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 but when he came to them with Our signs, they ridiculed them, 47 even though each sign We showed them was greater than the previous one. We afflicted them with torment so that they might return [to the right path]. 48 And [every time] they exclaimed: "O thou sorcerer! Pray for us to thy Sustainer on the strength of the covenant [of prophethood] which He has made with thee: for, verily, we shall now follow the right way!" 49 But when We removed the Penalty from them, behold, they broke their word. 50 Pharaoh called to his people, "My people, is the Kingdom of Egypt not mine? And these rivers that flow at my feet, are they not mine? Do you not see? 51 I am surely better than this fellow, who is despicable and can hardly make (his meaning) plain! 52 Why, then, have armlets of gold not been set upon him, or angels sent along with him? 53 Thus he incited his people to levity, and they obeyed him: for, behold, they were people depraved! 54 So, when they had angered Us, We took vengeance on them, and We drowned them all together; 55 and made them a thing of the past and an example for those who would come after them. 56