Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad
gulping it [unceasingly,] little by little, and yet hardly able to swallow it. And death will beset him from every quarter - but he shall not die: for [yet more] severe suffering lies ahead of him
M. M. Pickthall
Which he sippeth but can hardly swallow, and death cometh unto him from every side while yet he cannot die, and before him is a harsh doom
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)
In gulps will he sip it, but never will he be near swallowing it down his throat: death will come to him from every quarter, yet will he not die: and in front of him will be a chastisement unrelenting
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab
which they will sip with difficulty, and can hardly swallow. Death will overwhelm them from every side, yet they will not ˹be able to˺ die. Awaiting them still is harsher torment.
Safi Kaskas
gulping it, little by little, but hardly able to swallow it. Death will creep in on him from every side, but he will not die, for more severe suffering lies ahead of him.
Wahiduddin Khan
he will sip and will not find it easy to swallow it. Death will approach him from every quarter, yet he will not die. More intense suffering will lie ahead of him
Shakir
He will drink it little by little and will not be able to swallow it agreeably, and death will come to him from every quarter, but he shall not die; and there shall be vehement chastisement before him
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar
He will gulp it and he will be about to swallow it easily when death will approach him from every place, yet he will not be dead. And ahead of him will be a harsh punishment.
T.B.Irving
He will gag on it and not quite swallow it. Death will come at him from everywhere, while he will not quite die. Beyond him lies harsh torment.
Abdul Hye
who will sip it (unwillingly) but will find hard to swallow. Death will surround him from every side, yet will not die and in front of him will be a great punishment.
The Study Quran
which he will gulp down, but can scarcely swallow. Death shall come upon him from every side; yet he will not die, and before him lies a grave punishment
Talal Itani & AI (2024)
He will gulp it, yet he won’t swallow it. Death will come at him from every direction, yet he won’t die. Ahead of him is a harsh punishment.
Talal Itani (2012)
He will guzzle it, but he will not swallow it. Death will come at him from every direction, but he will not die. And beyond this is relentless suffering
Dr. Kamal Omar
He will sip it little by little and he will not be able to pass it beyond the throat, and death will approach him from all the sites but he will not be one who dies, and out of his back (i.e., what chases him) is a penetrating punishment
he will sip, but never will be able to swallow. Death will surround him from all sides, yet he will not die; beyond that there will be horrible punishment
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali
Which he gulps and almost cannot find it palatable; (i.e., He is barely able to drink it) and death comes up to him from every place, and in no way will he be dead; and beyond him is a harsh torment
Muhammad Sarwar
As they sip the unpleasant water, death will approach them from all sides, but they will never die. In addition to this, they will experience the most intense torment
Muhammad Taqi Usmani
which he will arduously sip, and will not be able to swallow. Death will come upon him from every side, yet he will not die, and still a heavy chastisement will be ahead of him
Shabbir Ahmed
How difficult it is to swallow the bitterness of self-imposed failure! A life unlived, a mere survival, neither living nor dead (20:74), (87:13). What a heavy retribution
Dr. Munir Munshey
With difficulty he will sip it, and with trouble he will manage to swallow it down. Death shall accost him from all sides, but die he shall not! Yet another tough torment shall lie in wait for him
Syed Vickar Ahamed
He will drink it unwillingly, by the mouthful, but he will never be near to swallowing it down his throat: And death will come to him from every direction, yet, he will not die: And for him will be an unending punishment
He will gulp it but will hardly [be able to] swallow it. And death will come to him from everywhere, but he is not to die. And before him is a massive punishment
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)
He tries to drink it, but it cannot be swallowed, and death comes to him from everywhere, but he will not die; and from behind him is a powerful retribution
Abdel Haleem
which he will try to gulp but scarcely be able to swallow; death will encroach on him from every side, but he will not die; more intense suffering will lie ahead of him
Abdul Majid Daryabadi
Which he gulpeth, but wellnigh swalloweth not. And death cometh upon him from every side, while yet he is not dead, and behind him is a torment terrible
Ahmed Ali
He will sip it, yet will not be able to gulp it down. Death will crowd in upon him from every side, but die he will not. A terrible torment trails him
Aisha Bewley
He gulps at it but can hardly swallow it down. Death comes at him from every side but he does not die. And beyond him is relentless punishment.
Ali Ünal
Sipping it little by little, yet hardly able to swallow it, and death besets him from every side though he cannot die, and a still harsher punishment lies ahead of him
Ali Quli Qara'i
gulping it down, but hardly swallowing it: death will assail him from every side, but he will not die, and there is [yet] a harsh punishment ahead of him
Hamid S. Aziz
Which he sips but cannot swallow; and death comes upon him from every side, and yet he can not die; and before him is unrelenting woe
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad
He will sip it and will not swallow it easily, and death comes to him from everywhere, but he does not die, and beyond it is a severe punishment.
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)
In gulps will he drink it, but never will he be near swallowing it. Death will come to him from every angle, yet he will not die, and in front of him will be an unrelenting chastisement
Musharraf Hussain
they will sip it but can’t swallow it, and death will loom all around them, but they will not die, and beyond that experience will be an even more severe punishment
Maududi
which he will gulp but will scarcely swallow, and death will come upon him from every quarter, and yet he will not be able to die. A terrible chastisement lies ahead in pursuit of him
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)
He tries to drink it, but it cannot be swallowed, and death comes to him from everywhere, but he will not die; and from behind him is a powerful retribution
Mohammad Shafi
He will sip at it and it will not be easy for him to swallow it. And death will come to him from every quarter, but he shall not die. And further severe punishment shall await just behind him
Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)
He will take its draught little by little with difficulty and there shall be no hope to swallow it, and death shall come to him from all sides but he shall not die. And there is a terrible torment after him.
He will gulp it down, though he cannot stand it, as death comes to him from every direction, but he will never die. Awaiting him is a terrible retribution.
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah
which he gulps and can scarcely swallow. Death will come to him from every side, yet he cannot not die, and yet to come is a dreadful punishment
Maulana Muhammad Ali
He drinks it little by little and is not able to swallow it; and death comes to him from every quarter, yet he dies not. And before him is vehement chastisement
Muhammad Ahmed & Samira
He swallows it little by little and (he) is not about to accept its taste/swallow it easily, and the death/lifelessness comes to him from every place/position, and he is not with dying, and from behind him (is) strong/rough torture
Bijan Moeinian
He can not bear more than a sip. He will face the agony of the death which will approach him from every direction, yet he will not be terminated. He has to continue suffering
Faridul Haque
He will sip it with difficulty but be unable to swallow, and death will approach him from every side and he will not die; and a severe punishment is after him
Sher Ali
He shall sip it in and shall not be able to swallow it easily. And death shall come to him from every quarter, yet he shall not die. And besides that there shall be for him a severe chastisement
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri
Which he will take sip by sip with great difficulty, and will not be able to gulp it down the throat. And death will assail him from all sides, and he will not be able (even) to die. And that (again) will be followed by (one more) extremely grievous torment
Amatul Rahman Omar
He will try to sip it but shall not be able to swallow it easily, and death shall come to him from every quarter; yet he shall not die. Moreover he shall see before him further harsh doom
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali
He will sip it unwillingly, and he will find a great difficulty to swallow it down his throat, and death will come to him from every side, yet he will not die and in front of him, will be a great torment
New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Fode Drame
He takes gulps from it but he can hardly swallow it and death comes to him from every side but he is not going to die and from behind him there is a most tough punishment.
Munir Mezyed
He will gulp it with difficulty, and find it both hard and painful to swallow. And death surrounds him on all sides, yet he dies not. And before him is ruthless chastisement.
Sahib Mustaqim Bleher
He gulps it down and it is hard to swallow, and death reaches him from everywhere but he does not die, and after that there is an unrelenting punishment.
Linda “iLHam” Barto
He/she will drink it in gulps, but he/she will never come close to swallowing it. Death will advance to him/her from every side. Yet, he/she will not die. In front of him/her will be the unrelenting punishment.
Fadel Soliman, Bridges‘ Translation
which he sips, though he can barely swallow. And death comes at him from everywhere but he is not to die, and beyond him is a harsh punishment.
Irving & Mohamed Hegab
He will gag on it and not quite swallow it. Death will come at him from everywhere, while he will not quite die. Beyond him lies harsh torment.
Samy Mahdy
He gulps it, and not almost tolerates its swallow. And death comes at him from every place, and he will not die. And from beyond him, a harsh torment.
Sayyid Qutb
gulping it little by little, and yet hardly able to swallow it. Death will beset him from every side, yet he shall not die. More severe suffering still awaits him.
Ahmed Hulusi
He will try to sip it but will not be able to swallow it... Death will come to him from all sides, but he will not die! And after that, a worse suffering!
Sayyed Abbas Sadr-Ameli
He will drink it little by little which he can hardly swallow agreeably, and death will come to him from every side, while he will not be about to die, and there will be a vehement chastisement before him.
He drinks of it by sips he can hardly swallow but then he shall drink up the dregs of it forever, and over him triumphant death his dart shakes but never shall it strike, and the torment laid upon the damned shall be in his pursuit
Mir Aneesuddin
He will drink it little by little but he will not be able to swallow it, and death will come to him from every place yet he will not die, and before him there will be a harsh punishment.
The Wise Quran
He shall try to swallow it, but cannot gulp it down; and death shall come upon him from every place, and he shall not die; and behind him shall be harsh punishment.