Between his promise and its fulfillment, there was a prophetic period.
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المثل «بين وعده وإنجازه فترة نبي» يُقال لمن يتأخر في الوفاء بوعده، إذ توجد مدة طويلة بين أن يعد بالشيء وأن ينجزه.
أقرب تعبير إنجليزي في المعنى:
“Promises are easy to make, but hard to keep.”
أي: الوعد سهل، لكن الوفاء به صعب.
وإذا كان التركيز على الفاصل الزمني بين الوعد والتنفيذ، فيمكن القول:
“There’s a long way from promise to performance.”
أي: هناك مسافة طويلة بين الوعد والإنجاز.
والأول هو الأقرب والأكثر طبيعية في الإنجليزية.
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The proverb "Between his promise and its fulfillment lies the span of a prophet's era" is used to describe someone who is slow to keep their word, implying a long interval between making a promise and actually fulfilling it.
The closest English equivalent in meaning is:
“Promises are easy to make, but hard to keep.”
If the focus is specifically on the time gap between the promise and its execution, one could say:
“There’s a long way from promise to performance.”
The first option is the closest and most natural-sounding in English.
