1. متى أنتَ يا وطني مُسعِدي

    لقد أفلتَتْ همَّتي من يدي

    When will you bring me joy, my homeland?

    My resolve has indeed slipped from my hand.

  2. هَجرْتُكَ لا الشوقُ يِدني إليكَ

    ولا الصبرُ إن أدْعُهُ يُنجِدِ

    I have abandoned you; longing does not draw me to you,

    Nor does patience come to my aid if I call upon it.

  3. وحاربتُ فيك الليالِي ومَنْ

    يجاهِدْ ليالِيَه يَجهَدِ

    And I fought the nights in you; whoever

    Struggles against his nights grows weary.

  4. فأمّا الشبابُ فملَّ المنى

    وأمَّا الزمانُ فلم يُسعدِ

    As for youth, it has tired of hopes,

    And as for time, it has brought no joy.

  5. بلادُك فاحمِ حمى مجدِها

    فإِن أَنتَ لم تَحمِ لم تُحمَدِ

    Your country—defend the sanctuary of its glory,

    For if you do not defend it, you will not be praised.

  6. ولا تستَبحْ عِرضَها فالوفاءُ

    دَليلٌ على كَرَمِ المحتِدِ

    And do not violate its honor, for loyalty

    Is a sign of noble lineage.

  7. عدمتُ المروءَة يومَ يُرادُ

    فِدىً لبلادي ولا أفتدِي

    May I lose all honor on the day there is need

    For sacrifice for my country, and I do not offer myself.

  8. إذا المرء مات فِدى موطنٍ

    فقد ماتَ ميتة مُستَشْهَدِ

    If a man dies as a sacrifice for a homeland,

    Then he has died a martyr's death.

  9. وأجدبَ عالي الرُّبى مُقفِرٍ

    كثير الفدافد والأنجُدِ

    And a barren, high-hilled, desolate land,

    Abounding in wastelands and uplands,

  10. إذا الطيرُ عاجت بهِ تستريحُ

    ترامَتْ عَياءَ على الجَلمدَ

    When birds turn toward it to rest,

    They collapse in exhaustion upon the hard rock.

  11. عبوس المعالم لا ينجلي

    بصبحٍ دُجى ليلِهِ الأسودِ

    Grim in its features; never is dispelled

    By dawn the darkness of its black night.

  12. خَلا من بَنِيه فليسَ بنوه

    سوى رُحّلٍ أبداً شرّدِ

    It is empty of its sons; its sons are nothing

    But wanderers, forever scattered.

  13. يجِدّ بنا البَينُ كرهاً على جِوارٍ

    بذي لُجَجٍ مزبِدِ

    Separation hurries us unwillingly aboard ships

    Across a foaming sea of deep waters.

  14. جِوارٍ بها مثلُ ما في الضلوعِ

    فلا بِدْعَ إن هي لم تبرُدِ

    Ships bearing the like of what lies within our ribs—

    So it is no wonder if they do not cool.

  15. إذا شارفَتْ أرض لبنانَ هاجَت

    بنا لوعَةُ الوالهِ المبعَدِ

    When they approach the land of Lebanon, there rises

    Within us the burning anguish of the distraught exile.

  16. وما راعنا البَيْنُ لَكِن بَكَينا

    على جَبلٍ موحشٍ أجردِ

    Separation did not frighten us; rather, we wept

    Over a desolate, bare mountain.

  17. لقد أخلقَ الدهر مِن جِدّتيه

    فأمسى لثوب البِلَى يرتدي

    Time has indeed worn down both its sides,

    And now it wears the garment of decay.

  18. أجِلْ نظرةً فيه تُبصْر سماءً

    تُطلُّ على أربُعٍ همَّدِ

    Let your gaze roam over it: you will see a sky

    Looking down upon lifeless dwellings,

  19. منازل هاجَرَها أهلُها

    إلى كل منتجعٍ أرغدِ

    Homes whose inhabitants have abandoned them

    For every more prosperous haven.

  20. فليسَ سوى الطفلِ في مهده

    وليس سوى العاجِزِ المُقعَدِ

    None remain but the child in his cradle,

    And none but the helpless, paralyzed man.

  21. مجالسُ للحكم ما أن تَضُمّ

    سوى ذي مطامِعَ مسترفِدِ

    Councils of government that contain

    None but the greedy seeker of favors.

  22. موارد تنصبّ هَدْراً فما

    تبرَّد من غُله الورّدِ

    Springs pour away in waste, yet do not

    Quench the thirst of those who come to drink.

  23. صوامع للدين مستوياتٌ

    على قِمم للعُلى صعّدِ

    Monasteries devoted to faith stand firmly

    On peaks that soar on high.

  24. ينعَّم رهبنها بالثراء

    ويحرَمُ كلُّ فتىً أصيدِ

    Their monks are pampered with wealth,

    While every proud young man is deprived.

  25. بنا منك يا وطني ما بنا

    لواعجُ في الصدر لم تخمَدِ

    From you, my homeland, we suffer what we suffer:

    Burning pangs in the breast that have not died down.

  26. شكوتَ النَّوى وشكونا الثَّواء

    وَأيٌّ تَزِدْه أذىً يزدَدِ

    You lamented separation, and we lamented staying,

    And whichever you add pain to suffers still more.

  27. أَقلّ رزايا بنيك مقامٌ

    وصبرٌ على عيشك الأنكدِ

    The least of your sons' calamities is staying,

    And patiently enduring your wretched life.

  28. ورُبَّ فتىً عقَّه موطنٌ

    فولّى إلى وطنٍ أبعدِ

    And many a young man was wronged by a homeland,

    So he turned away to a more distant homeland.

  29. ومن شاكه مضجعٌ لم ينم

    ومن طلب الرزقَ لم يقعدِ

    And whoever's bed pricks him does not sleep,

    And whoever seeks a livelihood does not sit idle.

  30. سلوا وطني أيُّ فضلٍ له

    عليَّ سوى أنه مَوْلِدي

    Ask my homeland what favor it has

    Done me, except that it is my birthplace.

  31. بلى كان كُفراً رحيليَ عنه

    لَوِ اتَّهمتْ همتي مقصِدي

    Yes, my departure from it would have been faithlessness

    Had my resolve suspected my intent.

  32. ولولا وفائي لأهلٍ كرامٍ

    ولولا ثرى والدٍ أمجدِ

    And were it not for my loyalty to noble kin,

    And were it not for the dust of my illustrious father,

  33. لهاجرته غيرَ ذي أوبةِ

    فما نتلاقى على موعِدِ

    I would have abandoned it, never to return,

    And we would meet at no appointed time.

  34. أُحب بلادي ولو لم أنلْ

    سوى الضيمِ منها ولم أعهَدِ

    I love my country, even if I receive

    Nothing but oppression from it, and have known nothing else.

  35. بلادُك كلُّ رجائِك فانهض

    بها ما استطعتَ إلى السؤدُدِ

    Your country is all your hope—raise it

    Toward greatness as far as you can.

  36. إذا قيل لبنان قل موطنُ

    إلهي وصلّ له واسجُدِ

    When 'Lebanon' is spoken, say: 'The abode

    Of my God'—and pray to Him and prostrate yourself.