يَا ناعِياً فَاجَأ الرُّبُوعَا

أجْزَعْتَ مَنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ جَزُوعَا

O you who mourn, you have startled the meadows,

You have dismayed those who were not dismayed,

كَفى فُؤادِي مَا فِي فُؤَادِي

لا تَصِفِ الحَادِثَ الفَظَيعا

My heart has enough of what is in it,

Do not describe the horrid event,

كانَ مِنَ الصَّبرِ لِي دُرُوع

لَمْ يَدَعِ الدَّهُرِ لِي دُرُوعَا

I used to have shields of patience,

Time has left me no shields,

يَذْهبُ مَيْتٌ وَرَاءَ مَيْتٍ

وَأَنْثَني أذُرِفُ الدُّمُوعَا

One dead goes after another dead,

And I am bent over shedding tears,

هَذَا حَبِيبٌ قضَى وَيَتْلو

آخَرُ فِي إِثْرِهِ سَرِيعَا

This is a beloved who passed away, and after him,

Another followed swiftly,

وَخيْرُ أَهْلِي وَخَيْرُ صَحْبِي

مَضَوا تِبَاعاً وَلاَ رُجُوعَا

The best of my family and the best of my companions

Went one after the other, with no return,

وَمَا بَقَائِي إلاَّ اغْتِرَابٌ

إِذَا ثَوَى رِفْقتِي جَمِيعَا

And my remaining is but estrangement,

When all my friends are gone,

عَادَ فَأَذْكَر الأَسَى عَلَيْهِمْ

آخٍرُ نَاءٍ هَوَى صرِيعَا

Sorrow returns and I remember them,

Crying for another who fell dead,

أَوْدَى وَفِي صَدْرِهِ صُدُوعٌ

ذَاك الَّذِي يَرْؤُب الصٌّدُوعَا

He grieved until his chest had wounds,

He who comforts the wounded,

وَأَحَرَّ قلْباً علَيْهِ يُدْمَى

مُقلِّباً جنْبَهُ الواجِيَعا

And set ablaze a heart for him to bleed,

Tossing his aching side,

بَعْدَ النَّجيعِ المُرَاقِ عَنَّا

هَلْ سَالَ جَرْحٌ أَنْقَى نَجِيعَا

After the intimate companion left us,

Did any wound bleed more purely?

بَيْنَ ضُلُوعِي نعْشُ حَبِيبٍ

أَذْكَى الأَسى حوْلَهُ الضُّلُوعَا

In my ribs lies the bier of a beloved,

Its pain the sharpest around the ribs,

يا علمَ البِيعَةِ المُعلَّى

وَحِصْنَها الرَّاسِخَ المَنِيعَا

O you who swore the exalted oath,

And whose fortress was firm and unassailable,

وخَيْرَ رَاعٍ فِي خَيْرِ حَقْلٍ

بُورِكَ فِيهِ رَعْيَ القَطِيعَا

And the best shepherd in the best pasture,

Blessed in it to shepherd the flock,

حَقْلٌ سَقاهُ الفِدَى دِمَاءً

بِهَا سَيَبْقَى خصْباً مُرِيعَا

A pasture watered with blood as redemption,

With it, it will remain fertile and compliant,

كُنْتَ شَبِيهَ المَسيحِ تَجْلُو

لِلنَّاسِ تِمْثَالَهُ الْبَدِيعَا

You were like the Messiah, manifesting

His wondrous image to the people,

مُصَوِّراً بِالحَلَى حَلاَهُ

وَحَامِلاً قَلْبَهُ الوَدِيعَا

Depicting His beauty,

And carrying His gentle heart,

بِآيَةٍ لِلْجَّلاَلِ تَلْقَى

فِي الأَنْفُسِ الحُبِّ وَالخُشوعَا

With a miracle to meet reverence

In souls, bringing love and humility,

حاكَيْتَ نَاسُوتَهُ كَمَالاً

وكُنْتَ تِلْميذَهُ المُطِيعَا

You embodied His humanity perfectly,

And you were His obedient disciple,

تَبْذُلُ فِي الباقِياتِ بَذْلاً

أَلْطَفَ مَغْزىً مِنْ أَنْ يذِيعَا

You gave generously in eternal things,

More gently than can be spread,

تَلُوذُ بِالحَقِّ لاَ تُرَاعِي

فِيهِ وُصُولاً وَلاَ قُطُوعا

You take refuge in truth, not heeding

Attainment or loss in it,

تُنَاصِرُ الحُرَّ فِي المَسَاعِي

وَتَكْبَحُ الفِتْنَة الشُّمُوعَا

You support the free in their endeavors,

And restrain the flaming discords,

تُطَهِّرُ الْبَيْتَ لاَ شِرَاءً

تُحِلُّ فِيهِ وَلاَ مَبِيعَا

You purify the house, not buying it,

Not making the unlawful lawful in it,

وَلمْ تَكُنْ بالْفِدَى ضَنِيناً

وَلمْ تَكُنْ لِلنَّدَى مَنُوعَا

You were not miserly with redemption,

Nor forbidden from dew,

وَمَا تَوَلَّيْتَ مِنْ صَنِيعٍ

لِلْخَيْرِ أَكْمَلْتَهُ صنِيعَا

And whatever good work you started,

You perfected it well,

أُوْتِيتَ ذِهْناً خَصْباً وَعِلْماً

إِلى مَدَاهُ الأَقْصى وَسِيعَا

You were given a fertile mind and knowledge,

Vast to its utmost extent,

تَكُتَبُ فَالْوَحْيُ مُسْتَهَلٌّ

يُنْشِيءُ فِي طِرْسِكَ الرَّبِيعَا

Revelation flows and inspiration

Sprouts in your gift like spring,

وَالفُصُحُ المُنْتَقَاةُ تُمْلِي

بَيَانَكَ النَّاصِعَ الرَّفِيعَا

And eloquence most select dictates

Your bright sublime expression,

تَخْطُبُ فَالرُّوحُ فِي تَجَلٍّ

مِنْ أَوْجِهِ يَمْلِكُ الجُّموعَا

You preach and the spirit exalted

Captivates crowds in its aspects,

إِشَارَةٌ كَالشُّعاعِ هَدْياً

وَمَنْطِقٌ يَطْرِبُ السَّميعَا

A gesture guides like rays,

And speech enraptures the hearer,

شأَوْتَ قِسّاً وَمَا عَرِفْنَا

لهُ بِمَيْدَانِهِ قَرِيعَا

You became a priest, and we knew

None to match you in his domain,

لَوْ عَادَ مِمَّن خَلاَ أُنَاسٌ

لَعَادَ مَتْبُوعُهُمْ تِبيَعا

If some of the departed returned,

Their followers would return in droves,

خِلاَلُ مَجْدٍ عَلَى زَوَاكِي

أُصُوِلهَا أَنْبَتتْ فُرُوعَا

Glories upon glories in succession,

Their origins spawned branches,

لَمْ يُلْفَ إِلاَّكَ عَبْقَرِيٌّ

رَدَّ بِهِ شَمْلَهَا جَمِيعَا

None gathered them completely but you,

Restoring their entirety,

ضمَّ المَزَايَا إِلى المَزَايَا

وَكانَ إِلاَّ بِهَا قَنُوعَا

You combined virtue upon virtue,

Content with them alone,

أَمْعنَ فِي كُلِّ مَا تَوَخَّى

إِلى نِهَايَاتِ مَا اسْتُطِيعَا

You strove in all you aspired,

To the limits of what could be done,

بِعَزْمةٍ لا تَهِي وَنفْسِ

إِلَى الْعُلَى لاَ تنِي نُزُوعَا

With tireless resolve and spirit,

Ever rising, disdaining decline,

وَرِقَّة فِي أَسِىً ضَيْمٍ

لاَ يَقْرِبُ الذُّلَّ وَالخُنُوعَا

And tenderness for the oppressed,

Disdaining humiliation and submission,

يَقْتَحِمُ الهَوْلَ لاَ يُبَالِي

وَالهَوْلُ قَدْ شَيَّب الرَّضِيعَا

Fearlessly braving terror,

Though terror turns infants gray,

أَلْعَبْقَرِيُّ الكَبِيرُ أَمْسَى

فِي بَرْزَخٍ ضَيِّق ضَجِيعَا

The great genius has now passed

Lying still in a narrow grave,

أَجَابَ مَوْلاَهُ إِذْ دَعَاهُ

لاَ مُسْتَطَاراً وَلاَ مَرُوعَا

He answered his Lord when called,

Neither recoiling nor afraid,

تَبْكِي فِلَسْطِينُ بِانْتِحَابٍ

مِقْدَامَهَا الصَّادِقَ الشَّجِيعَا

Palestine cries in anguish

For her steadfast, honest hero,

وَالضَّادُ تَأْسَى لِفَقْدِ ذُخْرٍ

بِرَغْمِهَا أَنَّه أُضِيَعا

And Arabic laments the loss

Of a treasure, though wasted,

يَا مَنْ شَجَاهُمْ مِنْهُ هُجُوعٌ

نَفَّرَ مِنْ شَعْبِهِ الهُجُوعَا

O you whose foolishness estranged them!

You have estranged his people with foolishness

أَلَمْ تَرَوْا كَوْكَباً جَدِيداً

يَبْهُرُ لأْلاَؤُهُ سُطُوعا

Have you not seen the new star

Dazzling, its light bursting forth?

بِحَْسبُكْم أَنَّه يُدَانِي

فِي مَلَكُوتِ الْعُلَى يَسُوعَا

It is enough that he approaches

Jesus in the kingdom on high,

وَأَنَّ حَبْراً حَمَى حِمَاكُمْ

أَضْحَى لَكُمْ عِنْدَهُ شَفِيعَا

And that a patriarch protected you,

Becoming your intercessor with Him.