7:164

ﱁAnd whenﱂsaidﱃa communityﱄamong themﱅWhyﱆ(do) you preachﱇa peopleﱈ(whom) Allahﱉ(is going to) destroy themﱊorﱋpunish themﱌ(with) a punishmentﱍﱎsevereﱏThey saidﱐTo be absolvedﱑbeforeﱒyour Lordﱓand that they mayﱔbecome righteousﱕ(164)

When some of ˹the righteous among˺ them questioned ˹their fellow Sabbath-keepers˺, “Why do you ˹bother to˺ warn those ˹Sabbath-breakers˺ who will either be destroyed or severely punished by Allah?” They replied, “Just to be free from your Lord’s blame, and so perhaps they may abstain.”

7:165

ﱖSo whenﱗthey forgotﱘwhatﱙthey had been remindedﱚwith [it]ﱛWe savedﱜthose whoﱝforbadeﱞ[from]ﱟthe evilﱠand We seizedﱡthose whoﱢwrongedﱣwith a punishmentﱤwretchedﱥbecauseﱦthey wereﱧdefiantly disobeyingﱨ(165)

When they ignored the warning they were given, We rescued those who used to warn against evil and overtook the wrongdoers with a dreadful punishment for their rebelliousness.

7:166

ﱩSo whenﱪthey exceeded all boundsﱫaboutﱬwhatﱭthey were forbiddenﱮfrom itﱯWe saidﱰto themﱱBeﱲapesﱳdespisedﱴ(166)

But when they stubbornly persisted in violation, We said to them, “Be disgraced apes!”1

7:167

ﱵAnd whenﱶdeclaredﱷyour Lordﱸthat He would surely sendﱹupon themﱺtillﱻ(the) Dayﱼ(of) the Resurrectionﱽ(those) whoﱾwould afflict themﱿ(with) a grievousﲀﲁ[the] punishmentﲂIndeedﲃyour Lordﲄ(is) surely swiftﲅ(in) the retributionﲆbut indeed, Heﲇ(is) surely Oft-ForgivingﲈMost Mercifulﲉ(167)

And ˹remember, O  Prophet,˺ when your Lord declared that He would send against them others who would make them suffer terribly until the Day of Judgment. Indeed, your Lord is swift in punishment, but He is certainly All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

7:168

ﲊAnd We divided themﲋinﲌthe earthﲍﲎ(as) nationsﲏAmong themﲐ(are) the righteousﲑand among themﲒ(are) other thanﲓﲔthatﲕAnd We tested themﲖwith the goodﲗand the badﲘso that they mayﲙreturnﲚ(168)

We dispersed them through the land in groups—some were righteous, others were less so. We tested them with prosperity and adversity, so perhaps they would return ˹to the Right Path˺.

7:169

ﲛThen succeededﲜfromﲝafter themﲞsuccessorsﲟ(who) inheritedﲠthe Bookﲡtakingﲢgoodsﲣ(of) thisﲤthe lower (life)ﲥand they sayﲦIt will be forgivenﲧfor usﲨAnd ifﲩcomes to themﲪgoodsﲫsimilar to itﲬﲭthey will take itﲮWas notﲯtakenﲰon themﲱCovenantﲲ(of) the Bookﲳthatﲴnotﲵthey will sayﲶaboutﲷAllahﲸexceptﲹthe truthﲺwhile they studiedﲻwhatﲼﲽ(is) in itﲾAnd the homeﲿ(of) the Hereafterﳀ(is) betterﳁfor those whoﳂﳃfear AllahﳄSo will notﳅyou use intellectﳆ(169)

Then they were succeeded by other generations who inherited the Scripture. They indulged in unlawful gains, claiming, “We will be forgiven ˹after all˺.” And if similar gain came their way, they would seize it. Was a covenant not taken from them in the Scripture that they would not say anything about Allah except the truth? And they were already well-versed in its teachings. But the ˹eternal˺ Home of the Hereafter is far better for those mindful ˹of Allah˺. Will you not then understand?

7:170

ﳇAnd those whoﳈhold fastﳉto the Bookﳊand establishﳋthe prayerﳌindeed, Weﳍ(will) notﳎ[We] let go wasteﳏ(the) rewardﳐ(of) the reformersﳑ(170)

As for those who firmly abide by the Scripture and establish prayer—surely We never discount the reward of those acting righteously.