The Cyrus Cylinder, word by word

[When the god Mard]uk, the king of all of heaven and earth, [... who] lays to waste his [...]... [through] his..., [... bro]ad in intelligence,... [..., the one who inspects the (four) qu]arters (of the world), [...], his eldest [off]spring (Belshazzar), a lowly person, was installed as the ruler of his land, [...] he caused [..., a re]plica, to be set up over them. He bu[ilt] a replica of Esagil [and...] for (the city) Ur and the rest of the cult-center(s).

Daily, he devised cultic rites that were not befitting them, [impure] food of[ferings,..., dis]respectful [...] and, as a spiteful act, he brought sattukku-offering to a halt, int[erfered with pelludû-rites (and) est]ablished [...] inside cult-centers. Reverence for the god Marduk, the king of the gods, c[ame to an en]d in his mind. Daily, [he was pe]rforming evil deeds against his city (Babylon);... [...] his [pe]ople, he brought ruin on all of them with an unrelenting yoke.

The Enlil of the gods became furiously angry at their complaints an[d...] their territory. The gods living inside them abandoned their shrines, angry that he had made (them) enter Šuanna (Babylon). The god Marduk, the ex[alted one, the Enlil of the god]s, relented; [his] (hostile) attit[ude] changed towards all of the inhabited settlements whose dwellings were in ruins and the people of the land of Sumer and Akkad who had become like corpses; he became forgiving.

He (Marduk) inspected (and) examined all of the lands, everyone of them, and constantly sought out a righteous king, the desire of his heart. He took Cyrus (II), the king of Anšan, into his hand, called (him) by his name, (and) proclaimed him (lit. “his name”) to be the ruler of the entirety of everything. He made the land of the Gutians (and) all of the Umman-manda (Medes) bow down at his feet. (As for) the black-headed people whom he allowed his hand to conquer, he was assiduous towards their welfare in truth and justice. The god Marduk, the great lord, the one who nurtures his people, look[ed] with pleasure upon his good deeds and righteous heart.

He (Marduk) commanded that he (Cyrus) should march against his city, Babylon. He made him take the road to Babylon and, like a friend and companion, he marched at his side. His widespread troops, whose number, like the water of a river, cannot be ascertained, marched fully armed at his side. Without a fight or battle, he allowed him to enter Šuanna (Babylon). He saved his city, Babylon, from hardship. He delivered Nabonidus, the king who did not revere him, into his hands.

The people of Babylon, all of them, the entirety of the land of Sumer and Akkad, (as well as) the nobles and governor(s), bowed down before him (and) kissed his feet. They were happy at him being king (and) their faces shone. (As for) the lord, who through his (Marduk’s) support revived the dying (and) universally spared (them) from trouble and hardship, they graciously blessed him (and) praised his name.

I, Cyrus (II), king of the world, great king, strong king, king of Babylon, king of the land of Sumer and Akkad, king of the four quarters (of the world), son of Cambyses (I) — great king, king of Anšan — grandson of Cyrus (I) — great king, kin[g of] Anšan — descendant of Teispes — great king, king of Anšan — the eternal seed of kingship, whose reign the gods Bēl (Marduk) and Nabû love and whose k[ingshi]p they desired to their heart’s content. When I peacefully entered i[n]to Babylon, amidst joy and happiness, I took up (my) lordly residence in the palace of the ruler.

The god Marduk, the great lord, established for me as (my) des[ti]ny the great magnanimity of one who loves Babylon and daily I strive to revere him. My widespread troops marched peacefully inside Babylon. I did not allow the whole of the lan[d of Sumer] and Akkad to have troublemakers. I sought out the welfare of the city of Babylon and all of its shrines. (As for) the citizens of Babylon, [..., wh]o would have endured a yoke not befitting them if not for the wi[ll of go]d, I allowed (them) to find rest for their exhaustion (and) I relieved (them) off their...

The god Marduk, the gre[a]t lord, was pleased with [my good] deeds and he kindly pronounced a blessing over me – Cyrus (II), the king who reveres him — and Cambyses (II) — the son, [my] offspring — [and] the entir[ety of] my army so that we, [at his] exalted [command], could constantly walk about happily before him in good health. All of the kings who sit on (royal) daises, from every quarter (of the world), from the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea, those who live in [remote] re[gions], (and) the kings of the land of Amurru who live in tents, everyone of them, brought their substantial tribute inside Šuanna (Babylon) (and) kissed my feet.

From [Šuanna (Babylon)] to Aššur and Susa, Agade, Ešnunna, Zabbān, Mê-Turān, Dēr, as far as the border of the land of the Gutians, (and) cult-centers on the opposite side of the Tigris River whose dwellings had previous been in ruins — I returned the deities who live inside them to their (proper) places and I made (them) reside in (their) eternal dwelling(s). I gathered (together) all of their people and returned (them to) their settlements.

Moreover, (as for) the deities of the land of Sumer and Akkad who Nabonidus, incurring the wrath of the lord of the gods (Marduk), had brought into Šuanna (Babylon), at the command of the god Marduk, the great lord, I allowed (them) to live in peace in their abodes, (in) the dwelling(s) of (their) heart’s content. May all of the deities whom I made enter into their cult-centers speak daily about my life being long (and) may they mention favorable words about me in the presence of the gods Bēl (Marduk) and Nabû. Furthermore, may they say this to the god Marduk, my lord: “[(As for) the...] of Cyrus (II), the king who reveres you, and Cambyses (II), his son, [...] may they be the ones who provision our shrines until distant days.” Also, the people of Babylon blessed (my) kingship. I allowed the lands, all of them, to live undisturbed.

Daily, I lavishly provided [... ge]ese, two ducks, and ten pigeons, more than the geese, ducks, and pigeons [...].

(As for) the wall Imgur-Enlil, the great wall of Babylon, I sought to strengthen its [defen]ses and [...] the quay (made) of baked brick on the bank of the moat that a previous king had bu[ilt, but not com]pleted, [I...] its construction. [(As for)..., which did not surround the city] on the outside, which no previous king had built, his troops, the lev[y of his land, in]to Šuanna (Babylon) [...] I built anew with bitumen and baked brick and [completed the]ir [construction].

[... tall doors of cedar] covered with bronze. [Wherever th]eir [gates were, I installed] thresholds and fittin[gs of cast copper].

[... I saw a... wr]itten in the name of Ashurbanipal, a king who came before [me, that (had been deposited) inside it.... to] its [plac]e.

O Marduk, the great lord, [grant me] a lif[e (lasting until) distant days, the attainment of very old age, the securing of (my) throne, and the prolongation of (my) reig]n as a gif[t. Furthermore, may I... in] your heart for ever.

[Written and co]llated [from a...]. Tablet of Qīšti-Marduk, son of [...].