Dayenu: It Would Have Been Enough

Hebrew and English text of this iconic Passover song.

Traditional Passover Seder Table with Haggadah
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Dayenu (“It Would Have Been Enough”) is a song traditionally sung during the telling of the story of Exodus at the Passover seder. The song’s stanzas list a series of kindnesses God performed for the Jewish people during and after the Exodus and concludes each with the word dayenu — “it would have been enough.”

The full text of Dayenu, in English and Hebrew (courtesy of Sefaria) is below:

אִלּוּ הוֹצִיאָנוּ מִמִצְרַיִם וְלֹא עָשָׂה בָהֶם שְׁפָטִים, דַּיֵּנוּ.

If He had taken us out of Egypt and not made judgements on them; [it would have been] enough for us.

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אִלּוּ עָשָׂה בָהֶם שְׁפָטִים, וְלֹא עָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, דַּיֵּנוּ.

If He had made judgments on them and had not made [them] on their gods; [it would have been] enough for us.

אִלּוּ עָשָׂה בֵאלֹהֵיהֶם, וְלֹא הָרַג אֶת־בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם, דַּיֵּנוּ.

If He had made [them] on their gods and had not killed their firstborn; [it would have been] enough for us.

אִלּוּ הָרַג אֶת־בְּכוֹרֵיהֶם וְלֹא נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־מָמוֹנָם, דַּיֵּנוּ.

If He had killed their firstborn and had not given us their money; [it would have been] enough for us.

אִלּוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־מָמוֹנָם וְלֹא קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת־הַיָּם, דַּיֵּנוּ.

If He had given us their money and had not split the Sea for us; [it would have been] enough for us.

אִלּוּ קָרַע לָנוּ אֶת־הַיָּם וְלֹא הֶעֱבִירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה, דַּיֵּנוּ.

If He had split the Sea for us and had not taken us through it on dry land; [it would have been] enough for us.

אִלּוּ הֶעֱבִירָנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ בֶּחָרָבָה וְלֹא שִׁקַּע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ דַּיֵּנוּ.

If He had taken us through it on dry land and had not pushed down our enemies in [the Sea]; [it would have been] enough for us.

אִלּוּ שִׁקַּע צָרֵנוּ בְּתוֹכוֹ וְלֹא סִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בַּמִדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה דַּיֵּנוּ.

If He had pushed down our enemies in [the Sea] and had not supplied our needs in the wilderness for forty years; [it would have been] enough for us.

אִלּוּ סִפֵּק צָרְכֵּנוּ בְּמִדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה וְלֹא הֶאֱכִילָנוּ אֶת־הַמָּן דַּיֵּנוּ.

If He had supplied our needs in the wilderness for forty years and had not fed us the manna; [it would have been] enough for us.

אִלּוּ הֶאֱכִילָנוּ אֶת־הַמָּן וְלֹא נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַשַׁבָּת, דַּיֵּנוּ.

If He had fed us the manna and had not given us the Shabbat; [it would have been] enough for us.

אִלּוּ נָתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַשַׁבָּת, וְלֹא קֵרְבָנוּ לִפְנֵי הַר סִינַי, דַּיֵּנוּ.

If He had given us the Shabbat and had not brought us close to Mount Sinai; [it would have been] enough for us.

אִלּוּ קֵרְבָנוּ לִפְנֵי הַר סִינַי, וְלא נַתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה. דַּיֵּנוּ.

If He had brought us close to Mount Sinai and had not given us the Torah; [it would have been] enough for us.

אִלּוּ נַתַן לָנוּ אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה וְלֹא הִכְנִיסָנוּ לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, דַּיֵּנוּ.

If He had given us the Torah and had not brought us into the land of Israel; [it would have been] enough for us.

אִלּוּ הִכְנִיסָנוּ לְאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְלֹא בָנָה לָנוּ אֶת־בֵּית הַבְּחִירָה דַּיֵּנוּ.

If He had brought us into the land of Israel and had not built us the ‘Chosen House’ [the Temple; it would have been] enough for us.

Learn the most common melody for Dayenu in this video:

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