21لَأُعَذِّبَنَّهُ عَذابًا شَديدًا أَو لَأَذبَحَنَّهُ أَو لَيَأتِيَنّي بِسُلطانٍ مُبينٍMuhammad Asad[If so,] I will punish him most severely or will kill him unless he bring me a convincing excuse!"1Lit., "a clear evidence". The threat of "killing" the hoopoe is, of course, purely idiomatic, and not to be taken literally.