The god Ea leaks the secret plan[edit]

1. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh a secret story that begins in the old city of Shuruppak on the banks of the Euphrates River.

2. The "great gods" Anu, Enlil, Ninurta, Ennugi, and Ea were sworn to secrecy about their plan to cause the flood.

3. But the god Ea (Sumerian god Enki) repeated the plan to Utnapishtim through a reed wall in a reed house.

4. Ea commanded Utnapishtim to demolish his house and build a boat, regardless of the cost, to keep living beings alive.

5. The boat must have equal dimensions with corresponding width and length and be covered over like Apsu boats.

[...]