Of the three figures on the left, the central one is dressed in the same fashion as Shamash and is assumed to be the Babylonian king Nabu-apla-iddina receiving the symbols of deity.

(1) ṣal-lam (ilu)Šamaš bêlu rabû (2) a-šib E-babbar-ra (3) ša ki-rib Sippar(KI) (1) Image of Shamash, the great Lord (2) who dwells in Ebabbara, (3) which is in Sippar Above the sun god a second inscription describes the position of the depicted moon, sun, and star as being over against the heavenly ocean, on which the scene sits:

The cuneiform text beneath the stele is divided into fifteen passages, blending prose, poetic and rhetorical elements in the fashion typical of Mesopotamian royal inscriptions.

Similar iconographic and prosaic parallels have been evidenced from Mesopotamian and later Jewish sources where the king who restores the cult is seen like a deity passing on divine symbols.

The remainder of the text records the gifts of the royal grant, similar to a kudurru and discusses the practices of the temple, priestly rules, dress codes and regulations.