Al-A'raf 7:164

Wa-ith qalat ommatun minhumlima taAAithoona qawman Allahu muhlikuhum awmuAAaththibuhum AAathaban shadeedan qaloomaAAthiratan ila rabbikum walaAAallahum yattaqoon

And when a community among them said, "Why do you advise [or warn] a people whom Allāh is [about] to destroy or to punish with a severe punishment?" they [the advisors] said, "To be absolved before your Lord and perhaps they may fear Him."

When a group of them said, “Why do you exhort a people whom Allah is going to destroy or chastise with a severe punishment?” They said, “To absolve ourselves before your Lord, and in order that they may fear Allah.”