sailing before Our eyes, that is, in Our sights, in other words, [it was being] protected, as retaliation (jazā’an is in the accusative because of the implied verbal clause, that is to say, ‘they were drowned by way of revenge’) for [the sake of] him who was rejected, namely, Noah, peace be upon him (a variant reading [for passive kufira] has kafara, ‘him who disbelieved’, in other words, they were drowned as a punishment for them).