1. متى أنتَ يا وطني مُسعِدي

    لقد أفلتَتْ همَّتي من يدي

    When, my homeland, will you bring me joy?

    Indeed, my resolve has slipped from my hand.

  2. هَجرْتُكَ لا الشوقُ يِدني إليكَ

    ولا الصبرُ إن أدْعُهُ يُنجِدِ

    I have forsaken you: longing does not draw me toward you,

    nor does patience, if I call upon it, come to my aid.

  3. وحاربتُ فيك الليالِي ومَنْ

    يجاهِدْ ليالِيَه يَجهَدِ

    And within you I battled the nights; whoever

    struggles against his nights grows weary.

  4. فأمّا الشبابُ فملَّ المنى

    وأمَّا الزمانُ فلم يُسعدِ

    As for youth, it has wearied of hopes,

    and as for time, it has brought me no joy.

  5. بلادُك فاحمِ حمى مجدِها

    فإِن أَنتَ لم تَحمِ لم تُحمَدِ

    Your country—protect the sanctuary of its glory,

    for if you do not protect it, you will not be praised.

  6. ولا تستَبحْ عِرضَها فالوفاءُ

    دَليلٌ على كَرَمِ المحتِدِ

    And do not violate its honor, for loyalty

    is a sign of noble ancestry.

  7. عدمتُ المروءَة يومَ يُرادُ

    فِدىً لبلادي ولا أفتدِي

    May I be bereft of honor on the day there is need

    for sacrifice for my country, and I do not sacrifice myself.

  8. إذا المرء مات فِدى موطنٍ

    فقد ماتَ ميتة مُستَشْهَدِ

    If a man dies as a sacrifice for a homeland,

    then he has indeed died a martyr's death.

  9. وأجدبَ عالي الرُّبى مُقفِرٍ

    كثير الفدافد والأنجُدِ

    And a barren, desolate land of lofty hills,

    abounding in wastelands and uplands:

  10. إذا الطيرُ عاجت بهِ تستريحُ

    ترامَتْ عَياءَ على الجَلمدَ

    when birds turn aside there to rest,

    they cast themselves, exhausted, upon the hard rock.

  11. عبوس المعالم لا ينجلي

    بصبحٍ دُجى ليلِهِ الأسودِ

    Grim in its features; never dispelled

    by dawn is the darkness of its black night.

  12. خَلا من بَنِيه فليسَ بنوه

    سوى رُحّلٍ أبداً شرّدِ

    It is empty of its sons, for its sons are nothing

    but wanderers, forever scattered.

  13. يجِدّ بنا البَينُ كرهاً على جِوارٍ

    بذي لُجَجٍ مزبِدِ

    Parting hurries us unwillingly aboard ships

    on a foaming sea of deep waters.

  14. جِوارٍ بها مثلُ ما في الضلوعِ

    فلا بِدْعَ إن هي لم تبرُدِ

    Ships bearing the like of what lies within our ribs:

    so it is no wonder if they do not cool.

  15. إذا شارفَتْ أرض لبنانَ هاجَت

    بنا لوعَةُ الوالهِ المبعَدِ

    When they approach the land of Lebanon, there stirs

    within us the anguish of the distraught exile.

  16. وما راعنا البَيْنُ لَكِن بَكَينا

    على جَبلٍ موحشٍ أجردِ

    And parting did not frighten us, but we wept

    over a desolate, bare mountain.

  17. لقد أخلقَ الدهر مِن جِدّتيه

    فأمسى لثوب البِلَى يرتدي

    Time has indeed worn away some of its twofold freshness,

    so it now wears the garment of decay.

  18. أجِلْ نظرةً فيه تُبصْر سماءً

    تُطلُّ على أربُعٍ همَّدِ

    Let your gaze roam over it: you will see a sky

    looking down upon lifeless dwellings.

  19. منازل هاجَرَها أهلُها

    إلى كل منتجعٍ أرغدِ

    Homes whose inhabitants have left them

    for every haven of greater plenty.

  20. فليسَ سوى الطفلِ في مهده

    وليس سوى العاجِزِ المُقعَدِ

    So none remain but the child in his cradle,

    and none but the helpless, incapacitated man.

  21. مجالسُ للحكم ما أن تَضُمّ

    سوى ذي مطامِعَ مسترفِدِ

    Councils of government that admit no one

    but a man of greedy ambitions, seeking favors.

  22. موارد تنصبّ هَدْراً فما

    تبرَّد من غُله الورّدِ

    Springs flow to waste, and so do not

    cool the burning thirst of those who come to drink.

  23. صوامع للدين مستوياتٌ

    على قِمم للعُلى صعّدِ

    Religious monasteries, standing firm

    on summits soaring toward the heights:

  24. ينعَّم رهبنها بالثراء

    ويحرَمُ كلُّ فتىً أصيدِ

    their monks are pampered with riches,

    while every proud young man is deprived.

  25. بنا منك يا وطني ما بنا

    لواعجُ في الصدر لم تخمَدِ

    From you, my homeland, we suffer what we suffer:

    burning pangs in the breast that have not died down.

  26. شكوتَ النَّوى وشكونا الثَّواء

    وَأيٌّ تَزِدْه أذىً يزدَدِ

    You lamented distance, and we lamented staying;

    and whichever you add pain to suffers still more.

  27. أَقلّ رزايا بنيك مقامٌ

    وصبرٌ على عيشك الأنكدِ

    The least of your sons' misfortunes is remaining

    and patiently enduring your wretched life.

  28. ورُبَّ فتىً عقَّه موطنٌ

    فولّى إلى وطنٍ أبعدِ

    And many a youth was betrayed by his homeland,

    so he turned away to a more distant country.

  29. ومن شاكه مضجعٌ لم ينم

    ومن طلب الرزقَ لم يقعدِ

    And whoever is pricked by his bed does not sleep,

    and whoever seeks a livelihood does not sit idle.

  30. سلوا وطني أيُّ فضلٍ له

    عليَّ سوى أنه مَوْلِدي

    Ask my homeland what favor it has done

    for me, except that it is my birthplace.

  31. بلى كان كُفراً رحيليَ عنه

    لَوِ اتَّهمتْ همتي مقصِدي

    Yes, my departure from it would have been faithlessness,

    if my resolve had distrusted my purpose.

  32. ولولا وفائي لأهلٍ كرامٍ

    ولولا ثرى والدٍ أمجدِ

    And were it not for my loyalty to noble kin,

    and were it not for the dust of a most illustrious father,

  33. لهاجرته غيرَ ذي أوبةِ

    فما نتلاقى على موعِدِ

    I would have forsaken it, never to return,

    so we would not meet at an appointed time.

  34. أُحب بلادي ولو لم أنلْ

    سوى الضيمِ منها ولم أعهَدِ

    I love my country, even if I have gained nothing

    but oppression from it, and have known nothing else.

  35. بلادُك كلُّ رجائِك فانهض

    بها ما استطعتَ إلى السؤدُدِ

    Your country is all your hope, so rise

    with it, as far as you can, toward eminence.

  36. إذا قيل لبنان قل موطنُ

    إلهي وصلّ له واسجُدِ

    When Lebanon is named, say: the abode

    of my God; pray to Him and prostrate yourself.