Puis ils dirent : "Seigneur, allonge les distances entre nos étapes", et ils se firent du tort à eux-mêmes. Nous fîmes d’eux, donc, des sujets de légendes et les désintégrâmes totalement. Il y a en cela des avertissements pour tout grand endurant et grand reconnaissant.
Explication
The context implies that the people of Sheba were admonished to be grateful to their Lord who had extended their civilisation and made transportation easy between its parts. The first two readings indicate that instead, they called sarcastically for these blessings to be taken away. Yaʿqūb's reading describes another form of mocking, i.e. that these people – who did not actually believe in Allah – complained that things were not easy enough for their liking [Ibn 'Ashur].