§ 3

Law § 3 of Hammurabi's Code

Summary
in capital cases, the punishment for being unable to prove an accusation is execution.
Translation
If a man came forth in a legal case for (presenting) false testimony (lit. testimony of falsehoods), and has not proved the word/words he spoke, if that case is a capital case, that man will be executed.
Law Code
Law Code of Hammurabi
Law Group
Unsubstantiated Allegations

Cuneiform

Law § 3 - Cuneiform - Law Code of Hammurabi

Source: Bergmann (1953, p. 4, col. V, lns. 57–67)

Transliteration

šum-ma a-wi-lum i-na di-nim a-na ši-bu-ut sà-ar-ra-tim ú-ṣí-a-am-ma a-wa-at iq-bu-ú la uk-ti-in šum-ma di-nu-um šu-ú di-in na-pí-iš-tim a-wi-lum šu-ú id-da-ak

Source: Huehnergard (2011, p. 216)

Normalization

šumma awīlum ina dīnim ana šībūt sarrātim uṣiam-ma awāt/awât iqbû lā uktīn, šumma dīnum šū dīn napištim, awīlum šū iddâk.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 47)

Translation

If a man came forth in a legal case for (presenting) false testimony (lit. testimony of falsehoods), and has not proved the word/words he spoke, if that case is a capital case, that man will be executed.

Source: Huehnergard (2013, p. 47)

Citation

MLA 9

Dedović, B. "§ 3 - eHammurabi." OMNIKA Foundation, 22 Oct. 2023, ehlaw.org/law/3. [Accessed 14 Nov. 2026]

APA 7

Dedović, B. (2023, October 22). § 3 - eHammurabi. OMNIKA Foundation. https://ehlaw.org/law/3

CMS 16

Dedović, Boban. "§ 3 - eHammurabi." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created October 22, 2023. Modified January 23, 2025. Accessed November 14, 2026. https://ehlaw.org/law/3.

Bibliography

ACH

Abulhab, Saad D. The Law Code of Hammurabi: Transliterated and Literally Translated from its Early Classical Arabic Language. New York, NY: Blautopf, 2017.

CHTP

Bergmann, Eugen. Codex Ḫammurabi: Textus Primigenius. Rome, Italy: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum, 1953.

HAG3

Huehnergard, John. A Grammar of Akkadian (Third Edition). Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011.

HKEY3

Huehnergard, John. Key to a Grammar of Akkadian (Third Edition). Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013.

–

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "OMNIKA: Digital Mythology Library & Search Engine." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation, accessed November 14, 2023. https://omnika.org. [Visit]

RHL

Richardson, Mervyn E.J. Hammurabi's Laws: Text, Translation and Glossary. New York, NY: T & T Clark International, 2004.

SoT

Sound of Text Contributors. "Sound of Text: AI Text-to-Speech." Accessed November 14, 2023. https://soundoftext.app. [Visit]

eHammurabi Glossary

The § symbol is a shorthand notation for the word 'section'.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Cuneiform is an ancient writing system used by various cultures around Mesopotamia.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Normalization is the application of grammatical rules unto transliterated sound values.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Translation is the conversion of linguistic contents and their meanings from one language into another.

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eHammurabi Glossary

Transliteration is the conversion of sound values from one writing system into another.

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