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 Post subject: Verses 82:1-5
PostPosted: 04 Jun 2009, 05:54 
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Suggested translation1,2:


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1This translation may have been updated from the original suggested translation as a result of the discussions that follow.
2Click on the {verse number} of a translation to see other good translations of the verse.

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 Post subject: Re: Verses 82:1-5
PostPosted: 16 Jun 2009, 20:42 
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Quote:
{82:1} When the sky breaks apart

I suggest,
{82:1} When the sky has sundered,

Quote:
{82:2} And when the stars fall, scattering,

The original doesn't say the stars fall, so the translation shouldn't either. I suggest:

{82:2} And when the stars have scattered,

Quote:
{82:3} And when the seas are erupted

The tense used in the Arabic is passive. I suggest,
{82:3} And when the seas have been exploded,

Quote:
{82:4} And when the [contents of] graves are scattered,

The original doesn't say it's the contents of the graves that are scattered, so the translation shouldn't either. I suggest:

{82:4} And when the graves have been squandered,

"Scatter" was used to translate /in,tæθærat/ انتثرت in 82:2, so it should not be used again to translate a different word, /buʕ,θirat/ بعثرت in 82:4 since there are other words in English to serve a similar meaning. I chose "squandered."

Quote:
{82:5} A soul will [then] know what it has put forth and kept back.

I suggest,
{82:5} A soul [will then] have learned what it has put forth and left behind.

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 Post subject: Re: Verses 82:1-5
PostPosted: 22 Jun 2009, 05:29 
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Linguistic wrote:
Quote:
{82:2} And when the stars fall, scattering,

The original doesn't say the stars fall, so the translation shouldn't either.

Totally agree. I don't know why they opted for "fall, scattering" when scatter (the intransitive version) is a near-perfect translation of /in,tæθærat/ انتثرت.

Linguistic wrote:
Quote:
{82:4} And when the [contents of] graves are scattered,

The original doesn't say it's the contents of the graves that are scattered, so the translation shouldn't either.
...
"Scatter" was used to translate /in,tæθærat/ انتثرت in 82:2, so it should not be used again to translate a different word, /buʕ,θirat/ بعثرت in 82:4 since there are other words in English to serve a similar meaning. I chose "squandered."

I think I understand why they added "[contents of]" in their translation of the verb /buʕ,θirat/ بعثرت. The verb can be used to describe the scattering of what is inside a container, e.g., a barrel, without explicitly saying "contents" in Arabic. I reckon they understood the verb to have that connotation in the case of the graves, so they added the words between brackets.

Having said that, "squandered" does have a similar connotation so it can be used by itself to capture the meaning. The only problem I have with "squandered" is that it is commonly used as "wasted," but I could not find a more suitable verb. I thought of dissipated and unraveled, but they depart a bit from the scattering aspect of /buʕ,θirat/ بعثرت.

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 Post subject: Re: Verses 82:1-5
PostPosted: 22 Jun 2009, 05:50 
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Pragmatic wrote:
The only problem I have with "squandered" is that it is commonly used as "wasted," but I could not find a more suitable verb. I thought of dissipated and unraveled, but they depart a bit from the scattering aspect of /buʕ,θirat/ بعثرت.

I hesitated too before deciding on "squandered" but the only other alternative I found was "spewn" and that is even more wasteful!

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