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Tablet III (KTU 1.3) — Column V

Ilimilku the Scribe · a new plain-English translation from the original language

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'[. . .] I will drag him like a lamb to the ground;

[I will make] his gray hair [run] with blood, the gray of his beard

[with gore] — . . . unless he gives Baal a house like the gods',

[a cou]rt like the sons of Athirat's!' She sta[mped] her feet

[and] the earth [shook.] The[n] [she set] her [fa]ce

[toward El] at the springs of the two river[s,] [ami]d the ch[ann]els

of [the two dee]ps. She came to the mound of E[l] and entered

[the dwel]ling of the K[in]g, the Father [of Years] — the vault(?)

she [en]tered, the tent of the Creator and Lord of the go[ds.]

Her voice Bull [E]l her father heard. E[l] an[swer]ed

from the seven cha[mb]ers, [from] the [ei]ght [enclo]sures:

. . . aloud . . . [. . .]

'The eye of . . . [. . .]

above . . . [. . .]

at the feet of the la[d]s [. . .]'

. . . greatly the lord(?) . . . the flock(?) . . .

— the Lamp of the gods, Shapshu, [glow]ing hot,

the heavens hanging faint in the ha[nd] [of the son of the gods,] [Mo]t —

and the Virgin An[at] answered: '[The building] of houses,

O El! — the building of [your] house[s:] do n[ot] [re]joice in it;

do not rejoice in the raising of [your] [pa]lace!

Or else I will seize them with my right hand — . . . Baal(?) —

by my great long arm(?). I will smash [. . .]

your skull; I will make your gray hair run [with blood,]

the gray of your beard with gore!'

El answered from the seven chamb[ers,] from the eight

enclosures: 'I kn[ow you,] daughter — how furious you are:

among goddesses there is no sc[or]n like yours. What do you desire,

O Virgin Anat?' And the Virgin Anat [ans]wered:

'Your decree, El, is wise — wise

unto everlasting; a life of good fortune, your decree.

Our king is Mightiest Baal — our judge,

and there is none above him! Together let us

carry his chalice; together let us carry his cup!'

Groaning, Bull El his father indeed cries out — El

the King who established him; Athirat cries out,

and her sons — the goddess, and the band of her kin:

'So Baal has no house like the gods',

no court like the so[ns] of Athirat's! The dwelling of El

is the shelter of [his] so[ns;] [the dwe]lling of Lady Athirat

of the Sea is the dwelling of [Pidr]ay, Daughter of Light,

[the shelter] of Tallay, [Daughter of] Rain, the dwelling

[of Arsay,] [Daughter of the Wi]de World — the dwelling

[. . .]

[. . .]

[. . .]

[. . .]

[...]

[. . .] the [ea]rth

[. . .]

An original translation made in 2026 by Scriptorium Press, working directly from the original language text (never from another English translation), in one consistent modern voice. Free to read, download, and listen — no accounts, no ads, nothing for sale.

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