tch thee.
Who transgresses the law of Shamash, from him Shamash will exact
revenge.

But the eagle, we are told, paid no heed to the warning.

He descended and ate of the young of the serpent.

The serpent appeals to Shamash. He tells the sun-god of the cruel deed
of the eagle:

See, O Shamash, the evil that he has done to me.
Help (?), O Shamash, thy net is the broad earth.
Thy trap is the distant heavens.
Who can escape thy net?[1032]
Zu,[1033] the worker of evil, the source of evil [did not
escape?[1034]].

Shamash responds to the appeal:

Upon his hearing the lament of the serpent,
Shamash opened his mouth and spoke to the serpent:
Go and ascend the mountain;
The carcass of a wild ox make thy hiding-place.
Open him, tear open his belly.
Make a dwelling place [of his belly].
All the birds of heaven will come down;
The eagle with them will come down.

...

Upon penetrating to the meat he will hastily proceed,
Making for the hidden parts.[1035]
As soon as he has reached the inside,[1036] seize him by his wing,
Tear out his wing, his feather (?), his pinion,
Tear him to pieces, and throw him into a corner,
To die a death of hunger and thirst.

This devilish plan is successfully carried out. With considerable skill
the narrative describes how the eagle, suspecting some mischief, did not
join the other birds, but when he saw that they escaped without harm
felt reassured. He tells his brood:

Come, let us go and let us also pounce down upon the carcass of
the wild ox and eat, we too.

The eagle is again warned by his "very clever" offspring. The rest of
his brood join in the appeal, but

He did not hearken to them, and obeyed not the advice of his brood,
He swooped down and stood upon the wild ox.

Still, he is not entirely free from suspicion, and the narrative
continues:

The eagle inspected the carcass, looking carefully to the front and
behind him.
He again inspected the carcass, looking carefully to the front and
behind him.

Detecting nothing to justify his suspicions, he digs his beak into the
carcass, but scarcely has he done so when the serpent seizes hold of
him. The eagle cries for mercy, and promises the serpent a present of
whatever he desires. The serpent is relentless. To release the eagle
would be to play false to Shamash.

If I release thee ...
Thy punishment will be transferred to me.

Thus the