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 Post subject: Verses 7:97-99
PostPosted: 06 Jun 2009, 09:07 
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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 7:97-99
PostPosted: 09 Dec 2009, 23:52 
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Quote:
{7:97} Then, did the people of the cities feel secure from Our punishment coming to them at night while they were asleep?

{7:98} Or did the people of the cities feel secure from Our punishment coming to them in the morning while they were at play?

بأس does not mean punishment, it means intrepidity and is used here to indicate how hard the punishment can be, so I suggest,

{7:97} So, did the people of the towns feel secure from Our might (punishment) coming to them in the still of the night while they are asleep?

{7:98} Or did the people of the towns feel secure from Our might (punishment) coming to them in the bright of day while they play?

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 Post subject: Re: Verses 7:97-99
PostPosted: 13 Dec 2009, 06:24 
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Using "might (punishment)" is a good solution.

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 Post subject: Re: Verses 7:97-99
PostPosted: 14 Dec 2009, 07:38 
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Quote:
{7:99} Then did they feel secure from the plan of God? But no one feels secure from the plan of God except the losing people.

I suggest
{7:99} So did they feel secure from God's plot? But no one would feel secure from God's plot except the losing folk.

One point about using "would" here. While colloquial Egyptian includes an explicit syntax for the subjunctive mood (the added "ب" to the present-tense verbs makes them indicative, and its absence makes them subjunctive), there is no parallel to that in formal Arabic, so the present tense serves both indicative and subjunctive moods. The context tells us which, and in this case the context of the last part of the verse is subjunctive hence my use of "would" which is one of the subjunctive tools in English (a language that doesn't have many explicit subjunctive constructs itself).

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 Post subject: Re: Verses 7:97-99
PostPosted: 15 Dec 2009, 04:21 
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Pragmatic wrote:
I suggest
{7:99} So did they feel secure from God's plot? But no one would feel secure from God's plot except the losing folk.


One point about using "would" here. While colloquial Egyptian includes an explicit syntax for the subjunctive mood (the added "ب" to the present-tense verbs makes them indicative, and its absence makes them subjunctive), there is no parallel to that in formal Arabic, so the present tense serves both indicative and subjunctive moods. The context tells us which, and in this case the context of the last part of the verse is subjunctive hence my use of "would" which is one of the subjunctive tools in English (a language that doesn't have many explicit subjunctive constructs itself).

Excellent point and suggestion :) So, let me suggest,

{7:97} So, did the people of the villages feel secure from Our puissance coming to them in the still of the night while they are sleeping?

{7:98} Or did the people of the villages feel secure from Our puissance coming to them in the bright of day while they play?

{7:99} So did they feel secure from the plot of God? But no one would feel secure from the plot of God except the losing folk.

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