YUSUFALI: Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more (strength) than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in (the husband’s) absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them (first), (Next), refuse to share their beds, (And last) beat them (lightly); but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means (of annoyance): For Allah is Most High, great (above you all).
PICKTHAL: Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.
SHAKIR: Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great.

The bone of contention in verse 34 of Sura Al-Nisa–the word translated most commonly as “beat”–is “idhriboohunna,” with the root “dharab.” Variants of that root appear in 53 other verses in the Qur’an (sometimes twice in one verse, with two different translations). Yet 4:34 is the only verse where it’s consistently translated as “beat.” In other verses the word is variously translated as:

1. “strike” or “smite” (13 instances)

2. “travel”/”journey”/”go about”/”move about”/”move abroad” (6 instances, invariably followed by “fi” – either fi-l-ardh, or fi-sabeel-illah)

3. “setting forth examples or parables” / “coin similitudes” / “make comparisons” / “liken to” (30 instances; invariably used with “mathal”)

4. “covered with” / “brought over” / “draw over” (used twice with humiliation and misery, and once in the “hijab” verse: 24:31 ["they should draw their veils over their bosoms"])

And then there are the ones I’m not too sure about, for example verse 43:5, where it apparently means “to turn away” or “ignore/disregard,” or verse 57:13–this is the most interesting one–where it apparently means “to separate.”

To me the last two make a lot of sense (turn away/disregard and separate). They suggest a more serious reaction from the husband than just denial of sexual relations, yet are far less serious than divorce (for which the Qur’an uses the word “tallaq”).

In the Pickthal translation, the word “scourge” appears 3 times: 24:2, 24:4, and 4:34. “Scourge,” according to Merriam-Webster, means to flog, whip, etc. In 24:2 and 24:4, it’s used as a translation of “Ijlidu,” as punishment for adultery and for accusing honorable women without producing four witnesses.

In 4:34, it’s used as a translation of “idhriboohunna.” Nowhere else does Pickthal translate any variant of “dharab” as “scourge.”

Here’s why the translation of “idhriboohunna” in 4:34 as “beat,” as
opposed to “strike,” which is how it’s translated in many other verses, is suspicious:

“Beat” connotes repetition of the striking action!
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beat

“Strike,” where it’s used in the Qur’an as a translation of some variant of dharab, is used in the sense of “strike (once).” Consider 2:60 and 7:160 (strike the rock with your staff), 2:73 (strike the dead body with part of the sacred cow), 26:63 (strike the sea with your staff), and others.

So does it seem a little odd that the same translators who used “strike” in other verses did not use “strike” in 4:34? Instead, they translated the word as “beat” (and in the case of Pickthal, “scourge”)!

While this particular analysis is mine, it was inspired by fellow Muslim blogger Saludada’s post on this subject.