Official Text
The official text of the national anthem corresponds to the first stanza and amended refrain of the original nine-stanza poem by Naftali Herz Imber. Along with the original Hebrew, the corresponding transliteration Arabic translation, and English translation are listed below.
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English translation | Arabic translation | Transliteration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כל עוד בלבב פנימה | Kol ‘od balleivav penimah | As long as in the heart, within, | طالما في القلب تكمن، | Ṭālmā fī al-qalb takammun, |
| נפש יהודי הומיה, | Nefesh yehudi homiyah, | A Jewish soul still yearns, | نفس يهودية تنبض، | nafs yahūdīyah tanbudu, |
| ולפאתי מזרח, קדימה, | Ul(e)fa’atei mizrach kadimah, | And onward, towards the ends of the east, | وللأمام نحو الشرق، | wa-lil-'amām naḥw aš-šarq, |
| עין לציון צופיה; | ‘Ayin letziyon tzofiyah; | An eye still gazes toward Zion; | عين تنظر إلى صهيون. | ʿayn tanẓur ilā Ṣahyūn. |
| עוד לא אבדה תקותנו, | ‘Od lo avdah tikvateinu, | Our hope is not yet lost, | أملنا لم يضع بعد، | 'amalnā lam yaḍaʿ baʿd, |
| התקוה בת שנות אלפים, | Hatikvah bat shnot alpayim, | The hope of two thousand years, | أمل عمره ألفا سنة، | amal ʿumruh alfā sanah, |
| להיות עם חפשי בארצנו, | Lihyot ‘am chofshi be’artzeinu, | To be a free people in our land, | أن نكون شعب حرّ في أرضنا، | 'an nakūn shaʿab ḥur fī ardinā, |
| ארץ ציון וירושלים. | Eretz-tziyon (v)'Y(e)rushalayim. | The land of Zion and Jerusalem. | بلاد صهيون وأورشليم القدس. | bilad Ṣahyūn wa-Uršalīm al-Quds. |
Some people compare the first line of the refrain, “Our hope is not yet lost” (“עוד לא אבדה תקוותנו”), to the opening of the Polish national anthem, Poland Is Not Yet Lost (Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła), or to the Ukrainian national anthem, Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished (Ще не вмерла Україна; Šče ne vmerla Ukrajina). This line may also be a Biblical allusion to Ezekiel’s “Vision of the Dried Bones” (Ezekiel 37: “…Behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost”), describing the despair of the Jewish people in exile, and God’s promise to redeem them and lead them back to the Land of Israel.
The official text of Hatikvah is relatively short; indeed it is a single complex sentence, consisting of two clauses: the subordinate clause posits the condition (“As long as… A soul still yearns… And… An eye still watches…”), while the independent clause specifies the outcome (“Our hope is not yet lost… To be a free nation in our own land”).
Read more about this topic: Hatikvah
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