Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad
they speak not until He has spoken unto them, and [whenever they act,] they act at His behest
M. M. Pickthall
They speak not until He hath spoken, and they act by His command
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)
They speak not before He speaks, and they act (in all things) by His Command
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab
who do not speak until He has spoken, ˹only˺ acting at His command.
Safi Kaskas
They do not speak before He does, and they act only on His command.
Wahiduddin Khan
they do not try to speak ahead of Him, and they act at His command
Shakir
They do not precede Him in speech and (only) according to His commandment do they act
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar
They precede Him not in saying and they act by His command.
T.B.Irving
they do not try to speak ahead of Him, while they act at His command.
Abdul Hye
They don’t speak until He has spoken and they act on His Command.
The Study Quran
They precede Him not in speech, and they act according to His Command
Talal Itani & AI (2024)
They don’t precede Him in speech, and they act only upon His command.
Talal Itani (2012)
They never speak before He has spoken, and they only act on His command
Dr. Kamal Omar
They never override Him by uttering a statement (of their own), and they perform deeds under His Ordainment
They do not precede Him in speaking and they act according to His commandment
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali
They do not outstrip Him in speech, and they do according to His Command
Muhammad Sarwar
These servants do not speak before He speaks. They simply act according to His orders
Muhammad Taqi Usmani
They do not precede Him in speech, and only under His command they act
Shabbir Ahmed
They exceed not what He has spoken to them, and they act by His Command
Dr. Munir Munshey
They dare not initiate an audience with Him, and they diligently carry out His orders
Syed Vickar Ahamed
They do not speak before He (Allah) speaks (to them), and they act (only) by His command
They cannot precede Him in word, and they act by His command
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)
They do not speak ahead of Him, and on His command they act
Abdel Haleem
they do not speak before He speaks and they act by His command
Abdul Majid Daryabadi
They precede Him not in words, and by His command they work
Ahmed Ali
They did not precede Him in their speech, and acted on His command
Aisha Bewley
They do not precede Him in speech and they act on His command.
Ali Ünal
They speak only what He has spoken to them and allows them to speak, and they act by His command
Ali Quli Qara'i
They do not venture to speak ahead of Him, and they act by His command
Hamid S. Aziz
They speak not until He speaks; and they act by His command (John30)
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad
They (the angels) do not get ahead of Him in speech, and they do according to His commands.
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)
They do not speak before He speaks, and they act by His command
Musharraf Hussain
who don’t speak before He speaks and obey His command.
Maududi
They do not outstrip Him in speech and only act as He commands
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)
They do not speak ahead of Him, and on His command they act.
Mohammad Shafi
They do not speak ahead of Him and they act at His Command
Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)
They precede Him not in word, and they act only by His command.
They never speak on their own, and they strictly follow His commands.
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah
who do not surpass Him in speech, and do as He commands
Maulana Muhammad Ali
They speak not before He speaks, and according to his command they act
Muhammad Ahmed & Samira
They do not precede/race Him with the saying/opinion and belief, and they are with His order/command doing/working
Bijan Moeinian
His Prophets do not speak on their own, and follow what they are ordered
Faridul Haque
They do not speak before He has, and they act only at His command
Sher Ali
They speak not before HE speaks, and they only carry out HIS commands
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri
They do not precede Him in (uttering) any word, and they remain engaged in carrying out only His command
Amatul Rahman Omar
They do not precede Him in speech and they only carry out His biddings
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali
They speak not until He has spoken, and they act on His Command
New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Fode Drame
They do not go ahead of Him in speech and they work according to His command.
Munir Mezyed
And they speak only when He allows them to do so and they act according to His Command.
Sahib Mustaqim Bleher
They do not precede Him in speech and carry out His command.
Fadel Soliman, Bridges‘ Translation
who never speak before Him, and they only act on His command.
Linda “iLHam” Barto
They do not speak before He speaks. They act by His command.
Irving & Mohamed Hegab
they do not try to speak ahead of Him, while they act at His command.
Samy Mahdy
And they said, “Al-Rahman (The Most Gracious) has taken a son.” Glorified is Him. Nay, but they are honored slaves.
Sayyid Qutb
They do not speak until He has spoken, and they act at His behest.
Thomas Cleary
they do not speak before God does, and they act by God's decree.
Ahmed Hulusi
Their word does not get ahead of His command! They fulfill His command.
Sayyed Abbas Sadr-Ameli
They do not precede Him in speech, and (only) according to His commandment do they act
Never do they speak before Him unless permitted or commanded to do so; similarly conditioned are their acts
Mir Aneesuddin
And they say, “The Beneficent (Allah) has taken a son." Glorified be He. No, they are (His) honoured servants.
The Wise Quran
They do not precede Him in speech; and they act at His command.