←Prev   Ayah az-Zumar (The Troops, Throngs, The Companies) 39:50   Next→ 

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Muhammad Asad   
The same did say [to themselves many of] those who lived before their time; but of no avail to them was all that they had ever achieved
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
The same had already been said by those ˹destroyed˺ before them, but their ˹worldly˺ gains were of no benefit to them.
Safi Kaskas   
Those [who lived] before them said [the same thing], but what they had earned did not do them any good,

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Source Arabic and Literal tools
Arabic   
قَدْ قَالَهَا الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَمَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُون
Transliteration (2021)   
qad qālahā alladhīna min qablihim famā aghnā ʿanhum mā kānū yaksibūn
Word for Word
Dr. Shehnaz Shaikh, Ms. Kauser Katri, and more
  
Indeed, said it those from before them, but (did) not avail them what they used to earn.

Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad   
The same did say [to themselves many of] those who lived before their time; but of no avail to them was all that they had ever achieved
M. M. Pickthall   
Those before them said it, yet (all) that they had earned availed them not
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)   
Thus did the (generations) before them say! But all that they did was of no profit to them
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
The same had already been said by those ˹destroyed˺ before them, but their ˹worldly˺ gains were of no benefit to them.
Safi Kaskas   
Those [who lived] before them said [the same thing], but what they had earned did not do them any good,
Wahiduddin Khan   
Those who preceded them said the same thing but they gained nothing from what they did
Shakir   
Those before them did say it indeed, but what they earned availed them not
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar   
Truly, those who were before them said it so what they had been earning availed them not.
T.B.Irving   
Those who preceded them said so, yet whatever they had earned did not help them out.
Abdul Hye   
Surely, those before them said it, yet all that they had earned did not avail them.
The Study Quran   
Those before them did say the same; yet that which they used to earn availed them not
Dr. Kamal Omar   
Verily, those before them (also) said it (the same way), yet availed them not what they used to earn
Farook Malik   
The same was said by those who passed before them, but they gained nothing from what they di
Talal A. Itani (new translation)   
Those before them said it, but what they had earned did not avail them
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali   
The ones before them already said it, yet in no way did whatever they used to earn avail them
Muhammad Sarwar   
People who lived before them had also said, "Our wealth has been earned by our own merits." What they had earned was of no benefit to the
Muhammad Taqi Usmani   
The same was said by those before them, but what they used to earn was of no avail to them
Shabbir Ahmed   
The same was said by those who passed before them, but their earnings failed to make them truly rich! (28:78)
Dr. Munir Munshey   
The (people who lived) before their time had said the very same things. But their achievements, the deeds (and wealth) they earned, were of no use to them
Syed Vickar Ahamed   
Verily, the (people) before them talked like this! But everything they did was of no use to them
Umm Muhammad (Sahih International)   
Those before them had already said it, but they were not availed by what they used to earn
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)   
Those before them have said the same thing, yet what they earned did not help them in the least
Abdel Haleem   
Those who lived before them said the same. What they did was of no use to them
Abdul Majid Daryabadi   
Surely those who were before them said it, yet there availed them not that which they had been earning
Ahmed Ali   
Those before them had also said so, and yet nothing of what they did availed them in the least
Aisha Bewley   
Those who came before them also said that, but what they earned did not avail them.
Ali Ünal   
Those who lived before them (and adopted the same attitude and followed a similar way) said it (too); but all that they achieved (in the world) was of no avail to them
Ali Quli Qara'i   
Those who were before them [also] said that, but what they used to earn did not avail them
Hamid S. Aziz   
Those before them did indeed say this, but what they earned availed them not
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad   
Those before them also said it, and what they were doing was of no use to them
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)   
Those before them said the same thing, but all that they did was of no profit to them
Musharraf Hussain   
Those before them said the same. Their works will not save them that Day.
Maududi   
Their predecessors also said the same, but their earnings proved of no avail to them
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)   
Those before them have said the same thing, yet what they earned did not help them in the least
Mohammad Shafi   
The people before them had said the same, but their earnings were of no avail to them

Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)   
So have said those who were before them, but all that they had earned did not avail them.
Rashad Khalifa   
Those before them have uttered the same thing, and their earnings did not help them in the least.
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah   
Those before them said the same, but what they earned did not help them
Maulana Muhammad Ali   
Those before them did say it indeed, but what they earned availed them not
Muhammad Ahmed - Samira   
Those from before them had said it, so what they were gaining/acquiring did not enrich/suffice from them
Bijan Moeinian   
The ones before them had similar conviction but their “earnings” was not of any help [for the simple token that it was God’s blessing and not their earning] them in the least. [when will man learn from history?]
Faridul Haque   
Those before them also said the same, so their earnings did not benefit them at all
Sher Ali   
Those who were before said the same thing, yet all that they earned availed them not
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri   
In truth, those who have passed away before them also used to say the same (things). So whatever they earned could not benefit them
Amatul Rahman Omar   
Their predecessors had said the same thing, yet all their acquisitions were of no avail to them
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali   
Verily, those before them said it, yet (all) that they had earned availed them not

Non-Muslim and/or Orientalist works
Arthur John Arberry   
So said those that were before them; but that they earned did not avail them
George Sale   
Those who were before them, said the same: But that which they had gained, profited them not
Edward Henry Palmer   
Those before them said it too, but that availed them not which they had earned
John Medows Rodwell   
The same said those who flourished before them; but their deeds profited them not
N J Dawood (2014)   
The same was said by those before them: but they gained nothing from what they did, and the very evil of their deeds recoiled upon them

New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Linda “iLHam” Barto   
Those before them said the same thing, but all they did was no avail to them.
Irving & Mohamed Hegab   
Those who preceded them said so, yet whatever they had earned did not help them out.
Sayyid Qutb   
Those who lived before their time said the same, but of no avail to them was all that they had ever done:
Ahmed Hulusi   
Those before them had also said it... But their earnings did not give them any benefit.
Mir Aneesuddin   
Those before them had (also) said it, but that which they used to earn did not make them carefree from (the consequences of their evil deeds),
Al-muntakhab fi tafsir al-Qur'an al-Karim   
In a similar manner did those who preceded them reveal their true character but nothing they had done or left undone and nothing they had accomplished in their own irreverent way was of any advantage to them nor did it accomplish their purpose nor did it protect them from Allah's retributive punishment

Obsolete and/or older editions
Yusuf Ali (Orig. 1938)   
Thus did the (generations) before them say! But all that they did was of no profit to them
OLD Literal Word for Word   
Indeed, said it those before them, but (did) not avail them what they used to earn