uilty only. In Ezekiel the subject is the
same, but the point of view is different. The land the prophet has in
his mind in verse 13 is evidently Judah, and his desire is to explain
why it will suffer although not all its inhabitants deserved to share
its fate. The discrimination, which Ea urges, Ezekiel asserts will be
made; but the sinner must bear his own sin, and the righteous, however
eminent, can only save themselves by their righteousness. The general
principle propounded in the Epic is here applied to a special case.
But the parallelism between the passages lies not only in the general
principle but also in the literary setting. This will best be brought
out by printing the passages in parallel columns.

Gilg. Epic, XI, 180-194 Ezek. xiv. 12-20

Ea opened his mouth and spake, And the word of the Lord came
He said to the warrior Enlil; unto me, saying,
Thou director of the gods! O Son of man, when a land sinneth
warrior! against me by committing a
Why didst thou not take counsel trespass, and I stretch out
but didst cause a flood? mine hand upon it, and break
On the transgressor lay his the staff of the bread
transgression! thereof, and send _famine_
Be merciful, so that (all) be not upon it, and cut off from it
destroyed! Have patience, so man and beast; though these
that (all) be not (cut off)! three men, Noah, Daniel, and
Instead of causing a flood, Job, were in it, they should
Let _lions_(1) come and diminish deliver but their own souls by
mankind! their righteousness, saith the
Instead of causing a flood, Lord God.
Let _leopards_(1) come and If I cause _noisome beasts_ to
diminish mankind! pass through the land, and
Instead of causing a flood, they spoil it, so that it be
Let _famine_ be caused and let it desolate, that no man may pass
smite the land! through because of the beasts;
Instead of causing a flood, though these three men were in
Let the _Plague-god_ come and it, as I live, saith the Lord
(slay) mankind! God, they shall deliver
neither sons nor daughters;
they only shall be delivered,
but th