Music: Prayer for Ukraine

Here again are the Latin-script transliteration and my attempt at a verse translation of the Prayer for Ukraine, Ukraine's national spiritual anthem, by Oleksandr Konysky (1836-1900). It proved difficult to achieve rhymes in the last verse.

Bozhe velykyi, yedynyi,
Nam Ukrainu khrany,
Voli i svitu prominnyam,
Ty yii osiny.

Svitlom na-uky i znannya
Nas, ditey, prosvity,
V chystii liubovi kraiu,
Ty nas, Bozhe, zrosty.

Molymos', Bozhe yedynyi,
Nam Ukrainu khrany,
Vsi svoi lasky y shchedroty,
Ty na liud nash zverny.

Dai yomu voliu, dai yomu doliu,
Dai dobroho svitu, shchastia,
Dai, Bozhe, narodu
I mnohaya, mnohaya lita.

Translation:

Lord, God alone, the Almighty,

Hold our Ukraine in your hand;

Shine, with the rays of your glory,

Liberty on our land.

 

Lighten our learning and wisdom,

Keep your children in your heart;

Love that is pure for our homeland,

Lord our God, now impart. 

 

Merciful God, the Almighty,

Guard our Ukraine in your care.

Turn to our people and country,

Send your grace at our prayer.

 

Grant us our freedom, grant us our future,

Guide all our endeavour; Joy shine

bright upon our nation

and, God, bless us; God, grant us many years!

Translation 2022 © Mark Woodruff (1959-). Freely available with acknowledgement on Creative Commons basis.

Here is the music by Mykola Lysenko (1842-1912), arranged by Oleksandr Koshyts (Koshetz, 1875-1944), with the Latin-script text in Ukrainian.

Here is the music with the English translation.

Here is a score with the words in Ukrainian Cyrillic script, Latin transliteration, and in English translation.