upside down again[1]: ‘ Thou knewest that these cannot speak.’
Said he, ‘ Will ye then serve, beside God, what cannot profit you at all, nor harm you ? fie upon you, and what ye serve beside God ! have ye then no sense ?’
Said they, ‘ Burn him, and help your gods, if ye are going to do so !’
We said, ‘ O fire ! be thou cool and a safety for Abraham !’
70 They desired to plot against him, but we made them the losers.
And we brought him and Lot safely to the land which we have blessed for the world, and we bestowed upon him Isaac and Jacob as a fresh gift, and each of them we made righteous persons ; and we made them high priests[2] to guide (men) by our bidding, and we inspired them to do good works, and to be steadfast in prayer, and to give alms ; and they did serve us.
And Lot, to him we gave judgment and knowledge, and we brought him safely out of the city which had done vile acts; verily, they were a people who wrought abominations ! 75 And we made him enter into our mercy ; verily, he was of the righteous !
And Noah, when he cried aforetime, and we answered him and saved him and his people from the mighty trouble, and we helped him against the people who said our signs were lies; verily
- ↑ Literally, ‘ they turned upside down upon their heads,’ the metaphor implying that they suddenly changed their opinion and relapsed into belief in their idols.
- ↑ See Part Ⅰ, p. 17, note 1.
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