Tafsir name: Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Language: English

Surah/Ayah: Al-Baqarah 2:79

Error: The English translation appears to add the word “another”, although the corresponding Arabic says الكتاب (al-kitāb) — “the Book” / “the Scripture.”

The English text currently says:

“the People of the Book altered the Book of Allah, changed it and wrote another book with their own hands.”

The corresponding Arabic reads:

بَدَّلُوا كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَغَيَّرُوهُ، وَكَتَبُوا بِأَيْدِيهِمُ الْكِتَابَ

In particular:

وَكَتَبُوا بِأَيْدِيهِمُ الْكِتَابَ

means approximately:

“and they wrote the Book / the Scripture with their own hands.”

There does not appear to be an Arabic word corresponding to “another.” If “another book” were intended explicitly, Arabic would normally require wording expressing “another,” such as كتابًا آخر.

This is potentially significant because “another book” may lead English readers to understand the passage as saying that the People of the Book produced an entirely separate replacement book. The Arabic wording itself does not explicitly state that.

A more textually faithful translation would therefore be:

“altered the Book of Allah, changed it, and wrote the Book with their own hands”

or:

“altered the Book of Allah, changed it, and wrote the Scripture with their own hands.”

Could the translation please be reviewed against the Arabic source?