my lord: Message of Abdi-Heba, your servant. I fall at (your) feet. I am your servant. Present eloquent words to the king, my lord: I am a soldier of the king. (I am) –always yours–." -EA 287, (complete: only lines 33-78(End)) EA 254, title: "Neither rebel nor delinquent (2)" Letter no. 3 of 3 from Labayu of Shechem-(Šakmu of the letters). "To the king-(i.e. pharaoh), my lord and my Sun: Thus Labayu, your servant and the dirt on which you tread. I fall at the feet of the king, my lord and my Sun, 7 times and 7 times. I have obeyed the orders that the king wrote to me. Who am I that the king should lose his land on account of me? The fact is that I am a loyal servant of the king! I am not a rebel and I am not delinquent in duty. I have not held back my payments of tribute; I have not held back anything requested by my commissioner. He denounces me unjustly, but the king, my lord, does not examine my (alleged) act of rebellion. Moreover, my act of rebellion is this: when I entered Gazru, I kept on saying, "Everything of mine the king takes, but where is what belongs to Milkilu-(i.e. king of Magidda)? I know the actions of Milkilu against me! Moreover, the king wrote for my son. I did not know that my son was consorting with the Apiru. I herewith hand him over to Addaya. Moreover, how, if the king wrote to me, "Put a bronze dagger into your heart and die," how could I not execute the order of the king?" -EA 254, lines 1-36 (complete) See also Amarna letters Abdi-Heba, mayor of Jerusalim/Uru-salim Labaya, mayor of Shechem/(Šakmu) References Moran, William L. The Amarna Letters. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987, 1992. (softcover, ) Amarna letters officials Canaanite people