1. يَا ناعِياً فَاجَأ الرُّبُوعَا

    أجْزَعْتَ مَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ جَزُوعَا

    O herald of death, who startled the dwellings,

    you have dismayed one who was never easily dismayed.

  2. كَفى فُؤادِي مَا فِي فُؤَادِي

    لا تَصِفِ الحَادِثَ الفَظَيعا

    What lies within my heart is enough for my heart;

    do not describe the dreadful event.

  3. كانَ مِنَ الصَّبرِ لِي دُرُوع

    لَمْ يَدَعِ الدَّهُرِ لِي دُرُوعَا

    I once had shields of patience;

    time has left me no shields.

  4. يَذْهبُ مَيْتٌ وَرَاءَ مَيْتٍ

    وَأَنْثَني أذُرِفُ الدُّمُوعَا

    One dead man departs after another,

    and I turn back, shedding tears.

  5. هَذَا حَبِيبٌ قضَى وَيَتْلو

    آخَرُ فِي إِثْرِهِ سَرِيعَا

    This loved one has died, and there follows

    another, swiftly in his wake.

  6. وَخيْرُ أَهْلِي وَخَيْرُ صَحْبِي

    مَضَوا تِبَاعاً وَلاَ رُجُوعَا

    The best of my kin and the best of my friends

    have gone, one after another, never to return.

  7. وَمَا بَقَائِي إلاَّ اغْتِرَابٌ

    إِذَا ثَوَى رِفْقتِي جَمِيعَا

    And my survival is nothing but exile

    when all my companions lie buried.

  8. عَادَ فَأَذْكَر الأَسَى عَلَيْهِمْ

    آخٍرُ نَاءٍ هَوَى صرِيعَا

    Grief for them was brought to mind once more

    by another, far away, who fell dead.

  9. أَوْدَى وَفِي صَدْرِهِ صُدُوعٌ

    ذَاك الَّذِي يَرْؤُب الصٌّدُوعَا

    He perished with rifts within his breast—

    he who used to mend the rifts.

  10. وَأَحَرَّ قلْباً علَيْهِ يُدْمَى

    مُقلِّباً جنْبَهُ الواجِيَعا

    And oh, the burning heart that bleeds for him,

    turning its aching side.

  11. بَعْدَ النَّجيعِ المُرَاقِ عَنَّا

    هَلْ سَالَ جَرْحٌ أَنْقَى نَجِيعَا

    After the lifeblood poured out on our behalf,

    has any wound shed purer blood?

  12. بَيْنَ ضُلُوعِي نعْشُ حَبِيبٍ

    أَذْكَى الأَسى حوْلَهُ الضُّلُوعَا

    Within my ribs lies a loved one's bier;

    grief has set the ribs around it aflame.

  13. يا علمَ البِيعَةِ المُعلَّى

    وَحِصْنَها الرَّاسِخَ المَنِيعَا

    O exalted banner of the Church,

    and its steadfast, impregnable fortress,

  14. وخَيْرَ رَاعٍ فِي خَيْرِ حَقْلٍ

    بُورِكَ فِيهِ رَعْيَ القَطِيعَا

    and finest shepherd in the finest field,

    where tending the flock was blessed.

  15. حَقْلٌ سَقاهُ الفِدَى دِمَاءً

    بِهَا سَيَبْقَى خصْباً مُرِيعَا

    A field that sacrifice watered with blood,

    by that blood it will remain fertile and lush.

  16. كُنْتَ شَبِيهَ المَسيحِ تَجْلُو

    لِلنَّاسِ تِمْثَالَهُ الْبَدِيعَا

    You were like Christ, revealing

    his wondrous image to the people,

  17. مُصَوِّراً بِالحَلَى حَلاَهُ

    وَحَامِلاً قَلْبَهُ الوَدِيعَا

    portraying his graces through your own,

    and bearing his gentle heart.

  18. بِآيَةٍ لِلْجَّلاَلِ تَلْقَى

    فِي الأَنْفُسِ الحُبِّ وَالخُشوعَا

    With a sign of majesty, you encounter

    love and reverence within souls.

  19. حاكَيْتَ نَاسُوتَهُ كَمَالاً

    وكُنْتَ تِلْميذَهُ المُطِيعَا

    You emulated his human nature in its perfection,

    and were his obedient disciple.

  20. تَبْذُلُ فِي الباقِياتِ بَذْلاً

    أَلْطَفَ مَغْزىً مِنْ أَنْ يذِيعَا

    You gave generously to enduring works,

    with a purpose too subtle to be made known.

  21. تَلُوذُ بِالحَقِّ لاَ تُرَاعِي

    فِيهِ وُصُولاً وَلاَ قُطُوعا

    You took refuge in truth, paying no heed

    in its cause to bonds or their severance.

  22. تُنَاصِرُ الحُرَّ فِي المَسَاعِي

    وَتَكْبَحُ الفِتْنَة الشُّمُوعَا

    You championed the free in their endeavors,

    and reined in unruly strife.

  23. تُطَهِّرُ الْبَيْتَ لاَ شِرَاءً

    تُحِلُّ فِيهِ وَلاَ مَبِيعَا

    You cleansed the house; no buying

    did you permit within it, nor any selling.

  24. وَلمْ تَكُنْ بالْفِدَى ضَنِيناً

    وَلمْ تَكُنْ لِلنَّدَى مَنُوعَا

    You were not sparing in self-sacrifice,

    nor did you withhold generosity.

  25. وَمَا تَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْ صَنِيعٍ

    لِلْخَيْرِ أَكْمَلْتَهُ صنِيعَا

    And whatever deed you undertook

    for good, you brought to perfect completion.

  26. أُوْتِيتَ ذِهْناً خَصْباً وَعِلْماً

    إِلى مَدَاهُ الأَقْصى وَسِيعَا

    You were endowed with a fertile mind and knowledge

    vast to its furthest reach.

  27. تَكُتَبُ فَالْوَحْيُ مُسْتَهَلٌّ

    يُنْشِيءُ فِي طِرْسِكَ الرَّبِيعَا

    You write, and inspiration pours forth,

    creating spring upon your parchment.

  28. وَالفُصُحُ المُنْتَقَاةُ تُمْلِي

    بَيَانَكَ النَّاصِعَ الرَّفِيعَا

    And choice eloquent expressions dictate

    your lucid, lofty discourse.

  29. تَخْطُبُ فَالرُّوحُ فِي تَجَلٍّ

    مِنْ أَوْجِهِ يَمْلِكُ الجُّموعَا

    You preach, and the spirit stands revealed;

    from its summit, it commands the crowds.

  30. إِشَارَةٌ كَالشُّعاعِ هَدْياً

    وَمَنْطِقٌ يَطْرِبُ السَّميعَا

    A gesture, like a ray of light in its guidance,

    and speech that delights the listener.

  31. شأَوْتَ قِسّاً وَمَا عَرِفْنَا

    لهُ بِمَيْدَانِهِ قَرِيعَا

    You surpassed Quss, and we never knew

    an equal to him in his own field.

  32. لَوْ عَادَ مِمَّن خَلاَ أُنَاسٌ

    لَعَادَ مَتْبُوعُهُمْ تِبيَعا

    Were some of those long gone to return,

    their leader would return as a follower.

  33. خِلاَلُ مَجْدٍ عَلَى زَوَاكِي

    أُصُوِلهَا أَنْبَتتْ فُرُوعَا

    Glorious qualities, upon flourishing

    roots of their own, have sent forth branches.

  34. لَمْ يُلْفَ إِلاَّكَ عَبْقَرِيٌّ

    رَدَّ بِهِ شَمْلَهَا جَمِيعَا

    No genius but you was found

    through whom they were all gathered into one.

  35. ضمَّ المَزَايَا إِلى المَزَايَا

    وَكانَ إِلاَّ بِهَا قَنُوعَا

    He joined virtue to virtue,

    and was content—except with these.

  36. أَمْعنَ فِي كُلِّ مَا تَوَخَّى

    إِلى نِهَايَاتِ مَا اسْتُطِيعَا

    He pressed far in all he sought,

    to the furthest limits of what could be achieved,

  37. بِعَزْمةٍ لا تَهِي وَنفْسِ

    إِلَى الْعُلَى لاَ تنِي نُزُوعَا

    with a resolve that did not flag, and a soul

    that never ceased yearning toward the heights,

  38. وَرِقَّة فِي أَسِىً ضَيْمٍ

    لاَ يَقْرِبُ الذُّلَّ وَالخُنُوعَا

    and tenderness amid the sorrow of oppression

    that approached neither abasement nor submission.

  39. يَقْتَحِمُ الهَوْلَ لاَ يُبَالِي

    وَالهَوْلُ قَدْ شَيَّب الرَّضِيعَا

    He plunged into terror, heedless,

    though terror had turned the suckling's hair gray.

  40. أَلْعَبْقَرِيُّ الكَبِيرُ أَمْسَى

    فِي بَرْزَخٍ ضَيِّق ضَجِيعَا

    The great genius has now become

    one lying at rest in a narrow realm between worlds.

  41. أَجَابَ مَوْلاَهُ إِذْ دَعَاهُ

    لاَ مُسْتَطَاراً وَلاَ مَرُوعَا

    He answered his Lord when He called him,

    neither distraught nor terror-stricken.

  42. تَبْكِي فِلَسْطِينُ بِانْتِحَابٍ

    مِقْدَامَهَا الصَّادِقَ الشَّجِيعَا

    Palestine weeps with sobs

    for her bold, faithful, valiant champion.

  43. وَالضَّادُ تَأْسَى لِفَقْدِ ذُخْرٍ

    بِرَغْمِهَا أَنَّه أُضِيَعا

    And the tongue of ḍād mourns the loss of a treasure,

    lost to it against its will.

  44. يَا مَنْ شَجَاهُمْ مِنْهُ هُجُوعٌ

    نَفَّرَ مِنْ شَعْبِهِ الهُجُوعَا

    O you whom his slumber has saddened,

    a slumber that drove sleep from his people,

  45. أَلَمْ تَرَوْا كَوْكَباً جَدِيداً

    يَبْهُرُ لأْلاَؤُهُ سُطُوعا

    have you not seen a new star

    whose radiance dazzles in its brilliance?

  46. بِحَْسبُكْم أَنَّه يُدَانِي

    فِي مَلَكُوتِ الْعُلَى يَسُوعَا

    It is enough for you that he draws near

    to Jesus in the kingdom on high,

  47. وَأَنَّ حَبْراً حَمَى حِمَاكُمْ

    أَضْحَى لَكُمْ عِنْدَهُ شَفِيعَا

    and that a prelate who guarded your sanctuary

    has become your intercessor before him.