1. Rejoice, O people, for the great turmoil
Has subsided, and we have had our fill of its heat.

2. Its fire has died down, praise be to God, after
It blazed and scorched the land and the sea.

3. It has cast off its burdens after raging,
And the world has recorded the guilt of the aggressor.

4. Its shadow has contracted from the face of the earth,
Though it had spread its shadow over it like a canopy.

5. And after the prolonging of its night, its dawn appeared,
When we thought there would never be a dawn.

6. We spent fifty months counting them
As a month, and counted each day as a month,

7. And counted a month longer than the years
Of famine. Indeed, we saw each of its years as an epoch.

8. In it, what befell the world cannot be described -
Pens, pages, and ink would be exhausted in the attempt.

9. The scourges that afflicted me have passed by more than once,
So I will not repeat what has already passed.

10. I felt what the world suffered of its evils
With a feeling that seemed to me like poetry.

11. I immediately responded when my soul called,
And did not disobey its command.

12. I deposited the description of this war in these poems
That were heartfelt, not superficial.

13. I prepared them for printing when they
Contained what deserved printing and publication.

14. I began with the war and now end
With mentioning deliverance from it and conclude with good tidings.

15. News that musk would be diminished if diffused
Over its fragrance, so exalted and superior is its diffusion.

16. Were it sold, its price would be higher
Than the most precious perfumes of the world.

17. The gist is that the turmoil - say that its bier
Has passed - and Germany has gnawed its fingers in regret.

18. The hand of aggression that extended its evil
And whose forearms stretched to break and shatter.

19. He who yesterday excused himself for profit
We see today complaining of loss.

20. That hardship whose grip tightened
On the people has relaxed, and they enjoy ease.

21. How excellent is the good news that filled the earth with its tidings,
And delighted every soul in the horizons!

22. When it was circulated, people’s reaction
Was like that of honey - that is, of sugar.

23. They cried out in shouts of joy and elation,
And did what exhausted the imagination.

24. They held celebrations and feasts in
Every town and village crowded with people.

25. They omitted nothing with which to express
Their joy but came and did it.

26. If in some matters they exceeded
The limits of joy, we pardoned them.

27. Sufficient excuse for the people are the words of one
Who gave them good news: “Rejoice! The allies have won victory.”

28. Such are the tidings I cannot describe their beauty
Even if I spent a lifetime trying.

29. When its essence was announced, how many a soul
Rejoiced, and how many an eye delighted!

30. How many an ear became sharp, how many a mind exhilarated,
How many a heart gladdened, how many a bosom expanded!

31. How the people clapped hands and offered
Their Lord praise and thanks on its account!

32. They singled out the Allies for the finest praise,
Which spread until they could no longer limit it.

33. As for the millions of victims, they had mercy
On them and commemorated them with eulogies.

34. The calamities of this war afflicted all humankind,
So none remained who did not suffer its heat.

35. But its evil may produce good,
And great benefit may follow harm.

36. If what the Allies strive for in
Their councils is achieved, and tyranny uprooted at the root;

37. If all major issues become
The concern of the grand League of Nations;

38. If there remains no fear of great nations
Oppressing smaller ones and forcing their rule;

39. If the rights of weak peoples are not violated,
And all in the world become free as they should be;

40. If all this is achieved - and hopefully
It will be, with goodness spreading through the world -

41. Then the sin of this war will be erased from it,
And the blood of the millions spilled will not have flowed in vain.