1. Ask the night and day about them,
How their women and maidens fared,

2. How their suckling child lost its mother,
And how they huddled by fire with the people.

3. How the old woman collapsed beneath a wall,
With roofs tumbling and crashing down.

4. Lord, verily fate has oppressed them,
So lift this distress and conceal fate's schemes.

5. And command the fire to cease its harm,
And command the rain to pour heavily.

6. Where is the flood of Noah to quench
This fire, as it complains of the flames?

7. You ignited the inferno of Daij, so it
Filled the earth and sky with embers.

8. Misfortune befell them, flowing to the right,
And misery struck them, flowing to the left.

9. Their faces were radiant then turned pale,
As the embers clothed them in soot.

10. It devoured their homes, and when sated,
It spared not their children or elders.

11. It drove them naked from their homes,
Fleeing death, seeking escape.

12. They wear the darkness until dawn comes
And dons the day like a garment,

13. A garb that protects not from cold or heat,
Nor turns away dust from them.

14. You who flaunt your fine robes,
Dragging your trains proudly,

15. There are above the bare desert hungry people
Humbled and broken.

16. O prisoner, no jail prevents generosity
From one noble to lessen another's burden.

17. Give thousands for them, and if you wish, add more,
And compensate them as you did the Christians.

18. Only yesterday in Egypt we saw a wedding
That filled the eye and heart with joy.

19. Wine flowed till we thought
The courtyard flowed with wine.

20. The revelers spent the night
In such beauty the dawn was ashamed and hid.

21. They wore happiness for a while, then for a while more,
Casting off dignity with cup in hand.

22. And we heard in drowned Gamr wailing
That filled the land and sea with clamor.

23. Cursed be the one who apportioned fates, so that
One sings while the other weeps over homes.

24. Many a night in time has brought together
Misfortune, fortune, hardship, and ease.