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Muhammad Asad   
And [once again]: Why do you not say, whenever you hear such [a rumour], “It does not behove us to speak of this, O Thou who art limitless in Thy glory: this is an awesome calumny”
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
If only you had said upon hearing it, “How can we speak about such a thing! Glory be to You ˹O Lord˺! This is a heinous slander!”
Safi Kaskas   
And why, when you heard it, did you not say, "It does not behoove us to speak about this. May you [O God] be exalted in Your glory; this is a great slander?"

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Source Arabic and Literal tools
Arabic   
وَلَوۡلَاۤ إِذۡ سَمِعۡتُمُوهُ قُلۡتُم مَّا یَكُونُ لَنَاۤ أَن نَّتَكَلَّمَ بِهَـٰذَا سُبۡحَـٰنَكَ هَـٰذَا بُهۡتَـٰنٌ عَظِیمࣱ ۝١٦
Transliteration (2021)   
walawlā idh samiʿ'tumūhu qul'tum mā yakūnu lanā an natakallama bihādhā sub'ḥānaka hādhā buh'tānun ʿaẓīmu
Word for Word
Dr. Shehnaz Shaikh, Ms. Kauser Katri, and more
  
And why not, when you heard it, you said, "Not it is for us that we speak of this. Glory be to You! This (is) a slander great?"

Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad   
And [once again]: Why do you not say, whenever you hear such [a rumour], “It does not behove us to speak of this, O Thou who art limitless in Thy glory: this is an awesome calumny”
M. M. Pickthall   
Wherefor, when ye heard it, said ye not: It is not for us to speak of this. Glory be to Thee (O Allah)! This is awful calumny
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)   
And why did ye not, when ye heard it, say? - "It is not right of us to speak of this: Glory to Allah! this is a most serious slander!"
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
If only you had said upon hearing it, “How can we speak about such a thing! Glory be to You ˹O Lord˺! This is a heinous slander!”
Safi Kaskas   
And why, when you heard it, did you not say, "It does not behoove us to speak about this. May you [O God] be exalted in Your glory; this is a great slander?"
Wahiduddin Khan   
When you heard it, why did you not say, It is not right for us to speak of this. God forbid! This is a monstrous slander
Shakir   
And why did you not, when you heard it, say: It does not beseem us that we should talk of it; glory be to Thee! this is a great calumny
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar   
And why, when you heard it, said you not: It will not be for us to assert this. Glory be to Thee! This is a serious false charge to harm the reputation of another.
T.B.Irving   
If you had only said as you heard it: "We ought not to talk about this. Glory be to You! This is serious slander."
Abdul Hye   
And why did you not, when you heard it, say: “It is not right for us to speak of this, glory be to You (O Allah)! This is a great lie.”
The Study Quran   
And why, when you heard it, did you not say, “It is not for us to speak of this! Glory be to Thee! This is a tremendous calumny!
Talal Itani & AI (2024)   
Upon hearing it, you should’ve said, “It is not for us to speak of this. Glory be to You, this is a serious slander.”
Talal Itani (2012)   
When you heard it, you should have said, 'It is not for us to repeat this. By Your glory, this is a serious slander.'
Dr. Kamal Omar   
and why did you not, when you heard it, say: 'It becomes not to us (a right) that we talk about this (matter)? Glory be to You (O Allah), this is a very serious slander.
M. Farook Malik   
Why did you not, when you heard about it, say: "It is not befitting for us to talk about it, God forbid! This is a monstrous slander?"
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali   
And if you had (but) said, as you heard it, "In no way is it for us to talk about this. All Extolment be to You! This is a tremendous calumny."
Muhammad Sarwar   
Would that on hearing this report, you had said, "We have nothing to say about it. God forbid! It is a serious accusation."
Muhammad Taqi Usmani   
And why, when you heard of it, did you not say, .It is not for us to speak about this. Pure are You (O Allah). This is a terrible calumny
Shabbir Ahmed   
(And once again), why do you not say, whenever you hear such a rumor, "It is not befitting for us to talk about it. Glory to You (Our Lord), this is a monstrous calumny."
Dr. Munir Munshey   
When you heard it, why did you not say, "It is not proper for us to discuss such a thing! Exalted are You (Oh Allah), it is a treacherous slander."
Syed Vickar Ahamed   
And why did you not, when you heard it, say— "It is not right of us to speak of this: Glory to Allah! This is a most serious lie (against any person)!"
Umm Muhammad (Sahih International)   
And why, when you heard it, did you not say, "It is not for us to speak of this. Exalted are You, [O Allah ]; this is a great slander"
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)   
And when you heard it you should have said: "It was not right for us to speak of this. Glory to You, this is a great lie."
Abdel Haleem   
When you heard the lie, why did you not say, ‘We should not repeat this- God forbid!- It is a monstrous slander’
Abdul Majid Daryabadi   
And wherefore, when ye heard it, did ye not say: it is not for us to speak thereof, hallowed be Thou! that is a slander mighty
Ahmed Ali   
Why did you not say when you heard it: "It is not for us to speak of it? God preserve us, it is a great calumny!"
Aisha Bewley   
Why, when you heard it, did you not say, ´We have no business speaking about this. Glory be to You! This is a terrible slander!´?
Ali Ünal   
Why did you not say, when you heard of it, "It is not for us to speak of this. All-Glorified are You (O God)! This is an awesome slander."
Ali Quli Qara'i   
And why did you not, when you heard it, say, ‘It is not for us to say such a thing. [O Allah!] You are immaculate! This is a monstrous calumny!’
Hamid S. Aziz   
And why, when you heard it, did you not say, "It is not for us to speak of this? Glory be to Thee, O Allah, this is an awful slander!"
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad   
And why when you heard it, you did not say: “It is not for us to speak of this, You are flawless (glory to You), this is a great false accusation.”
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)   
And why did you not say when you heard it?– “It is not right of us to speak of this. Glory be to God, this is a most serious slander.
Musharraf Hussain   
If only, when you heard it, you had said: “It is not fitting for us to talk about this. Glory be to Him! This is a terrible slander.”
Maududi   
Why did you not, as soon as you heard of it, say, "It is not proper for us to utter such a thing? Glory be to Allah! This is a great slander."
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)   
And when you heard it you should have said: "It was not right for us to speak of this. Glory be to You, this is a great lie.
Mohammad Shafi   
And if only you, when you heard it, had said, "It does not behove us that we should talk about it. Glory to You! This is an insidious calumny?"

Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)   
And why it did not so happen, when you heard it you would have said. 'It is not befitting to us to speak about such thing? Allah, Hollowed be You; this is great slander.
Rashad Khalifa   
When you heard it, you should have said, "We will not repeat this. Glory be to You. This is a gross falsehood."
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah   
When you heard it, why did you not say: 'It is not right for us to speak of this. Exaltations to You! This is a mighty slander!
Maulana Muhammad Ali   
And why did you not, when you heard it, say: It beseems us not to talk of it. Glory be to Thee! This is a great calumny
Muhammad Ahmed & Samira   
And if only when you want/listened (to) it, you said: "It (is) not to be for us that we converse/speak with that, Your praise/glory, that (is) great falsehood/slander ."
Bijan Moeinian   
When you heard the rumor, you should have said: “We are not going to spread it. We take refuge in God, this is indeed a great slander.”
Faridul Haque   
And why was it not that, when you heard it, you would have said, "It does not befit us to speak regarding this; Purity is to You, O Allah – this is a great accusation."
Sher Ali   
And wherefore did you not say, when you heard of it, `It is not proper for us to talk about it. Holy art Thou, O God, this is a grievous calumny.
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri   
And when you heard of this (heinous charge), why did you not declare (at the same moment): ‘It is not (at all justified) for us to talk about it’? (Rather you should have said: ‘O Allah,) Holy are You (High above making such a woman the beloved wife of Your Beloved and Esteemed Messenger [blessings and peace be upon him]). This is a grave charge.
Amatul Rahman Omar   
And why did you not say as soon as you heard of it, `It does not behove us to talk like this. Holy are You (O Gracious God). This is a monstrous calumny,
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali   
And why did you not, when you heard it, say? "It is not right for us to speak of this. Glory be to You (O Allah) this is a great lie."

Non-Muslim and/or Orientalist works
Arthur John Arberry   
And why, when you heard it, did you not say, 'It is not for us to speak about this; glory be to Thee! This is a mighty calumny'
George Sale   
When ye heard it, did ye say, it belongeth not unto us, that we should talk of this matter: God forbid! This is a grievous calumny
Edward Henry Palmer   
And why did ye not say when ye heard it, 'It is not for us to speak of this? Celebrated be His praises, this is a mighty calumny!
John Medows Rodwell   
And did ye say when ye heard it, "It is not for us to talk of this affair! O God! By thy Glory, this is a gross calumny?"
N J Dawood (2014)   
And when you heard it, why did you not say: ‘It is not proper for us to speak of this; glory be to God: this is a monstrous slander‘

New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Fode Drame   
And if only when you heard it you had said, “It is not meet for us to speak about this. Glory be unto you [O Allah]. This is an egregious fabrication.”
Munir Mezyed   
Why did you not when you heard it, say "It is not good to talk about it? All Glory Be to Allâh, this is a great mendacity.”
Sahib Mustaqim Bleher   
And why, when you heard it, did you not say: it is not for us to say this, glorified are You, this is a serious slander.
Linda “iLHam” Barto   
Why did you not say, when you heard of it, “It is not right for us to speak of this”? [Why did you not say,] “Glory to You; this is severe slander”?
Fadel Soliman, Bridges‘ Translation   
And if only when youpl heard it you had said, “It is not lawful for us to speak about this. Highly Exalted are You; this is a great slander.”
Irving & Mohamed Hegab   
If you had only said as you heard it: "We ought not to talk about this. Glory be to You! This is serious slander."
Samy Mahdy   
And why not, when you heard it, you should have said, “It is not for us to speak with this. Glorified are You (Our Lord), this is a great false accusation.”
Sayyid Qutb   
If only when you heard it you said: 'It is not right for us to speak of this! All glory belongs to You. This is a monstrous slander.'
Ahmed Hulusi   
And when you heard (that lie) should you not have said, “It is not our business to speak of such things! We exalt you! This is a great slander!”?
Sayyed Abbas Sadr-Ameli   
And why did you not, when you heard it, say: 'It is not right of us to speak of this: glory be to You (O' Lord)! This is a great calumny'
Al-muntakhab fi tafsir al-Qur‘an al-Karim   
If only when you Muslims heard the news you exclaimed: "Allah forbid, we must not give this subject a speaking tongue. Glory be to You O Allah and extolled are Your glorious attributes; this is indeed falsehood personified"
Mir Aneesuddin   
when you were speaking (about) it with your tongues and saying with your mouths that about which you had no knowledge and you thought it to be an easy (matter) but with Allah it was great.

Obsolete and/or older editions
Yusuf Ali (Orig. 1938)   
And why did ye not, when ye heard it, say? - "It is not right of us to speak of this: Glory to God! this is a most serious slander!"
OLD Literal Word for Word   
And why not, when you heard it, you said, "Not it is for us that we speak of this. Glory be to You! This (is) a slander great?
OLD Transliteration   
Walawla ith samiAAtumoohu qultum ma yakoonu lana an natakallama bihatha subhanaka hatha buhtanun AAatheemun