1. I aspire for perfection in every soul
And I honor men of every race

2. And when emotions surge in my soul
I resort to my tools and my poetry

3. Opener of Jerusalem, may God shroud you
With a spirit from the Most High sanctify you

4. You have determination from fate and memory
Shining in time with the rising sun's glow

5. You came to review the rows in celebration
Not for war with cannon or shield

6. O greatest of leaders in the noblest war
Above the eyes of nations and heads

7. Its ancient history was magnificent
Like Egypt, Rome and Persia

8. Then time turned an ominous cycle
Reversing its happy star to harm in reverse

9. We slipped barefoot on the ground
Between the dust of the famished and sunburnt

10. Few among us recall the facts
And ignorance and bigotry make us forget

11. So make us happy for we suffered from the darkness of ignorance, poverty and misery
And open the way for us for we have despaired from time

12. And empower us for we need you
To rebuild the nations and raise the heads

13. And entrust leadership to the honorable among us
For some of us are in lust and misguidance

14. And drive us forward for you
Are the most capable people without doubt

15. And take us with kindness and firmness
So rule yields fruit between softness and firmness

16. You lived for the nation and it lived
A nation blessed with the noblest throne

17. And let cooperation, sincerity
Love and affection - the finest plant - flourish among us

18. And if the nation could speak, it would say
What a difference between my yesterday and today