شَرُّ الحِزاميِّينَ ذو السِنِّ مِنهُم

وَخَيرُ الحِزاميِّينَ يَعدِلُهُ الكَلبُ

The worst of the belt-wearers are the old among them,

And the best of the belt-wearers, a dog equals him.

فَإِن جِئتَ شَيخاً مِن حِزامٍ وَجَدتَهُ

مِنَ النَوكِ والتَقصير لَيسَ لَهُ قَلبُ

So if you come upon an old man wearing a belt, you find

He is lacking in dignity and deficient, he has no heart.

فَلَو سَبَّني عَونٌ إِذاً لَسَبَبتُهُ

بِشعريَ أَو بَعضُ الأُلى جَدُّهُم كَعبُ

So if a scoundrel were to insult me, I would then insult him

With my poetry or some of the nobles, their ancestor is Ka'b.

أولَئكَ أَكفاءٌ لِبَيتي بُيوتُهُم

وَلا تَستَوي الأَعلاثُ والأَقدُحُ القُضبُ

They are peers to my house, their houses,

And the highbred cannot be equal to the lowly rabble.