The translation and transliteration below are adapted, with permission, from the Seif Edition of the Transliterated Siddur, for Shabbat and Festivals, a Mesorah Publication for the OU Centennial, with Introductory Essays and Comments by Rabbi Benjamin Yudin.

Meaning of "Bond of Life"

The term "bond of life" which appears below in the request that the deceased's soul be "bound in the bond of life," most probably refers to the attainment of greater and greater closeness to Hashem. Hashem is called, "Chai HaOlamim," the "Life of the Worlds," meaning the source of life in "Olam HaZeh," "this world," the world of the here-and-now, and in "Olam HaBa," the "world to come," the indescribable spiritual "world" which we confidently expect to experience, as a cardinal principle of the Jewish faith, after death.

For Martyrs: Hebrew Text

Bis-char ze
ti-h'yeno nafshotayhem
tz'rurot bitz-ror hacha-yim
im nishmot
Avraham, Yitzchak v'Ya-akov,
Sarah, Rivkah Rachel v'Lay-ah,
v'im sh'ar tzadikim v'tzidkoniyot
sheb'Gan Eden.

V'nomar: Amayn.

For Martyrs: English Translation

May the L-rd remember
the souls of the holy and pure ones
who were killed, murdered, slaughtered, burned, drowned, and strangled
for the sanctification of the Name,
because, without making a vow, I shall give to charity on their behalf.

As reward for this,
may their souls be bound in the Bond of Life,
together with the souls of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob;
Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah;
and together with the other righteous men and women in the Garden of Eden.

Now let us respond: Amen