The King Esarhaddon gathered all the nobles, the wise men of the kingdom, and said to them: "Which of you may go to Egypt and answer Pharaoh?" The nobles answered and all of them said to King Esarhaddon: "Our lord the king will know that those matters were in your days and those of your father; the scribe Ahiqar solved

them. And even now, his son Nadan,—he has learnt his art (lit.: scribe) and he knows his wisdom—he shall go and solve this matter.” When Nadan was called before the king and he 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 saddened and descended from his seat, and sat on the ashes, and wept, while he was saying this: "Woe unto you, scribe and wise Ahiqar that I have perished by the words of a boy and I have nobody like you; Who will give you to me? I will weigh him in gold.” Then, when Nabusemakh heard these words of the king, he bowed down and worshipped him and said: "King, live forever! He that condemns the command of his lord is guilty of death: and I, my lord, have condemned the command of your kingdom. So order them to crucify me on wood. For Ahiqar, whom you commanded me to kill, is still alive". Then, the king answered Nabusemakh because of his words: "Nabusemakh, good and just man, you do no evil, but (if) it is as you say, show me Ahiqar alive; I will give you many presents and a myriad of talents, a hundred garments of silk clothes.” 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 do not remember this fault and that you do not take wrath on me." Therefore, the king joyfully swore to him. Then, in that hour, Nabusemakh sat on the chariot and came to me like the wind, and opened [the door] before me and brought me up. For I believed 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, because my body was covered with dust, and my nails were long like (those of) an eagle. When the king saw me, he wept greatly, and while he wept in pain he said to me: "O Ahiqar, I have not sinned against you, but your son, whom you raised, has sinned against you". So I answered and 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 he told me about the letter that the Egyptians had sent to him. Then the king said to me: "See, Ahiqar, what the Egyptians have written to us! And what tribute they have imposed on the people of Assyria and Nineveh!" Then I answered and said to him: "King, live forever! You must not worry about [this] matter. I will go to Egypt and I will give him the answer, and I will teach a lesson to all of 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 his grief departed from his mind, and he sacrificed fattened oxen, and gave gifts to me and to Nabusemakh, and set him at the head of all and in the first rank. In the morning, I wrote a letter to my wife Eshfagni, (as follows): "When this letter reaches you, order my hunters to catch two young eaglets for me and order my servants to bring cotton and make me two ropes, each a thousand ells long, and command the carpenters

that they make for me two birdcages; deliver Nabulhal and Tabshalem, my two boys, to women, to seven wet nurses who shall raise them; let the eaglets be raised and let the boys sit on them; (the eaglets shall eat) two sheep a day; and the boys shall learn to say: "Men, give mud, mortar and tiles to the architects who are idle." My wife was very wise and she did everything that I had commanded her. 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,” and the king said to me: “Go,” and I led my army with me. And when I reached the first lodging place, I let my army rest and I brought forth the eaglets, tied the ropes to their feet and made the children ride on their backs, and I let them loose and they ascended to the heights, and the children cried out as they had been taught: “Bring to the builders tiles, mud and mortar, because the king’s architects are idle.” Then I took them back with me. And when I came to Egypt, I informed the king’s ambassadors and the king commanded and he gave me lodging. The king commanded that Ahiqar should enter to him. I entered 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 to me early in the morning.”

the stars". And again he said to me: "Go, Abiqam, and come to me tomorrow". And the Pharaoh commanded his nobles: "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 embroidery, and when I came into his presence, the king said to me: "What am I like, and what are my nobles like?" And I answered 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?" And Ahiqar answered Pharaoh. Then I replied and said to him: "Far be it from me to mention my lord the king Esarhaddon, while you are sitting, because my lord Sennacherib is like the God of Heaven and his nobles like the lightning. Whenever he wills, he brings forth the dew and rain and hail; and when he rises 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 wills, he brings forth the north wind and forms wind,

and hail and rain. He will strike down Nisan and destroy the flowers." When the king heard this, he became very angry, while Pharaoh was questioning Ahiqar; then the king said: "Truly, by the life of your lord Esarhaddon, what is your name?" I answered and said to him: "I am Ahiqar, the scribe and seal-bearer of King Esarhaddon. The king said to me: "You are alive?” and I said: “I am alive and my lord, King Esarhaddon has seen me, and life has been prolonged for me, and God has saved me from what my hands did not do". He 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." Then Ahiqar wrote a word that Pharaoh had 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, Greetings! Kings need kings and judges need judges. And at this time, I am in need because my gifts are diminished, and silver is lacking in my treasuries; therefore, 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 anyone in Egypt has heard a word that is written in this letter; even you and none of them have ever 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". At 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 waiting for something to build the structure. Then the king said to me: "You rave wildly, Ahiqar, who is able to carry what they are asking for?" And I said to him: "Now, why are you putting the name of Esarhaddon in your mouth? But if he were here, and he wanted to build, he would build two [castles] in one day". (The king said to me:) "Now, leave the hall, and come to me tomorrow.” And when it became morning, I entered to him and he said to me: “Ahiqar, explain to me this matter that troubles me: 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 I 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 caught a cat 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 awoke 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 awoke from my sleep and I went

to the king’s gate. And from of old it is not good, what this cat has done to me: last night this cat entered before me and went 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 yet your mares hear the voice of my lord's horse and miscarry their foals, then this cat is also able to do what I said!" When the king heard this, he was ashamed and said to me: "O Ahiqar, one more riddle remains to tell you: ‘I have one great pillar, and upon it there are twelve cedars planted; and upon each of the cedars, there are thirty wheels, and upon one wheel there are two (ropes), 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 told is the year; the twelve cedars are the months of the year; the thirty wheels are the days of the month; and the two ropes, one white and the other black, are the day and the night". Again, he said to me: “One thing I am asking you: make me two ropes of 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 this rope that I said to you, you will not take the tribute of Egypt."

So I went out from before the king and passed the night with much thought, and when it became morning, I had an idea. I went out and came behind the temple where the King sat, and I bored a hole in the wall opposite the sun. And the sun entered through the temple wall, and in that wall, I bored another hole and filled it with sand; and I threw (it) into a hole and saw in the city that the sun was broken. And I answered and said to the King: "Please, my lord King, the first rope is going around the first one, and as you wanted I have done for you." And when the king and all of 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 said to me: "Ahiqar, sew up this millstone for us". At the same hour, I took a mortar of a millstone and threw it before them and I said to him: "My lord, the king, since I am a stranger here, and the tools of my trade are not near to me, I have not found anything that I was asking for. Command your cobblers to bring forth 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 riddles and I solved and made void the tricks 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 all have 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 And the king came out to meet me and received me. He made a great day for me, and made me sit 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 am serving for your honour! Whatever you will give me, give it to Nabusemakh, for he has given 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 vessels, and put an iron band round his neck, and struck him a thousand blows on his shoulders, and a thousand and one on his chest, 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 servant Nabulhal to guard him, and I said: "Write down on a tablet all that I am saying to my son Nadan when I go in and when I come 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 listen with his ears will be made to listen through the back of his neck.’ ‘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 have set you on the throne of honour, but you have 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 at an unaffected heart". And it said: "You have struck at a sting worse than yours". And it struck the camel in its hoof and it raised its head to the sky and said to it: “Your soul shall [feel] 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? Behold, 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 the one who threw a stone at heaven, and it did not reach heaven, but he received punishment from God.’ ‘My son, you were like the 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 woven and soft, 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 it: "I am praying to God". The fig-pecker said: "And this in your mouth—what is it?" The snare said: "Bread for strangers". [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 strangers, 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 leads them to destruction. ’ ‘My son, you have been to me like someone 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 said: "I became wearied of you, field! But you were not ashamed, though you produced only 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 had gone 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."’ ‘My son, 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 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 me] evil: with what shall I repay you?’ ‘My son, you have been to me like the cat to whom they say: "Give up your stealing, and you shall go out and come in as you please." 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 stealing."’ ‘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 my 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 water in abundance.’ ‘My son, you were like a mole that came up out of the ground to confront God in His eyes. An eagle came, carried it off, and killed it.’ ‘My son Nadan answered and said to me: "Such merciless happenings shall 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 on a way, and its fruit was not accepted. And its lord came and wanted to cut it down,’