And Moses chose from his people seventy men for Our appointment. And when the earthquake seized them, he said, "My Lord, if You had willed, You could have destroyed them before and me [as well]. Would You destroy us for what the foolish among us have done? This is not but Your trial by which You send astray whom You will and guide whom You will. You are our Protector, so forgive us and have mercy upon us; and You are the best of forgivers.
Sahih International
وَٱخْتَارَ
wa-ikh'tāra
And chose
Word breakdown
وَ
Harf · Conjunctionand
ٱخْتَارَ
Fi'l · VerbAnd chose
good, better, best, goodness
196× in the Quran · Common
Grammar rules
وَٱخْتَارَ (And chose) is a past tense verb — the action already happened and is complete.
We translate it in past tense — "did", "created", "said", etc.
Lesson 8 · Verbs — Past & Presentوَٱخْتَارَ (And chose) uses form VIII (إِفْتَعَلَ) — it means doing the action for yourself or by yourself.
We translate it as "to [verb] for oneself".
Lesson 13 · Verb Families V–Xوَٱخْتَارَ (And chose) starts with وَ, the most common Arabic word — it means "and".
We add "and" to connect this to what came before.
Lesson 4 · Particles