Yerushalayim Shel Zahav

Yerushalayim Shel Zahav--by Naomi Shemer
Avir harim zalul kayayin Ve-rei'ah oranim Nissa be-ru'ah ha'arbayim Im kol pa'amonim The mountain air is clear as wine And the scent of pines Is carried on the breeze of twilight With the sound of bells
U-ve-tardemat ilan va-even Shvuyah ba-halomah Ha-ir asher badad yoshevet U-ve-libbah homah And in the slumber of tree and stone Captured in her dream The city that sits solitary And in its midst is a wall
Yerushalayim shel zahav Ve-shel nehoshet ve-shel or Ha-lo le-khol shirayich ani kinnor Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light Behold I am a violin for all your songs
Eicha yavshu borot ha-mayim Kikkar ha-shuk reikah Ve-ein poked et Har ha-Bayit Ba-ir ha-attikah How the cisterns have dried The market-place is empty And no one frequents the Temple Mount In the Old City
U-va-me'arot asher ba-selah Meyallelot ruhot Ve-ein yored el Yam ha-Melah Be-derech Yericho And in the caves in the mountain Winds are howling And no one descends to the Dead Sea By way of Jericho
Yerushalayim shel zahav Ve-shel nehoshet ve-shel or Ha-lo le-khol shirayich ani kinnor Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light Behold I am a violin for all your songs
Ach be-vo'i ha-yom la-shir lach Ve-lach likshor ketarim Katonti mi-ze'ir bana'ich U-me-aharon ha-meshorerim But as I come to sing to you today And to adorn crowns to you (i.e. to tell your praise) I am the smallest of the youngest of your children (i.e. the least worthy of doing so) And of the last poet (i.e. of all the poets born)
Ki shemech zorev et ha-sefatayim Ke-neshikat saraf Im eshkachech Yerushalayim Asher kullah zahav For your name scorches the lips Like the kiss of a seraf If I forget thee, Jerusalem Which is all gold...
Yerushalayim shel zahav Ve-shel nehoshet ve-shel or Ha-lo le-chol shirayich ani kinnor Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light Behold I am a violin for all your songs
Hazarnu el borot ha-mayim La-shuk ve-la-kikkar Shofar kore be-Har ha-Bayit Ba-ir ha-attikah We have returned to the cisterns To the market and to the market-place A ram's horn (shofar) calls out (i.e. is being heard) on the Temple Mount In the Old City
U-va-me'arot asher ba-selah Alfey shemashot zorhot Nashuv nered el Yam ha-Melah Be-derech Yericho And in the caves in the mountain Thousands of suns shine - We will once again descend to the Dead Sea By way of Jericho!
Yerushalayim shel zahav Ve-shel nehoshet ve-shel or Ha-lo le-chol shirayich ani kinnor Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze and of light Behold I am a violin for all your songs