never may Bel come to my sacrificial pile! for he did not master
himself, and he has made the water-spout for the Deluge, and he has
numbered my men for the pit."

"'From far, in drawing near, Bel--saw the vessel, and Bel stopped;--he
was filled with anger against the gods and the celestial archangels:--

"'"No one shall come out alive! No man shall be preserved from the
abyss!"--Adar opened his mouth and said; he said to the warrior
Bel:--"What other than Ea should have formed this resolution?--for Ea
possesses knowledge, and [he foresees] all."--Ea opened his mouth and
spake; he said to the warrior Bel:--"O thou, herald of the gods,
warrior,--as thou didst not master thyself, thou hast made the
water-spout of the Deluge.--Let the sinner carry the weight of his sins,
the blasphemer the weight of his blasphemy.--Please thyself with this
good pleasure, and it shall never be infringed; faith in it never [shall
be violated].--Instead of thy making a new deluge, let lions appear and
reduce the number of men;--instead of thy making a new deluge, let
hyenas appear and reduce the number of men;--instead of thy making a new
deluge, let there be famine, and let the earth be [devastated];--instead
of thy making a new deluge, let Dibbara appear, and let men be [mown
down]. I have not revealed the decision of the great gods;--it is
Khasisatra who interpreted a dream and comprehended what the gods had
decided."

"'Then, when his resolve was arrested, Bel entered into the vessel.--He
took my hand and made me rise.--He made my wife rise, and made her place
herself at my side-.-He turned around us and stopped short; he
approached our group.--"Until now Khasisatra has made part of perishable
humanity;--but lo, now Khasisatra and his wife are going to be carried