“
Humbaba’s mouth is fire; his roar the floodwater;
his breath is death. Enlil made him guardian
of the Cedar Forest, to frighten off the mortal
who would venture there. But who would venture
there? Humbaba’s mouth is fire; his roar
is the floodwater; he breathes and there is death.
He hears the slightest sound somewhere in the Forest.
Enlil made him terrifying guardian,
Whose mouth is fire, whose roar the floodwater.
—Tablet II
