1. Whoever yearns for glory and renown
Or craves the fickle world's esteem

2. Or hopes from God a lofty station
That grants him nearness to the righteous and the dear

3. Or seeks true faith to guide his way
With no crookedness or deviance therein

4. Or longs to regain what he has lost
Then let him serve this just king as a loyal heir

5. The heir of justice and nobility from ancestors
Who spurred their nobleness despite whoever came before

6. The one who favors moderation in all his rules
If he wishes to give, he prefers extravagance

7. When a neck turns stubborn, his rule turns it
To a sword if a right of his calls for vengeance

8. And if reluctance shows in an honored face
He swiftly removes it without hesitation or pause

9. His pleasure turns away from whoever seeks his refuge
Like time turns away whenever it shifts course

10. When a time recoils from its own barrenness
His generosity enriches the land and suffices, no less

11. His wrath leaves the stars in fear
The sun bewildered, the moon eclipsed

12. He sees caution on days of zeal and fervor
And fasting, though if an intricate view appears, he pauses

13. God's blade in his fingers is thin
Yet he returned my fortune robust after it grew weak

14. He debases his riches to profit from them
Honor that proliferates in its footsteps

15. And man is a target for blame in his states
If his wealth is not beneath him, a target

16. The eulogizing poet al-Mutarri does not match his meanings
Though he surpasses all he described