بَحْرُ القريضِ تلاطَمَتْ أَمْواجُهُ

بَحْرُ القريضِ تلاطَمَتْ أَمْواجُهُ

وطَمَتْ فَمَا لِخِضَمِّها عِبْران

وطَمَتْ فَمَا لِخِضَمِّها عِبْران

The sea of poetry—its waves have clashed,

The sea of poetry, its waves crashing,

And surged; their vast sea has no shores.

Tumultuous, yet nothing to show for the foaming tumult.

وأَرى الفصاحَةَ جانَبَتْ أَعْرَابَنَا

وأَرى الفصاحَةَ جانَبَتْ أَعْرَابَنَا

حَدًّا فكيفَ تصِحُّ من عِبْراني

حَدًّا فكيفَ تصِحُّ من عِبْراني

And I see eloquence has forsaken our Bedouins

I see eloquence has abandoned our Bedouins,

To such a degree—how, then, can a Hebrew produce it correctly?

So how can any eloquence come from a Hebrew?