no sound thereof will they hear; and they will abide in all that their souls have ever desired.

[Hence,] O my sons, go forth and try to obtain some tidings of Joseph and his brother; and do not lose hope of God's life-giving mercy:* verily, none but people who deny the truth can ever lose hope of God's life-giving mercy.

AND, INDEED, God made good His promise unto you when, by His leave, you were about to destroy your foes* - until the moment when you lost heart and acted contrary to the [Prophet's] command,* and disobeyed after He had brought you within view of that [victory] for which you were longing. There were among you such as cared for this world [alone], just as there were among you such as cared for the life to come:* whereupon, in order that He might put you to a test, He prevented you from defeating your foes.* But now He has effaced your sin: for God is limitless in His bounty unto the believers.

And when Jesus became aware of their refusal to acknowledge the truth,* he asked: "Who will be my helpers in God's cause?" The white-garbed ones* replied: "We shall be [thy] helpers [in the cause] of God! We believe in God: and bear thou witness that we have surrendered ourselves unto Him!

for, how many a generation* have We destroyed before their time - [and] canst thou perceive any one of them [now], or hear any whisper of them?

And [every time,] as soon as they began to feel Our punishing might, lo! they tried to flee from it