لا تُوعدَنِّي الشرَّ تُرهبنِي

لا تُوعدَنِّي الشرَّ تُرهبنِي

فلربّما لم ينجنِي حَذرُهْ

فلربّما لم ينجنِي حَذرُهْ

Do not threaten me with harm to frighten me;

Do not threaten me with evil that frightens me,

For often wariness of it has not saved me.

Perhaps being wary of it will not save me,

فوقوعُ مكروهٍ أعالجُه

فوقوعُ مكروهٍ أعالجُه

خيرٌ من المكروه أنتظرُهْ

خيرٌ من المكروه أنتظرُهْ

For a misfortune that befalls me and that I confront

The occurrence of something detestable that I can endure,

Is better than a misfortune I await.

Is better than dreading what I fear,

وإذا صفا يومٌ ظفرتُ به

وإذا صفا يومٌ ظفرتُ به

فلمن يعيش إلى غدٍ كدرُهْ

فلمن يعيش إلى غدٍ كدرُهْ

And when a day is clear, I seize it;

And if one auspicious day I gain victory,

Its murk is for whoever lives until tomorrow.

Then for whom does sorrow cloud tomorrow?

فلربّ مغتبطٍ بليلتِه

فلربّ مغتبطٍ بليلتِه

شنّ الهمومَ بقلبهِ سحرُهْ

شنّ الهمومَ بقلبهِ سحرُهْ

For many a man content with his night

Perhaps someone is happy with his night,

Has had his predawn hour unleash cares within his heart.

Yet worries torment his heart at dawn,

والعيشُ ما تقضِي به وَطَراً

والعيشُ ما تقضِي به وَطَراً

فكميّتٍ مَن فاتَه وَطَرُهْ

فكميّتٍ مَن فاتَه وَطَرُهْ

And life is that through which you fulfill a desire;

And life is what you enjoy in the moment,

So he whose desire eludes him is like one dead.

So how many miss out on their share of joy?

وإذا قصرن به مطالبُهُ

وإذا قصرن به مطالبُهُ

عن راحتيه فلم يطلْ عُمُرُهْ

عن راحتيه فلم يطلْ عُمُرُهْ

And if the things he seeks fall short

And if ambitions fall short for someone,

Of reaching his two palms, his life has not been long.

Depriving him of comfort, his life is not long,

والدّهرُ إمّا شمسُه بضحىً

والدّهرُ إمّا شمسُه بضحىً

تُرديك أو في ليلةٍ قمرُهْ

تُرديك أو في ليلةٍ قمرُهْ

And Time—either its sun at midmorning

Fate is either its sunshine at dawn,

Lays you low, or its moon on some night.

That casts you down, or its moon in a night,

وإذا أنامكَ غير متَّئدٍ

وإذا أنامكَ غير متَّئدٍ

في القبر أشبه طولَه قِصَرُهْ

في القبر أشبه طولَه قِصَرُهْ

And when, without lingering, it lays you to sleep

And if you sleep uneaten in the grave,

In the grave, its brevity resembles its length.

Its length resembles its narrowness.