نبا عن ذويه وخلانه

وعاف مراتع أوطانه

He turned away from his loved ones and companions,

And left the pastures of his homeland,

وخلى حماهُ وبدل داراً

بديرٍ وأهلاً برهبانه

He left his protector and exchanged a home

For a monastery and made its monks his family,

شبابٌ نضيرٌ يُعاصي هواهُ

ويقهر سلطانَ شيطانه

A peerless youth who defies his desires

And defeats the sultan of his devil,

ويخلعُ ثوب الحرير ويرضى

بثوب الحداد واشجانه

Takes off the silk garment and is content

With the garment of asceticism and its roughness,

ويغشى الكريهةَ وهوَ مسوقٌ

إليها بدافع إيمانه

He withstands hardship though driven to it

By the push of his faith,

يحارب بطلاً ويصرع جهلاً

ويذهب بؤساً باحسانه

He fights heroically and defeats ignorance

And eliminates misery with his kindness,

رسولُ الفضيلة في كل صقعٍ

رسولٌ كثيرٌ بإخوانه

A messenger of virtue in every region

With many brothers as his fellow messengers,

وما كان جيشُ اليسوعي إلا

خيالَ الالهِ بسلطانه

The Jesuit army was but

The shadow of God manifested through His power,

ورمزَ قواهُ على أرضهِ

ونورَ هُداهُ لأنسانه

A symbol of His might on earth

And the light of His guidance for mankind,

يقيم الحدودَ بشرع المسيح

ويرعى العهودَ لجيرانه

He establishes laws by Christ's law

And respects the covenants with his neighbors,

ويغذو البنين بعلمٍ صحيحٍ

يفيض لطالبِ البانه

He nurtures children with correct knowledge

That flows copiously for the seeker,

ولولا معاهدُ علمٍ بناها

لطالَ الضلالُ ببنيانه

Were it not for the covenants of knowledge they built

Misguidance would have corrupted its structure,

ولم يرق قسٌّ إلى منبرٍ

يرددُ آيات سحبانه

No priest would have risen to a pulpit

To chant His holy verses,

ولا كان للعلم في الشرق روضٌ

تطوف الطيورُ بافنانه

Knowledge in the East would have had no meadow

Where birds flock to its branches,

يحن الحمامُ إلى ايكه

ويهفو الهزار إلى بانه

The doves yearn for its protection

And the thousands aspire to its peaks,

ويجري البيان بافيائه

نميراً إلى مستقي حانه

Eloquence flows through it

Like a stream to its clear spring,

كأن الربيع له خالدٌ

فلا ينتهي عمرُ نيسانه

As if it has an eternal spring

So the life of April never ends,

رعى اللَه قوماً حموا دوحه

وصانوا نواضر اغصانه

May God protect the people who defended its sanctuary

And tended the shoots of its branches,

واجروا لوراده منهلاً

تسيل العلوم بغدرانه

They made a fountain for its roses

Where knowledge flows in torrents,

تولاه كل اخي همةٍ

رست حوله مثل حيطانه

Every brother pledged to protect it

And stood around it like walls,

يقيم على طيره ساهراً

كأن الكرى خصم اجفانه

Keeping vigil over it like a loving father

As if calamity would rob it of sleep,

ضنينٌ بها ضن ذي عيلةٍ

شفيقٍ برب بصبيانه

As protective as a father is with his children

And gentle with his little ones,

مطالعها ملءُ الحاظه

واصواتها ملءُ آذانه

Its horizons fill his vision

And its voices fill his ears,

إذا هاجمتها نسورُ الخنى

رماها بوابل نيرانه

When the eagles of malice attacked it

He repelled them with fiery missiles,

فاولادنا عنده في حمىً

يهي الدهرُ عن ثلم جدرانه

So our children are under its protection

Time is unable to breach its walls,

ومن كاليسوعي في أرضنا

تراه وفياً للبنانه

None is like the Jesuits in our land

Loyal to Lebanon and its people,

طوى فيه قرناً يعاني جهاداً

لخير بنيه وعمرانه

He spent a lifetime enduring hardships

For the good of his children and their development,

سلامٌ عليكم جنود المسيح

دعاة الجميل وعرفانه

Peace be upon you, O soldiers of Christ

Callers to beauty and virtue,

أتيتم ولبناننا في دجى

فكنتم ضياءً لسكانه

You came when our Lebanon was in darkness

And became the light for its inhabitants,

ولما حرثتم رياض العلوم

سقاها الكريم بهتَّانه

When you cultivated the gardens of knowledge

The Bountiful watered it with His plenty,

وقد تم قرنٌ عليكم وأنتم

كورد الربيع بابانه

A century has passed over you

While you are still the cord of spring in its prime,

فهيهات ينفك لبنان عنكم

ولو أدرجوه بأكفانه

So it is inconceivable that Lebanon will abandon you

Even if they shroud it in its winding cloth!