We sent Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his Council, and he said: 'I am the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds' 46 Then when he came unto them with Our signs, behold! at them they were laughing. 47 although each sign that We showed them was weightier than the preceding one: and [each time] We took them to task through suffering, so that they might return [to Us]. 48 'Sorcerer' they said, 'pray to your Lord for us in accordance to the covenant He has made with you, and surely we shall be rightly guided' 49 Yet no sooner did We take away the affliction from them than they broke their pledge. 50 And Fir'aun (Pharaoh) proclaimed among his people, saying: "O my people! Is not mine the dominion of Egypt, and these rivers flowing underneath me. See you not then? 51 Or am I better than this man, who is contemptible and scarcely makes things clear? 52 Why then have bracelets of gold not been cast on him, or angels not come with him conjoined?' 53 He (Pharaoh) intimidated his nation, so they obeyed him, for they were a sinning nation. 54 When at length they provoked Us, We exacted retribution from them, and We drowned them all. 55 We made them a precedent, an example for later peoples. 56