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Suggested translation^1,2:

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¹This translation may have been updated from the original suggested translation as a result of the discussions that follow.
²Click on the {verse number} of a translation to see other good translations of the verse.

I suggest,
{2:72} And [recall] when you killed a man and contended for it, but God is bringing out what you were concealing.


If the reader is not familiar with this story, he or she will not understand what this verse is talking about. This is one example that some exegesis may be in order, would you folks agree? How about,

{2:73} So, We said, "Strike the slain man with part of it (the slaughtered cow)." Thus does God revive the dead, and He shows you His signs that you might reason.


I suggest,
{2:74} Then your hearts hardened after that, such that they are like stones or [even] tougher in hardness. And verily, among stones are some from which rivers burst forth, and verily among them are some that sunder such that comes out therefrom water, and verily among them are some that descend out of fear of God. And God is not in the slightest unaware of what you do.

I agree with the added explanation, but I would say

So, We said, "Strike him [the slain man] with part of it [the slaughtered cow]."

Glad you agree. I want to comply with the convention though that square brackets are for interjections that aid with word flow. Parentheses, on the other hand, are to be used for explanatory notes, i.e.,

{2:73} So, We said, "Strike him (the slain man) with part of it (the slaughtered cow)." Thus does God revive the dead, and He shows you His signs that perhaps you might reason.

I probably expressed this opinion before, but just in case I did not, here it is. I believe that either brackets or parentheses should be used in the translation, but not both. Using both is confusing to the typical reader. Although there are two roles we are trying to fulfill, from the reader's point of view it is simply "whatever is between brackets is not in the actual Arabic text."

Just my humble opinion, but I feel pretty strongly about it.