Popular Translations
Muhammad Asad
And so the two went on, till, when they came upon some village people, they asked them for food; but those [people] refused them all hospitality. And they saw in that (village] a wall which was on the point of tumbling down, and [the sage] rebuilt it [whereupon Moses] said: "Hadst thou so wished, surely thou couldst [at least] have obtained some payment for it?"
Arthur John Arberry
So they departed; until, when they reached the people of a city, they asked the people for food, but they refused to receive them hospitably. There they found a wall about to tumble down, and so he set it up. He said, 'If thou hadst wished, thou couldst have taken a wage for that.
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)
Then they proceeded: until, when they came to the inhabitants of a town, they asked them for food, but they refused them hospitality. They found there a wall on the point of falling down, but he set it up straight. (Moses) said: "If thou hadst wished, surely thou couldst have exacted some recompense for it!"
Arabic
فَٱنطَلَقَا حَتَّىٰۤ إِذَاۤ أَتَیَاۤ أَهۡلَ قَرۡیَةٍ ٱسۡتَطۡعَمَاۤ أَهۡلَهَا فَأَبَوۡا۟ أَن یُضَیِّفُوهُمَا فَوَجَدَا فِیهَا جِدَارࣰا یُرِیدُ أَن یَنقَضَّ فَأَقَامَهُۥۖ قَالَ لَوۡ شِئۡتَ لَتَّخَذۡتَ عَلَیۡهِ أَجۡرࣰا ٧٧
Transliteration (2021)
fa-inṭalaqā ḥattā idhā atayā ahla qaryatin is'taṭʿamā ahlahā fa-abaw an yuḍayyifūhumā fawajadā fīhā jidāran yurīdu an yanqaḍḍa fa-aqāmahu qāla law shi'ta lattakhadhta ʿalayhi ajra