Marked words appear in this translation and in no other English translation of this verse. Common small words and older spellings are not marked. The marks show where the wording differs, not where the meaning does.
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall1875–1936 · published 1930
(It was said unto him): O Zachariah! Lo! We bring thee tidings of a son whose name is John; we have given the same name to none before (him)
Sources
Translation Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran·Public domain — copyright term expired
Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran·1930 translation, digital edition of unverified printing·None — public domain work
·Public domain — copyright term expired·retrieved 24 Aug 2026
Edward Henry Palmer1840–1882 · published 1880
O Zachariah! verily, we, give thee glad tidings of a son, whose name shall be John. We never made a namesake of his before
Sources
Translation Edward Henry Palmer, English translation of the Qur'an·Public domain — copyright term expired
And the angelanswered him, O Zacharias, verily We bring thee tidings of a son, whose name shall be John; We have not caused any to bear the same name before him
Sources
Translation George Sale, English translation of the Qur'an·Public domain — copyright term expired
George Sale, English translation of the Qur'an·1734 translation, digital edition of unverified printing·None — public domain work
·Public domain — copyright term expired·retrieved 24 Aug 2026
Other languages (18)Shqip · Albanian
(Allahu tha:) "O Zekerija, Ne po të japim myzhde për një djalë, emri i të cilit do të jetë Jahja, emër që nuk ia kemi vënë askujt më parë."
Translated by the team of Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.5
বাংলা · Bengali
(প্রার্থনার সাড়া দিয়ে আল্লাহ তাকে বললেন:) ‘হে যাকারিয়া! আমি তোমাকে একটি পুত্র সন্তানের সুসংবাদ দিচ্ছি, তার নাম ইয়াহইয়া। আমি ইতঃপূর্বে এ নামে অন্য কারো নাম রাখিনি।’
Translated by the team of Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Dawah Association in Rabwah, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.1.2
Bosanski · Bosnian
“O Zekerijja, javljamo ti radosnu vijest da će ti se dječak roditi, ime će mu Jahja biti, nikom prije njega to ime nismo htjeli dati.”
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 2.0.4
Hrvatski · Croatian
“O Zaharija, javljamo ti radosnu vijest da će ti se dječak roditi, ime će mu Jahja[2] biti, nikom prije njega to ime nismo htjeli dati.”
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.1
Fulfulde · Fulani
Eeyma Jakariyaa Minen Min mbeltinirii ma suka innde makko ko Yahyaa Min mbɗanaani mo ko adii tokoraajo.
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.2
ქართული · Georgian
«ჰეი, ზაქარია, ჭეშმარიტად, ჩვენ გახარებთ შენ ვაჟიშვილით, რომლის სახელი იქნება იაჰია. უწინ კი ეს სახელი არავისთვის გვიწოდებია».
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.7
Deutsch · German
(Da sagte Allah:) „O Zakariyya, Wir verkünden dir einen Jungen, dessen Name Yahya ist, wie Wir zuvor noch niemandem einen Namen gleich dem seinen gegeben haben.“
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.15
Ελληνικά · Greek
(Ο Αλλάχ είπε): «Ω, Ζαχαρία! Πράγματι, σου δίνουμε τα χαρμόσυνα νέα για έναν γιο, το όνομά του θα είναι Γιάχια (Ιωάννης ο Βαπτιστής). Ένα όνομα που δεν έχουμε δώσει πριν σε κανέναν.»
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.2
हिन्दी · Hindi
ऐ ज़करिय्या! निःसंदेह हम तुझे एक बालक की शुभ सूचना देते हैं, जिसका नाम यह़्या है। हमने इससे पहले उसका कोई समनाम नहीं बनाया।
Translated by Azizul Haq Al-Omari
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.1.5
Italiano · Italian
»O Zekeryē, in verità ti annunciamo la nascita di un bimbo di nome Yeħyē, di cui non abbiamo fatto nascere un omonimo in passato».
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.2
Lietuvių · Lithuanian
7. (Allahas tarė): „Zakarija, iš tiesų, Mes duodame gerą žinią tau apie sūnų, kurio vardas bus Jahja (Jonas). Mes niekam kitam anksčiau (jo) nesuteikėme tokio vardo.“
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.8
Afaan Oromoo · Oromo
(kadhaa isaa qeebalee Rabbiin ni jedheen): “Yaa Zakariyyaa! Nuti ilma maqaan isaa Yahyaa ta’een sigammachiifna. kan ammaan dura moggoo isaaf hingodhin (kan maqaa isaa namni biroo hinbaafatin)”.
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.0
Русский · Russian
«О Закария! Воистину, Мы возвещаем тебе радостную весть о мальчике, имя которому — Яхья. Мы прежде никого не делали ему соимённым[48]».
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.1
Српски · Serbian
„О Захарија, јављамо ти радосну вест да ће ти се родити дечак, име ће да му буде Јахја (Јован), ником пре њега то име нисмо хтели да дамо.”
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.4
Kiswahili · Swahili
(Akaambiwa): Ewe Zakariya! Hakika Sisi tunakubashiria mwana; jina lake ni Yahya. Hatujapata kumpa jina hilo yeyote kabla yake.
Issued by the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.5
Svenska · Swedish
[Svaret gavs av änglarna]: ”Sakarias! Vi ger dig glädjebudet om en son vid namn Johannes. Vi har aldrig gett någon detta namn förut.”
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.2
Türkçe · Turkish
“Ey Zekeriya! Gerçekten biz sana Yahya adında bir oğul müjdeleriz. Bundan önce kimseye bu adı vermemiştik.”
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.4
اردو · Urdu
اے زکریا! ہم تجھے ایک بچے کی خوشخبری دیتے ہیں جس کا نام یحيٰ ہے، ہم نے اس سے پہلے اس کا ہم نام بھی کسی کو نہیں کیا.[1]
Translated by Muhammad Ibrahim Junagarhi, developed under the supervision of the Rowwad Translation Center. The original translation is available for the purpose of expressing opinion, evaluation, and continuous development.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.1.3
About these translations
5 cleared translations, newest first, by year of publication, so the modern English comes before the historical ones. That is an ordering by date, not a judgement. Each is shown complete — this platform never excerpts a translation — and each renders under its translator's name. No translation here is marked as the correct one.
Which translations appear here is set by copyright: they are the ones whose rights could be documented and cleared. The selection is not a judgement that these are the best.
About easy-read
Easy-read
Easy-read is a simplified pronunciation,
not authoritative — a rule-by-rule romanisation, not a reading.
Each verse ends in its pause form, as it is said when you stop there. Pauses inside a verse and other tajwid rules are not shown. It is derived from the Tanzil
Simple edition, while the Arabic above is the
Uthmani edition; both are cleared, but they are not the
same edition and their orthography differs.
Easy-read (simplified)wa'innee khiftu l-mawaaliya min waraa'ee wakaanati mra'atee 'aaqiran fahab lee min ladunka waliyyaa
DIN 31635waʾinnī ḫiftu l-mawāliya min warāʾī wakānati mraʾatī ʿāqiran fahab lī min ladunka waliyyan
Talal Itani2012 "And I fear for my dependents after me, and my wife is barren. So grant me, from Yourself, an heir.
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall1930 Lo! I fear my kinsfolk after me, since my wife is barren. Oh, give me from Thy presence a successor
Edward Henry Palmer1880 But I fear my heirs after me, and my wife is barren; then grant me from Thee a successor
John Medows Rodwell1861 But now I have fears for my kindred after me; and my wife is barren: Give me, then, a successor as thy special gift
George Sale1734 But now I fear my nephews, who are to succeed after me, for my wife is barren: Wherefore give me a successor of my own body from before thee
Easy-read (simplified)yarithunee wayarithu min aali ya'qooba waj'alhu rabbi radiyyaa
DIN 31635yariṯunī wayariṯu min ʾāli yaʿqūba waǧʿalhu rabbi raḍiyyan
Talal Itani2012 To inherit me, and inherit from the House of Jacob, and make him, my Lord, pleasing."
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall1930 Who shall inherit of me and inherit (also) of the house of Jacob. And make him, my Lord, acceptable (unto Thee)
Edward Henry Palmer1880 to be my heir and the heir of the family of Jacob, and make him, my Lord! acceptable
John Medows Rodwell1861 who shall be my heir and an heir of the family of Jacob: and make him, Lord, well pleasing to thee
George Sale1734 who may be my heir, and may be an heir of the family of Jacob; and grant, O Lord, that he may be acceptable unto thee
Easy-read (simplified)qaala kadhaalika qaala rabbuka huwa 'alayya hayyinun waqad khalaqtuka min qablu walam taku shay'aa
DIN 31635qāla kaḏālika qāla rabbuka huwa ʿalayya hayyinun waqad ḫalaqtuka min qablu walam taku šayʾan
Talal Itani2012 He said, "It will be so, your Lord says, 'it is easy for me, and I created you before, when you were nothing.'"
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall1930 He said: So (it will be). Thy Lord saith: It is easy for Me, even as I created thee before, when thou wast naught
Edward Henry Palmer1880 He said, 'Thus says thy Lord, It is easy for Me, for I created thee at first when yet thou wast nothing
John Medows Rodwell1861 He said: So shall it be. Thy Lord hath said, Easy is this to me, for I created thee aforetime when thou wast nothing
George Sale1734 The angel said so shall it be: Thy Lord saith, this is easy with Me; since I created thee heretofore, when thou wast nothing
These figures count the words the translations share. They measure wording, not meaning, and they do not say which translation is right.
Derived measure: mean pairwise Jaccard distance over the
lowercased word sets of the 5 renderings above —
0.62 on a scale
where 0 means identical wording and 1 means no shared words. It is
computed, not judged.
The page says a verse is worded differently only above the cut below. The cut is a stated convention, not a property of the text, and it can be changed.
The cut
0.644
Share of measured verses above it
33%
Verses above it
2,079
Verses measured
6,236
Talal Itani · George Sale0.72
Talal Itani · John Medows Rodwell0.67
Edward Henry Palmer · Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall0.66
John Medows Rodwell · George Sale0.65
Talal Itani · Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall0.62
Edward Henry Palmer · John Medows Rodwell0.61
Talal Itani · Edward Henry Palmer0.61
Edward Henry Palmer · George Sale0.60
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall · George Sale0.54
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall · John Medows Rodwell0.53
One bar per pair of renderings, longest bar for the pair
sharing fewest words. Every pair is shown; none is singled out.
Method Wording differences — derived 13 September 2026
Method
Mean pairwise Jaccard distance over the lowercased word sets of the cleared translations of each verse. A verse is marked as worded differently when its score falls in the top third of the corpus — the cut set out in Analysis details.
As at
13 September 2026, 10:56 UTC
Gate
verify/divergence_gate.py re-derives and fails on drift
The platform does not say which is right, and does not
characterise what the difference means. The renderings are placed
together so the difference is visible; reading it is the reader's work.
Sources, editions and licences for everything above
ReceiptsSource fact
7 sources
stand behind this page. Each is listed once, in the order the page first
cites it, with the licence it was cleared under and what was actually read.
Nothing on this page rests on a source that is not here.
Source Tanzil Qur'an text (Uthmani) · Uthmani, Version 1.1
Hafs/Kufan verse numbering, 6236 ayahs. The bismillah is delivered as a separate `bismillah` attribute on ayah 1 and is NOT fused into the ayah text. 112 surahs carry one: every surah except al-Fatiha, where the bismillah is ayah 1:1 itself, and at-Tawba, which has none. Sourced from the XML output; the plain-text output of the same release DOES fuse it, which is defect D1.
CLEARED. Licence read verbatim from the block embedded in this very file. Ingested exactly as shipped: no normalisation, no stripping of marks, no Unicode recomposition.
Parsed structurally from the EPUB: an h3 names the surah, one p per verse with its number in its own span. An unnumbered p is the basmala and is not a verse, except in surah 1 where the basmala IS verse 1. 112 unnumbered paragraphs were found, which is 114 surahs less surah 1 and surah 9. Text is stored VERBATIM: NFC normalisation and XML entity unescaping only, because CC BY-ND forbids modification.
CLEARED on a licence read first-hand from the translator's own download page, not from an aggregator. Tanzil also hosts this translation, but under a blanket "non-commercial purposes only" term that directs the user to the translator or publisher for permission - a hosting disclaimer, not a grant - so the grant was taken from the licensor directly. The "God" edition was ingested; ClearQuran also publishes an "Allah" edition, differing in how the divine name is rendered, which is not ingested.
CLEARED ON THE WORK, WITH TWO RECORDED CAVEATS ON THIS COPY. (1) Rights basis is the expired copyright term, NOT the redistributing repository's licence. That repository dedicates its contents to the public domain under the Unlicense while also redistributing plainly in-copyright translations (Abdel Haleem, Saheeh International, The Study Quran), so it is dedicating rights it cannot hold and its blanket grant is not relied upon here. (2) The file declares its own upstream as tanzil.net, and Tanzil attaches a non-commercial condition to its TRANSLATION distributions, though not to its Qur'anic text. Since Pickthall's copyright has expired, nobody holds rights in these words and no licence is required from anyone; Tanzil's terms are a contract binding those who download from Tanzil, which we did not. The chain is nonetheless not spotless and Anwar may prefer a clean digitisation of the 1930 printing. NOT VERIFIED: that this digital text matches the 1930 first printing rather than a later revised edition. No page images were collated. Recorded as unverified rather than presented as established. SERVED TEXT DIFFERS FROM THE CITED FILE AT ONE VERSE, 37:97: the file reads "red-hotfire" (a glued token, also in Gutenberg #16955); the served row reads "red-hot fire", restored 2026-09-13 from Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (London: George Allen & Unwin, printed for Alfred A. Knopf; 1930), p. 460, XXXVII 97 - scan archive.org in.ernet.dli.2015.216140, PDF page 475; banked data/derivation-sources/pickthall-1930-dli-2015.216140-text.pdf (sha256 70e81146c97fa3a590243a82e04e349108546074787e2551a78c616202138870) on Anwar Malik's grant.
Hafs/Kufan verse numbering, 6236 verses, keyed to mushaf order. The
bismillah is not fused into ayah 1: 1:1 carries it and no other verse
does. Verified against content check C3 at ingest.
CLEARED ON THE WORK. Term expired by every measure. The digital edition's upstream is not stated by the redistributor and the printing is unverified. No statement of purpose is recorded for Palmer because none was sourced from his own preface in this pass; nothing is asserted on his behalf.
Hafs/Kufan verse numbering, 6236 verses, keyed to mushaf order. The
bismillah is not fused into ayah 1: 1:1 carries it and no other verse
does. Verified against content check C3 at ingest.
CLEARED ON THE WORK. Term expired by every measure. TWO edition caveats. (1) The upstream is not stated by the redistributor. (2) Rodwell's own edition PRESENTS THE SURAHS IN HIS OWN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, not the mushaf order — he says so in his preface. This digital text is keyed to mushaf order, so it derives from a restored-order printing (such as the Everyman edition) rather than from Rodwell's own arrangement. Which printing is not stated and has not been established.
Hafs/Kufan verse numbering, 6236 verses, keyed to mushaf order. The
bismillah is not fused into ayah 1: 1:1 carries it and no other verse
does. Verified against content check C3 at ingest.
CLEARED ON THE WORK. Term expired by every measure. The digital edition's upstream is NOT STATED by the redistributor, so the printing it represents is unverified; Sale's text was reprinted and re-edited many times between 1734 and 1900. Recorded as unverified rather than assumed to be the first edition.
Hafs/Kufan verse numbering, 6236 ayahs. The bismillah is delivered as a separate `bismillah` attribute on ayah 1 and is NOT fused into the ayah text. 112 surahs carry one: every surah except al-Fatiha, where the bismillah is ayah 1:1 itself, and at-Tawba, which has none. Sourced from the XML output; the plain-text output of the same release DOES fuse it, which is defect D1.
CLEARED. Parallel edition, held in ayah_text_variants. It sits alongside the Uthmani spine for search normalisation and is never used to correct it.