“Whenever We showed them a sign, it was greater than the one before it. And We seized them with punishment so that they might return. (48) They said, ‘O magician, pray to your Lord for us by virtue of the covenant He has made with you. We will certainly be guided.’ (49)”

His saying, exalted is He: “And We certainly sent Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his chiefs, and he said, ‘Indeed, I am a messenger of the Lord of all worlds.’ But when he came to them with Our signs, they immediately began to laugh at them”—that is, in mockery.

“Whenever We showed them a sign, it was greater than the one before it”: that is, greater than its counterpart and companion which had preceded it. “And We seized them with punishment”: with years of drought, the flood, locusts, lice, frogs, blood, and obliteration. These were proofs supporting Moses and punishments for them; each one was greater than the one before it, “so that they might return” from their disbelief.

“And they said” to Moses when they witnessed the punishment, “O magician”: that is, O learned, accomplished, and skillful man. They said this as a mark of respect and veneration for him, because magic, in their view, was a great field of knowledge and a praiseworthy quality. It was also said: its meaning is