Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad
They said: "O Moses! Either thou shalt throw [thy staff first], or we shall [be the first to] throw."
M. M. Pickthall
They said: O Moses! Either throw (first) or let us be the first throwers
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)
They said: "O Moses! wilt thou throw (first), or shall we have the (first) throw?"
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab
They asked, “O Moses! Will you cast, or shall we be the first to cast?”
Safi Kaskas
They said, “Moses, either you will throw [your staff first], or We will throw [first].”
Wahiduddin Khan
They said, Moses, will you first throw, or shall we
Shakir
They said: O Musa! will you cast, or shall we be the first to cast
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar
They said: O Moses! Either thou cast, or will we be the ones who cast?
T.B.Irving
They said: ´Moses, will you throw something down or shall we be the ones to throw [first]?"
Abdul Hye
They said: “O Moses! Either you throw (first) or that shall we be the (first) throwers.”
The Study Quran
They said, “O Moses! either you cast, or we will be the ones who cast.
Talal Itani & AI (2024)
They asked, “O Moses, should you throw first, or should we?”
Talal Itani (2012)
They said, 'O Moses! Either you throw, or we are the ones to throw.'
Dr. Kamal Omar
(The magicians) said: “O Musa! Is it that you throw (first) or is it that we become, we, as those who throw (their material first)?”
Then they asked Moses: "Will you cast, or should we be the first ones to cast?"
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali
They said, "O Musa! (Moses) Either you cast, or we ourselves will be the ones casting (first)."
Muhammad Sarwar
The magicians asked Moses, "Will you throw your staff first or shall we?"
Muhammad Taqi Usmani
They said, .O Musa, would you throw (first) or are we to throw?
Shabbir Ahmed
The debaters said, "O Moses! Either you begin or let us be the first to present our case."
Dr. Munir Munshey
They said, "Oh Musa! Either you cast your spell, or let us be the ones to go (first)."
Syed Vickar Ahamed
They said: "O Musa (Moses), will you throw (first), or shall we have the (first) throw?"
They said, "O Moses, either you throw [your staff], or we will be the ones to throw [first]."
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)
They said: "O Moses, either you cast, or we will cast"
Abdel Haleem
So they said, ‘Moses, will you throw first or shall we?’
Abdul Majid Daryabadi
They said: O Musa! either thou cast down, or we shall be the ones to cast down
Ahmed Ali
So they said: "O Moses, you may cast your spell first, or we shall cast ours."
Aisha Bewley
They said, ´Musa, will you throw first or shall we be the ones to throw?´
Ali Ünal
They (the sorcerers) said: "Moses! Either you throw first or we will be the first to throw!"
Ali Quli Qara'i
They said, ‘O Moses, will you throw [first], or shall we throw?’
Hamid S. Aziz
They said, "O Moses! Will you cast down (your rod) or shall we be (first) to throw?"
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad
They said: “Moses, do you throw or are we the throwers?”
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)
They said, “O Moses, will you throw first, or shall we throw?
Musharraf Hussain
They said, “Musa, either you go first , or let us go first?
Maududi
Then they said: ´0 Moses, will you [first] throw your rod, or shall we throw?´
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)
They said: "O Moses, either you cast, or we will cast?"
Mohammad Shafi
They said, "O Moses! Either you do the throwing down, or we do it."
Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)
They said, 'O Musa, either you throw first or we be the throwers'.
They said, "O Moses, either you throw, or we are throwing."
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah
They said: 'Moses, will you throw first or shall we be the throwers?
Maulana Muhammad Ali
They said: O Moses, wilt thou cast, or shall we (be the first to) cast
Muhammad Ahmed & Samira
They said: "You Moses, either that you throw/throw away, or we, we be the throwing/throwing away."
Bijan Moeinian
They asked Moses who shall throw down first. Moses said: "Go ahead."
Faridul Haque
They said, "O Moosa! You may throw first - or shall we be the first to throw?"
Sher Ali
They said, `O Moses, wilt thou throw first or shall we be the first throwers?
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri
(The magicians) said: ‘Musa (Moses)! Either you throw (your object) or we become (the first) to throw.
Amatul Rahman Omar
They said, `Moses! either you present (first what you have), or shall we be the (first) ones to present?
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali
They said: "O Moosa (Moses)! Either you throw (first), or shall we have the (first) throw?"
New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Fode Drame
They said, “O Moses! Either you cast or it is going to be us who will be the ones who cast.”
Munir Mezyed
They said: “O’ Moses, either you throw first or we will be the first to throw!"
Sahib Mustaqim Bleher
They said: oh Musa (Moses), either you throw or we are the ones who throw.
Linda “iLHam” Barto
They said, “O Moses, will you throw first, or shall we?”
Fadel Soliman, Bridges‘ Translation
They said, “O Moses! Either you cast, or we will be the ones to cast.”
Irving & Mohamed Hegab
They said: 'Moses, will you throw something down or shall we be the ones to throw [first]?"
Samy Mahdy
They said, “O Moses! Either you throw, or we are the throwers.”
Sayyid Qutb
They said: “Moses! Either you shall throw [first] , or we shall be the first to throw?â€
Ahmed Hulusi
(The magicians said) “O Moses... First you throw, then we will throw.”
Sayyed Abbas Sadr-Ameli
They (the sorcerers) said: � O� Moses! Will you throw, or shall we be the (first) throwers ? �
They said to Mussa: " Would you like to cast your artifice upon the ground first to present to view what you have up your sleeve, or shall we cast ours first?"
Mir Aneesuddin
They said, "O Musa ! will you throw (show your magic first) or shall we be the first to throw?"
The Wise Quran
They said, 'O Moses! Will you throw or shall we be the throwers?'