君子于役、不知其期、曷至哉。
雞棲于塒、日之夕矣、羊牛下來。
君子于役、如之何勿思。

My husband is away on service,
And I know not when he will return.
Where is he now?
The fowls roost in their holes in the walls;
And in the evening of the day,
The goats and cows come down [from the hill];
But my husband is away on service.
How can I but keep thinking of him?

君子于役、不日不月、曷其有佸。
雞棲于桀、日之夕矣、羊牛下括。
君子于役、苟無飢渴。

My husband is away on service,
Not for days [merely] or for months.
When will he come back to me?
The fowls roost on their perches;
And in the evening of the day,
The goats and cows come down and home;
But my husband is away on service.
Oh if he be but kept from hunger and thirst!