﴿ لَأُعَذِّبَنَّهُۥ عَذَابًۭا شَدِيدًا أَوْ لَأَا۟ذْبَحَنَّهُۥٓ أَوْ لَيَأْتِيَنِّى بِسُلْطَٰنٍۢ مُّبِينٍۢ ﴾

“[If so,] I will punish him most severely or will kill him unless he bring me a convincing excuse!””

He said: if he is among the absent, then (I verily will punish him with hard punishment) I will pluck out his feathers; such was the punishment of the birds, (or I verily will slay him, or he verily shall bring me a plain excuse) an acceptable excuse.