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Muhammad Asad   
And ask them about that town which stood by the sea: how its people would profane the Sabbath whenever their fish came to them, breaking the water's surface, on a day on which they ought to have kept Sabbath -because they would not come to them on other than Sabbath-days! Thus did We try them by means of their [own] iniquitous doings
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
Ask them ˹O Prophet˺ about ˹the people of˺ the town which was by the sea, who broke the Sabbath. During the Sabbath, ˹abundant˺ fish would come to them clearly visible, but on other days the fish were never seen. In this way We tested them for their rebelliousness.
Safi Kaskas   
[Prophet] Ask them about the town that stood by the sea and how its people would disregard the Sabbath whenever their fish surfaced for them only on that day, and they would never come on other days. We tested them by means of their [own] disobedience.

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Source Arabic and Literal tools
Arabic   
وَسۡءَلۡهُمۡ عَنِ ٱلۡقَرۡیَةِ ٱلَّتِی كَانَتۡ حَاضِرَةَ ٱلۡبَحۡرِ إِذۡ یَعۡدُونَ فِی ٱلسَّبۡتِ إِذۡ تَأۡتِیهِمۡ حِیتَانُهُمۡ یَوۡمَ سَبۡتِهِمۡ شُرَّعࣰا وَیَوۡمَ لَا یَسۡبِتُونَ لَا تَأۡتِیهِمۡۚ كَذَ ٰلِكَ نَبۡلُوهُم بِمَا كَانُوا۟ یَفۡسُقُونَ ۝١٦٣
Transliteration (2021)   
wasalhum ʿani l-qaryati allatī kānat ḥāḍirata l-baḥri idh yaʿdūna fī l-sabti idh tatīhim ḥītānuhum yawma sabtihim shurraʿan wayawma lā yasbitūna lā tatīhim kadhālika nablūhum bimā kānū yafsuqūn
Word for Word
Dr. Shehnaz Shaikh, Ms. Kauser Katri, and more
  
And ask them about the town which was situated (by) the sea, when they transgressed in the (matter of) Sabbath, when came to them their fish (on the) day (of) their Sabbath visibly and (on the) day not they had Sabbath (they did) not come to them. Thus We test them because they were defiantly disobeying.

Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad   
And ask them about that town which stood by the sea: how its people would profane the Sabbath whenever their fish came to them, breaking the water's surface, on a day on which they ought to have kept Sabbath -because they would not come to them on other than Sabbath-days! Thus did We try them by means of their [own] iniquitous doings
M. M. Pickthall   
Ask them (O Muhammad) of the township that was by the sea, how they did break the Sabbath, how their big fish came unto them visibly upon their Sabbath day and on a day when they did not keep Sabbath came they not unto them. Thus did We try them for that they were evil-livers
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)   
Ask them concerning the town standing close by the sea. Behold! they transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath. For on the day of their Sabbath their fish did come to them, openly holding up their heads, but on the day they had no Sabbath, they came not: thus did We make a trial of them, for they were given to transgression
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
Ask them ˹O Prophet˺ about ˹the people of˺ the town which was by the sea, who broke the Sabbath. During the Sabbath, ˹abundant˺ fish would come to them clearly visible, but on other days the fish were never seen. In this way We tested them for their rebelliousness.
Safi Kaskas   
[Prophet] Ask them about the town that stood by the sea and how its people would disregard the Sabbath whenever their fish surfaced for them only on that day, and they would never come on other days. We tested them by means of their [own] disobedience.
Wahiduddin Khan   
Ask them about the town which was by the sea and what befell its people when they broke the Sabbath. On their Sabbath the fish came to them near the surface, but on week-days they never came near themthus We tried them because of their disobedience
Shakir   
And ask them about the town which stood by the sea; when they exceeded the limits of the Sabbath, when their fish came to them on the day of their Sabbath, appearing on the surface of the water, and on the day on which they did not keep the Sabbath they did not come to them; thus did We try them because they transgressed
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar   
And ask them about the town—that which had been bordering the sea— when they disregarded the Sabbath, when their great fish would approach them on the day of the Sabbath, one that was visible on the shore. And the day they keep not the Sabbath, they approach them not. Thus, We try them because they had been disobeying.
T.B.Irving   
Ask them about the town which lay facing the sea, when they broke the Sabbath. Their fish came to them swimming on the surface on their Sabbath Day, while any day they did not cease work, it did not come to them. Thus We tested them since they had been acting so immorally.
Abdul Hye   
And ask them (O Muhammad) about the town which was situated by the sea shore, when they transgressed in the Sabbath (Saturday). The fish came to them visibly on their Sabbath day, and they did not come to them on the days they had no Sabbath. Thus We tested them because they used to disobey.
The Study Quran   
And ask them about the town that was by the sea, when they transgressed the Sabbath. Their fish would come to them, surfacing on the day of their Sabbath, but on the day when they did not observe the Sabbath, they would not come to them. Thus did We try them for their having been iniquitous
Talal Itani & AI (2024)   
Ask them about the town by the sea, where they violated the Sabbath. Fish would surface in abundance on their Sabbath days, but not on the days they didn’t observe the Sabbath. We tested them in this manner due to their disobedience.
Talal Itani (2012)   
Ask them about the town by the sea, when they violated the Sabbath. When they observed the Sabbath, their fish would come to them abundantly. But when they violated the Sabbath, their fish would not come to them. Thus We tried them because they disobeyed
Dr. Kamal Omar   
And ask them about the town that was by the sea, when they transgress in the matter of As-Sabt when their fish came to them on the day of their Sabt openly on the surface; and the day they do not do temporary suspension, these fish do not come to them. Thus We test them because they had been committing Fisq
M. Farook Malik   
Ask them, about the town which was situated on the sea shore, what happened when they transgressed in the matter of Sabbath. On the day of their Sabbath the fish appeared before them on the surface of the water but on the days other than their Sabbath they never came near them; thus did We tempt them because they transgressed
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali   
And ask them concerning the town which was by the (Literally: present by the sea) sea, as they were aggressors on (i.e. They broke the Sabbath) the Sabbath, as their whales came to them on the day of their Sabbath with their heads up, (i.e. They were swimming shorewards) and on the day they did not keep Sabbath, they did not come up to them. Thus did We try them for they were acting immorally.
Muhammad Sarwar   
(Muhammad), ask them about the (people of the) towns on the seashore. They had transgressed by catching fish on the Sabbath. Each Sabbath the fish came openly within their reach but not so on other days. Thus, We were testing them because of their evil deeds
Muhammad Taqi Usmani   
Ask them about the town situated by the sea, when they used to transgress in the matter of Sabbath, when their fish came to them openly on the Sabbath, and did not come when they did not have Sabbath. In this way, We put them to a test, because they used to act sinfully
Shabbir Ahmed   
Ask the Israelites about the township (Elat) that was located by the sea, and they had violated the Sabbath. The big fish used to come on the surface in abundance on their day of Sabbath, feeling secure, and did not come up on other days. (But the community failed to persevere, and broke the Sabbath to get a good catch). Thus We tested them to see for themselves how they drift away from discipline
Dr. Munir Munshey   
Ask them about the town by the seaside that transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath. The fish was plentiful in the sea on the day of the Sabbath, but on days other than the Sabbath, there was hardly any fish. Thus We put them through a trial, because they used to commit sinful acts
Syed Vickar Ahamed   
Ask them about the town standing close to the sea. Look! They transgressed about the Sabbath. Because on the day of their Sabbath their fish did come to them, openly holding up their heads; But on the day they had no Sabbath, they did not come: Thus did We make a trial for them, because they were used to transgression
Umm Muhammad (Sahih International)   
And ask them about the town that was by the sea - when they transgressed in [the matter of] the sabbath - when their fish came to them openly on their sabbath day, and the day they had no sabbath they did not come to them. Thus did We give them trial because they were defiantly disobedient
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)   
And ask them about the town which was by the sea, after they had transgressed the Sabbath; their fish would come to them openly on the day of their Sabbath, and when they are not in Sabbath, they do not come to them! It is such that We afflicted them for what they corrupted
Abdel Haleem   
[Prophet], ask them about the town by the sea; how its people broke the Sabbath when their fish surfaced for them only on that day, never on weekdays- We tested them in this way: because of their disobedience
Abdul Majid Daryabadi   
And ask thou them concerning the town that was close on the sea, when they transgressed in the matter of the sabt, when their fish came unto them openly on their sabt day, while they came not on the day whereon they kept not We proved them for the sabt.Thus they were wont to transgress
Ahmed Ali   
Enquire of them about the town situated by the sea where, when they did not keep the Sabbath, the fish came up to the surface of the water for them; but on days other than the Sabbath the fish did not come. We tried them in this way, for they were disobedient
Aisha Bewley   
Ask them about the town which was by the sea when they broke the Sabbath — when their fish came to them near the surface on their Sabbath day but did not come on the days which were not their Sabbath. In this way We put them to the test because they were deviators.
Ali Ünal   
Ask them about the township that was by the sea: how its people were violating the Sabbath when their fish came swimming to them on the day of their Sabbath, but on the day they did not keep Sabbath, they did not come to them. Thus did We test try as they were transgressing (all bounds)
Ali Quli Qara'i   
Ask them about the town that was situated on the seaside, when they violated the Sabbath, when their fish would come to them on the Sabbath day, visibly on the shore, but on days when they were not keeping Sabbath they would not come to them. Thus did We test them because of the transgressions they used to commit
Hamid S. Aziz   
Ask them, too, about the city which stood by the sea, how they broke the Sabbath; how on the Sabbath day the fish came straight up to them; but on the days when they kept not the Sabbath, they came not to them. Thus did We try them for the evil that they
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad   
Ask them about the town that was present by the sea, when they overstepped the Sabbath. When their fish came to them appearing on the surface of the sea on their Sabbath day, and on the days when they did not (have to) observe the Sabbath they would not come to them. That is how We tested them because they were disobeying.
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)   
Ask them concerning the town standing close by the sea. Behold, they transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath, for on the day of their Sabbath, the fish came to them openly, holding up their heads. But on the day they had no Sabbath, they did not come. We made a trial of them, for they were given to transgression
Musharraf Hussain   
Ask them, messenger, about the town by the sea; they broke the law of Sabbath. On the Sabbath, the fish would appear on the surface of the sea, but not on any other days when they were fishing. We tested them because they sinned
Maududi   
And ask the people of Moses concerning the town situated along the sea how its people profaned the Sabbath when fish came to them breaking the water´s surface on Sabbath days, and would not come to them on other than Sabbath-days. Thus did We try them because of their disobedience
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)   
And ask them about the town which was by the sea, after they had transgressed the Sabbath; their fish would come to them openly on the day of their Sabbath, and when they are not in Sabbath, they do not come to them! It is such that We afflicted them for what wickedness they were in.
Mohammad Shafi   
And ask them about the place of human habitation which stood by the sea, where they crossed the limits of the Sabbath : their fish came to them, up on the surface of the water, on the day of their Sabbath, and not on other days! Thus did We try them because they transgressed

Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)   
And ask them the condition of the town that was on the seashore; when they crossed the limit in the matter of sab-bath, when on the day of Sab-bath their fish came swimming before them, and the day that was not of Sabbath, they did not come. Thus, We used to try them on account of their dis-obedience.
Rashad Khalifa   
Remind them of the community by the sea, who desecrated the Sabbath. When they observed the Sabbath, the fish came to them abundantly. And when they violated the Sabbath, the fish did not come. We thus afflicted them, as a consequence of their transgression.
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah   
Ask them about the village that overlooked the sea and what befell (its people) when they broke the Sabbath. Each Sabbath, their fish came swimming towards the shore, but on other days they did not come to them. As such We tempted them (the people) because they had done wrong
Maulana Muhammad Ali   
And ask them about the town which stood by the sea. When they violated the Sabbath, when their fish came to them on their Sabbath day on the surface, and when it was not their Sabbath they came not to them. Thus did We try them because they transgressed
Muhammad Ahmed & Samira   
And ask/question them about the village/urban city that was present (near) the sea/ocean , when they transgress/violate in the Saturday/Sabbath, when the fishes/large fishes/whales comes to them raised high/clearly showing (on the) day of their Sabbath/Saturday, and (the) day they do not observe the Sabbath by resting and worshipping (it) does not come to them, as/like that We test them because (of) what they were debauching
Bijan Moeinian   
Ask them about their disobedience [JEREMIAH 21-& EZEKIEL 12-24], concerning the law that prohibited them to work on Saturdays (punishable by death (Exodus 12-16).) I tried the inhabitants of one of their sea-ports [probably close by Aquaba] by bringing schools of fish close to shore on Saturdays and none during the week days. What a [difficult] trial the wrongdoers had to go thru [to prove that they have reformed themselves.]
Faridul Haque   
And ask them (O dear Prophet Mohammed - peace and blessings be upon him) of the township that was by the sea; when they used to exceed in the matter of the Sabbath - when their fish used to come swimming atop the water in front of them on the day of Sabbath and not come on the days it was not Sabbath; this is how We used to test them, due to their disobedience
Sher Ali   
And ask them concerning the town which stood by the sea. When they profaned the Sabbath; when their fish came to them on their Sabbath day appearing on the surface of the water, but on the day when they did not keep the Sabbath, they came not to them. Thus did WE try them because they were rebellious
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri   
And enquire of them the plight of the town which was situated on the seashore when they transgressed (the commandments with regard to the Sabbath) Saturday. (This occurred) when the fish swarmed from all sides, appearing to (the surface of) water on their (venerated) Saturday. And (the fish) would not come to them on (the rest of) the days, which they did not revere like Saturday. We were trying them this way because they were disobedient
Amatul Rahman Omar   
And ask them as to (what happened to the people of) the township (- Eila) which was on the seashore (of the Red Sea) when they profaned the Sabbath. On the day of their Sabbath their fish appeared to them in shoals upon shoals on the surface (of the water), but on the day when they did not observe the Sabbath (and fishing was open), it did not appear to them. Thus did We go on making a distinction between the good and the evil ones of them by means of their acts of disobedience
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali   
And ask them (O Muhammad SAW) about the town that was by the sea, when they transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath (i.e. Saturday): when their fish came to them openly on the Sabbath day, and did not come to them on the day they had no Sabbath. Thus We made a trial of them for they used to rebel (see the Quran: V.4:154)

Non-Muslim and/or Orientalist works
Arthur John Arberry   
And question them concerning the township which was bordering the sea, when they transgressed the Sabbath, when their fish came to them on the day of their Sabbath, swimming shorewards, but on the day they kept not Sabbath, they came not unto them. Even so We were trying them for their ungodliness
George Sale   
And ask them concerning the town which stood by the sea. When they profaned the Sabbath; when their fish came to them on their Sabbath day appearing on the surface of the water, but on the day when they did not keep the Sabbath, they came not to them. Thus did We try them because they were rebellious
Edward Henry Palmer   
Ask them too about the city which stood by the sea, when they transgressed upon the Sabbath; when their fish came to them on the Sabbath day sailing straight up to them; but on the days when they kept not the Sabbath, they came not to them, thus did we try them for the abominations that they wrought
John Medows Rodwell   
And ask them about the city that stood by the sea, when its inhabitants broke the Sabbath; when their fish came to them on their Sabbath day appearing openly, but came not to them on the day when they kept no Sabbath. Thus did we make trial of them, for that they were evildoers
N J Dawood (2014)   
Ask them about the city which overlooked the sea and what befell its people when they broke the Sabbath. On their Sabbath the fish came to them floating on the water, but on weekdays they never came near them. Thus did We test them because of the evil they did

New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Fode Drame   
And ask them about the township that used to be in the presence of the sea when they used to transgress in the Sabbath when their fish used to come on the day of their Sabbath openly but as for the days when it was not Sabbath, they did not come to them. Thus We try them because of that they used to act as renegades.
Munir Mezyed   
Ask them (O’ Muhammad) about the town which stood by the sea: how its people were violating the Sabbath- when their fish came to them on their Sabbath day appearing on the surface of the water, but on the day when they did not keep the Sabbath, they did not come to them. So We made a trial of them because they were indulging in personal disobedience extensively without repentance.
Sahib Mustaqim Bleher   
And ask them about the town which was near the sea, when they transgressed the Sabbath, when their fish came to them in shoals on their Sabbath day, and on the day they did not observe the Sabbath it did not come to them. This is how We tried them because of their excesses.
Linda “iLHam” Barto   
Ask (the Jews) about the town by the sea. They transgressed concerning the Sabbath. On the Sabbath, the fish [bold due to the traditional lack of fishing activity that day] came right up to them with their heads up [to catch insects]. On days other than the Sabbath, however, the fish [inadvertently trained to hide on fishing days] did not come. Thus, We made a trial [through the temptation to fish on the Sabbath when the fish least expected it] of those given to transgression.
Fadel Soliman, Bridges‘ Translation   
And ask them about the town by the sea when they violated the Sabbath. When they observed the Sabbath, their fish would come to them abundantly. But when they violated the Sabbath, their fish would not come to them. Thus We tried them on account of how they used to be defiantly disobedient.
Irving & Mohamed Hegab   
Ask them about the town which lay facing the sea, when they broke the Sabbath. Their fish came to them swimming on the surface on their Sabbath Day, while any day they did not cease work, it did not come to them. Thus We tested them since they had been acting so immorally.
Samy Mahdy   
Ask them about the village, which was present at the sea, when they transgressed on the Sabbath. When on their Sabbath, their whales would come to them visibly. And when they don’t Sabbath, they would not come to them. Thus, We tried them, with what they were debauching.
Sayyid Qutb   
Ask them about the town which stood by the sea: how its people profaned the Sabbath. Each Sab- bath their fish appeared before them breaking the water's surface, but they would not come near them on other than Sabbath days. Thus did We try them because of their disobedience.
Ahmed Hulusi   
Ask them about the town by the sea!... How they had transgressed on Sabbath (by going fishing on a Saturday)... Because the fish increased in number and revealed themselves on Sabbath but disappeared on other days! We tried them like this because they were given to transgression.
Sayyed Abbas Sadr-Ameli   
And (O Muhammad) ask them about the town that was by the sea, when they exceeded (the limits) of the Sabbath when their fish came to them on the day of their Sabbath, appearing on the surface of the water; but on the day they did not keep Sabbath, they (the fish) did not come unto them. Thus did We try them for the transgressions they used to commit
Al-muntakhab fi tafsir al-Qur‘an al-Karim   
Ask them about the town which stood by the see-front* where their minds and souls impelled them to transgress Allah's commandment and break the Sabbath ordained by Allah to be set apart for rest and worship. The fish were made to come to the surface on the Sabbath day, and to dive deep on other days; a means of trial to test their prevalent inclination. As was expected, being wicked, they yielded to temptatio
Mir Aneesuddin   
And ask them about the city which was facing the sea, when they transgressed in (the matter of) Sabbath, when the fish came to them visibly on the day of the Sabbath and the day they did not keep the Sabbath, it (fish) did not come to them. Thus did We test them because they transgressed.

Obsolete and/or older editions
Yusuf Ali (Orig. 1938)   
Ask them concerning the town standing close by the sea. Behold! they transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath. For on the day of their Sabbath their fish did come to them, openly holding up their heads, but on the day they had no Sabbath, th ey came not: thus did We make a trial of them, for they were given to transgression
OLD Literal Word for Word   
And ask them about the town which was situated (by) the sea, when they transgressed in the (matter of) Sabbath, when came to them their fish (on the) day (of) their Sabbath visibly and (on the) day not they had Sabbath (they did) not come to them. Thus We test them because they were defiantly disobeying
OLD Transliteration   
Wais-alhum AAani alqaryati allatee kanat hadirata albahri ith yaAAdoona fee alssabti ith ta/teehim heetanuhum yawma sabtihim shurraAAan wayawma la yasbitoona la ta/teehim kathalika nabloohum bima kanoo yafsuqoona