Fear not thou to be overtaken, neither be thou afraid.”

And Pharaoh followed them with his hosts, and the whelming billows of the sea overwhelmed them,17 for Pharaoh misled his people, and did not guide them.

O children of Israel! we rescued you from your foes; and We appointed a meeting with you on the right side of the mountain; and We caused the manna and the quail to descend upon you: 

“Eat,” said We, “of the good things with which we have supplied you; but without excess, lest my wrath fall upon you; for on whom my wrath doth fall, he perisheth outright.

Surely however will I forgive him who turneth to God and believeth, and worketh righteousness, and then yieldeth to guidance.

But what hath hastened thee on apart from thy people,18 O Moses?”

He said, “They are hard on my footsteps:  but to thee, O Lord, have I hastened, that thou mightest be well pleased with me.”

He said, “Of a truth now have we proved thy people since thou didst leave them, and Samiri19 had led them astray.”

And Moses returned to his people, angered, sorrowful.

He said, “O my people! did not your Lord promise you a good promise?  Was the time of my absence long to you? or desired ye that wrath from your Lord should light upon you, that ye failed in your promise to me?”

They said, “Not of our own accord have we failed in the promise to thee, but we were made to bring loads of the people’s trinkets, and we threw them into the fire and Samiri likewise cast them in, and brought forth to them a corporeal lowing20 calf:  and they said, “This is your God and the God of Moses, whom he hath forgotten."’

What! saw they not that it returned them no answer, and could neither hurt nor help them?

And Aaron had before said to them, “O my people! by this calf are ye only proved:  surely your Lord is the God of Mercy:  follow me therefore and obey my bidding.”

They said, “We will not cease devotion to it, till Moses come back to us.”

He said, “O Aaron! when thou sawest that they had gone astray, what hindered thee from following me?  Hast thou then disobeyed my command?”

He said, “O Son of my mother! seize me not by my beard, nor by my head:  indeed I feared lest thou shouldst say,

Thou hast rent the children of Isreal asunder, and hast not observed my orders."’

He said, “And what was thy motive, O Samiri?” He said, “I saw what they saw not:  so I took a handful of dust from the track21 of the messenger of God, and flung it into the calf, for so my soul prompted me.”

He said, “Begone then:  verily thy doom even in this life shall be to say, ’Touch me not.’22 And there is a threat against thee, which thou shalt not escape hereafter.  Now look at thy god to which thou hast continued so devoted:  we will surely burn it and reduce it to ashes, which we will cast into the sea.