And propound thou unto them the similitude of the inhabitants of a town, when there came thereto the sent ones. 13 when We sent unto them two men, but they cried them lies, so We sent a third as reinforcement. They said, 'We are assuredly Envoys unto you. 14 They replied, "You are nothing but mortal men like us and the Merciful God has not revealed anything. You are surely lying." 15 They said: Our Lord knows that we are most surely apostles to you. 16 "And our duty is only to proclaim the clear Message." 17 They said: Surely we augur evil from you; if you do not desist, we will certainly stone you, and there shall certainly afflict you a painful chastisement from us. 18 [The apostles] replied: "Your destiny, good or evil, is [bound up] with yourselves! [Does it seem evil to you] if you are told to take [the truth] to heart? Nay, but you are people who have wasted their own selves!" 19 Then a man came running from the other side of the city. "O my people," he said, "follow the messengers. 20 Follow those who ask no reward of you, and themselves are rightly guided! 21 "It would not be reasonable in me if I did not serve Him Who created me, and to Whom ye shall (all) be brought back. 22 Should I take other than Him [false] deities [while], if the Most Merciful intends for me some adversity, their intercession will not avail me at all, nor can they save me? 23 In that case I should indeed be in manifest error. 24 "For me, I have faith in the Lord of you (all): listen, then, to me!" 25 It was said (to him): 'Enter Paradise' and he said: 'Would that my people knew 26 That my Lord hath forgiven me, and hath made me of the honoured ones. 27 ۞ And We did not send down to his nation after him any army from heaven, neither would We send any down. 28 There was just one blast, and they were extinguished. 29 Alas for human beings! They ridicule every messenger that comes to them. 30 Do they not see how many generations We have destroyed before them? Never shall they return to them. 31 And surely, all, everyone of them will be brought before Us. 32