Quote:
{4:44} Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture, purchasing error [in exchange for it] and wishing you would lose the way?
"Misguidance" would be a better translation than "error."
I suggest,
{4:44} Have you not seen to those who were granted a share of the Book, purchasing misguidance and wanting that you lose the way?Quote:
{4:45} And God is most knowing of your enemies; and sufficient is God as an ally, and sufficient is God as a helper.
I suggest,
{4:45} And God is most knowing of your enemies; and sufficed God an ally, and sufficed God a helper.Quote:
{4:46} Among the Jews are those who distort words from their [proper] usages and say, "We hear and disobey" and "Hear but be not heard" and "Raaina," twisting their tongues and defaming the religion. And if they had said [instead], "We hear and obey" and "Wait for us [to understand]," it would have been better for them and more suitable. But God has cursed them for their disbelief, so they believe not, except for a few.
Again, a transliteration that is not explained will fly over the English reader's head. "Raa`ina" means "pay attention to us," so why transliterate it?
The Arabic refers to the Jews by the phrase
الذين هادوا, so we should try to translate that. The phrase means "those who came back in humility and apologized." I'd use that and follow it with an explanatory note, "(the Jews)."
Finally, I prefer the modern English style of "they do not believe" to the older style, "they believe not."
So, I suggest,
{4:46} Among those who came back apologizing (the Jews) [some] distort the wording from its placements and say, "We heard and disobeyed" and "Hear - but you are not heard" and "Raa`ina" (an Arabic word meaning 'pay attention to us' but sounds like a Hebrew word meaning flippant), twisting with their tongues and stabbing at the religion. And if they had said [instead], "We heard and obeyed" and "Wait for us [to understand]," it would surely have been better for them and straighter. But God has cursed them for their ingratitude, so they do not believe, except for a few.