(i 1) Nebuchadnezzar (II), king of Babyl[o]n, pious prince, the one selected by the steadfast heart of the god Marduk, the true shepherd who ensures that the sanctuaries of the god Nabû are looked after correctly, the one who plea[s]es their hearts, the exalted ruler who is mindful of provisioning Esagil and Ezida daily and (who) constantly seeks out good things for Babylon and Borsippa, the wise (and) pious one who provides for Esagil and Ez[i]da, the foremost heir of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, a[m I].

(i 9) When the god Marduk, the great lord, the god who created m[e], steadfastly named me and magnificently commissioned m[e] (to perform) good things for his city Babylon, I myself was constantly present (and) incessant towards the god Marduk, my lord, (and) all day, without ceasing, [(my) mind] pondered about (things) that were pleasing to him.

(i 13) I provided Esagil with silver, gold, precious (and) valuable stone(s), copper, musukkannu-wood, ce[dar], (and) an abundance of anything that is valuable, leaving nothing (else) to be desired, and made its sheen shine forth like the sun.

(i 16) I completed Ezida and made (it) shine like the stars (lit. “writings”) of the heavens.

(i 17) (As for) Imgur-Enlil and Nēmetti-Enlil, the great wall(s) of Babyl[on] that Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, the father who had eng[endered me], had built and put in good order, ... (something) that no king who had come before him had done previously; moreover, (using) baked bricks, that he surrounded the outskirts of the city with an embankment for its moat with bitumen and baked brick; (that) he built the embankment of the Araḫtu River with bitumen and baked brick from the gate of the goddess Ištar to the gate of the god Uraš and constructed piers of baked brick on the other side of the Euphrates River, but he did not complete the rest;

(i 27) that which in the distant past no king among the (former) king(s) had built (and) that which no king of the past had do[ne], (he did); for the protection of Babylon, he surrounded the eastern side of Babylon with a fortification wall over a stretch of 4,000 cubits around Babylon from the bank of the Euphrates River upstream of the city to the bank of the Euphrates River downstream of the city, dug its canal, and built its embankment wall(s) with bitumen and baked brick —

(i 32) As for me, his first-born son, the beloved of his heart, with the wisdom that the gods Ea and Marduk had granted [me], I co[mpleted] everything that the father who had engendered me had done, ... Imgur-Enlil and Nēmetti-Enlil, the wall[s ...].

(i 36) I [made] Ištar-sākipat-tēbîša, the gate <of> (both) Imgur-Enlil and Nē[metti-Enlil], the entrance of the gods’ controlling place, the bro[ad] gate of Babylon, [appear] resplendent with baked bricks (colored with) shining blue glaze. At its door-jamb(s), (I did something) that no king of the past had done: I created and stationed fierce wild bulls of copper and [raging] mušḫuššu-dragons.

(ii 2) On the outskirts of Imgur-Enlil, beside the embankment that my father had constructed, I built a strong, twenty-one-baked-brick(-thick) embankment with bitumen and baked brick and adjoined (it) to the embankment that my father had constructed. I secured its foundation on the surface (lit. “breast”) of the netherworld and raised its superstructure as high as a mountain.

(ii 7) On the other bank, (on) the western (side), I surrounded the wall of Babylon with an embankment of baked bricks. Beside the embankment of the Araḫtu (River) that my father had built, I built a strong embankment like a mountain with bitumen and baked brick.

(ii 10) (As for) the wall that the father who had engendered me had built beside the wall for the protection of Babylon, but whose construction he had not completed, I completed that wall and raised its superstructure. I dug out its moat and reached the water table. I built three strong, thirty-six-baked-brick(-thick) embankments and adjoined (them) to the embankment that (my) father had constructed.

(ii 16) On [its] embankment, [I built] a fortified wall, which like a mountain [cannot be shaken], with bitumen and baked brick [and] raised its superstructure as hi[gh as a mountain]. I constructed its broad gates (and) fitted them with doors (made) of cedar with a facing of bronze.

(ii 21) At that time, I constantly stove (to do things) to strengthen the protection [of] Esagil and Babylon. Beside Nēmetti-Enlil, the outer wall of Babylon, from the bank of the Euphrates River up to the lower enclosure Nēmetti-Enlil, which faces East, (at) a distance of 335 cubits from the outskirts of Nēmetti-Enlil, I built with bitumen and baked brick [o]ne embankment (whose width was) thirty-two baked bricks (and) a second embankment (whose width was) twenty-three baked bricks, [two] strong embankments, one in front of the other. I secured their foundation(s) directly on the apsû, [i]n the water table far below, and raised their superstructure(s) as high as mountain(s).

(ii 33) I fashion[ed] a baked brick structure between them [and, on t]op of them, I built a kummu-building, a large sacred building, to a great height.

(ii 36) I skillfully strengthen (Esagil’s and Babylon’s) protection and established the city of Babylon as a fortress.

(ii 38) O Marduk, great lord, look upon my handiwork with favor and pleasure and may good things about me be set upon your lips. By your holy command, which cannot be altered, proclaim the prolongation of my days (and) command my (attainment of) very old age. May everything that I have built endure and stay in good repair forever so that I may be sated with its luxuriousness. By your true command, which cannot be overturned, may I not have enemies nor acquire (any) troublemaker(s).