1. ذلت لعزة دينِكَ الأديانُ

    وتكونت بوجودكَ الأكوانُ

    The religions bowed to the might of Your religion,

    and the worlds came into being through Your existence.

  2. يا أيها المولى يسوع ابنُ العلى

    أنت الإله الفاطر الديّان

    O Lord Jesus, Son of the Most High,

    You are God, the Creator and Judge.

  3. وافيتَنا متجسداً لخلاصنا

    من مريمٍ يا أيها الرحمان

    You came to us incarnate for our salvation,

    from Mary, O Merciful One.

  4. واخترتَها من بين أبكار النِسا

    وبطهرها يتأكَّد البرهان

    You chose her from among the virgins,

    and her purity confirms the proof.

  5. قامت وسيطاً بالشفاعة مثلما

    أَستيرُ قامت واختزى هامان

    She stood as an intercessor, pleading, just as

    Esther stood, and Haman was put to shame.

  6. وظهرتَ في ناسوتنا متردِّداً

    ورآك آدمُ ذلك الإنسان

    You appeared, moving to and fro in our human nature,

    and Adam, that human being, saw You.

  7. وبَرزتَ ذا فعلٍ بديعٍ معجِزٍ

    يَرويهِ عنكَ الصِدقُ والإذعان

    You emerged as the doer of a wondrous, miraculous deed,

    which truth and submission recount of You.

  8. وأمطتَ ذيلَ الكفر لما أن بدا

    من نورك الإرشاد والإيمان

    You swept away unbelief's trailing hem when there appeared

    from Your light guidance and faith.

  9. وخذلت أوثان الضلال بقوةٍ

    قد خاف منها الكفر والشيطان

    You overthrew the idols of error with a power

    feared by unbelief and Satan.

  10. فارتد نحوك آدمٌ وبنوه من

    أسر المُعاند وامتحَى الثعبان

    So Adam and his sons turned back toward You from

    the adversary's bondage, and the serpent was effaced.

  11. وصعدتَ من بعد اَن هدمتَ حصونَه

    وتقوَّضت من بأسك الأركان

    You ascended after demolishing his fortresses,

    and the pillars collapsed before Your might.

  12. لكن محبتك التي فَتحَت لنا ال

    ملكوتَ وانطفأت بها النيران

    Yet Your love, which opened for us the

    Kingdom, and through which the fires were quenched,

  13. قد حركت من فضل جودك نعمةً

    روحيةً وشعارُها الكتمان

    stirred, from the abundance of Your generosity, a grace

    spiritual, whose hallmark is concealment.

  14. فنهضت معتضداً وقد برز الهدى

    من فيك والبركاتُ والرضوان

    So You arose, upheld, and guidance came forth

    from Your mouth, with blessings and divine favor.

  15. ومنحتنا لرضاك في ذلك العشا ال

    سريِّ سرّاً زانه الإحسان

    And You granted us, for Your good pleasure, at that supper,

    the mystical one, a mystery graced by goodness.

  16. لما تناولتَ اختياراً مُعلِناً

    خبزاً وخمراً والرضا برهان

    When You freely took, openly,

    bread and wine, with Your good pleasure as proof,

  17. فشكرتَ مغتفراً وقدستَ الذي

    بيديك فانطاعت لك الأكوان

    You gave thanks, forgiving, and sanctified what

    was in Your hands, and the worlds obeyed You.

  18. وجعلتَه لك بالحقيقة ظاهراً

    جسداً يُرَى ودماً به الغفران

    And You made it truly manifest as Your own

    visible body, and blood in which is forgiveness.

  19. وأبنتَه سرّاً عجيباً منقذاً

    للمؤمنين وصدقُه العِرفان

    You revealed it as a wondrous, saving mystery

    for believers, with knowledge attesting its truth.

  20. يتضمن اللاهوتَ متَّحداً به

    والإتحاد يزينه التبيان

    It contains divinity united with it,

    and elucidation adorns that union.

  21. فتراه لاهوتاً وناسوتاً معاً

    لا يعتريه الشك والنقصان

    Thus you behold it as divinity and humanity together,

    untouched by doubt or deficiency

  22. عن ذلك الجسد الذي قد حزتَه

    من مريمٍ وبه الأنام تُصان

    in comparison with that body which You received

    from Mary, through which humankind is guarded.

  23. ومنحتَناهُ ذخيرةً ننجو به

    من عثرة يَرمي بها الطغيان

    You bestowed it on us as a treasure through which we escape

    the stumbling block that tyranny hurls.

  24. وبدت شريعتُنا تَحُلُّ رموز ما

    رمزَت به عن أُسِّها الأركان

    And our sacred law appeared, unraveling the symbols of what

    the pillars had signified concerning their foundation.

  25. فكأنما الإنجيل للمعنى فمٌ

    وكأنَّ توراة الكليم لسان

    As though the Gospel were a mouth for the meaning,

    and the Torah of God's interlocutor a tongue.

  26. هذا هو الحَمَل الذبيح عشيةً

    قد إضمحلَّ بذبحه القربان

    This is the Lamb slain at evening;

    through its slaughter the offering vanished.

  27. موسى أزال بفَصْحِه عن قومه

    أسراً تُخَصُّ بمصره البُلدان

    Moses, through his Passover, removed from his people

    a bondage peculiar to his Egypt among the lands.

  28. لكن يسوع بفَصْحِه فتح السما

    وبه تخلَّص آدمُ الإنسان

    But Jesus, through His Passover, opened heaven,

    and through Him Adam, the human being, was delivered.

  29. تتجدد الأرواح في تجديده

    حيناً تجدِّدُ سرَّه الكُهّان

    Souls are renewed as it is renewed,

    whenever the priests renew His mystery.

  30. ونحوز منه نعمةً في نعمةٍ

    سريةٍ وظهورُها الإيمان

    And we receive from it grace within a grace

    mystical, whose manifestation is faith.

  31. هذا هو القوت الذي من دونه

    ذا جائعٌ يوماً وذا عطشان

    This is the nourishment without which

    one is hungry one day, another thirsty.

  32. وذبيحةٌ سريةٌ ذُبحت به ال

    أعداءُ والأضداد والأوثان

    And a mystical sacrifice, through which were slain the

    enemies, adversaries, and idols.

  33. هذا هو السر الذي فضحت به ال

    آثام واغتُسِلت به الأدران

    This is the mystery through which were exposed the

    sins, and through which the stains were washed away.

  34. والسُلَّمُ المركوزُ في أفق السما

    تسمو به الأرواح والأبدان

    And the ladder planted on heaven's horizon,

    by which souls and bodies ascend.

  35. هذا هو المنُّ الذي من ذاقه

    ذاقَ الحياة وزاره الرحمن

    This is the manna: whoever has tasted it

    has tasted life, and the Merciful has visited him.

  36. وبه يقوم مشيَّعاً من قبره

    مِن دونه تتمزق الأكفان

    Through it he rises, escorted, from his grave;

    beneath him the shrouds are torn apart.

  37. هذا هو الجسد الإلهي الذي

    رُفعت به وبنصره الصلبان

    This is the divine body through which

    the crosses were raised, through it and its victory.

  38. واندقَّ طودُ الكفر منحطّاً به

    نحو الحضيض وأدبر الدَبَران

    The mountain of unbelief was crushed, brought low by it

    toward the depths, and Aldebaran retreated.

  39. هذا هو الثمر الإلهي الذي

    خضعت له الأثمار والأغصان

    This is the divine fruit to which

    the fruits and branches bowed.

  40. لو ذاق آدم بعد موتٍ طعمَه

    ما مات واهتُصرت له الخُرصان

    Had Adam tasted its flavor after death,

    he would not have died, and the spears would have been snapped for him.

  41. هذا هو الشجر الإلهي الذي

    يَحمي حماه صارمٌ وسنان

    This is the divine tree whose

    sanctuary a sharp sword and spearhead guard.

  42. من عُوده تُجنَى الحياة وإنما

    يفنَى به من مسَّهُ النكران

    From its wood life is harvested; yet

    through it perishes whoever denial has touched.

  43. هذا هو النار التي لم تحترق

    بسعيرها الأجرام والأكوان

    This is the fire that did not consume

    the bodies and worlds with its blaze.

  44. شَعياً رآها بكفِّ سارافيمها

    فتطهرت من لمسها الأذهان

    Isaiah saw it in the hand of its seraphim,

    and minds were purified by its touch.

  45. هذا هو الحق الإلهي الذي

    بطلت به الأشباه والعنوان

    This is the divine truth through which

    the figures and the sign were annulled.

  46. وتهدمت منه الضحايا كلُّها

    حتى تلاشى الدُهنُ والقربان

    All sacrifices collapsed before it,

    until the oil and offering vanished.

  47. هذا هو الرمز الإلهي الذي

    تنحو به التوراة والألحان

    This is the divine symbol

    toward which the Torah and hymns incline.

  48. داود ينشد نَحوَه مترنماً

    وكذاك موسى والنبي يونان

    David sings toward it in melody,

    and likewise Moses and the prophet Jonah,

  49. حزقيلُ واَرْمِيّا وشَعياءٌ معاً

    والأنبيا كلٌّ له إعلان

    Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah together,

    and all the prophets: each proclaims it.

  50. هذا هو النور الذي ما أومضت

    أسرارُه إلّا بدا الكتمان

    This is the light: no sooner did there flash

    its mysteries than concealment appeared.

  51. فانجاب ليل الكفر منه مذ بدا

    وزَهَت وِهادُ الحق والكثبان

    The night of unbelief lifted through it when it appeared,

    and truth's valleys and dunes grew radiant.

  52. هذا هو القوس التي ميثاقُها

    يُنبي بأن قد أُبطلَ الطوفان

    This is the bow whose covenant

    announces that the flood has been annulled.

  53. لو أنْ حَسا نوحٌ شرابَ دمائه

    ما نام مفتضحاً وهوْ سكران

    Had Noah sipped the drink of its blood,

    he would not have slept exposed and drunk.

  54. هذا هو الفلك المنيف إلى العلا

    وبعرشه تَتسوَّم التيجان

    This is the celestial sphere, towering toward the heights,

    and by its throne the crowns are distinguished.

  55. أقماره وشموسه ونجومه

    الأنبيا والرسل والرهبان

    Its moons, its suns, and its stars

    are the prophets, apostles, and monks.

  56. هذا هو القطبُ الذي من حوله

    رسلُ البشائر كلهم أعوان

    This is the pole about which

    the messengers of glad tidings are all helpers.

  57. ورحى البشارة حول مركزه إذا

    دارت يزول بدورها الطغيان

    And when the millstone of glad tidings, about its center,

    turns, tyranny vanishes through its turning.

  58. هذا هو المولى الإلهُ بعزه

    وجنودُه من حوله ألوان

    This is the Lord, God in His might,

    and His hosts around Him are of many kinds.

  59. حسبي أراه والملائكُ حولَه

    ذا راكعٌ خوفاً وذا فرحان

    It is enough for me to see Him, with angels about Him,

    one bowing in fear, another joyful.

  60. يترنمون بشدوِهِم وهديرُهم

    كالوُرْق تَخفِقُ فيهمُ الأفنان

    They chant with their singing, and their cooing is

    like gray doves, with boughs fluttering among them.

  61. رقت به أصواتهم فترنموا

    قُدُّوسُ ربٍّ بالجلال يُزان

    Through Him their voices grew tender, and they chanted:

    "Holy is the Lord, adorned with majesty!"

  62. فالهيكل السفلي كالعرش العلِي

    والسرُّ ربٌّ والدعا ألحان

    So the sanctuary below is like the throne on high,

    the mystery is Lord, and prayers are melodies.

  63. يا أيها السر الذي نُسخت به ال

    أشباهُ وانحطمت به الأوثان

    O mystery through which were superseded the

    figures, and through which the idols were shattered!

  64. خُفِضت بك الأصنام طرّاً مثلما

    رُفعت لنصر حقوقك الصلبان

    Through You the idols were all brought low, just as

    the crosses were raised to uphold Your rights.

  65. بك صَدَّقَ الإنجيلَ كلُّ موفَّقٍ

    وتداولَت مدحاً له الأزمان

    Through You every favored soul believed the Gospel,

    and the ages handed on praise for it.

  66. وبك استبان الحق بعد خفائه

    حتى أطاعك إنسها والجان

    Through You truth became clear after its concealment,

    until its humankind and the jinn obeyed You.

  67. وبك اتخذنا الأمنَ من كيد العدا

    ثمَ اُخمدت من طَلِّكَ النيران

    Through You we secured safety from the enemies' plotting;

    then the fires were quenched by Your dew.

  68. بك كاهن الأصنام يَجحَدُ كفرَه

    حيناً يرى أصنامَه تنهان

    Through You the priest of idols repudiates his unbelief

    when he sees his idols abased.

  69. بكَ بيعت الدنيا بأبخس درهمٍ

    فانٍ فليسَ لبيعها أثمان

    Through You the world was sold for the paltriest dirham,

    a perishing coin, for its sale has no value.

  70. بك قصرُ قيصرَ قد تداعى مذ هوى

    من كِسرِهِ كسرى أنوشروان

    Through You Caesar's palace crumbled, since there fell

    from its ruin Khosrow Anushirvan.

  71. يا أيها الجسد المقدس والذي

    جلَّت به الأقطار والأكوان

    O holy body, through which

    the regions and the worlds have been exalted!

  72. إن الكنائسَ من حضورك ظاهراً

    فيهن أضحت من يديك تُعان

    Indeed, the churches, through Your visible presence

    within them, have come to be aided by Your hands.

  73. والمؤمنون كبيرُهم وصغيرهم

    متوكلون عليك والوِلدان

    And the believers, their elders and their young,

    rely on You, as do the children.

  74. فالشرق نحوك ساجدٌ بشموسه

    والغرب منك يَحُفُّه اللمعان

    The East bows toward You with its suns,

    and radiance from You surrounds the West.

  75. والحق منبجس الجوانب مُقمرٌ

    والأرض يَطوي طيَّها الرضوان

    And truth gushes on all sides, moonlit,

    and divine favor gathers up the earth's folds.

  76. وتقدس الملكوتُ يوم قَبُوله

    جسداً به الإحسان والغفران

    The Kingdom was sanctified on the day it received

    a body in which are goodness and forgiveness.

  77. ما أخمدَ النيرانَ في سجِّينها

    بجهنمٍ وسَجيرُها الشيطان

    None quenched the fires in their dungeon,

    in Gehenna, whose companion is Satan,

  78. إلاه والإحسانُ ملءُ جنانه

    حَسبي جَنانٌ ملؤُه الإحسان

    but He, whose heart is filled with goodness.

    Enough for me is a heart filled with goodness.

  79. يا ربِّّ هب لي أن أفوز ببرِّه

    فالبر برُّك والسوى هذيان

    O Lord, grant me triumph through His righteousness;

    for righteousness is Yours, and all else is babble.

  80. حتى إذا وافيتَ نحوي زائراً

    يَحويك مني مَربعٌ وجَنان

    So that, when You come to visit me,

    a dwelling and a heart within me may contain You.

  81. هذا رجائي قبل يوم منيتي

    والنفس يُرهِبُ دَينَها الميزان

    This is my hope before the day of my death,

    while the scales make the soul fear for its debt.

  82. لا دَين لي إلّا ذنوبي إنها

    قد كلَّ عن إحصائهن بَنان

    I have no debt but my sins; indeed,

    fingers have grown weary of counting them.

  83. فامحص بعفوك ما أراه باهظاً

    بدمٍ به تَتمحَّصُ الأدران

    So purge by Your pardon what I find burdensome,

    with blood through which stains are cleansed.

  84. واقبل مديحي واعف عن عجزي به

    عن مدح مثلك تَعجزُ الأوزان

    Accept my praise, and pardon my inadequacy in it;

    the meters fall short of praising one like You.