Abstract
To address the topic of fortune and misfortune, I choose a text that protests against misfortune on the grounds that it is not deserved. I have in mind the first part of Ludlul bēl nēmeqi Tablet II, where the speaker states that he has been beset with misfortune (line 11) as if he were one who was not observant and pious (lines 12–22), although in fact he is observant (lines 23–28) and even teaches the people to follow this example (lines 29–32). In this paper I am concerned with understanding only this part of his speech and