لا تُخْدعَنَّ بأطماعٍ تُزَخْرِفُها

لا تُخْدعَنَّ بأطماعٍ تُزَخْرِفُها

لكَ المُنى بحديثِ المَينِ والخُدَعِ

لكَ المُنى بحديثِ المَينِ والخُدَعِ

Never be deceived by desires embellished

Be not deceived by vain desires embellished,

for you by hopes with talk of falsehood and deceit.

For you is happiness in talk of guile and fraud.

فلو كَشَفتَ عن المَوتى بأجمَعِهِم

فلو كَشَفتَ عن المَوتى بأجمَعِهِم

وجدتَ هُلكَهُمُ في الحِرصِ والطَّمَعِ

وجدتَ هُلكَهُمُ في الحِرصِ والطَّمَعِ

For if you uncovered all the dead,

If you unveiled all the dead together,

you would find their destruction in greed and covetousness.

You would find their ruin was in greed and hope.

ومُماذقٍ رَجْعُ النّداءِ جَوابُهُ

ومُماذقٍ رَجْعُ النّداءِ جَوابُهُ

فإذا عَرا خطبٌ فأبعدُ مَن دُعِي

فإذا عَرا خطبٌ فأبعدُ مَن دُعِي

And many a false friend’s answer is the echo of a call;

And calling back the call, the answer follows,

but when calamity strikes, he is the farthest of those summoned.

So when distress comes, shun those called.

مثلُ الصّدَى يَخفى عليَّ مكانُهُ

مثلُ الصّدَى يَخفى عليَّ مكانُهُ

أبداً ويملأُ بالإجابَةِ مِسمَعِي

أبداً ويملأُ بالإجابَةِ مِسمَعِي

Like an echo, his whereabouts are hidden from me

Like an echo, its place is ever hidden from me,

always, yet he fills my ear with his reply.

Yet fills my hearing with its answering cry.