- English translation
'Lord, bring me through safely and with a profit!' Then: 'Lord, just bring me through safely, and that will do.'
- Literal wording
He said: O Lord, keep safe and grant spoils. He said: O Lord, keep safe, and enough.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying stages a prayer that shrinks as it goes. First comes a wish for both a safe outcome and a share of spoils, built on the chiming pair sallim and ghannim, then a plea for safety alone that cuts the pair short. Its point is that escaping harm outweighs any gain, so one should settle for getting through intact.
The two 'he said' lines allow two readings: one speaker, sobered by danger, trims his own request, or a second voice corrects an overreaching first one. Either way the second line narrows the wish rather than scorning gain, and the closing vernacular bass, 'enough', signals settling contentedly for survival.
- When it is used
Use it when a risky journey, venture, or deal ends uncertainly or badly, to say that coming out unharmed is reward enough. It also fits as a gentle check on someone still counting on profit while their basic safety remains in doubt.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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