1. ما بين جفني والأحبة برزخُ

    سِنةُ الكرى فكأن ذلك فَرسَخُ

    Between my eyelid and the loved ones lies a barrier:

    The drowsiness of sleep, as though that were a parasang.

  2. لو حزته لحظيت منه بمقلةٍ

    حوراء تخلِسُ لحظهن وتسلخ

    Were I to attain it, I would gain from it an eye,

    Dark-pupiled, stealing their glances and stripping them away.

  3. يا قلب ثق إن الحبيب مخيَّرٌ

    سكناه عندك وهو نحوك يصرخ

    O heart, trust: the beloved is free to choose;

    His dwelling is with you, and he cries out toward you.

  4. مولىً نأى عن عرش سدّة ملكه

    متنزّلاً ولعهده لا يَفسخ

    A Lord who withdrew from the throne of his royal court,

    Descending, yet not annulling his covenant.

  5. قد جاءنا في فترةٍ من كفرنا

    والعقل ساهٍ والعداة توبِّخ

    He came to us during a spell of our unbelief,

    While reason was heedless and the foes hurled reproaches.

  6. وهو الإله المرتضَى والمرتجى

    وابن الإله تواضعاً لا يشمخ

    And he is God, the chosen and the hoped-for,

    And the Son of God, humble, not haughty.

  7. هذا يسوع ابن العليِّ وعزمه

    قد قدَّ أعداه برمحٍ يَشدخ

    This is Jesus, Son of the Most High, whose resolve

    Has cleft his enemies with a spear that crushes.

  8. قد مدَّ من فوق الصليب يمينه

    وشمالُه بدمائه متلطِّخ

    He stretched his right hand out from atop the cross,

    And his left hand was stained with his blood.

  9. حتى إذا قَتل العداةَ بقلته

    ولجنبه بالسمهرية يَزلَخ

    Until, when he slew the foes through his own death,

    And his side was struck with the hard-shafted spear,

  10. قد ضمه الجدث الحديث بأمره

    ولكل فعلٍ غايةٌ لا تُفسَخ

    The new tomb enfolded him at his command,

    And every act has an end that cannot be annulled.

  11. وبثالث الأيام قام بفعله

    وبحكمه من غير قرنٍ ينفخ

    And on the third day he rose by his own act,

    And by his decree, with no horn being blown,

  12. متأيداً متسلطاً ومظفّراً

    بعدوه فهو الهزبر الأشدخ

    Empowered, sovereign, and triumphant

    Over his foe, for he is the broad-browed lion.

  13. قد حط عن مرأى محياه الثرى

    والشمس تَخنِسُ من ضياه وتُنسَخ

    He cleared away the dust that hid his face,

    And the sun retreats before his radiance and is effaced.

  14. والكون أشرق يوم مغرب قبره

    فاعجب لغربٍ صار شرقاً يَنضخ

    And the universe shone on the day of his tomb's sunset;

    So marvel at a sunset turned sunrise, gushing forth!

  15. نُجُبُ البشارة قد تراءت غارةً

    تدعو وآدمُ بالبلاء موسَّخ

    The noble mounts of glad tidings appeared in a charge,

    Calling out, while Adam was soiled with affliction.

  16. فارتاع آدم من بشارته التي

    ما ظنها إذ بُحَّ مما يصرخ

    Then Adam was startled by his glad tidings, which

    He had not imagined, having grown hoarse from crying out.

  17. فدعا بنيه الأنبيا والأوليا

    لبشارةٍ منها نهاه يَزمَخ

    So he called his sons, the prophets and the saints,

    For glad tidings at which his reason rose proudly.

  18. شمس الهدى بزغت عليهم بغتةً

    في بقعةٍ كانت لديهم تَزنَخ

    The sun of guidance rose upon them suddenly,

    In a place that had grown rancid around them.

  19. فاللَه ربٌّ واحدٌ في ذاته

    وبطبعه وله الخلائق تَرضخ

    For God is one Lord in his essence

    And in his nature, and all creatures bow to him:

  20. آبٌ وإبنٌ روح قدسٍ منهما

    أقنومُه يرضاه من لا يَشمخ

    Father and Son, and the Holy Spirit from them both;

    His divine person is accepted by whoever is not proud.

  21. فالإبن وافى منقذاً من مريمٍ

    فخلاصنا منها يروق ويُطْبَخ

    So the Son came from Mary as a deliverer,

    So our salvation through her delights and is cooked.

  22. من ضاقت السبع السموات العلا

    عنه ومريم فيه أرضٌ سَربَخ

    He whom the seven lofty heavens were too narrow

    To contain—yet Mary, for him, is a vast plain.

  23. أضحت به حُبلى بسرٍّ مُعجزٍ

    بين الأنام وعرضُها لا يُلطَخ

    She became pregnant with him through a miraculous mystery,

    Among humankind, while her honor remains unstained.

  24. فاعجب لنارٍ ضمَّها عُلَّيقَةٌ

    لم تحترق وغصونها لا تُفضَخ

    So marvel at a fire a thornbush enclosed:

    It did not burn, nor were its branches crushed.

  25. فاللَه نارٌ حل في أحشائها

    وختومُها تبقى ولا تتوسَّخ

    For God is a fire that dwelt within her womb,

    And her seals remain and do not become soiled.

  26. فلذاك خُصَّت بالمديح وإنما

    بمديحها الشيطان حقّاً يُمسَخ

    For this she was singled out for praise, and only

    Through praise of her is Satan truly disfigured.

  27. من كان يلهو بالملاهي راغباً

    عن مدحها فهو الأصم الأصلخ

    Whoever revels in diversions, turning away

    From praising her, is deaf, stone-deaf.

  28. حبي لها يُهدي معاني وصفها

    ويصوغها فالمدح عندي البرزخ

    My love for her offers the meanings of her portrayal,

    And fashions them; thus praise, for me, is the barrier.