Build me a son, O Lord,
who will be strong enough to know when he is weak,
and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid;
one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat,
and humble and gentle in victory.
主啊！懇求你教導我的兒子
使他在軟弱時，能夠堅強不屈
在懼怕時能夠勇敢自持
在誠實的失敗中，毫不氣餒
在光明的勝利中，仍能保持謙遜溫和
Build me a son
whose wishes will not take the place of deeds;
a son who will know Thee…… and that
to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
請陶冶我的兒子
讓他懂得實事求是
篤實力行而不空想
使他認識祢
同時知道『認識自己乃是知識的基石』
Lead him, I pray,
not in the path of ease and comfort,
but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge.
Here, let him learn to stand up in the storm;
here let him learn compassion for those that fail.
我懇求祢
不要讓他走上安逸舒適的道路
求你將他置於困難、艱難和挑戰的磨練中
讓他藉此學習在風暴中挺起身來
讓他藉此學習對失敗的人加以憐憫同情
Build me a son
whose heart will be clear,
whose goal will be high,
a son who will master himself
before he seeks to master other men;
one who will reach into the future,
yet never forget the past.
請陶冶我的兒子
使他的心地純潔
始他有遠大的目標
在企圖駕御他人之前，先能駕馭自己
對未來善加籌劃，但是永不忘記過去的教訓
And after all these things are his,
add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor,
so that he may always be serious,
yet never take himself too seriously.
在他把以上諸點都已做到之後
還請賜給他充分的幽默感
使他可以永遠保持嚴肅的態度
但絕不可自視非凡，過於拘執
Give him humility,
so that he may always remember
the simplicity of true greatness,
the open mind of true wisdom
and the meekness of true strength.
請賜給他謙遜
使他可以永遠記得真實偉大的樸實無華
真實智慧的虛懷若谷和真實力量的溫和蘊藉
使他永遠記得
真正的偉大是單純
真正的智慧是坦率
真正的力量是溫和
Then, I, his father will dare to
whisper, "I have not lived in vain."
然後，作為他的父親的我，
才敢低聲說道：『我已不虛此生！阿們
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