لَعَمرُكَ ما ذَمَّت لَبوني وَلا قَلَت

لَعَمرُكَ ما ذَمَّت لَبوني وَلا قَلَت

مَساكِنَها مِن نَهشَلٍ إِذ تَوَلَّتِ

مَساكِنَها مِن نَهشَلٍ إِذ تَوَلَّتِ

By your life, my milch camels neither found fault with nor hated

By your life! My camels never spoke ill of Labun

their dwellings among Nahshal when they departed.

Nor abandoned its dwellings since they departed.

لَها ما اِستَحَلَّت مِن مَساكِنِ نَهشَلٍ

لَها ما اِستَحَلَّت مِن مَساكِنِ نَهشَلٍ

وَتَسرَحُ في حافاتِهِم حَيثُ حَلَّتِ

وَتَسرَحُ في حافاتِهِم حَيثُ حَلَّتِ

Whatever dwellings of Nahshal they choose to settle in are theirs,

They deemed lawful whatever of Labun's abodes they inhabited

and they graze along their lands’ fringes wherever they settle.

And grazed freely in their meadows wherever they settled.

وَيَمنَعُها مِن أَن تُضامَ فَوارِسٌ

وَيَمنَعُها مِن أَن تُضامَ فَوارِسٌ

كِرامٌ إِذا الأُخرى مِنَ القَومِ شُلَّتِ

كِرامٌ إِذا الأُخرى مِنَ القَومِ شُلَّتِ

And horsemen protect them from being wronged—

Noble horsemen prevented them from being herded together

noble, when the others among the people are driven off.

When the rest of the tribe was scattered and displaced.

مَساعيرُ غُرٌّ لا تَخِمُّ لِحامُهُم

مَساعيرُ غُرٌّ لا تَخِمُّ لِحامُهُم

إِذا أَمسَتِ الشِعرى العَبورُ اِستَقَلَّتِ

إِذا أَمسَتِ الشِعرى العَبورُ اِستَقَلَّتِ

Bright-browed kindlers of war, whose meat never spoils,

Young, restless stallions whose zeal never wanes

when Sirius, the Crossing One, rises high at evening.

If the winding paths were arduous when evening descended.

فَلَو بَلَغَت عَوّا السِماكِ قَبيلَةٌ

فَلَو بَلَغَت عَوّا السِماكِ قَبيلَةٌ

لَزادَت عَلَيها نَهشَلٌ وَتَعَلَّتِ

لَزادَت عَلَيها نَهشَلٌ وَتَعَلَّتِ

So if a tribe reached ʿAwwā of al-Simāk,

Had an upland tribe reached the summit of Simak

Nahshal would surpass it and rise higher.

Nahshal would still rise above them exalted.