The Hail Mary in Aramaic
The Hail Mary is the most repeated prayer in Christian history. It is counted on beads, whispered in hospital corridors, and sung in cathedrals. Every word of its first half comes straight from the Gospel of Luke.
What Aramaic gives us is the greeting closer to its source. When the angel Gabriel said "Hail" to Mary and when Elizabeth called her blessed, those words were spoken in Aramaic, the everyday tongue of Galilee. The Peshitta, the ancient Syriac Bible, preserves them in the closest liturgical form we have, and the Maronite Church still sings them today.
The Hail Mary in Syriac Aramaic
Below is the Hail Mary as the Syriac Christian tradition prays it. The first half joins Gabriel's greeting (Luke 1:28) to Elizabeth's blessing (Luke 1:42), both taken from the Peshitta. The second half is the Church's devotional petition. Three forms are given: the Syriac script, a Latin-letter transliteration so you can read it aloud, and the traditional English.
ܫܠܡ ܠܟܝ ܒܬܘܠܬܐ ܡܪܝܡ
ܡܠܝܬ ܛܝܒܘܬܐ
ܡܪܢ ܥܡܟܝ
ܡܒܪܟܬܐ ܐܢܬܝ ܒܢܫܐ
ܘܡܒܪܟ ܦܐܪܐ ܕܒܟܪܣܟܝ ܝܫܘܥ
ܐܘ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܡܪܝܡ
ܝܠܕܬ ܐܠܗܐ
ܨܠܝ ܚܠܦܝܢ ܚܢܢ ܚܛܝܐ
ܗܫܐ ܘܒܫܥܬ ܡܘܬܢ
ܐܡܝܢ܂
Shlom lekh bthulto Mariam
malyat taybutho
moran a'mekh
mbarakhto at bneshey
wambarakh firo dabkarsekh Yeshuʿ
O qadishto Mariam
yoldath Aloho
saloy hlofayn hnan hatoye
hosho wabsho'at mawtan
Amin.
Hail, O Virgin Mary,
full of grace,
the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
O Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
A Note on the Language
Mary spoke Aramaic. She grew up in Nazareth speaking a Galilean dialect of Western Aramaic, the ordinary tongue of first-century Palestine. When Gabriel greeted her, and when she answered "let it be to me according to your word," the exchange happened in that dialect.
The Syriac text above is not a recording of that moment. The Gospels were written in Greek, then translated into Syriac in the Peshitta, the standard Bible of the Syriac Churches. Syriac is itself a dialect of Aramaic, the literary and liturgical form that developed in the city of Edessa (modern Sanliurfa in Turkey) from the first centuries of Christianity.
So when Maronites pray "Shlom lekh Mariam," they pray in a dialectal descendant of the language Mary herself spoke. Not her exact Galilean vernacular, but the closest living liturgical form, shaped by the same word roots and rhythms. The same Peshitta that gives us this greeting gives us the Our Father in Aramaic. For a fuller account of the languages of Jesus and his mother, see what language did Jesus speak.
Line by Line
What follows is a brief commentary on each line: the Syriac, a short gloss, and one note on what the Aramaic adds to the familiar English.
Shlom lekh — "Hail" / "Peace to you"
Shlom is peace, the same Semitic root as the Hebrew shalom and the Arabic salaam. Lekh means "to you," addressed to a woman. Where the Latin Ave and the English "Hail" are greetings of honor, the Syriac begins with peace. This is the Peshitta's rendering of Gabriel's word in Luke 1:28: not merely a salute, but the gift of peace laid at the feet of the one who will bear the Prince of Peace.
bthulto Mariam — "O Virgin Mary"
Bthulto means "virgin," and Mariam is Mary, the Aramaic form of her name, the same she was called at home. The liturgical Syriac hymn adds this title of honor to the bare Gospel greeting, naming her virginity at the very threshold of the prayer.
malyat taybutho — "full of grace"
Malyat means "full" or "filled," and taybutho is "grace" or "favor," from the root for goodness and kindness. This is the phrase Gabriel speaks in Luke 1:28. Mary is not merely favored in a passing moment; she is filled, made full, with the goodness of God. The same word taybutho runs through Syriac hymnody as the constant name for divine grace.
moran a'mekh — "the Lord is with you"
Moran means "our Lord," and a'mekh is "with you." The Peshitta says not simply "the Lord" but "our Lord," a warmer and more communal possessive. He who is Lord of all is already, in this moment, with her.
mbarakhto at bneshey — "blessed are you among women"
Mbarakhto is "blessed," from the root B-R-Kh, "to bless," which also means to kneel, as one kneels to receive a blessing. At is "you," and bneshey is "among women." These are Elizabeth's words at the Visitation (Luke 1:42), spoken when the child in her womb leapt for joy. The prayer moves seamlessly from the angel's greeting to the cousin's blessing.
wambarakh firo dabkarsekh Yeshuʿ — "and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus"
Firo is "fruit," dabkarsekh is "of your womb," and Yeshuʿ is the Aramaic name of Jesus, meaning "the Lord saves." Elizabeth did not name the child; the Church, in prayer, adds his name here. In Syriac his name is spoken as Mary herself would have spoken it: Yeshuʿ.
O qadishto Mariam, yoldath Aloho — "O Holy Mary, Mother of God"
Qadishto means "holy," from the same root Q-D-Sh as the Maronite cry Qadishat Aloho, "Holy God." Yoldath Aloho is the great title "Mother of God," literally "she who gave birth to God," the Syriac equivalent of the Greek Theotokos. This title, defined at the Council of Ephesus in 431, is dear to the whole Syriac tradition and sits at the heart of its Marian devotion.
saloy hlofayn hnan hatoye, hosho wabsho'at mawtan — "pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death"
Saloy is "pray," hlofayn is "for us" or "on our behalf," and hnan hatoye is "we sinners." Hosho is "now," and wabsho'at mawtan is "and at the hour of our death." The prayer ends where every life ends, asking the Mother of God to stand with us at the two hours we cannot control: this present one, and the last. Amin is itself an Aramaic and Hebrew word, "truly, so be it," which passes unchanged into every Christian language.
How the Maronite Church Prays It
Marian devotion runs deep in the Maronite rite. The Mother of God is honored in the Maronite Qurbono, in the daily office, and in countless hymns, many of them addressed to her as Yoldath Aloho. Lebanon itself is often called the land of Mary, crowned by the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon at Harissa.
The Hail Mary lives most fully in the rosary. The Maronite Rosary weaves the repeated Shlom lekh Mariam through the mysteries of Christ's life, and in many homes and parishes it is prayed in a blend of Syriac, Arabic, and the local language. During the month of May, traditionally dedicated to Mary, families gather before a home altar to pray it together in the evening.
The Syriac Hail Mary is also sung. The hymn Shlom lekh Mariam is a beloved melody across the Syriac Churches, carried by oral tradition from Lebanon to São Paulo to Sydney. In the monasteries of the Qadisha Valley where Saint Charbel lived, the greeting to Mary has risen every day for centuries, in the language closest to the one she spoke.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Hail Mary in Aramaic?
The Hail Mary in Aramaic is the Marian prayer as prayed in Syriac, the liturgical dialect of Aramaic used by the Maronite and other Syriac Churches. It opens Shlom lekh Mariam, "Peace to you, Mary." The first half is drawn word for word from the Peshitta, the Syriac Bible, joining the angel Gabriel's greeting (Luke 1:28) to Elizabeth's blessing (Luke 1:42). The second half, "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners," is the Church's later devotional petition.
How do you say Hail Mary in Syriac?
The Syriac Hail Mary begins Shlom lekh bthulto Mariam, malyat taybutho, moran a'mekh, "Hail, O Virgin Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you." It continues mbarakhto at bneshey, wambarakh firo dabkarsekh Yeshuʿ, "blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus." The petition follows: O qadishto Mariam, yoldath Aloho, saloy hlofayn hnan hatoye, hosho wabsho'at mawtan. Amin.
Did Mary speak Aramaic?
Yes. Mary spoke a Galilean dialect of Aramaic, the everyday language of first-century Nazareth and Galilee. When Gabriel greeted her at the Annunciation and when Elizabeth blessed her at the Visitation, those words were spoken in Aramaic. The Gospels were later written in Greek, and the Peshitta preserves the salutation in Classical Syriac, a closely related dialect. The Syriac Hail Mary is the closest living liturgical form of the words first spoken to Mary.
Why do Maronites pray in Syriac?
The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic Church of the Antiochene Syriac tradition. Its liturgy, the Qurbono, was celebrated entirely in Syriac for centuries. Praying the Hail Mary and the Our Father in Syriac keeps a direct liturgical link to the language of Jesus, Mary, and the early Antiochene church, even in parishes that otherwise pray in Arabic, French, English, or Portuguese.
What does "Shlom lekh" mean?
Shlom lekh means "Peace to you," addressed to a woman. It is the Syriac form of the ancient Semitic greeting of peace, the same root as the Hebrew shalom and the Arabic salaam. Where the Latin Ave Maria begins "Hail," the Syriac tradition begins with peace, Shlom lekh Mariam, Peace to you, Mary, echoing the very greeting Gabriel spoke at the Annunciation.
See also: The Our Father in Aramaic. The Peshitta, the Syriac Bible. What language did Jesus speak. The Maronite Rosary. The Maronite Divine Liturgy (Qurbono). The Beatitudes in Aramaic. Saint Charbel.