And ask thou them concerning the town that was close on the sea, when they transgressed in the matter of the sabt, when their fish came unto them openly on their sabt day, while they came not on the day whereon they kept not the sabt. Thus they were wont to transgress. 163 When a Section of them said: "Why do you admonish a people whom God is about to destroy or to punish severely?" They replied: "To clear ourselves of blame before your Lord, and that they may fear God. 164 Therefore when they forgot what they had been reminded of, We saved those who had tried to prevent the doing of evil. And We meted out a severe punishment to the transgressors because they were rebellious. 165 Therefore when they revoltingly persisted in what they had been forbidden, We said to them: Be (as) apes, despised and hated. 166 And recall when Your Lord proclaimed that 'He would continually set in authority over them, till the Day of Judgement, those who would ruthless oppress thern.' Surely, your Lord is swift in chastising; and yet He is All-Forgiving, All-Merciful. 167 And We have broken them (i.e. the Jews) up into various separate groups on the earth, some of them are righteous and some are away from that. And We tried them with good (blessings) and evil (calamities) in order that they might turn (to Allah's Obedience). 168 Then after them succeeded an (evil) generation, which inherited the Book, but they chose (for themselves) the goods of this low life (evil pleasures of this world) saying (as an excuse): "(Everything) will be forgiven to us." And if (again) the offer of the like (evil pleasures of this world) came their way, they would (again) seize them (would commit those sins). Was not the covenant of the Book taken from them that they would not say about Allah anything but the truth? And they have studied what is in it (the Book). And the home of the Hereafter is better for those who are Al-Muttaqun (the pious - see V. 2:2). Do not you then understand? 169 For [We shall requite] all those who hold fast to the divine writ and are constant in prayer: verily, We shall not fail to requite those who enjoin the doing of what is right! 170 ۞ And when We shook the mountain above them as if it were a canopy, and they supposed it was about to fall on them: 'Take forcefully what We have given you, and remember what is in it; haply you will be godfearing.' 171