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A complete poetic translation (all six verses) of Maoz Tsur. As far as the editor knows this is the first translation of Maoz Tsur to both (a) cover all the verses relatively accurately and (b) preserve the strict ABAB-BBCCB rhyme scheme of the original. (Reb Zalman’s comes close but it goes ABAB-CCDDC instead). If it sounds violent, that’s because it *is* violent. Ḥanukkah is a holiday about actively fighting against assimilation and abuse. A lot of Maoz Tsur translations are censored, but it’s a powerful, loud, and even nationalist statement.
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| Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|
מָעוֹז צוּר יְשׁוּעָתִי לְךָ נָאֶה לְשַׁבֵּֽחַ תִּכּוֹן בֵּית תְּפִלָּתִ וְשָׁם תּוֹדָה נְזַבֵּֽחַ לְעֵת תָּכִין מַטְבֵּֽח מִצָּר הַמְנַבֵּֽחַ אָז אֶגְמֹר בְּשִׁיר מִזְמוֹ חֲנֻכַּת הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃ |
Stronghold Rock who rescues me it is good to praise You. Build the house of prayer for me; in it I will thank You. Till the time we wait, You deal with those who hate You! ‘Round the stone we’ll sing a tone; we rededicate You. |
רָעוֹת שָׂבְעָה נַפְשִׁי בְּיָגוֹן כֹּחִי כָּלָה חַיַּי מֵרְרוּ בְקֹשִׁי בְּשִׁעְבּוּד מַלְכוּת עֶגְלָה וּבְיָדוֹ הַגְּדוֹלָה הוֹצִיא אֶת־הַסְּגֻלָּה חֵיל פַּרְעֹה וְכׇל־זַרְעוֹ יָרְדוּ כְּאֶֽבֶן בִּמְצוּלָה׃ |
When my soul was full with stress, my being struck with grief. Life made hard with bitterness, slaves to a bovine chief. But from our belief you gave us relief, Pharaoh’s forces in their courses sunk like rocks to the reef. |
דְּבִיר קׇדְשׁוֹ הֱבִיאַֽנִי וְגַם שָׁם לֹא שָׁקַֽטְתִּי וּבָא נוֹגֵשׂ וְהִגְלַֽנִי כִּי זָרִים עָבַֽדְתִּי וְיֵין רַעַל מָסַֽכְתִּי כִּמְעַט שֶׁעָבַֽרְתִּי קֵץ בָּבֶל זְרֻבָּבֶל לְקֵץ שִׁבְעִים נוֹשַֽׁעְתִּי׃ |
To the sanctum You brought me But there I found no repose. Came a foe who exiled me And o’er us strangers impose. In wine I’d decompose but just as this arose, Babylon was come and gone, in seventy years it goes. |
כְּרוֹת קוֹמַת בְּרוֹשׁ בִּקֵּשׁ אֲגָגִי בֶּן־הַמְּדָתָא וְנִהְיָתָה לוֹ לְפַח וּלְמוֹקֵשׁ וְגַאֲוָתוֹ נִשְׁבָּֽתָה רֹאשׁ יְמִינִי נִשֵּֽׂאתָ וְאוֹיֵב שְׁמוֹ מָחִֽיתָ רֹב בָּנָיו וְקִנְיָנָיו עַל הָעֵץ תָּלִֽיתָ׃ |
Thus sought Hammedatha’s son to cut the cypress down. In its trap he was undone; You silenced his renown. The right hand to the crown’s foe You turned around, His family and property strung up before the town. |
יְוָנִים נִקְבְּצוּ עָלַי אֲזַי בִּימֵי חַשְׁמַנִּים וּפָרְצוּ חוֹמוֹת מִגְדָּלַי וְטִמְּאוּ כׇּל־הַשְּׁמָנִים וּמִנּוֹתַר קַנְקַנִּים נַעֲשָׂה נֵס לַשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים בְּנֵי בִינָה יְמֵי שְׁמוֹנָה קָבְעוּ שִׁיר וּרְנָנִים׃ |
Greeks amassed opposing me in Hasmonean years. Smashed the walls, explosively defiled oils clear. But from one vial austere a miracle appeared! Sages let this eight-day set be song and joyous cheer. |
חֲשׂוֹף זְרוֹעַ קׇדְשֶׁךָ וְקָרֵב קֵץ הַיְשׁוּעָה נְקֹם נִקְמַת עֲבָדֶיךָ מֵאֻמָּה הָרְשָׁעָה כִּי אָרְכָה הַשָּׁעָה וְאֵין קֵץ לִימֵי הָרָעָה דְּחֵה אַדְמוֹן בְּצֵל צַלְמוֹן הָקֵם לָנוּ רוֹעִים שִׁבְעָה |
Now reveal Your holy arm bring near the final upheaval Now avenge your servants harmed by the nation of evil Long since time primeval we’ve seen no reprieval Crush the red to darkest dead! Begin the time of retrieval! |
“מָעוֹז צוּר | Maoz Tsur (Stronghold Rock who Rescues Me), complete poetic translation by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International copyleft license.
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Right-to-left musical notation of a melody for Maoz Tsur by Abraham Tzevi Idelsohn in Yehoash Hirschberg’s Music in the Jewish Community of Palestine 1880-1948
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