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I JERUSALEM, my boast and pride, | |
| My heart, it yearns for thee, | |
| The land where peace and joy abide, | |
| Thy shores when shall I see? | |
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II O perfect, pure and pleasant soil, | 5 |
| Far-famed as Israel’s race, | |
| I love thy fields, thy fruits, thy toil, | |
| Thy trees of stately grace. | |
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III ’Neath thy blue skies no mist is seen, | |
| No drear nor darksome night; | 10 |
| Thy very hills of splend’rous sheen, | |
| For God has made thee right. | |
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IV Of precious stones thy walls are made, | |
| Thy ramparts, jewels rare, | |
| Thy gates of oriental jade, | 15 |
| That spread a radiant glare. | |
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V Of ivory hue thy homes are built, | |
| Thy windows, crystal clear; | |
| And every soul is free from guilt, | |
| For God hath sent His cheer. | 20 |
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VI Jerusalem! my people’s home, | |
| Would God, I were in thee; | |
| No more the Exile’s aimless roam, | |
| My paradise across the sea. | |
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VII Where shepherds and their flocks abound, | 25 |
| Where birds prolong their lay, | |
| Where flowers bloom the whole year round, | |
| And all the earth seems gay. | |
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VIII Thy mountains stand, as heroes bold, | |
| Thy rivers softly pass; | 30 |
| Thy pastures oft in psalms extolled, | |
| Of nectar, breathes thy grass. | |
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IX No thing that is not passing clean | |
| Can come within thy gates; | |
| On every side a smile is seen, | 35 |
| And joy e’en permeates. | |
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X There hate and envy cannot dwell, | |
| There lucre holds no sway, | |
| There malice died, and Sh’kina’s spell, | |
| Makes heavy hearts feel gay. | 40 |
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XI Rememb’rest thou the ancient days, | |
| When prophets crowned thy streets, | |
| When Levites with their chants of praise | |
| Recalled thy wond’rous feats? | |
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XII In foreign lands thy sons abide, | 45 |
| We see thee but in dreams; | |
| We sob, we sigh, our tears are dried | |
| And Hope, it becks and beams. | |
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XIII “Another year,” we softly pray | |
| “O, Lord,” Thy children cry; | 50 |
| “O, take us back to Yesterday, | |
| To Israel’s cherished destiny.” | |
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XIV Each day we pray, in accents low | |
| Would God I were with thee; | |
| Our Faith is strong, our hopes they grow | 55 |
| Our Fatherland to see. | |
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