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Fragmentary Coptic letter concerning a donkey that someone handed over and that is being sent or brought to the addressees. It closes with a Christian farewell formula. It dates to the 8th century AD and comes from Bawit in the Hermopolite nome.
The beginning of the letter is lost and several phrases in the surviving lines are obscure, so the translation of the middle lines is tentative. The Greek loanwords archesthai ('begin') and areskein ('please') are used inside Coptic verb forms.
Working translation of the DDbDP edition, made with Claude Opus 5.5 from the edition and the catalogue records shown below (catalogued as Mitteilung bezüglich eines Esels). It has not been reviewed by a papyrologist: check the edition before citing. Restorations follow the edition; […] marks lost text and (?) an uncertain reading.
[… ? lines lost …] […]…[…]…[…] […] ⲁϥἄρχεσθαι ⲉϣⲟϫⲡ ⲡⲓⲱ ⲁϥⲧⲁⲁϥ ⲛⲁⲓ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲛⲉⲓⲉⲓⲛⲉ ⲛⲙⲟϥ ⲉⲣⲱⲧⲛ ⲡⲉ ⲁⲩⲱ ϣⲁϥἀρέσκειν ⲛⲏⲧⲛ ⲕⲁ…[…] […] ἀλλά ⲧⲉⲩⲟ ⲡⲧⲱϣ ⲡⲉ ⲉϥⲡⲉⲉⲧ ⲉⲣⲱⲧⲛ ⲉⲃⲟⲗ […] […] ϩⲓ ⲧⲉⲛⲥⲉⲛⲉ ⲛⲛϩⲟⲩⲙ ϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲛⲙⲟⲥ ⲁⲡⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ […] […]… ⲟⲩϫⲁⲓ ϩⲛ ⲡϫⲟⲉⲓⲥ ϩⲛ ⲧεἰρήνη ⲛⲡⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ
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