And this, too, is a divine writ which We have bestowed from on high, a blessed one: follow it, then, and be conscious of God, so that you might be graced with His mercy. 155 Lest ye should say: The Scripture was revealed only to two sects before us, and we in sooth were unaware of what they read; 156 or lest you say, 'If the Book had been sent down upon us, we had surely been more rightly guided than they.' Yet indeed a clear sign has come to you from your Lord, and a guidance and a mercy; and who does greater evil than he who cries lies to God's signs, and turns away from them? We shall surely recompense those who turn away from Our signs with an evil chastisement for their turning away. 157 Wait they, indeed, for nothing less than that the angels should come unto them, or thy Lord should come, or there should come one of the portents from thy Lord? In the day when one of the portents from thy Lord cometh, its belief availeth naught a soul which theretofore believed not, nor in its belief earned good (by works). Say: Wait ye! Lo! We (too) are waiting. 158 VERILY, as for those who have broken the unity of their faith and have become sects - thou hast nothing to do with them. Behold, their case rests with God: and in time He will make them understand what they were doing. 159 He who brings a good deed shall have tenfold of its like, but he who brings a sin shall be recompensed only for its like. None shall be wronged. 160 Say, "Indeed, my Lord has guided me to a straight path - a correct religion - the way of Abraham, inclining toward truth. And he was not among those who associated others with Allah." 161 Say, "My prayer, sacrifice, life, and death are all for God, the Lord of the Universe. 162 No associate has He. Even so I have been commanded, and I am the first of those that surrender.' 163 Say: "Shall I seek a lord other than Allah, while He is the Lord of all things? No person earns any (sin) except against himself (only), and no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another. Then unto your Lord is your return, so He will tell you that wherein you have been differing." 164 On earth, We have made each of your generations the successors of their predecessors; We have made some of you do good deeds of a higher degree than others. He will test you in this way through what He has revealed to you. Your Lord's retribution is swift and He is certainly All-forgiving and All-merciful. 165